Legendary guitarist Tony Iommi told Billboard.com 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.
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.
AEROSMITH frontman Steven Tyler is among the celebrities who are recreated as unique, one-of-a kind Cabbage Patch Kids that will be auctioned on eBay starting today with proceeds benefiting Children's Action Network (CAN), a national adoption awareness organization dedicated to finding homes for children in the U.S. who are in foster care. The exclusive Celebrity 'Kids were created to be auctioned by leading U.S. toy company JAKKS Pacific, Inc. to raise awareness and much-needed funds for this notable charity and to celebrate the rich tradition of the loveable and adoptable Cabbage Patch Kids during the National Adoption Month of November.
Launching today on eBay Giving Works through November 17, fans of Steven Tyler, Al Roker, Katherine Heigl, Kristin Chenoweth, and Raven-Symone can go to cpkauctionforcharity.com to bid on the one-of-a-kind Celebrity Cabbage Patch Kids created in the likeness of these famous singers, actors and TV personalities. Auction Cause, an online cause marketing agency, will manage the auction.
Distinctive features of the Celebrity 'Kids include Steven Tyler's rocker-inspired outfit and mic stand; Al Roker's signature glasses and tailored suit; Katherine Heigl's favorite red carpet couture; Kristin Chenoweth's royal blue ball gown; and Raven-Symone's trendy romper and blinged out platform heels. JAKKS Pacific worked closely with each celebrity to make sure their one-of-a-kind 'Kid embodied their individual look and personality. Each Celebrity 'Kid, will also come with its own autographed birth certificate.
All proceeds of the Steven Tyler, Al Roker, and Raven-Symone Celebrity 'Kids will benefit CAN, while Kristin Chenoweth and Katherine Heigl are donating 50 percent of funds to CAN and the other 50 percent to Maddie's Corner and the Jason Debus Heigl Foundation, respectively.
"We are pleased to be chosen as the main beneficiary of this wonderful and creative auction of one-of-a-kind Celebrity Cabbage Patch Kids," stated actor and Board Director of Children's Action Network, Henry Winkler. "With so many children in the foster care system, there is tremendous need for support from our community. The funds raised in this auction will help bring programs and services to these deserving children."
To bid on the celebrity lookalike Kids, visit cpkauctionforcharity.com.
Launching today on eBay Giving Works through November 17, fans of Steven Tyler, Al Roker, Katherine Heigl, Kristin Chenoweth, and Raven-Symone can go to cpkauctionforcharity.com to bid on the one-of-a-kind Celebrity Cabbage Patch Kids created in the likeness of these famous singers, actors and TV personalities. Auction Cause, an online cause marketing agency, will manage the auction.
Distinctive features of the Celebrity 'Kids include Steven Tyler's rocker-inspired outfit and mic stand; Al Roker's signature glasses and tailored suit; Katherine Heigl's favorite red carpet couture; Kristin Chenoweth's royal blue ball gown; and Raven-Symone's trendy romper and blinged out platform heels. JAKKS Pacific worked closely with each celebrity to make sure their one-of-a-kind 'Kid embodied their individual look and personality. Each Celebrity 'Kid, will also come with its own autographed birth certificate.
All proceeds of the Steven Tyler, Al Roker, and Raven-Symone Celebrity 'Kids will benefit CAN, while Kristin Chenoweth and Katherine Heigl are donating 50 percent of funds to CAN and the other 50 percent to Maddie's Corner and the Jason Debus Heigl Foundation, respectively.
"We are pleased to be chosen as the main beneficiary of this wonderful and creative auction of one-of-a-kind Celebrity Cabbage Patch Kids," stated actor and Board Director of Children's Action Network, Henry Winkler. "With so many children in the foster care system, there is tremendous need for support from our community. The funds raised in this auction will help bring programs and services to these deserving children."
To bid on the celebrity lookalike Kids, visit cpkauctionforcharity.com.
http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/soulflypremiere/tylercabbage.jpg
Rob Halford of British heavy metal legends JUDAS PRIEST was interviewed on this past weekend's (November 4-6) edition of Full Metal Jackie's nationally syndicated radio show. You can now listen to the chat using the audio player below. A few excerpts from the question-and-answer session follow.
Full Metal Jackie: There's obviously a new member in the band. What has surprised you most so far about the way people have reacted to Richie Faulkner?
Halford: Well, everybody's embraced him, and we want to say thank you to everyone, all the PRIEST fans around the world that have taken Richie so strongly. You know, firstly he's a PRIEST metal maniac and he couldn't believe the day he was brought up to the Midlands to meet the band. [Laughs] He thought it was a bit of a joke, actually. He kept putting the phone down when people were saying, "Hey, Rob and Glenn [Tipton, JUDAS PRIEST guitarist] want to see you." "Yeah, right. Whatever" But he finally understood that this was the real deal. We'd been looking high and low for a guitar player to stand in that part of the stage and Richie's this fantastic talent. He's an awesome player and has so much charisma and personality onstage. You know, he's fearless, he's absolutely fearless when he walks out there, and everybody's loving him to death, so all things are going great for Richie and for PRIEST.
Full Metal Jackie: We're talking about the "Epitaph" tour, which has brought back songs which haven't been part of the live set in a long time if ever. When discussing what to play, what did you really want to do that didn't make the cut?
Halford: Well, as always, we all pitch in our wish list, and it's really difficult because you've got hundreds and hundreds of songs. Obviously, there are tracks that we genuinely look forward to playing over and over again — be it "Breaking The Law" or "Painkiller" — but to actually bring out a song like "Never Satisfied" with that great big storming riff all the way from Birmingham, the home of heavy metal, it feels great night after night. And a big epic track like "Blood Red Skies" really works wonders. It just shows you're the breadth of metal music that we've tried to make over the years. So it's a very interesting and entertaining setlist.
Full Metal Jackie: "The Chosen Few" compilation is a cool way of putting together a greatest hits, having other musicians choose the tracks. Was that the band's idea or something the label came up with?
Halford: Yeah, we're always talking about things. We have a wonderful family at Sony we've been with forever; they really look after our music and getting it to all of the PRIEST fans around the world, so this is like a new idea. You know, you think what does Ozzy [Osbourne] listen to when he's his jet flyin' around? Or what does Slash check out? Or Steve Vai? All of these people are friends of the band. They're good friends, they're peers, they're legends in rock 'n' roll and metal, so we just sent everybody the list and here it comes back that Joe [Elliott] from DEF LEPPARD picks "Diamonds And Rust" and Steve picks "Dissident Aggressor" and Lars [Ulrich of METALLICA] picks "Beyond The Realms Of Death", and on and on. It's just a very unusual and different and very exciting way of listening to PRIEST through the heads of the metal rock legends that are out there and are good friends of ours.
Full Metal Jackie: Such a cool idea, really cool approach.
Halford: Yeah, it is. And, you know, this is kind of another collection to add to your PRIEST treasures and to prepare yourselves for the next big moment from PRIEST, which is the brand new collection of PRIEST music that we're trying to get out in 2012, next year.
Full Metal Jackie: Talking about new music for PRIEST, 12 to 14 new songs have been written for the next PRIEST album; four are already recorded. The last record, "Nostradamus", was a bit of a departure. How has that album affected the direction of the new one?
Halford: Well, we look at every piece of studio recording as a separate entity; we don't really look at our past recordings. We just go into the studio with a very fresh, open mind and we really just do play the riffs and the ideas come from the heart, so to speak, whereas "Nostradamus" was almost laid out for us because we could actually channel the music through this man's life. This new record is just a case of, "Let's sit down, break out the amps and the guitars and jam and see what metal comes out." And so these are the new songs from JUDAS PRIEST, brand new tracks that really cover, I suppose, the essence of what JUDAS PRIEST is about. That's to say we have the screaming metal tracks that you love, like "Screaming For Vengeance", and then the vibe a bit of "Stained Class", a bit of "British Steel". It's just that metal that we keep inside us — it's like metal blood in the veins, almost. We just let the metal speak for itself with these new songs. It's going to be a great record, it really is; it's a classic British heavy metal album from the band that you love — JUDAS PRIEST.
Full Metal Jackie: There's obviously a new member in the band. What has surprised you most so far about the way people have reacted to Richie Faulkner?
Halford: Well, everybody's embraced him, and we want to say thank you to everyone, all the PRIEST fans around the world that have taken Richie so strongly. You know, firstly he's a PRIEST metal maniac and he couldn't believe the day he was brought up to the Midlands to meet the band. [Laughs] He thought it was a bit of a joke, actually. He kept putting the phone down when people were saying, "Hey, Rob and Glenn [Tipton, JUDAS PRIEST guitarist] want to see you." "Yeah, right. Whatever" But he finally understood that this was the real deal. We'd been looking high and low for a guitar player to stand in that part of the stage and Richie's this fantastic talent. He's an awesome player and has so much charisma and personality onstage. You know, he's fearless, he's absolutely fearless when he walks out there, and everybody's loving him to death, so all things are going great for Richie and for PRIEST.
Full Metal Jackie: We're talking about the "Epitaph" tour, which has brought back songs which haven't been part of the live set in a long time if ever. When discussing what to play, what did you really want to do that didn't make the cut?
Halford: Well, as always, we all pitch in our wish list, and it's really difficult because you've got hundreds and hundreds of songs. Obviously, there are tracks that we genuinely look forward to playing over and over again — be it "Breaking The Law" or "Painkiller" — but to actually bring out a song like "Never Satisfied" with that great big storming riff all the way from Birmingham, the home of heavy metal, it feels great night after night. And a big epic track like "Blood Red Skies" really works wonders. It just shows you're the breadth of metal music that we've tried to make over the years. So it's a very interesting and entertaining setlist.
Full Metal Jackie: "The Chosen Few" compilation is a cool way of putting together a greatest hits, having other musicians choose the tracks. Was that the band's idea or something the label came up with?
Halford: Yeah, we're always talking about things. We have a wonderful family at Sony we've been with forever; they really look after our music and getting it to all of the PRIEST fans around the world, so this is like a new idea. You know, you think what does Ozzy [Osbourne] listen to when he's his jet flyin' around? Or what does Slash check out? Or Steve Vai? All of these people are friends of the band. They're good friends, they're peers, they're legends in rock 'n' roll and metal, so we just sent everybody the list and here it comes back that Joe [Elliott] from DEF LEPPARD picks "Diamonds And Rust" and Steve picks "Dissident Aggressor" and Lars [Ulrich of METALLICA] picks "Beyond The Realms Of Death", and on and on. It's just a very unusual and different and very exciting way of listening to PRIEST through the heads of the metal rock legends that are out there and are good friends of ours.
Full Metal Jackie: Such a cool idea, really cool approach.
Halford: Yeah, it is. And, you know, this is kind of another collection to add to your PRIEST treasures and to prepare yourselves for the next big moment from PRIEST, which is the brand new collection of PRIEST music that we're trying to get out in 2012, next year.
Full Metal Jackie: Talking about new music for PRIEST, 12 to 14 new songs have been written for the next PRIEST album; four are already recorded. The last record, "Nostradamus", was a bit of a departure. How has that album affected the direction of the new one?
Halford: Well, we look at every piece of studio recording as a separate entity; we don't really look at our past recordings. We just go into the studio with a very fresh, open mind and we really just do play the riffs and the ideas come from the heart, so to speak, whereas "Nostradamus" was almost laid out for us because we could actually channel the music through this man's life. This new record is just a case of, "Let's sit down, break out the amps and the guitars and jam and see what metal comes out." And so these are the new songs from JUDAS PRIEST, brand new tracks that really cover, I suppose, the essence of what JUDAS PRIEST is about. That's to say we have the screaming metal tracks that you love, like "Screaming For Vengeance", and then the vibe a bit of "Stained Class", a bit of "British Steel". It's just that metal that we keep inside us — it's like metal blood in the veins, almost. We just let the metal speak for itself with these new songs. It's going to be a great record, it really is; it's a classic British heavy metal album from the band that you love — JUDAS PRIEST.
British rock legends UFO are currently in the studio with producer Tommy Newton recording their new album for a February 27, 2012 release via SPV/Steamhammer. A tour of the U.K. and Ireland will follow in March and April.
UFO's latest best-of collection, "Best Of A Decade", was released in North America on September 28, 2010 via SPV/Steamhammer.
The band's most recent studio album, "The Visitor", came out in June 2009.
The current lineup continues to consist of the three original members, Phil Mogg (vocals), Paul Raymond (guitar, keyboards), and Andy Parker (drums), as well as American world-class guitarist Vinnie Moore.
UFO's latest best-of collection, "Best Of A Decade", was released in North America on September 28, 2010 via SPV/Steamhammer.
The band's most recent studio album, "The Visitor", came out in June 2009.
The current lineup continues to consist of the three original members, Phil Mogg (vocals), Paul Raymond (guitar, keyboards), and Andy Parker (drums), as well as American world-class guitarist Vinnie Moore.
METALLICA's collaborative album with Lou Reed, titled "Lulu", has registered the following first-week positions so far:
U.K.: #36
Australia: #33
Netherlands: #17
Finland: #20
Sweden: #9
Norway: #11
Belgium: #30
"Lulu" is likely to sell between 12,000 and 15,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to industry web site Hits Daily Double. The estimate was based on one-day sales reports compiled after the record arrived in stores on November 1 via Warner Bros. Records (one day earlier in the rest of the world through Universal Music). By contrast, METALLICA's last studio effort, 2008's "Death Magnetic", sold 490,000 copies in just a three-day sales window after it came out on a Friday, with sales tracked through the following Sunday.
Even METALLICA's controversial 2003 set, "St. Anger", moved 418,000 copies in its initial week of release, which was also shortened to four days.
METALLICA's previous three studio outings, 1997's "Reload", 1996's "Load" and the 1991 "black album" all earned six-figure first week sales as well.
"Lulu" is based on two plays by early 20th century German author Frank Wedekind about an amoral woman.
Both METALLICA and Reed have downplayed the scathing reviews that the album has gotten, with Reed saying that METALLICA fans are "threatening to shoot me." METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich defended the project, saying, "It's not for everyone, but I think it's a fantastic record."
U.K.: #36
Australia: #33
Netherlands: #17
Finland: #20
Sweden: #9
Norway: #11
Belgium: #30
"Lulu" is likely to sell between 12,000 and 15,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to industry web site Hits Daily Double. The estimate was based on one-day sales reports compiled after the record arrived in stores on November 1 via Warner Bros. Records (one day earlier in the rest of the world through Universal Music). By contrast, METALLICA's last studio effort, 2008's "Death Magnetic", sold 490,000 copies in just a three-day sales window after it came out on a Friday, with sales tracked through the following Sunday.
Even METALLICA's controversial 2003 set, "St. Anger", moved 418,000 copies in its initial week of release, which was also shortened to four days.
METALLICA's previous three studio outings, 1997's "Reload", 1996's "Load" and the 1991 "black album" all earned six-figure first week sales as well.
"Lulu" is based on two plays by early 20th century German author Frank Wedekind about an amoral woman.
Both METALLICA and Reed have downplayed the scathing reviews that the album has gotten, with Reed saying that METALLICA fans are "threatening to shoot me." METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich defended the project, saying, "It's not for everyone, but I think it's a fantastic record."
Longtime METALLICA front-of-house (FOH) engineer "Big" Mick Hughes tells PTI that he has made lot of sacrifices to be with the iconic heavy metal band.
"You have to give up a little in order to gain something," the 53-year-old Brit, who has mixed METALLICA at every one of the more than 1,600 shows they have performed since their November 1984 tour of Europe, says. "It is the same with me. I chose to be with the band and I lost out on some part of my life. I'm not married because I was travelling with the band. Even they (band members) have made a lot of sacrifices over the years."
He adds, "I enjoy the job. I don't treat it as work. They are nice guys and every moment with them has been fun. I have no complaints.
"I know these guys inside out. We have a very healthy relationship. So far, it has been quite a roller coaster ride, but very fulfilling. We, as a band, have been through problems. The journey has been wild and strange," he says.
When asked what is the most challenging aspect of being with a band, Hughes says, "Hardest thing being with a band is travelling. I have been travelling for the past 35 years. And it is quite a challenge."
In 2007, Big Mick was asked to mix the FOH sound for the LED ZEPPELIN reunion concert at London's O2 Arena in conjunction with Robert Plant's personal vocal mixer Roy Williams.
Regarding how he landed the METALLICA gig, Hughes told Mix magazine in 2007, "I already worked for the management company — I worked for a PA company in England called Texserv, with Bob Doyle. Peter Mench, who managed METALLICA, and DEF LEPPARD, and CHILI PEPPERS, said that he wanted one of Bob's guys to engineer this new bad he signed in England called the ARMORY SHOW. I ended up with those guys for like a year and a half; this was in '81, somewhere around there. Q Prime, who was the management, said, 'We're losing these guys, but we like you — do you want to do this band we just signed? It's a new band called METALLICA.' And I say, 'Well, what is it?' And he says, 'It's heavy metal.' I say, 'What the fuck is heavy metal?' He goes, 'Well, you'll find out if you do it.' And I went, 'Alright, then; I'll be in for a penny, for a pound.' So I went off and we did November, December around Europe. And the band says, 'We like you; do you want to be our engineer?' I said, 'Well, what does that involve?' Because I'd never been the band's engineer, I've always been the guy that came with the PA: Set the PA up, work it, put it back in the truck and leave. We started in January with W.A.S.P. and ARMORED SAINT. And off we went, and that was January '85, and then here we are."
He added, "People say to me, you're so fortunate to have seen the entire transition from bars to clubs to theaters to half arenas, to full arenas, to stadiums. It's pretty bizarre to see how things changed. Before, it was just literally the band and myself and a couple of other guys on the bus — we all went off on one bus on tour and that was it. All the trials and tribulations that I couldn't possibly talk about that happened to 19-year old guys in bands on buses in those days. They were 19, 20, you know what I mean? And here we are, still doing it. And they're all married with kids now."
"You have to give up a little in order to gain something," the 53-year-old Brit, who has mixed METALLICA at every one of the more than 1,600 shows they have performed since their November 1984 tour of Europe, says. "It is the same with me. I chose to be with the band and I lost out on some part of my life. I'm not married because I was travelling with the band. Even they (band members) have made a lot of sacrifices over the years."
He adds, "I enjoy the job. I don't treat it as work. They are nice guys and every moment with them has been fun. I have no complaints.
"I know these guys inside out. We have a very healthy relationship. So far, it has been quite a roller coaster ride, but very fulfilling. We, as a band, have been through problems. The journey has been wild and strange," he says.
When asked what is the most challenging aspect of being with a band, Hughes says, "Hardest thing being with a band is travelling. I have been travelling for the past 35 years. And it is quite a challenge."
In 2007, Big Mick was asked to mix the FOH sound for the LED ZEPPELIN reunion concert at London's O2 Arena in conjunction with Robert Plant's personal vocal mixer Roy Williams.
Regarding how he landed the METALLICA gig, Hughes told Mix magazine in 2007, "I already worked for the management company — I worked for a PA company in England called Texserv, with Bob Doyle. Peter Mench, who managed METALLICA, and DEF LEPPARD, and CHILI PEPPERS, said that he wanted one of Bob's guys to engineer this new bad he signed in England called the ARMORY SHOW. I ended up with those guys for like a year and a half; this was in '81, somewhere around there. Q Prime, who was the management, said, 'We're losing these guys, but we like you — do you want to do this band we just signed? It's a new band called METALLICA.' And I say, 'Well, what is it?' And he says, 'It's heavy metal.' I say, 'What the fuck is heavy metal?' He goes, 'Well, you'll find out if you do it.' And I went, 'Alright, then; I'll be in for a penny, for a pound.' So I went off and we did November, December around Europe. And the band says, 'We like you; do you want to be our engineer?' I said, 'Well, what does that involve?' Because I'd never been the band's engineer, I've always been the guy that came with the PA: Set the PA up, work it, put it back in the truck and leave. We started in January with W.A.S.P. and ARMORED SAINT. And off we went, and that was January '85, and then here we are."
He added, "People say to me, you're so fortunate to have seen the entire transition from bars to clubs to theaters to half arenas, to full arenas, to stadiums. It's pretty bizarre to see how things changed. Before, it was just literally the band and myself and a couple of other guys on the bus — we all went off on one bus on tour and that was it. All the trials and tribulations that I couldn't possibly talk about that happened to 19-year old guys in bands on buses in those days. They were 19, 20, you know what I mean? And here we are, still doing it. And they're all married with kids now."
MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine was interviewed for the December 2011 issue of Decibel magazine. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
On recently undergoing surgery for stenosis, a neck and spine condition that he says was caused by "years of headbanging":
Mustaine: "The way [the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival] ended, with me being hurt, I knew I was hurt, but I didn't know how bad. Nobody knew the writing was on the wall. I pretty much thought, 'Well, I''m hurt, but I'll just take it easy, have a couple of glasses of wine. I'll get through it, get a couple of trigger point injections, get an epidural.' There were a couple of times they gave me a shot in my neck that numbed me up. I saw chiropractors and masseuses all the time. It inevitably gets to the point where you're starting to take medication, and that's never good, because if you're taking something and you never feel the pain… You saw Curt Schilling when he was playing for the Diamondbacks, and Randy Johnson; I can't remember if [Schilling] was playing for the Diamondbacks that time he had the bloody sock or if he'd gone back to Boston or not yet — [he] did some heroic feat where he had his foot put back together and he went out there and played.
"I'm an athlete, as a guitar player and as an onstage persona. But as far as being a musician that has to do hurdles — I don't think most musicians, when they start playing music, think that they're going ot be playing this demanding-type music that those of us who are part of the 'Big Four' and all the bands we influenced and kind of created [play]. With the advent of the headbanging — which was not my invention, by any means; I'm not like Al Gore who invented the Internet — there was that whole headbanging thing that came around, it's hurt a lot us… What is headbanging, anyway? It's kind of like chronic whiplash syndrome, isn't it?"
On several songs on the new MEGADETH album, "TH1RT3EN" — "Black Swan", "Millennium Of The Blind", "New World Order" — that previously existed as demos or bonus tracks:
Mustaine: "Yeah, some of them were sitting around for a while. Some of them weren't ready to be released at the time. One of the things I've always prided myself on was being able to say, 'not yet.' We had a lot of good guys we've worked with in the studio over the years: good engineers, good producers, good co-producers, good musicians and special guests that have sat in with us, too. And some of these songs, they just werent' ready. And I would like to say that everything I've written has been great out of the chute, but I would be kidding myself. I'm a pretty good songwriter, but I'm not by any means perfect. There have been some songs that I've liked that other people haven't. Jimmy Page writing 'Hot Dog', we all have that to some extent, don't we? [Laughs]
"We had a couple of songs that we had recorded from before, like 'Sudden Death' was recored for 'Guitar Hero: Warriors Of Rock', and when Johnny [K, producer] came in, I said, 'Can we redo this?' And he said, 'Sure, man,' so we started remixing and recording it. Same thing with 'New World Order'. That was a song that we had on a demo tape, it was released on [2007 box set] 'Warchest' as a demo, but never an official release. That, and 'Millennium Of The Blind', too. And I said, 'I'd kind of like to keep 'New World Order' the way it is, but 'Millennium', I'm cool rewriting it, but there are some really good parts in the song. Let's listen to it.'"
On being grateful for who is and what he's been given:
Mustaine: "MEGADETH has given me so much joy and taken care of my family and given us a really comfortable and really truly magnificent life. We've really always been able to have a great life, the fans have always been wonderful to us… I totally got the feeling right now that this is my season. When we took MEGADETH out of mothballs [in 2004], I was really feeling like I had just been resurrected. I don't want to use the cliché of saying 'born again,' because there's a lot of connotations with that, and I certainly don't want to cheapen that in any way, but I felt like I had a new chance to be able to get out there and play MEGADETH music again and be productive. A new approach to songs, new energy onstage. I'd get up on stage, and I'd see Chris [Broderick, guitar] trying so hard, and Shawn [Drover, drums] trying so hard, and the other guys who'd been with us up to David [Ellefson, bass] coming back, and the frustration I felt in myself knowing that, God, I wanted to give more, but I can't. And now it's like, I can't wait to take the stage. I feel like a caged lion right now."
On recently undergoing surgery for stenosis, a neck and spine condition that he says was caused by "years of headbanging":
Mustaine: "The way [the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival] ended, with me being hurt, I knew I was hurt, but I didn't know how bad. Nobody knew the writing was on the wall. I pretty much thought, 'Well, I''m hurt, but I'll just take it easy, have a couple of glasses of wine. I'll get through it, get a couple of trigger point injections, get an epidural.' There were a couple of times they gave me a shot in my neck that numbed me up. I saw chiropractors and masseuses all the time. It inevitably gets to the point where you're starting to take medication, and that's never good, because if you're taking something and you never feel the pain… You saw Curt Schilling when he was playing for the Diamondbacks, and Randy Johnson; I can't remember if [Schilling] was playing for the Diamondbacks that time he had the bloody sock or if he'd gone back to Boston or not yet — [he] did some heroic feat where he had his foot put back together and he went out there and played.
"I'm an athlete, as a guitar player and as an onstage persona. But as far as being a musician that has to do hurdles — I don't think most musicians, when they start playing music, think that they're going ot be playing this demanding-type music that those of us who are part of the 'Big Four' and all the bands we influenced and kind of created [play]. With the advent of the headbanging — which was not my invention, by any means; I'm not like Al Gore who invented the Internet — there was that whole headbanging thing that came around, it's hurt a lot us… What is headbanging, anyway? It's kind of like chronic whiplash syndrome, isn't it?"
On several songs on the new MEGADETH album, "TH1RT3EN" — "Black Swan", "Millennium Of The Blind", "New World Order" — that previously existed as demos or bonus tracks:
Mustaine: "Yeah, some of them were sitting around for a while. Some of them weren't ready to be released at the time. One of the things I've always prided myself on was being able to say, 'not yet.' We had a lot of good guys we've worked with in the studio over the years: good engineers, good producers, good co-producers, good musicians and special guests that have sat in with us, too. And some of these songs, they just werent' ready. And I would like to say that everything I've written has been great out of the chute, but I would be kidding myself. I'm a pretty good songwriter, but I'm not by any means perfect. There have been some songs that I've liked that other people haven't. Jimmy Page writing 'Hot Dog', we all have that to some extent, don't we? [Laughs]
"We had a couple of songs that we had recorded from before, like 'Sudden Death' was recored for 'Guitar Hero: Warriors Of Rock', and when Johnny [K, producer] came in, I said, 'Can we redo this?' And he said, 'Sure, man,' so we started remixing and recording it. Same thing with 'New World Order'. That was a song that we had on a demo tape, it was released on [2007 box set] 'Warchest' as a demo, but never an official release. That, and 'Millennium Of The Blind', too. And I said, 'I'd kind of like to keep 'New World Order' the way it is, but 'Millennium', I'm cool rewriting it, but there are some really good parts in the song. Let's listen to it.'"
On being grateful for who is and what he's been given:
Mustaine: "MEGADETH has given me so much joy and taken care of my family and given us a really comfortable and really truly magnificent life. We've really always been able to have a great life, the fans have always been wonderful to us… I totally got the feeling right now that this is my season. When we took MEGADETH out of mothballs [in 2004], I was really feeling like I had just been resurrected. I don't want to use the cliché of saying 'born again,' because there's a lot of connotations with that, and I certainly don't want to cheapen that in any way, but I felt like I had a new chance to be able to get out there and play MEGADETH music again and be productive. A new approach to songs, new energy onstage. I'd get up on stage, and I'd see Chris [Broderick, guitar] trying so hard, and Shawn [Drover, drums] trying so hard, and the other guys who'd been with us up to David [Ellefson, bass] coming back, and the frustration I felt in myself knowing that, God, I wanted to give more, but I can't. And now it's like, I can't wait to take the stage. I feel like a caged lion right now."
MEGADETH's new album, "TH1RT3EN", has registered the following first-week positions so far:
UK: #34
Australia: #13
Netherlands: #42
Norway: #32
Belgium: #83
"TH1RT3EN" is likely to sell between 40,000 and 45,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to industry web site Hits Daily Double. The estimate was based on one-day sales reports compiled after the record arrived in stores on November 1 via Roadrunner Records.
MEGADETH's previous CD, 2009's "Endgame", opened with 45,000 units to debut at position No. 9 on The Billboard 200 chart. This was slightly less than the 54,000 first-week tally registered by 2007's "United Abominations", which landed at No. 8. 2004's "The System Has Failed" premiered with 46,000 copies (No. 18) while 2001's "The World Needs A Hero" moved 61,000 units in its first week (No. 16).
"TH1RT3EN" was recorded at MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine's Vic's Garage studio in San Marcos, California with producer Johnny K (full name: John Karkazis), who has previously worked with DISTURBED, SEVENDUST, MACHINE HEAD and STAIND, among others. The artwork was once again created by artist John Lorenzi, who worked on the last two MEGADETH studio albums, 2007's "United Abominations" and 2009's "Endgame", as well as the band's 2007 box set, "Warchest".
"TH1RT3EN" marks the recorded return of bassist David Ellefson who was part of the band's classic lineup from 1983 to 2002. In a move that delighted the band's legion of diehards, Ellefson returned to performing live with MEGADETH in early 2010 and has remained a fixture on the stage ever since. This is the first time Ellefson has played on a MEGADETH record since 2002's "Rude Awakening".
UK: #34
Australia: #13
Netherlands: #42
Norway: #32
Belgium: #83
"TH1RT3EN" is likely to sell between 40,000 and 45,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to industry web site Hits Daily Double. The estimate was based on one-day sales reports compiled after the record arrived in stores on November 1 via Roadrunner Records.
MEGADETH's previous CD, 2009's "Endgame", opened with 45,000 units to debut at position No. 9 on The Billboard 200 chart. This was slightly less than the 54,000 first-week tally registered by 2007's "United Abominations", which landed at No. 8. 2004's "The System Has Failed" premiered with 46,000 copies (No. 18) while 2001's "The World Needs A Hero" moved 61,000 units in its first week (No. 16).
"TH1RT3EN" was recorded at MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine's Vic's Garage studio in San Marcos, California with producer Johnny K (full name: John Karkazis), who has previously worked with DISTURBED, SEVENDUST, MACHINE HEAD and STAIND, among others. The artwork was once again created by artist John Lorenzi, who worked on the last two MEGADETH studio albums, 2007's "United Abominations" and 2009's "Endgame", as well as the band's 2007 box set, "Warchest".
"TH1RT3EN" marks the recorded return of bassist David Ellefson who was part of the band's classic lineup from 1983 to 2002. In a move that delighted the band's legion of diehards, Ellefson returned to performing live with MEGADETH in early 2010 and has remained a fixture on the stage ever since. This is the first time Ellefson has played on a MEGADETH record since 2002's "Rude Awakening".
A photo of ANTHRAX drummer Charlie Benante's newest tattoo can be seen below.
The "Big Four" bands of 1980s thrash metal — METALLICA, SLAYER, MEGADETH and ANTHRAX — played the seventh concert of this year's tour at Yankee Stadium in New York City (The bands played together a number of times last year in Europe as the "Big Four" and at large festivals.)
The idea for the "Big Four" tour first came up in 2009 and METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich told The Pulse Of Radio he was glad to finally see it happen. "It's pretty amazing, if you think about it, that it's the first time basically in 25 years or 30 or whatever that the four of us have actually played shows together," he said. "So it was a lot of fun, a lot of memories, a lot of fun times — new fun times, and fun times talking about the old fun times. So it sort of was a, it was a winner on every front."
This past spring, METALLICA, SLAYER, MEGADETH and ANTHRAX were presented with double-platinum plaques for the two-disc DVD release of "The Big Four: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria", containing footage of the June 22, 2010 Sonisphere cinecast from the Sofia, Bulgaria leg of the touring rock festival featuring all four groups. The presentation took place on April 23, 2010 at the first-ever "Big Four" concert on American soil at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California.
"The Big Four: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria" was certified double platinum on December 17, 2010 by the Recording Industry Association Of America (RIAA) for shipments in excess of 100,000 copies. (Note: Due to the fact that the set consists of two discs, it was eligible for platinum certification after shipping 50,000 copies; platinum certification for a single-disc release is 100,000 copies.)
According to Nielsen SoundScan, "The Big Four: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria" has sold 130,000 copies in the United States since its November 2010 release.
"The Big Four: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard "Top Music Videos" sales chart in November with first-week sales of 22,000 copies. The set also debuted at No. 1 in Canada, the U.K. and Austria, while entering at No. 4 in Germany.
The "Big Four" bands of 1980s thrash metal — METALLICA, SLAYER, MEGADETH and ANTHRAX — played the seventh concert of this year's tour at Yankee Stadium in New York City (The bands played together a number of times last year in Europe as the "Big Four" and at large festivals.)
The idea for the "Big Four" tour first came up in 2009 and METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich told The Pulse Of Radio he was glad to finally see it happen. "It's pretty amazing, if you think about it, that it's the first time basically in 25 years or 30 or whatever that the four of us have actually played shows together," he said. "So it was a lot of fun, a lot of memories, a lot of fun times — new fun times, and fun times talking about the old fun times. So it sort of was a, it was a winner on every front."
This past spring, METALLICA, SLAYER, MEGADETH and ANTHRAX were presented with double-platinum plaques for the two-disc DVD release of "The Big Four: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria", containing footage of the June 22, 2010 Sonisphere cinecast from the Sofia, Bulgaria leg of the touring rock festival featuring all four groups. The presentation took place on April 23, 2010 at the first-ever "Big Four" concert on American soil at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California.
"The Big Four: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria" was certified double platinum on December 17, 2010 by the Recording Industry Association Of America (RIAA) for shipments in excess of 100,000 copies. (Note: Due to the fact that the set consists of two discs, it was eligible for platinum certification after shipping 50,000 copies; platinum certification for a single-disc release is 100,000 copies.)
According to Nielsen SoundScan, "The Big Four: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria" has sold 130,000 copies in the United States since its November 2010 release.
"The Big Four: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard "Top Music Videos" sales chart in November with first-week sales of 22,000 copies. The set also debuted at No. 1 in Canada, the U.K. and Austria, while entering at No. 4 in Germany.
http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/soulflypremiere/charliebig4tattoo.jpg
Season nine of VH1 Classic's "That Metal Show" kicks off on National Metal Day (11-11-11) with an exclusive interview with GUNS N' ROSES lead singer Axl Rose and lead guitarist DJ Ashba. In his first television interview in over a decade, Rose opens up about his new bandmates, touring, rumors, misconceptions and much more.
The premiere episode of "That Metal Show" with Axl Rose airs Friday, November 11 at 11 p.m. ET/PT on VH1 Classic.
Named one of the greatest singers of all time by Rolling Stone, Rose, the only remaining original member of GUNS N' ROSES, gives an exclusive interview to "That Metal Show", discussing intimate details of his past, present and future. The notoriously private singer opens up to "That Metal Show" hosts Eddie Trunk, Don Jamieson and Jim Florentine in a one-hour sit-down interview shortly after leaving the stage in Miami on Saturday, October 29. In this no-holds-barred interview, Rose divulges why he is touring now, what his fans and music mean to him, his past albums, future music plans, and offers intimate revelations behind some of his most famous hits such as "Welcome to the Jungle", "Sweet Child O' Mine" and much more.
Following an explosive premiere with Axl Rose, the ninth season of "That Metal Show" continues with a blistering line-up of rock royalty.
"That Metal Show" season nine guests include (all premieres at 11 p.m. ET/PT):
November 11:
* Axl Rose (GUNS N' ROSES)
* DJ Ashba (GUNS N' ROSES)
November 19:
* Slash (GUNS N' ROSES, VELVET REVOLVER)
* Sam Dunn ("Metal Evolution", "Metal: A Headbangers Journey", "Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage")
* Guest guitarist (playing bass): Glenn Hughes (DEEP PURPLE, BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION)
November 26:
* Brian Johnson (AC/DC)
* Guest guitarist: Warren DeMartini (RATT)
December 3:
* Dave Mustaine (MEGADETH)
* Vinny Appice (BLACK SABBATH, DIO, HEAVEN & HELL, KILL DEVIL HILL)
* Rex Brown (PANTERA, DOWN, KILL DEVIL HILL)
* Guest guitarist: Warren DeMartini (RATT)
December 10:
* Marilyn Manson
* Biff Byford (SAXON)
* Guest guitarist: Chris Broderick (MEGADETH)
December 17:
* Sully Erna (GODSMACK)
* Jesse James Dupree (JACKYL)
* Guest guitarist (playing bass): Glenn Hughes (DEEP PURPLE, BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION)
January 1:
* Tracii Guns (L.A. GUNS)
* Michael Monroe (HANOI ROCKS)
* Guest guitarist: John 5 (ROB ZOMBIE, MARILYN MANSON)
January 14:
* Paul Rodgers (FREE, BAD COMPANY)
* Keith Nelson, Josh Todd (BUCKCHERRY)
* Guest guitarist: John 5 (ROB ZOMBIE, MARILYN MANSON)
January 21:
* Herman Rarebell (SCORPIONS)
* Andrew Dice Clay
* Guest guitarist: Chris Broderick (MEGADETH)
Distilling decades of your favorite hard rock and heavy metal into sixty minutes of mayhem; "That Metal Show" will deliver the ever-popular "Stump The Trunk" as well as the triumphant return of "TMS Top 5" to your TV every Saturday night at 11 p.m., only on VH1 Classic.
"That Metal Show" is a production of VH1 Classic. Lee Rolontz and Keshia Williams as executive producers for VH1. Jeff Baumgardner serves as producer for the series for VH1.
The premiere episode of "That Metal Show" with Axl Rose airs Friday, November 11 at 11 p.m. ET/PT on VH1 Classic.
Named one of the greatest singers of all time by Rolling Stone, Rose, the only remaining original member of GUNS N' ROSES, gives an exclusive interview to "That Metal Show", discussing intimate details of his past, present and future. The notoriously private singer opens up to "That Metal Show" hosts Eddie Trunk, Don Jamieson and Jim Florentine in a one-hour sit-down interview shortly after leaving the stage in Miami on Saturday, October 29. In this no-holds-barred interview, Rose divulges why he is touring now, what his fans and music mean to him, his past albums, future music plans, and offers intimate revelations behind some of his most famous hits such as "Welcome to the Jungle", "Sweet Child O' Mine" and much more.
Following an explosive premiere with Axl Rose, the ninth season of "That Metal Show" continues with a blistering line-up of rock royalty.
"That Metal Show" season nine guests include (all premieres at 11 p.m. ET/PT):
November 11:
* Axl Rose (GUNS N' ROSES)
* DJ Ashba (GUNS N' ROSES)
November 19:
* Slash (GUNS N' ROSES, VELVET REVOLVER)
* Sam Dunn ("Metal Evolution", "Metal: A Headbangers Journey", "Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage")
* Guest guitarist (playing bass): Glenn Hughes (DEEP PURPLE, BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION)
November 26:
* Brian Johnson (AC/DC)
* Guest guitarist: Warren DeMartini (RATT)
December 3:
* Dave Mustaine (MEGADETH)
* Vinny Appice (BLACK SABBATH, DIO, HEAVEN & HELL, KILL DEVIL HILL)
* Rex Brown (PANTERA, DOWN, KILL DEVIL HILL)
* Guest guitarist: Warren DeMartini (RATT)
December 10:
* Marilyn Manson
* Biff Byford (SAXON)
* Guest guitarist: Chris Broderick (MEGADETH)
December 17:
* Sully Erna (GODSMACK)
* Jesse James Dupree (JACKYL)
* Guest guitarist (playing bass): Glenn Hughes (DEEP PURPLE, BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION)
January 1:
* Tracii Guns (L.A. GUNS)
* Michael Monroe (HANOI ROCKS)
* Guest guitarist: John 5 (ROB ZOMBIE, MARILYN MANSON)
January 14:
* Paul Rodgers (FREE, BAD COMPANY)
* Keith Nelson, Josh Todd (BUCKCHERRY)
* Guest guitarist: John 5 (ROB ZOMBIE, MARILYN MANSON)
January 21:
* Herman Rarebell (SCORPIONS)
* Andrew Dice Clay
* Guest guitarist: Chris Broderick (MEGADETH)
Distilling decades of your favorite hard rock and heavy metal into sixty minutes of mayhem; "That Metal Show" will deliver the ever-popular "Stump The Trunk" as well as the triumphant return of "TMS Top 5" to your TV every Saturday night at 11 p.m., only on VH1 Classic.
"That Metal Show" is a production of VH1 Classic. Lee Rolontz and Keshia Williams as executive producers for VH1. Jeff Baumgardner serves as producer for the series for VH1.
Due to an ongoing battle with laryngitis caused by flu, Chris Cornell (SOUNDGARDEN, ex-AUDIOSLAVE) has postponed yet another show — this time at at the Fillmore Miami Beach at Jackie Gleason Theater in Miami, Florida. This is the fourth concert in a row that Cornell has canceled after apparently picking up the ailment while playing with SOUNDGARDEN on October 28 at The Voodoo Experience in New Orleans.
So far the following shows have been scrapped:
Nov. 02 - Nashville, TN - War Memorial Auditorium
Nov. 04 - Orlando, FL - Hard Rock Live
Nov. 05 - Tampa, FL - Tampa Theatre
Nov. 06 - Miami Beach, FL - Fillmore at Jackie Gleason Theater
Cornell is scheduled to kick off his South American tour on November 9 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Although Cornell has been recording a new album with SOUNDGARDEN for the first time in 15 years, he continues to work as a solo artist as well. He told Spin.com how it's different from playing with a band. "An acoustic show is all about you, and any little nuance or mistake is amplified," Cornell explained. "I'm very nervous about it, but I love the intimacy. Once you sit in front of people and start playing songs, it's all on you. No matter what happens, it's entirely your responsibility the entire time. I like that intensity."
Cornell told The Pulse Of Radio that he sees working with SOUNDGARDEN again as having a positive influence on his solo career. "One thing about a solo artist is you can just be in a room way too long with yourself and your own thoughts and your own songs, and it feels really good to be working with Ben (Shepherd, bassist) and Matt (Cameron, drummer) and Kim (Thayil, guitarist) again, and it's actually a really nice reprieve also from just being alone, doing what I do," he said. "It's helping with the balance, I think, too."
Cornell has issued three solo albums. The last one, 2009's "Scream", was trashed by critics and fans for abandoning Cornell's rock roots for an urban pop sound.
So far the following shows have been scrapped:
Nov. 02 - Nashville, TN - War Memorial Auditorium
Nov. 04 - Orlando, FL - Hard Rock Live
Nov. 05 - Tampa, FL - Tampa Theatre
Nov. 06 - Miami Beach, FL - Fillmore at Jackie Gleason Theater
Cornell is scheduled to kick off his South American tour on November 9 in Buenos Aires, Argentina.
Although Cornell has been recording a new album with SOUNDGARDEN for the first time in 15 years, he continues to work as a solo artist as well. He told Spin.com how it's different from playing with a band. "An acoustic show is all about you, and any little nuance or mistake is amplified," Cornell explained. "I'm very nervous about it, but I love the intimacy. Once you sit in front of people and start playing songs, it's all on you. No matter what happens, it's entirely your responsibility the entire time. I like that intensity."
Cornell told The Pulse Of Radio that he sees working with SOUNDGARDEN again as having a positive influence on his solo career. "One thing about a solo artist is you can just be in a room way too long with yourself and your own thoughts and your own songs, and it feels really good to be working with Ben (Shepherd, bassist) and Matt (Cameron, drummer) and Kim (Thayil, guitarist) again, and it's actually a really nice reprieve also from just being alone, doing what I do," he said. "It's helping with the balance, I think, too."
Cornell has issued three solo albums. The last one, 2009's "Scream", was trashed by critics and fans for abandoning Cornell's rock roots for an urban pop sound.
Bryan Reesman of The Aquarian Weekly recently conducted an interview with CHICKENFOOT, the supergroup featuring frontman Sammy Hagar, bassist Michael Anthony, guitarist Joe Satriani and drummer Chad Smith. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
On the band's sophomore album, "Chickenfoot III":
Anthony: "Obviously, having been in the studio on the first album and been on tour, everybody's really comfortable musically with each other now, and I think with this album we carved out a CHICKENFOOT sound. I think we're more evolved and not just jamming anymore."
Hagar: "It was just difficult getting it altogether again because Chad was ready go back to the [RED HOT CHILI] PEPPERS, and I just finished my book and was ready to go out on a book tour. There was too much on my plate, and I didn't feel like going in, as much as I love the band."
"I think it's the best record I've made in 100 years. I can't tell you any record in my life that's better from my standpoint — my singing, my lyrics, melodies, what I put into Joe's music. I don't think I ever did as good a job on any VAN HALEN record."
On CHICKENFOOT's manager John Carter — also Hagar's longtime manager, musical collaborator and personal friend — who passed away during the making of "Chickenfoot III":
Hagar: "He was a dear friend, and he was my bouncing board, man. He's the guy that I called up and asked, 'What do you think about this lyric?' 'Eh, it sucks.' He was the only guy that really would push me and crack the whip on me. When I would say, 'Fuck you, this is good enough,' he would go, 'No, it ain't.'"
Satriani: "He was just such an amazing guy, and really funny, and not for a second would he take anybody getting maudlin about anything. He was an ass-kicker, and that's what he was doing on his deathbed. He would hear a demo and call up and say, 'That sucks, you guys got to write a better song. Why don't you try one of my ideas?' He was being Carter, and we loved him for it. But we all kept a stiff upper lip."
Hagar: "I think he actually fucked me up, because he knew he was dying. I didn't know he was dying — we all had our heads in the sand — but he was saying, 'If this is the last record you ever make…' Everything he was saying to me was kind of about himself, and I was getting all pissy with him. Then when we found out he was really sick and was going to die, I got self-motivated and went, 'I have to write the best lyrics I ever wrote, and I don't have my buddy here to tell me if they're great or not. I have to be my own judge.' That's when I really got motivated and inspired for 'Up Next' and 'Something Going Wrong'."
On the band's sophomore album, "Chickenfoot III":
Anthony: "Obviously, having been in the studio on the first album and been on tour, everybody's really comfortable musically with each other now, and I think with this album we carved out a CHICKENFOOT sound. I think we're more evolved and not just jamming anymore."
Hagar: "It was just difficult getting it altogether again because Chad was ready go back to the [RED HOT CHILI] PEPPERS, and I just finished my book and was ready to go out on a book tour. There was too much on my plate, and I didn't feel like going in, as much as I love the band."
"I think it's the best record I've made in 100 years. I can't tell you any record in my life that's better from my standpoint — my singing, my lyrics, melodies, what I put into Joe's music. I don't think I ever did as good a job on any VAN HALEN record."
On CHICKENFOOT's manager John Carter — also Hagar's longtime manager, musical collaborator and personal friend — who passed away during the making of "Chickenfoot III":
Hagar: "He was a dear friend, and he was my bouncing board, man. He's the guy that I called up and asked, 'What do you think about this lyric?' 'Eh, it sucks.' He was the only guy that really would push me and crack the whip on me. When I would say, 'Fuck you, this is good enough,' he would go, 'No, it ain't.'"
Satriani: "He was just such an amazing guy, and really funny, and not for a second would he take anybody getting maudlin about anything. He was an ass-kicker, and that's what he was doing on his deathbed. He would hear a demo and call up and say, 'That sucks, you guys got to write a better song. Why don't you try one of my ideas?' He was being Carter, and we loved him for it. But we all kept a stiff upper lip."
Hagar: "I think he actually fucked me up, because he knew he was dying. I didn't know he was dying — we all had our heads in the sand — but he was saying, 'If this is the last record you ever make…' Everything he was saying to me was kind of about himself, and I was getting all pissy with him. Then when we found out he was really sick and was going to die, I got self-motivated and went, 'I have to write the best lyrics I ever wrote, and I don't have my buddy here to tell me if they're great or not. I have to be my own judge.' That's when I really got motivated and inspired for 'Up Next' and 'Something Going Wrong'."
Bryan Reesman of the Attention Deficit Delirium recently spoke to the members of CHICKENFOOT about the ongoing "Occupy Wall Street" protests assailing income inequality, joblessness and big banks.
According to the Associated Press, the "Occupy Wall Street" protesters say they're fighting for the "99 percent," or the vast majority of Americans who do not fall into the wealthiest 1 percent of the population; their causes range from bringing down Wall Street to fighting global warming. The movement gained traction through social media, and protests have taken place in several other cities nationwide.
"It just blows my mind the idea of taking Wall Street down," CHICKENFOOT singer Sammy Hagar told Attention Deficit Delirium. "I've never been a stock guy. When I sold my tequila company, it went public then. I wasn't public before. I don't believe in taking other people's money and doing things with it. Everything I've ever done has been my own money and my own thing. I don't endorse. The closest thing I came to getting involved with a big corporation was when I sold the tequila company to Gruppo Campari, who gave me enough money to change my life. I did it because I was over my head. It wasn't for sale, but they offered and I went, 'Fuck! How can I turn this down?' And the company was driving me crazy. It was too big. It exploded and was taking too much of my brainpower and my beach time. I never put my money in stocks. I've had some every now and then, but it's not my game. I have a theory about what you do with your money. You invest in your family, your friends and yourself, mainly yourself. When I built Cabo Wabo, I took my own money and built it in Mexico. I went down and took my money to buy the bottles to put the tequila in. I didn't go to the bank or take on partners to invest in it. I did it all with my own stuff, and I'm a believer in that."
When asked if he supports the "Occupy Wall Street" protesters, Hagar replied, "I don't necessarily support them because I don't believe in tearing down the system. I really don't. I think tearing down the system is a real negative. It puts too many people in too bad positions… We need to make change, but we need to do it through the right channels and slow enough to where you don't just tear it down and leave rubble."
CHICKENFOOT guitarist Joe Satriani appeared to take a slightly different stance.
"I think it's fantastic," he said about the "Occupy Wall Street" protests. "I've been reading books about the financial crisis, and I'm really mad. But I don't do good walking around carrying placards and singing slogans. I'm just not like my friend Tom Morello. He's perfect for that. He's a genius and such a smart and good guy, besides being an amazing guitar player. But he's at home in that. I participate from afar. This is America. People have the ability to let the powers that be know what's really going on and what they're thinking, and I don't think they really need a solution. That's not their point to say, 'This is what we want and this is how you're going to do it for us.' That's ridiculous to think that that's the case. I think people have the need and the right to express themselves over the horror over of what transpired in the last 30 years between [all of] the administrations and, I hate to use the term Wall Street, because we're really talking about a teeny 2% of people who really went nuts. The rest of the people are good Americans who are working just like the rest of us."
According to the Associated Press, the "Occupy Wall Street" protesters say they're fighting for the "99 percent," or the vast majority of Americans who do not fall into the wealthiest 1 percent of the population; their causes range from bringing down Wall Street to fighting global warming. The movement gained traction through social media, and protests have taken place in several other cities nationwide.
"It just blows my mind the idea of taking Wall Street down," CHICKENFOOT singer Sammy Hagar told Attention Deficit Delirium. "I've never been a stock guy. When I sold my tequila company, it went public then. I wasn't public before. I don't believe in taking other people's money and doing things with it. Everything I've ever done has been my own money and my own thing. I don't endorse. The closest thing I came to getting involved with a big corporation was when I sold the tequila company to Gruppo Campari, who gave me enough money to change my life. I did it because I was over my head. It wasn't for sale, but they offered and I went, 'Fuck! How can I turn this down?' And the company was driving me crazy. It was too big. It exploded and was taking too much of my brainpower and my beach time. I never put my money in stocks. I've had some every now and then, but it's not my game. I have a theory about what you do with your money. You invest in your family, your friends and yourself, mainly yourself. When I built Cabo Wabo, I took my own money and built it in Mexico. I went down and took my money to buy the bottles to put the tequila in. I didn't go to the bank or take on partners to invest in it. I did it all with my own stuff, and I'm a believer in that."
When asked if he supports the "Occupy Wall Street" protesters, Hagar replied, "I don't necessarily support them because I don't believe in tearing down the system. I really don't. I think tearing down the system is a real negative. It puts too many people in too bad positions… We need to make change, but we need to do it through the right channels and slow enough to where you don't just tear it down and leave rubble."
CHICKENFOOT guitarist Joe Satriani appeared to take a slightly different stance.
"I think it's fantastic," he said about the "Occupy Wall Street" protests. "I've been reading books about the financial crisis, and I'm really mad. But I don't do good walking around carrying placards and singing slogans. I'm just not like my friend Tom Morello. He's perfect for that. He's a genius and such a smart and good guy, besides being an amazing guitar player. But he's at home in that. I participate from afar. This is America. People have the ability to let the powers that be know what's really going on and what they're thinking, and I don't think they really need a solution. That's not their point to say, 'This is what we want and this is how you're going to do it for us.' That's ridiculous to think that that's the case. I think people have the need and the right to express themselves over the horror over of what transpired in the last 30 years between [all of] the administrations and, I hate to use the term Wall Street, because we're really talking about a teeny 2% of people who really went nuts. The rest of the people are good Americans who are working just like the rest of us."
DREAM THEATER guitarist John Petrucci recently spoke with Mojo magazine about his love for PINK FLOYD, whose classic album, "Dark Side Of The Moon", was re-released last month.
Said Petrucci: "'Dark Side Of The Moon' came along first for me when I started to get into playing guitar. I was younger so I was more into the rock and metal that was out — ZEPPELIN, SABBATH and AC/DC. Then some of my friends suggested I check out FLOYD. They were like, 'You have to turn off all the lights and listen to the whole thing with headphones.' It was like a ritual. It ended up being a real influence on my desire to make records that had a certain flow, that encapsulated an experience. I like to listen to albums like you watch a movie. You don't just watch a scene or ten minutes and that's it — you watch the movie. It's the same with 'Dark Side...' Start listening and you can't help but listen to the whole album.
"In 2005 DREAM THEATER did a cover of the whole of the 'Dark Side Of The Moon'. We played it from start to finish and had the fortunate experience of doing that in London. We had a couple of great saxophone players play and it was a lot of fun. The funny thing was sitting down to learn the parts, and discovering how well I already knew the songs. They were so ingrained!
"There's a song on our new album called 'Breaking All Illusions' where the guitar solo is totally influenced by those hypnotic PINK FLOYD breakdowns. And I admit that what's going through my head is, What would David Gilmour do? You think of the most memorable, melodic solos by him and people can literally sing them. That's the level you're looking to achieve as a guitar player.
"And also, there's a ton of space. PINK FLOYD are totally all about the spaces in-between. The space sucks you right into the song. You want to get lost in it. And it always, always comes down to the songs. All the things we're talking about — like the sound of the guitar, the orchestration, the mood — it wouldn't be anything if there weren't these incredible, great songs that are a part of everybody's lives. Perhaps you relate to them on a personal level, or maybe they bring you back to a certain time, or perhaps it's the power of the message... like 'Wish You Were Here'.
"I get asked that a lot by young guitar players, 'What's most important? My technique? My sound?' But more than anything, you have to have great songs, you really do."
Said Petrucci: "'Dark Side Of The Moon' came along first for me when I started to get into playing guitar. I was younger so I was more into the rock and metal that was out — ZEPPELIN, SABBATH and AC/DC. Then some of my friends suggested I check out FLOYD. They were like, 'You have to turn off all the lights and listen to the whole thing with headphones.' It was like a ritual. It ended up being a real influence on my desire to make records that had a certain flow, that encapsulated an experience. I like to listen to albums like you watch a movie. You don't just watch a scene or ten minutes and that's it — you watch the movie. It's the same with 'Dark Side...' Start listening and you can't help but listen to the whole album.
"In 2005 DREAM THEATER did a cover of the whole of the 'Dark Side Of The Moon'. We played it from start to finish and had the fortunate experience of doing that in London. We had a couple of great saxophone players play and it was a lot of fun. The funny thing was sitting down to learn the parts, and discovering how well I already knew the songs. They were so ingrained!
"There's a song on our new album called 'Breaking All Illusions' where the guitar solo is totally influenced by those hypnotic PINK FLOYD breakdowns. And I admit that what's going through my head is, What would David Gilmour do? You think of the most memorable, melodic solos by him and people can literally sing them. That's the level you're looking to achieve as a guitar player.
"And also, there's a ton of space. PINK FLOYD are totally all about the spaces in-between. The space sucks you right into the song. You want to get lost in it. And it always, always comes down to the songs. All the things we're talking about — like the sound of the guitar, the orchestration, the mood — it wouldn't be anything if there weren't these incredible, great songs that are a part of everybody's lives. Perhaps you relate to them on a personal level, or maybe they bring you back to a certain time, or perhaps it's the power of the message... like 'Wish You Were Here'.
"I get asked that a lot by young guitar players, 'What's most important? My technique? My sound?' But more than anything, you have to have great songs, you really do."
Progressive metal giants DREAM THEATER have issued the following update:
"DREAM THEATER is excited to announce a unique treat for our fans! During the December leg of our current world tour, spectacular acoustic finger-style guitarist Andy McKee will be our special guest for the San Diego and Anaheim shows in California; the Mesa, Arizona show; and three shows in Mexico: Monterrey, Guadalajara, and Mexico City. We're sure everyone at these shows will appreciate his instrumental mastery as much as we do."
Finger-style guitar playing, according to McKee, simply means, "playing guitar without a pick." He tells EncoreBuzz.com, "It kind of encompasses a lot of possible techniques. For me, I like to use new techniques like tapping on the guitar body, slap harmonics and basically finding different ways to create notes on the guitar through different textures."
"DREAM THEATER is excited to announce a unique treat for our fans! During the December leg of our current world tour, spectacular acoustic finger-style guitarist Andy McKee will be our special guest for the San Diego and Anaheim shows in California; the Mesa, Arizona show; and three shows in Mexico: Monterrey, Guadalajara, and Mexico City. We're sure everyone at these shows will appreciate his instrumental mastery as much as we do."
Finger-style guitar playing, according to McKee, simply means, "playing guitar without a pick." He tells EncoreBuzz.com, "It kind of encompasses a lot of possible techniques. For me, I like to use new techniques like tapping on the guitar body, slap harmonics and basically finding different ways to create notes on the guitar through different textures."
Stay Thirsty recently conducted an interview with former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
Stay Thirsty: Congratulations on the new record! It debuted at No. 6 on the rock charts. That's incredible!
Sebastian Bach: I have not been on the charts in 16 years, which really is incredible.
Stay Thirsty: So your last was "Subhuman Race" then.
Sebastian Bach: Yeah, that got to like No. 45 or something. And ["Angel Down"] came in at [No. 190]. So I'm really establishing myself as a solo recording artist and it feels incredible. After 16 years to come back on the charts like that, it's really… I just have to thank Frontiers Records and my management, Rick Sales. They all did such a great job. I just, I really… I don't know what to say. I can get real emotional about it. I really loved "Angel Down", thought it was a great album, but when it came on the charts, it was only on the charts for one week, and it really was depressing. I thought it would do way better than that. So for this album to do very well on the charts, I'm not going to lie to you, it does feel very good.
Stay Thirsty: ANTHRAX's last album debuted in the Top 10 as well, so it's almost like this appreciation is back for good, honest rock 'n' roll.
Sebastian Bach: Yeah. I mean, you can't control things like that. I can't control people out there going in the store and buying the record. It's beyond my control. All I can do is make a record that I like, and I really, really love this album and it sounds great to me. And the fact that other people like it is just incredible. It's a great honor. It guarantees that I get to do another one, which is really the whole point of it.
Stay Thirsty: Are you doing any smaller shows before you kick off the "Kicking & Screaming" tour in November?
Sebastian Bach: Yeah, I'm doing a show in Vegas next week and I'm doing some shows with CAMP FREDDY [with] Steve Stevens, Billy Morrison, Matt Sorum, I'm doing some shows with them. But I'd really like to go on tour, play everywhere in America; we're working on that. I wish I could put all the dates on my site right now. I'm establishing myself as a touring solo artist, just like I am with the record.
Stay Thirsty: You know, GUNS N' ROSES play the same week that you do in New York, so I hope Axl is with you!
Sebastian Bach: I would love that! I would like to open for them. I've been texting him lately just the last couple of days. Maybe we'll do some shows with them.
Stay Thirsty: You've really maintained a close friendship with Axl throughout the years. Can you talk about that a little bit?
Sebastian Bach: Yeah, you know, I always wondered why he's so nice to me, like what does that say about me? (Laughs) But he's great guy. He's helped me out so much in my career. He sang on "Angel Down" and I sang on "Chinese Democracy". And he just helps me out and I'm here for him. He's a great friend.
Stay Thirsty: I heard a rumor that you are working on a memoir?
Sebastian Bach: Yeah, definitely! My life is crazy, and I have a lot of stories, and my book will be a fun book. Definitely. But it's going to be a big undertaking, so I'll get to it when I'm ready. But if it was up to me, I would just do rock 'n' roll all the time. I love rock 'n' roll.
Stay Thirsty: Would you ever consider doing another reality show, especially now that you're in this new phase of your life?
Sebastian Bach: I would consider it, but I don't really enjoy it. I don't enjoy doing reality shows. I don't like being filmed when I go to sleep. Like, I fucking hate that! I can't, it's very hard for me to fall asleep when there's a camera like zooming in and out. I'm like, "What the fuck are you filming?" I don't enjoy it. I enjoy rock 'n' roll. I usually do those shows for a paycheck. So some of them are better than others. I liked doing "Gone Country"; it was fun. I didn't enjoy filming "Celebrity Fit Club", but I learned some valuable things on that show about nutrition and exercise that have stuck with me, so it was very smart for me to do that show. So I would consider it, but if it was up to me; I would be like Willy Nelson. Just in my bus, touring around the country, getting out of the bus to play a show, get back in, cruising down the road, on the road again, watching some movies with my friends. I just can't wait to get on the road again. (Laughs)
Stay Thirsty: Congratulations on the new record! It debuted at No. 6 on the rock charts. That's incredible!
Sebastian Bach: I have not been on the charts in 16 years, which really is incredible.
Stay Thirsty: So your last was "Subhuman Race" then.
Sebastian Bach: Yeah, that got to like No. 45 or something. And ["Angel Down"] came in at [No. 190]. So I'm really establishing myself as a solo recording artist and it feels incredible. After 16 years to come back on the charts like that, it's really… I just have to thank Frontiers Records and my management, Rick Sales. They all did such a great job. I just, I really… I don't know what to say. I can get real emotional about it. I really loved "Angel Down", thought it was a great album, but when it came on the charts, it was only on the charts for one week, and it really was depressing. I thought it would do way better than that. So for this album to do very well on the charts, I'm not going to lie to you, it does feel very good.
Stay Thirsty: ANTHRAX's last album debuted in the Top 10 as well, so it's almost like this appreciation is back for good, honest rock 'n' roll.
Sebastian Bach: Yeah. I mean, you can't control things like that. I can't control people out there going in the store and buying the record. It's beyond my control. All I can do is make a record that I like, and I really, really love this album and it sounds great to me. And the fact that other people like it is just incredible. It's a great honor. It guarantees that I get to do another one, which is really the whole point of it.
Stay Thirsty: Are you doing any smaller shows before you kick off the "Kicking & Screaming" tour in November?
Sebastian Bach: Yeah, I'm doing a show in Vegas next week and I'm doing some shows with CAMP FREDDY [with] Steve Stevens, Billy Morrison, Matt Sorum, I'm doing some shows with them. But I'd really like to go on tour, play everywhere in America; we're working on that. I wish I could put all the dates on my site right now. I'm establishing myself as a touring solo artist, just like I am with the record.
Stay Thirsty: You know, GUNS N' ROSES play the same week that you do in New York, so I hope Axl is with you!
Sebastian Bach: I would love that! I would like to open for them. I've been texting him lately just the last couple of days. Maybe we'll do some shows with them.
Stay Thirsty: You've really maintained a close friendship with Axl throughout the years. Can you talk about that a little bit?
Sebastian Bach: Yeah, you know, I always wondered why he's so nice to me, like what does that say about me? (Laughs) But he's great guy. He's helped me out so much in my career. He sang on "Angel Down" and I sang on "Chinese Democracy". And he just helps me out and I'm here for him. He's a great friend.
Stay Thirsty: I heard a rumor that you are working on a memoir?
Sebastian Bach: Yeah, definitely! My life is crazy, and I have a lot of stories, and my book will be a fun book. Definitely. But it's going to be a big undertaking, so I'll get to it when I'm ready. But if it was up to me, I would just do rock 'n' roll all the time. I love rock 'n' roll.
Stay Thirsty: Would you ever consider doing another reality show, especially now that you're in this new phase of your life?
Sebastian Bach: I would consider it, but I don't really enjoy it. I don't enjoy doing reality shows. I don't like being filmed when I go to sleep. Like, I fucking hate that! I can't, it's very hard for me to fall asleep when there's a camera like zooming in and out. I'm like, "What the fuck are you filming?" I don't enjoy it. I enjoy rock 'n' roll. I usually do those shows for a paycheck. So some of them are better than others. I liked doing "Gone Country"; it was fun. I didn't enjoy filming "Celebrity Fit Club", but I learned some valuable things on that show about nutrition and exercise that have stuck with me, so it was very smart for me to do that show. So I would consider it, but if it was up to me; I would be like Willy Nelson. Just in my bus, touring around the country, getting out of the bus to play a show, get back in, cruising down the road, on the road again, watching some movies with my friends. I just can't wait to get on the road again. (Laughs)
Former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach and his solo band will support GUNS N' ROSES on the following shows:
Nov. 19 - Hartford, CT - Comcast Theatre
Nov. 20 - Wilkes-Barre, PA - Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza
Nov. 23 - Albany, NY - Times Union Center
Bach's new album, "Kicking & Screaming", sold 6,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 73 on The Billboard 200 chart. The singer's previous CD, "Angel Down", opened with 6,400 units back in November 2007 to debut at No. 190.
Released on September 27 via Frontiers Records, "Kicking & Screaming" was produced by Bob Marlette (BLACK SABBATH, SHINEDOWN, ATREYU, FILTER) and features young virtuosic guitarist Nick Sterling and drum pro Bobby Jarzombek (HALFORD, RIOT, ICED EARTH). The follow-up to 2007's "Angel Down" was mastered at Precision Mastering in Los Angeles with Tom Baker.
Bach stated about his new solo material, "This CD will follow along the lines of 'Skid Row', 'Slave To The Grind', 'Subhuman Race' and 'Angel Down'. If you like rockin' guitar riffs, high-energy songs and performances, deadly drums of doom, and ear-shattering screams, we got your rock right here!" He also described the songs as "heavy, interesting, classic sounding, modern sounding, completely rock 'n' roll — just how we like it!"
Nov. 19 - Hartford, CT - Comcast Theatre
Nov. 20 - Wilkes-Barre, PA - Mohegan Sun Arena at Casey Plaza
Nov. 23 - Albany, NY - Times Union Center
Bach's new album, "Kicking & Screaming", sold 6,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 73 on The Billboard 200 chart. The singer's previous CD, "Angel Down", opened with 6,400 units back in November 2007 to debut at No. 190.
Released on September 27 via Frontiers Records, "Kicking & Screaming" was produced by Bob Marlette (BLACK SABBATH, SHINEDOWN, ATREYU, FILTER) and features young virtuosic guitarist Nick Sterling and drum pro Bobby Jarzombek (HALFORD, RIOT, ICED EARTH). The follow-up to 2007's "Angel Down" was mastered at Precision Mastering in Los Angeles with Tom Baker.
Bach stated about his new solo material, "This CD will follow along the lines of 'Skid Row', 'Slave To The Grind', 'Subhuman Race' and 'Angel Down'. If you like rockin' guitar riffs, high-energy songs and performances, deadly drums of doom, and ear-shattering screams, we got your rock right here!" He also described the songs as "heavy, interesting, classic sounding, modern sounding, completely rock 'n' roll — just how we like it!"
New Jersey progressive metallers SYMPHONY X have been confirmed for next year's edition of the Sweden Rock Festival, set to take place June 6-9, 2012 in Sölvesborg, Blekinge in southern Sweden. Around 70 bands will perform on the festival's five stages next summer.
The festival billing is shaping up as follows:
BLUE ÖYSTER CULT
BONAFIDE
DANKO JONES
DIMMU BORGIR
EDGUY
GAMMA RAY
HELL
LYNYRD SKYNYRD
MÖTLEY CRÜE
PENTAGRAM
SYMPHONY X
Three-day tickets (for the main festival days) and four-day tickets (including the Wednesday opening) for next year's event are available through www.swedenrock.com. The first 5,000 ticket buyers received a Sweden Rock T-shirt which will not be available anywhere else. The design was made by British artist Sleba, known for his work with LED ZEPPELIN and "Star Wars", among others.
The festival billing is shaping up as follows:
BLUE ÖYSTER CULT
BONAFIDE
DANKO JONES
DIMMU BORGIR
EDGUY
GAMMA RAY
HELL
LYNYRD SKYNYRD
MÖTLEY CRÜE
PENTAGRAM
SYMPHONY X
Three-day tickets (for the main festival days) and four-day tickets (including the Wednesday opening) for next year's event are available through www.swedenrock.com. The first 5,000 ticket buyers received a Sweden Rock T-shirt which will not be available anywhere else. The design was made by British artist Sleba, known for his work with LED ZEPPELIN and "Star Wars", among others.
Swedish metallers IN FLAMES will join forces with Florida's TRIVIUM for a co-headining North American tour in January/February. Support on the trek will come from VEIL OF MAYA and KYNG.
The dates are as follows:
Jan. 12 - The Rave - Milwaukee, WI
Jan. 13 - Royal Oak Music Theatre - Royal Oak, MI
Jan. 14 - Rams Head Live - Baltimore, MD
Jan. 15 - Trocadero - Philadelphia, PA
Jan. 17 - The Ritz Ybor - Ybor City, FL
Jan. 18 - Center Stage - Atlanta, GA
Jan. 20 - Warehouse Live Ballroom - Houston, TX
Jan. 21 - Emo's East - Austin, TX
Jan. 22 - Granada Theater - Dallas, TX
Jan. 24 - First Avenue - Minneapolis, MN
Jan. 25 - Burton Cummings - Winnipeg, MA
Jan. 27 - Edmonton Events Centre - Edmonton, AB
Jan. 28 - MacEwan Hall Ballroom - Calgary, AB
Jan. 31 - Commodore Ballroom - Vancouver, BC
Feb. 01 - Roseland Theatre - Portland, OR
Feb. 02 - Knitting Factory Concert House - Boise, ID
Feb. 03 - Showbox SODO - Seattle, WA
Feb. 04 - Knitting Factory Concert House - Spokane, WA
Feb. 06 - The Regency Ballroom - San Francisco, CA
Feb. 07 - Wiltern Theatre - Los Angeles, CA
Feb. 08 - The Marquee - Tempe, AZ
Feb. 09 - Sunshine Theater - Albuquerque, NM
Feb. 10 - The Summit Music Hall - Denver, CO
Feb. 11 - The Beaumont Club - Kansas City, MO
Feb. 13 - House of Blues - Cleveland, OH
Feb. 14 - Sound Academy - Toronto, ON
Feb. 15 - Metropolis - Montreal, QC
Feb. 17 - The Palladium - Worcester, MA
Feb. 18 - Best Buy Theater - New York, NY
Feb. 19 - Stage AE - Pittsburgh, PA
Feb. 21 - House of Blues - Chicago, IL
IN FLAMES' tenth album, "Sounds Of A Playground Fading", sold around 14,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 27 on The Billboard 200 chart.
IN FLAMES' previous CD, "A Sense of Purpose" (Koch) opened with 20,000 units to land at No. 28. This was slightly less than the opening tally of "Come Clarity" (Ferret), which shifted just under 24,000 copies in February 2006 to enter the chart at position No. 58.
TRIVIUM's latest album, "In Waves", sold 22,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 13 on The Billboard 200 chart — the highest U.S. chart entry of the band's career. The group's previous CD, "Shogun", opened with just under 24,000 units back in October 2008 to debut at No. 23. The effort followed up "The Crusade", which registered a first-week tally of 31,000 copies in October 2006 to enter the chart at No. 25.
"In Waves" was recorded primarily at Paint It Black Studios in Orlando, Florida (with only the drums having been tracked at Audiohammer Studios in Sanford, Florida) with the production/mixing team of Colin Richardson (MACHINE HEAD, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, SLIPKNOT, FEAR FACTORY) and Martin "Ginge" Ford, along with engineer Carl Bown. A two-disc special edition is also available. It features five bonus tracks, plus a DVD with a 40-minute, behind-the-scenes documentary, as well as an exclusive concert filmed in a warehouse located in Orlando, Florida, which is the band's stomping grounds. This concert features the first performances of tracks from "In Waves", along with TRIVIUM classics.
The dates are as follows:
Jan. 12 - The Rave - Milwaukee, WI
Jan. 13 - Royal Oak Music Theatre - Royal Oak, MI
Jan. 14 - Rams Head Live - Baltimore, MD
Jan. 15 - Trocadero - Philadelphia, PA
Jan. 17 - The Ritz Ybor - Ybor City, FL
Jan. 18 - Center Stage - Atlanta, GA
Jan. 20 - Warehouse Live Ballroom - Houston, TX
Jan. 21 - Emo's East - Austin, TX
Jan. 22 - Granada Theater - Dallas, TX
Jan. 24 - First Avenue - Minneapolis, MN
Jan. 25 - Burton Cummings - Winnipeg, MA
Jan. 27 - Edmonton Events Centre - Edmonton, AB
Jan. 28 - MacEwan Hall Ballroom - Calgary, AB
Jan. 31 - Commodore Ballroom - Vancouver, BC
Feb. 01 - Roseland Theatre - Portland, OR
Feb. 02 - Knitting Factory Concert House - Boise, ID
Feb. 03 - Showbox SODO - Seattle, WA
Feb. 04 - Knitting Factory Concert House - Spokane, WA
Feb. 06 - The Regency Ballroom - San Francisco, CA
Feb. 07 - Wiltern Theatre - Los Angeles, CA
Feb. 08 - The Marquee - Tempe, AZ
Feb. 09 - Sunshine Theater - Albuquerque, NM
Feb. 10 - The Summit Music Hall - Denver, CO
Feb. 11 - The Beaumont Club - Kansas City, MO
Feb. 13 - House of Blues - Cleveland, OH
Feb. 14 - Sound Academy - Toronto, ON
Feb. 15 - Metropolis - Montreal, QC
Feb. 17 - The Palladium - Worcester, MA
Feb. 18 - Best Buy Theater - New York, NY
Feb. 19 - Stage AE - Pittsburgh, PA
Feb. 21 - House of Blues - Chicago, IL
IN FLAMES' tenth album, "Sounds Of A Playground Fading", sold around 14,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 27 on The Billboard 200 chart.
IN FLAMES' previous CD, "A Sense of Purpose" (Koch) opened with 20,000 units to land at No. 28. This was slightly less than the opening tally of "Come Clarity" (Ferret), which shifted just under 24,000 copies in February 2006 to enter the chart at position No. 58.
TRIVIUM's latest album, "In Waves", sold 22,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 13 on The Billboard 200 chart — the highest U.S. chart entry of the band's career. The group's previous CD, "Shogun", opened with just under 24,000 units back in October 2008 to debut at No. 23. The effort followed up "The Crusade", which registered a first-week tally of 31,000 copies in October 2006 to enter the chart at No. 25.
"In Waves" was recorded primarily at Paint It Black Studios in Orlando, Florida (with only the drums having been tracked at Audiohammer Studios in Sanford, Florida) with the production/mixing team of Colin Richardson (MACHINE HEAD, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, SLIPKNOT, FEAR FACTORY) and Martin "Ginge" Ford, along with engineer Carl Bown. A two-disc special edition is also available. It features five bonus tracks, plus a DVD with a 40-minute, behind-the-scenes documentary, as well as an exclusive concert filmed in a warehouse located in Orlando, Florida, which is the band's stomping grounds. This concert features the first performances of tracks from "In Waves", along with TRIVIUM classics.
MINISTRY, OVERKILL, SAINT VITUS and SWALLOW THE SUN are among the first confirmed bands for next year's edition of the Tuska open-air metal festival, set to take place June 29 - July 1, 2012 in Helsinki, Finland.
The festival billing is shaping up as follows:
MINISTRY
OVERKILL
SAINT VITUS
SWALLOW THE SUN
INSOMNIUM
ANIMALS AS LEADERS
TEXTURES
SKELETONWITCH
SUIDAKRA
PROFANE OMEN
HORNA
VICTIMS
UNKIND
AFGRUND
More than 50 bands will perform on four stages at next year's event.
Three-day tickets for Tuska 2012 will go on sale on Monday, November 14 at Tiketti.fi and Lippupalvelu.fi. The first batch of tickets will be sold at a special price — the same price as the three-day ticket in 2011: 110 euros plus service charges/fees.
For more information, visit www.tuska-festival.fi.
The festival billing is shaping up as follows:
MINISTRY
OVERKILL
SAINT VITUS
SWALLOW THE SUN
INSOMNIUM
ANIMALS AS LEADERS
TEXTURES
SKELETONWITCH
SUIDAKRA
PROFANE OMEN
HORNA
VICTIMS
UNKIND
AFGRUND
More than 50 bands will perform on four stages at next year's event.
Three-day tickets for Tuska 2012 will go on sale on Monday, November 14 at Tiketti.fi and Lippupalvelu.fi. The first batch of tickets will be sold at a special price — the same price as the three-day ticket in 2011: 110 euros plus service charges/fees.
For more information, visit www.tuska-festival.fi.
Finnish female-fronted symphonic metallers AMBERIAN DAWN have begun mixing their fourth album for an early 2012 release. The band's mainman, keyboardist and guitarist Tuomas Seppälä composed all ten songs for the CD and vocalist Heidi Parviainen penned the lyrics.
Commented Tuomas: "I and the whole band have put even more effort on this album than never before and I'm sure that this new album is going to be best AMBERIAN DAWN album so far... Some songs on this album are propably best that I've ever composed and there's also one instrumental song on this album, which I wrote in 1992 and it was supposed to be released on some rock opera project. Unfortunaly, this project never happened due some unfortunate happenings. But now, after 20 years, this one song is going to be released. All other songs are new and are not covered with dust.
"If you liked the sound of 'The Clouds Of Northland Thunder' [AMBERIAN DAWN's second album, 2009], which was mixed by Teropekka Virtanen, you'll going like the fact that this new album is going to mixed by the same guy at legendary Finnvox Studios in Finland...
"As you know, guitarist Kasperi Heikkinen injured at summer and was unable to play at all for several months. That's why Kasperi was replaced by our ex-guitarist Emppu on our latest European tour this fall. It even seemed like Kasperi wasn't able to play on this new album at all. But a miracle happened and Kasperi got his hand better only a few days before the mixing sessions started and he was able to play something on this new album after all!! So, Kasperi is back on our happy lineup again."
Metal-Trails.com conducted an interview with AMBERIAN DAWN on October 14, 2011 at the Hamburg, Germany stop on the "Out Of The Dark" tour with VAN CANTO, TRISTANIA, SERENITY and XANDRIA. You can now watch the chat below.
"Arctica", the latest video from AMBERIAN DAWN, can be viewed below. The clip was directed by Markus Nieminen of Routafilmi.
"Arctica" comes off AMBERIAN DAWN's third album, "End Of Eden", which was released in October 2010 via Spinefarm Records.
"End Of Eden" features a guest appearances by keyboardist Jens Johansson (STRATOVARIUS, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN), opera singer Markus Nieminen and vocalist Peter James Goodman.
AMBERIAN DAWN last year parted ways with Tommi Kuri (bass), Emil Tobias Pohjalainen (guitar) and Joonas Pykälä-aho (drums) and replaced them with Jukka Koskinen (NORTHER, WINTERSUN), Kimmo Korhonen (WALTARI, HELION, SOLACIDE) and Heikki Saari (NORTHER, NAILDOWN), respectively.
AMBERIAN DAWN's current lineup:
* Heidi Parviainen - Vocals
* Tuomas Seppälä - Keyboards, Guitar
* Kasperi Heikkinen - Guitar
* Kimmo Korhonen (WALTARI, HELION, SOLACIDE) - Guitar
* Jukka Koskinen (NORTHER, WINTERSUN) - Bass
* Heikki Saari (NORTHER, NAILDOWN) - Drums
For more information, visit www.amberiandawn.com.
Commented Tuomas: "I and the whole band have put even more effort on this album than never before and I'm sure that this new album is going to be best AMBERIAN DAWN album so far... Some songs on this album are propably best that I've ever composed and there's also one instrumental song on this album, which I wrote in 1992 and it was supposed to be released on some rock opera project. Unfortunaly, this project never happened due some unfortunate happenings. But now, after 20 years, this one song is going to be released. All other songs are new and are not covered with dust.
"If you liked the sound of 'The Clouds Of Northland Thunder' [AMBERIAN DAWN's second album, 2009], which was mixed by Teropekka Virtanen, you'll going like the fact that this new album is going to mixed by the same guy at legendary Finnvox Studios in Finland...
"As you know, guitarist Kasperi Heikkinen injured at summer and was unable to play at all for several months. That's why Kasperi was replaced by our ex-guitarist Emppu on our latest European tour this fall. It even seemed like Kasperi wasn't able to play on this new album at all. But a miracle happened and Kasperi got his hand better only a few days before the mixing sessions started and he was able to play something on this new album after all!! So, Kasperi is back on our happy lineup again."
Metal-Trails.com conducted an interview with AMBERIAN DAWN on October 14, 2011 at the Hamburg, Germany stop on the "Out Of The Dark" tour with VAN CANTO, TRISTANIA, SERENITY and XANDRIA. You can now watch the chat below.
"Arctica", the latest video from AMBERIAN DAWN, can be viewed below. The clip was directed by Markus Nieminen of Routafilmi.
"Arctica" comes off AMBERIAN DAWN's third album, "End Of Eden", which was released in October 2010 via Spinefarm Records.
"End Of Eden" features a guest appearances by keyboardist Jens Johansson (STRATOVARIUS, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN), opera singer Markus Nieminen and vocalist Peter James Goodman.
AMBERIAN DAWN last year parted ways with Tommi Kuri (bass), Emil Tobias Pohjalainen (guitar) and Joonas Pykälä-aho (drums) and replaced them with Jukka Koskinen (NORTHER, WINTERSUN), Kimmo Korhonen (WALTARI, HELION, SOLACIDE) and Heikki Saari (NORTHER, NAILDOWN), respectively.
AMBERIAN DAWN's current lineup:
* Heidi Parviainen - Vocals
* Tuomas Seppälä - Keyboards, Guitar
* Kasperi Heikkinen - Guitar
* Kimmo Korhonen (WALTARI, HELION, SOLACIDE) - Guitar
* Jukka Koskinen (NORTHER, WINTERSUN) - Bass
* Heikki Saari (NORTHER, NAILDOWN) - Drums
For more information, visit www.amberiandawn.com.
SIXX: A.M. — the band consisting of Nikki Sixx (also of MÖTLEY CRÜE), DJ Ashba (also of GUNS N' ROSES) and James Michael — will film a video for the song "Skin" later this month.
If you are in the Los Angeles area and would like to appear in the clip, SIXX: A.M.is looking for people whom the song has affected personally because of their own scars — whether physical or under the surface.
Send your story to Sixxamskin@gmail.com and the band will select people to take part in a video shoot.
"Skin" comes off SIXX: A.M.'s sophomore album, "This Is Gonna Hurt", which sold 30,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 10 on The Billboard 200 chart. Released on May 3, the 11-track CD is a companion piece to Sixx's "This Is Gonna Hurt: Music, Photography And Life Through The Distorted Lens Of Nikki Sixx" book, a follow-up to his New York Times bestseller, "The Heroin Diaries".
"This Is Gonna Hurt" is part photo, part journal — but all Nikki Sixx. It is a collection of compelling snapshots and stories that capture the rage, love, optimism, darkness, and determination that shape his work. Told with the raw authenticity that defined his New York Times bestseller "The Heroin Diaries", "This Is Gonna Hurt" chronicles Sixx's experience, from references to his early years filled with toxic waste to his success with MÖTLEY CRÜE, his death from an OD and rebirth to his addictions to music, photography, and love along with the journey of photographing these images over the past couple of years.
The "This Is Gonna Hurt" album as a whole deals with many raw, human issues. Nikki talks about the CD as "pulling back the veil on your internal truth," saying, "We are who we are… Either poisonous and evil or honest and willing… Willing to make a difference… I haven't led the life of a saint nor do I intend on it now." The album — produced entirely by James Michael with writing credits going to Sixx, Michael, Ashba and band friends John William Lowrey and Blair Daly — dives deep into meandering emotions through epic melodies. The resulting work is a deep, dark and intoxicatingly addictive mix of sounds and passion.
If you are in the Los Angeles area and would like to appear in the clip, SIXX: A.M.is looking for people whom the song has affected personally because of their own scars — whether physical or under the surface.
Send your story to Sixxamskin@gmail.com and the band will select people to take part in a video shoot.
"Skin" comes off SIXX: A.M.'s sophomore album, "This Is Gonna Hurt", which sold 30,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 10 on The Billboard 200 chart. Released on May 3, the 11-track CD is a companion piece to Sixx's "This Is Gonna Hurt: Music, Photography And Life Through The Distorted Lens Of Nikki Sixx" book, a follow-up to his New York Times bestseller, "The Heroin Diaries".
"This Is Gonna Hurt" is part photo, part journal — but all Nikki Sixx. It is a collection of compelling snapshots and stories that capture the rage, love, optimism, darkness, and determination that shape his work. Told with the raw authenticity that defined his New York Times bestseller "The Heroin Diaries", "This Is Gonna Hurt" chronicles Sixx's experience, from references to his early years filled with toxic waste to his success with MÖTLEY CRÜE, his death from an OD and rebirth to his addictions to music, photography, and love along with the journey of photographing these images over the past couple of years.
The "This Is Gonna Hurt" album as a whole deals with many raw, human issues. Nikki talks about the CD as "pulling back the veil on your internal truth," saying, "We are who we are… Either poisonous and evil or honest and willing… Willing to make a difference… I haven't led the life of a saint nor do I intend on it now." The album — produced entirely by James Michael with writing credits going to Sixx, Michael, Ashba and band friends John William Lowrey and Blair Daly — dives deep into meandering emotions through epic melodies. The resulting work is a deep, dark and intoxicatingly addictive mix of sounds and passion.
SIN CITY SINNERS — which features Todd Kerns (SLASH, AGE OF ELECTRIC), Brent Muscat (FASTER PUSSYCAT), Rob Cournoyer (RAGING SLAB) and Michael Ellis — will release "A Sinners' Christmas" on November 25. The CD will feature guest appearances by Frank Dimino (ANGEL), Jizzy Pearl (L.A. GUNS, RATT, LOVE/HATE), George Lynch (DOKKEN, LYNCH MOB, SOULS OF WE), Slim Jim Phantom (HEADCAT, THE STRAY CATS), Louie Merlino (BEGGARS & THIEVES), Jimmy Crespo (AEROSMITH), Pete Loran (TRIXTER), Ron Keel (KEEL) and Sammy Serious (THE ZEROS). The CD was recorded, mixed & mastered at Hit Track Studios in Las Vegas and produced by Brent Muscat and Tom Parham, and executive-produced by Jason Green.
"A Sinners' Christmas" track listing:
01. We Three Kings (feat. George Lynch & Todd Kerns)
02. Winter Wonderland (feat. Frank Dimino of Angel)
03. Run Rudolph Run (feat. Brent Muscat)
04. Rocking Around The Christmas Tree (feat. Todd Kerns)
05. O Holy Night (feat. Jizzy Pearl)
06. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus (feat. Louie Merlino)
07. Jingle Bell Rock (feat. Slim Jim Phantom, Michael Ellis)
08. Silent Night (feat. Ron Keel)
09. I'll Be Home For Christmas (feat. Pete Loran)
10. We Wish You A Sinners Christmas (feat. Todd Kerns, Louie Merlino)
A portion of "A Sinners' Christmas" sales will go to the Toys For Tots Las Vegas chapter, which donates toys to children whose parents cannot afford to buy them gifts for Christmas.
SIN CITY SINNERS will celebrate the release of "A Sinners' Christmas" with a Las Vegas party and toy drive on November 25 at Club Madrid (inside Sunset Station Casino). Admission is FREE, but the SINNERS encourage everyone who is able to bring a new unwrapped toy to be collected by the marines for Toys For Tots.
In 2010, SIN CITY SINNERS released two CDs of original music, "Exile on Fremont Street" and the all-acoustic "Broken Record". The SINNERS' music video, "Goin' To Vegas", received the 32nd annual Telly Award and the track "Numb" was nominated for an AVN award for "Best Original Song".
"A Sinners' Christmas" track listing:
01. We Three Kings (feat. George Lynch & Todd Kerns)
02. Winter Wonderland (feat. Frank Dimino of Angel)
03. Run Rudolph Run (feat. Brent Muscat)
04. Rocking Around The Christmas Tree (feat. Todd Kerns)
05. O Holy Night (feat. Jizzy Pearl)
06. I Saw Mommy Kissing Santa Claus (feat. Louie Merlino)
07. Jingle Bell Rock (feat. Slim Jim Phantom, Michael Ellis)
08. Silent Night (feat. Ron Keel)
09. I'll Be Home For Christmas (feat. Pete Loran)
10. We Wish You A Sinners Christmas (feat. Todd Kerns, Louie Merlino)
A portion of "A Sinners' Christmas" sales will go to the Toys For Tots Las Vegas chapter, which donates toys to children whose parents cannot afford to buy them gifts for Christmas.
SIN CITY SINNERS will celebrate the release of "A Sinners' Christmas" with a Las Vegas party and toy drive on November 25 at Club Madrid (inside Sunset Station Casino). Admission is FREE, but the SINNERS encourage everyone who is able to bring a new unwrapped toy to be collected by the marines for Toys For Tots.
In 2010, SIN CITY SINNERS released two CDs of original music, "Exile on Fremont Street" and the all-acoustic "Broken Record". The SINNERS' music video, "Goin' To Vegas", received the 32nd annual Telly Award and the track "Numb" was nominated for an AVN award for "Best Original Song".
Cleveland metal legends BREAKER reunited with original vocalist Jim Hamar when they supported ANVIL on November 5 at the West Side Masonic Temple in Cleveland, Ohio. Hamar performed a surprise and unannounced full set with the band for the first time in 10 years.
"There was no official announcement about the reunion," says Bill Peters, the president of BREAKER's record label, Auburn Records. "We wanted to keep the pressure off and the show low key since this was Jim's first time back singing live in a very long time. Jim has also had a lot of personal family issues to deal with concerning his mom's health. It has been a very stressful time for him. Very few people knew he would be performing. In fact, my Team Auburn crew who worked the show did not even know until the band hit the stage. They were just as surprised as the fans. A person from my video crew did not recognize Jim and asked me who the new singer was? He said he really liked him and that he sounded a lot like the original guy!"
BREAKER formed in 1982 and, along with DESTRUCTOR and SHOK PARIS, has been an anchor of the Auburn Records label roster. Hamar appeared on the band's "Blood Money" single (1983) and "Get Tough!" album (1987), both highly regarded and valuable collectables to '80s underground heavy metal fans, as well as several compilation, live and EP releases. The band performed at the 2000 Wacken Open Air festival in Germany with Hamar. Greg Wagner (H.A.T.E.) had been the band's singer since Hamar's departure in 2001.
BREAKER was scheduled to reunite in 2008 for an appearance at the Bang Your Head!!! festival in Balingen, Germany, but Hamar suddenly and unexpectedly developed voice problems during band rehearsals and was forced to cancel. BREAKER ended up performing at the festival with Wagner on vocals.
In a statement shortly following the Cleveland reunion show, Hamar had this to say: "Greetings to everyone that was caught by surprise! Saturday, November 5, 2011 was a huge day for me, as it was the first time I was able to share the stage with my brothers in metal, BREAKER, since my voice problems that led to surgery in April of 2008. It was huge because of the hurdles presented to me both physically and mentally. My procedure did not restore my voice to what it once was, and this led to nearly three years of depression and self-doubt about ever being able to perform with them or anyone, for that matter, at an acceptable level again. I literally disappeared from the scene that entire time, losing contact with many wonderful people I've met along the way.
"There are so many people to thank for their encouragement. The guys in the band, the amazing band, for giving me this opportunity yet again, my family and many friends who kept asking 'When?' along with writers and fans too, but the two that need special mention are Auburn Records' Bill Peters, who is our biggest believer, and always has been! Through thick and thin he has carried the torch and is owed a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid. Also, my girlfriend Vicki, who is my world. When I was ready to turn down the opportunity, she sat me down and more or less told me, 'You can do this! It's what you do!' I simply could not let either of them down.
"All in all, the band was great, and my performance wasn't. Far from it, in fact. I flubbed lyrics I had been singing for 25 years due to nerves, but the roar of the music behind me took over and things seemed right. A good starting point I'll call it. None of us know what the future holds for BREAKER, but hell, it's great to be back!"
Adds drummer Mark Klein: "It's great to be reunited with Jim and things within the band feel better than they have for a long, long time. Even with some pretty daunting personal circumstances to deal with, Jim stepped in and took charge on stage like he'd never been gone. It was an amazing return and it energized us all! The feedback after the show has been overwhelmingly positive and I'm looking forward to what the future brings to BREAKER."
BREAKER's setlist for the November 5 concert was as follows:
01. Get Tough
02. Manifesto
03. Blood Money
04. 10 Seconds In
05. Black Light Ark
06. Luck And Gasoline
07. Still Life
BREAKER is:
Don Depew - Guitar
Mark Klein - Drums
Jim Hamar - Vocals
Brook Hodges - Bass
Michael Klein - Guitar
Shaun Vanek – Guitar
"There was no official announcement about the reunion," says Bill Peters, the president of BREAKER's record label, Auburn Records. "We wanted to keep the pressure off and the show low key since this was Jim's first time back singing live in a very long time. Jim has also had a lot of personal family issues to deal with concerning his mom's health. It has been a very stressful time for him. Very few people knew he would be performing. In fact, my Team Auburn crew who worked the show did not even know until the band hit the stage. They were just as surprised as the fans. A person from my video crew did not recognize Jim and asked me who the new singer was? He said he really liked him and that he sounded a lot like the original guy!"
BREAKER formed in 1982 and, along with DESTRUCTOR and SHOK PARIS, has been an anchor of the Auburn Records label roster. Hamar appeared on the band's "Blood Money" single (1983) and "Get Tough!" album (1987), both highly regarded and valuable collectables to '80s underground heavy metal fans, as well as several compilation, live and EP releases. The band performed at the 2000 Wacken Open Air festival in Germany with Hamar. Greg Wagner (H.A.T.E.) had been the band's singer since Hamar's departure in 2001.
BREAKER was scheduled to reunite in 2008 for an appearance at the Bang Your Head!!! festival in Balingen, Germany, but Hamar suddenly and unexpectedly developed voice problems during band rehearsals and was forced to cancel. BREAKER ended up performing at the festival with Wagner on vocals.
In a statement shortly following the Cleveland reunion show, Hamar had this to say: "Greetings to everyone that was caught by surprise! Saturday, November 5, 2011 was a huge day for me, as it was the first time I was able to share the stage with my brothers in metal, BREAKER, since my voice problems that led to surgery in April of 2008. It was huge because of the hurdles presented to me both physically and mentally. My procedure did not restore my voice to what it once was, and this led to nearly three years of depression and self-doubt about ever being able to perform with them or anyone, for that matter, at an acceptable level again. I literally disappeared from the scene that entire time, losing contact with many wonderful people I've met along the way.
"There are so many people to thank for their encouragement. The guys in the band, the amazing band, for giving me this opportunity yet again, my family and many friends who kept asking 'When?' along with writers and fans too, but the two that need special mention are Auburn Records' Bill Peters, who is our biggest believer, and always has been! Through thick and thin he has carried the torch and is owed a debt of gratitude that can never be repaid. Also, my girlfriend Vicki, who is my world. When I was ready to turn down the opportunity, she sat me down and more or less told me, 'You can do this! It's what you do!' I simply could not let either of them down.
"All in all, the band was great, and my performance wasn't. Far from it, in fact. I flubbed lyrics I had been singing for 25 years due to nerves, but the roar of the music behind me took over and things seemed right. A good starting point I'll call it. None of us know what the future holds for BREAKER, but hell, it's great to be back!"
Adds drummer Mark Klein: "It's great to be reunited with Jim and things within the band feel better than they have for a long, long time. Even with some pretty daunting personal circumstances to deal with, Jim stepped in and took charge on stage like he'd never been gone. It was an amazing return and it energized us all! The feedback after the show has been overwhelmingly positive and I'm looking forward to what the future brings to BREAKER."
BREAKER's setlist for the November 5 concert was as follows:
01. Get Tough
02. Manifesto
03. Blood Money
04. 10 Seconds In
05. Black Light Ark
06. Luck And Gasoline
07. Still Life
BREAKER is:
Don Depew - Guitar
Mark Klein - Drums
Jim Hamar - Vocals
Brook Hodges - Bass
Michael Klein - Guitar
Shaun Vanek – Guitar
CITY OF FIRE, the band featuring Burton C. Bell (FEAR FACTORY), bassist Byron Stroud (FEAR FACTORY, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD), guitarist Terry "Sho" Murray, and drummer Bob Wagner, entered The Factory studios in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada in September to begin recording material for its sophomore album, entitled "Trial Through Fire".
Check out photos from the studio at this location.
In a recent interview with The Sanctuary Of Rock, Bell stated about CITY OF FIRE's forthcoming CD, "The writing process is very similar to other bands. The guys had music ideas and were recorded on a demo. I would sit with Terry in the studio and just sing out ideas. I usually have some words to 'throw down' and I try to incorporate them into the song. A lot of times, I just say things that come out, like speaking in tongues.
"There is no theme, but everything we were writing about was happening in our lives, so that is why we call the album 'Trial Through Fire'.
"It was a very difficult writing process. We were all going through personal issues, and also the band was dealing with business issues.
"I am very proud of the work we have done. We 'found' our sound on this record.
"Terry has been the main producer and he just finished cleaning up the tracks so that Greg Reely can begin mixing the album. The record is just about finished. All the recording is done, just the mixing and mastering is left."
He added, "The main difference [between the recording process for 'Trial Through Fire' compared to that of CITY OF FIRE's 2010 self-titled debut] was that we knew what we wanted to achieve. We knew what are strong points were with the band's music. We all had a great understanding of the band itself. Terry has a great sense of what my voice can do, so he and the guys were able to write the music that suited everyone. We were very 'cohesive' as a band. We knew everyone's strong points."
CITY OF FIRE recently shot a video for one of its new songs in Toronto with director Cody Calahan, who previously co-created, produced and directed a pilot for a television show called "The Rusty Kitchen".
Said Burton: "The video was created through the program MuchMusic in Canada — it is Canada's MTV. Every year, they give grants to new bands to make a video. We applied and got the grant. The video was made through all Canadian videographers, directors etc. MuchMusic has the video, but I am not certain when they are going to show it. I think it is soon.
"It was the first time I met Cody Calahan, and I look forward to working with him again. He is very ambitious and I like his creative ideas."
Funding for the new CITY OF FIRE CD was aided by the PledgeMusic.com project, which encourages fans to contribute funds to the recording of albums and the artists themselves to donate to charity as a part of their fundraising.
Said Burton: "That was our [manager's idea]. She found success in it with another band she has worked with. It was a fantastic idea. Not only did it generate the funds we needed, it also created a grass-roots fan base that is important for a new band. It created a personal network between the band and our new fans, and they are a very happy, as we are."
Check out photos from the studio at this location.
In a recent interview with The Sanctuary Of Rock, Bell stated about CITY OF FIRE's forthcoming CD, "The writing process is very similar to other bands. The guys had music ideas and were recorded on a demo. I would sit with Terry in the studio and just sing out ideas. I usually have some words to 'throw down' and I try to incorporate them into the song. A lot of times, I just say things that come out, like speaking in tongues.
"There is no theme, but everything we were writing about was happening in our lives, so that is why we call the album 'Trial Through Fire'.
"It was a very difficult writing process. We were all going through personal issues, and also the band was dealing with business issues.
"I am very proud of the work we have done. We 'found' our sound on this record.
"Terry has been the main producer and he just finished cleaning up the tracks so that Greg Reely can begin mixing the album. The record is just about finished. All the recording is done, just the mixing and mastering is left."
He added, "The main difference [between the recording process for 'Trial Through Fire' compared to that of CITY OF FIRE's 2010 self-titled debut] was that we knew what we wanted to achieve. We knew what are strong points were with the band's music. We all had a great understanding of the band itself. Terry has a great sense of what my voice can do, so he and the guys were able to write the music that suited everyone. We were very 'cohesive' as a band. We knew everyone's strong points."
CITY OF FIRE recently shot a video for one of its new songs in Toronto with director Cody Calahan, who previously co-created, produced and directed a pilot for a television show called "The Rusty Kitchen".
Said Burton: "The video was created through the program MuchMusic in Canada — it is Canada's MTV. Every year, they give grants to new bands to make a video. We applied and got the grant. The video was made through all Canadian videographers, directors etc. MuchMusic has the video, but I am not certain when they are going to show it. I think it is soon.
"It was the first time I met Cody Calahan, and I look forward to working with him again. He is very ambitious and I like his creative ideas."
Funding for the new CITY OF FIRE CD was aided by the PledgeMusic.com project, which encourages fans to contribute funds to the recording of albums and the artists themselves to donate to charity as a part of their fundraising.
Said Burton: "That was our [manager's idea]. She found success in it with another band she has worked with. It was a fantastic idea. Not only did it generate the funds we needed, it also created a grass-roots fan base that is important for a new band. It created a personal network between the band and our new fans, and they are a very happy, as we are."
A special and limited seven-inch EP from Los Angeles thrashers WARBRINGER featuring the track "Living Weapon" as well as the exclusive B-side "(We Are) The Road Crew", a cover of the MOTÖRHEAD classic, will be available to purchase from the band at upcoming shows as well as via CM Distro and mailorders soon.
On the verge of finishing a first, month-long headlining tour across North America with support from LAZARUS A.D., LANDMINE MARATHON and DIAMOND PLATE, WARBRINGER is about to set over to European shores in order to launch touring activities for its new album, "Worlds Torn Asunder". The band will play a comprehensive run of shows starting November 15, before supporting metal titans ARCH ENEMY (along with CHTHONIC) throughout December.
Commented WARBRINGER's John Laux: "We're ecstatic that our new album 'Worlds Torn Asunder' has received nothing but praise from every media outlet, review and fan worldwide.
"We've been working extremely hard over the past year with our new lineup and everyone involved has been nothing but positive for the band and our music.
"Our current U.S. tour is one hell of a journey and a good warm-up to return to the madness of metal fans in Europe.
"Our headlining dates along with joining ARCH ENEMY in Europe will be truly monumental!"
WARBRINGER's third album, "Worlds Torn Asunder", sold around 2,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The CD landed at position No. 11 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.
WARBRINGER's sophomore CD, "Waking Into Nightmares", also opened with around 2,000 units back in May 2009 to debut at No. 14 on the Heatseekers chart.
"Worlds Torn Asunder" was produced and mixed by Steve Evetts (SUICIDE SILENCE, THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, SYMPHONY X), and features artwork by Dan Seagrave, who designed WARBRINGER's previous album cover (in addition to art for bands such as ENTOMBED, SUFFOCATION and MORBID ANGEL).
On the verge of finishing a first, month-long headlining tour across North America with support from LAZARUS A.D., LANDMINE MARATHON and DIAMOND PLATE, WARBRINGER is about to set over to European shores in order to launch touring activities for its new album, "Worlds Torn Asunder". The band will play a comprehensive run of shows starting November 15, before supporting metal titans ARCH ENEMY (along with CHTHONIC) throughout December.
Commented WARBRINGER's John Laux: "We're ecstatic that our new album 'Worlds Torn Asunder' has received nothing but praise from every media outlet, review and fan worldwide.
"We've been working extremely hard over the past year with our new lineup and everyone involved has been nothing but positive for the band and our music.
"Our current U.S. tour is one hell of a journey and a good warm-up to return to the madness of metal fans in Europe.
"Our headlining dates along with joining ARCH ENEMY in Europe will be truly monumental!"
WARBRINGER's third album, "Worlds Torn Asunder", sold around 2,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The CD landed at position No. 11 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.
WARBRINGER's sophomore CD, "Waking Into Nightmares", also opened with around 2,000 units back in May 2009 to debut at No. 14 on the Heatseekers chart.
"Worlds Torn Asunder" was produced and mixed by Steve Evetts (SUICIDE SILENCE, THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, SYMPHONY X), and features artwork by Dan Seagrave, who designed WARBRINGER's previous album cover (in addition to art for bands such as ENTOMBED, SUFFOCATION and MORBID ANGEL).
Mysterious Swedish buzz band GHOST has announced that it will embark on its first-ever North American headlining tour in January. GHOST cult leader "Papa Emeritus" (rumored to be REPUGNANT/SUBVISION's Tobias Forge, who takes the stage in the form of "a satanic pope") and his anonymous ghouls will team up with doom rockers BLOOD CEREMONY and ANCIENT VVISDOM for a two-week trek dubbed the "13 Dates Of Doom" tour that will launch on January 18 in New York City.
"It is with an evil haunting chuckle that we are announcing that we are finally coming to North America," states GHOST's Papa Emeritus. "In the name of Satan, we will conduct thirteen rituals in thirteen different cities throughout the United States and Canada and now we are summoning all of our devotees to partake in these blasphemous eves of black magic."
GHOST, BLOOD CEREMONY, ANCIENT VVISDOM North American tour dates:
Jan. 18 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
Jan. 19 - Washington, DC @ Rock N Roll Hotel
Jan. 20 - Boston, MA @ Middle East (downstairs)
Jan. 21 - Montreal, QC @ Corona Theatre
Jan. 22 - Toronto, ON @ The Mod Club
Jan. 24 - Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge
Jan. 25 - Saint Paul, MN @ Station 4
Jan. 27 - Denver, CO @ Marquis Theatre
Jan. 28 - Salt Lake City, UT @ The Vertigo (The Complex)
Jan. 30 - Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
Jan. 31 - Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theater
Feb. 01 - San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill
Feb. 02 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Roxy
GHOST is continuing to support its debut album, "Opus Eponymous", which has been called "amazing" by Stereogum and "a primer on the creation of melodic hard rock" by The Big Takeover.
GHOST floored music fans with its first U.S. shows and served notice that it is not only a "band to watch" but will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come. In its live review of GHOST's New York City headlining show, the Village Voice called the group's performance "lurching and menacing", saying "GHOST's sound is like heavy metal trapped in a state of suspended animation since 1973." A sneak peek at GHOST performing live can be viewed now as the band was captured on film by a recent attendee of the band's black mass. Check out the band performing the song "Satan Prayer" as part of its May 29 headlining set at the 2011 Maryland Deathfest below.
GHOST's "Opus Eponymous" is a daringly fascinating combination of satanic rock music merged with an almost unthinkable pop sensibility. Enveloped in a shroud of mystery and standing anonymous beneath the painted faces, hoods and robes which their sect demand, the GHOST deliver litanies of pulsating heavy rock and stimulating lyrics which "glorify and glamorize the disgusting and sacrilegious." The music and philosophies of GHOST specifically target "individuals who have a void in their life perhaps caused by some form of emotional trauma or upset" (research suggests these are most likely adolescents); this dearth can then be alluringly filled by GHOST's music and philosophies.
"It is with an evil haunting chuckle that we are announcing that we are finally coming to North America," states GHOST's Papa Emeritus. "In the name of Satan, we will conduct thirteen rituals in thirteen different cities throughout the United States and Canada and now we are summoning all of our devotees to partake in these blasphemous eves of black magic."
GHOST, BLOOD CEREMONY, ANCIENT VVISDOM North American tour dates:
Jan. 18 - New York, NY @ Bowery Ballroom
Jan. 19 - Washington, DC @ Rock N Roll Hotel
Jan. 20 - Boston, MA @ Middle East (downstairs)
Jan. 21 - Montreal, QC @ Corona Theatre
Jan. 22 - Toronto, ON @ The Mod Club
Jan. 24 - Chicago, IL @ Bottom Lounge
Jan. 25 - Saint Paul, MN @ Station 4
Jan. 27 - Denver, CO @ Marquis Theatre
Jan. 28 - Salt Lake City, UT @ The Vertigo (The Complex)
Jan. 30 - Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
Jan. 31 - Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theater
Feb. 01 - San Francisco, CA @ Bottom of the Hill
Feb. 02 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Roxy
GHOST is continuing to support its debut album, "Opus Eponymous", which has been called "amazing" by Stereogum and "a primer on the creation of melodic hard rock" by The Big Takeover.
GHOST floored music fans with its first U.S. shows and served notice that it is not only a "band to watch" but will be a force to be reckoned with for years to come. In its live review of GHOST's New York City headlining show, the Village Voice called the group's performance "lurching and menacing", saying "GHOST's sound is like heavy metal trapped in a state of suspended animation since 1973." A sneak peek at GHOST performing live can be viewed now as the band was captured on film by a recent attendee of the band's black mass. Check out the band performing the song "Satan Prayer" as part of its May 29 headlining set at the 2011 Maryland Deathfest below.
GHOST's "Opus Eponymous" is a daringly fascinating combination of satanic rock music merged with an almost unthinkable pop sensibility. Enveloped in a shroud of mystery and standing anonymous beneath the painted faces, hoods and robes which their sect demand, the GHOST deliver litanies of pulsating heavy rock and stimulating lyrics which "glorify and glamorize the disgusting and sacrilegious." The music and philosophies of GHOST specifically target "individuals who have a void in their life perhaps caused by some form of emotional trauma or upset" (research suggests these are most likely adolescents); this dearth can then be alluringly filled by GHOST's music and philosophies.
German progressive metal quartet OBSCURA will release its first-ever demo collection, entitled "Illegimitation", independently in March 2012. The collection will contain ten never-before-heard tracks, including the band's earliest recordings from 2003, unreleased songs from the "Cosmogenesis" sessions in 2006, and brand new cover songs featuring the band's current lineup.
Sticking to its reputation of being one of the genre's most forward-thinking bands, OBSCURA has decided to release a special, limited-time pre-order for "Illegimitation" through Kickstarter.com.
The album's numerous, unique packages are available directly from the band now at this location.
Commented OBSCURA's Steffen Kummerer: "This will be a independent release so we can give our fans the opportunity to participate in the project and offer special packages such as a lifelong free entry to all OBSCURA shows, limited-edition items, face-to-face lessons with our members, and tour used gear from the band!"
"Illegimitation" track listing:
"Illegimitation" Demo (2003)
01. ...And All Will Come To An End
02. Crucified
03. Fear
04. Immanent Desaster
"Cosmogenesis" Pre-Production Recordings (2006)
05. Incarnated
06. Open The Gates
07. Headworm
2011 Recordings:
08. Flesh And The Power It Holds (DEATH cover)
09. Piece Of Time (ATHEIST cover)
10. How Could I (CYNIC cover)
OBSCURA has just kicked off its first North American headline tour in support of the band's latest album, "Omnivium". The trek began on November 4 in Wilmington, Delaware and will run through December 7.
Sticking to its reputation of being one of the genre's most forward-thinking bands, OBSCURA has decided to release a special, limited-time pre-order for "Illegimitation" through Kickstarter.com.
The album's numerous, unique packages are available directly from the band now at this location.
Commented OBSCURA's Steffen Kummerer: "This will be a independent release so we can give our fans the opportunity to participate in the project and offer special packages such as a lifelong free entry to all OBSCURA shows, limited-edition items, face-to-face lessons with our members, and tour used gear from the band!"
"Illegimitation" track listing:
"Illegimitation" Demo (2003)
01. ...And All Will Come To An End
02. Crucified
03. Fear
04. Immanent Desaster
"Cosmogenesis" Pre-Production Recordings (2006)
05. Incarnated
06. Open The Gates
07. Headworm
2011 Recordings:
08. Flesh And The Power It Holds (DEATH cover)
09. Piece Of Time (ATHEIST cover)
10. How Could I (CYNIC cover)
OBSCURA has just kicked off its first North American headline tour in support of the band's latest album, "Omnivium". The trek began on November 4 in Wilmington, Delaware and will run through December 7.
According to a posting on the Facebook page of Spin Recording Studios, French progressive metallers GOJIRA are currently holed up at the Long Island City, New York-based recording facility working on their new album with producer Josh Wilbur (LAMB OF GOD) for an early 2012 release via Roadrunner Records. It should be noted, however, that neither GOJIRA nor Roadrunner has officially confirmed a partnership between the two parties.
GOJIRA parted ways with Listenable Records after the release of 2008's "The Way Of All Flesh".
"Listenable did an amazing job with us, we're very good friends with the owner and we are still working with them on stuff, but now it's time for us to move on to something a bit bigger; we need to bring some fresh energy and new blood into GOJIRA," GOJIRA guitarist/vocalist Joseph Duplantier told U.K.'s Terrorizer magazine in a recent interview. "A few record companies have now put a bit more money on the table, so it feels like something really important is happening."
Duplantier revealed that, rather than the heavily researched themes of the last CD, lyrics for the upcoming, yet-to-be-titled effort are a lot more spontaneous, with "stream of consciousness"-style "spiritual" compositions.
"I've been about spirituality since the first album," he said. "It's hard to define what spirituality is, but it's more like getting closer to [oneself]. It's where each thing we do is sacred; not like going to a church or when you are with a dying person, but waking up in the morning… I've tried to take this dimension when I've written the music, like sometimes I don't even know what I'm going to sing and the words come out fluently. It's not a concept album like in the past, it's more about being spontaneous with feeling, and it's more true and honest."
GOJIRA last year entered the studio to record a new four-song EP, the proceeds from which will benefit Sea Shepherd, an anti-whaling organization. The CD will feature guest appearances by Devin Townsend (STRAPPING YOUNG LAD), Fredrik Thordendal (MESHUGGAH), Randy Blythe (LAMB OF GOD), Anders Fridén (IN FLAMES) and Max Cavalera (SOULFLY, CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, SEPULTURA).
GOJIRA parted ways with Listenable Records after the release of 2008's "The Way Of All Flesh".
"Listenable did an amazing job with us, we're very good friends with the owner and we are still working with them on stuff, but now it's time for us to move on to something a bit bigger; we need to bring some fresh energy and new blood into GOJIRA," GOJIRA guitarist/vocalist Joseph Duplantier told U.K.'s Terrorizer magazine in a recent interview. "A few record companies have now put a bit more money on the table, so it feels like something really important is happening."
Duplantier revealed that, rather than the heavily researched themes of the last CD, lyrics for the upcoming, yet-to-be-titled effort are a lot more spontaneous, with "stream of consciousness"-style "spiritual" compositions.
"I've been about spirituality since the first album," he said. "It's hard to define what spirituality is, but it's more like getting closer to [oneself]. It's where each thing we do is sacred; not like going to a church or when you are with a dying person, but waking up in the morning… I've tried to take this dimension when I've written the music, like sometimes I don't even know what I'm going to sing and the words come out fluently. It's not a concept album like in the past, it's more about being spontaneous with feeling, and it's more true and honest."
GOJIRA last year entered the studio to record a new four-song EP, the proceeds from which will benefit Sea Shepherd, an anti-whaling organization. The CD will feature guest appearances by Devin Townsend (STRAPPING YOUNG LAD), Fredrik Thordendal (MESHUGGAH), Randy Blythe (LAMB OF GOD), Anders Fridén (IN FLAMES) and Max Cavalera (SOULFLY, CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, SEPULTURA).
TROLLFEST, the self-proclaimed "true Norwegian Balkan metal" band which eschews musical convention by combining local folk sounds from their native Norway with those from the Balkans and mixing them together with occasional melodies that could originate anywhere from the Latino countries to the Middle East, will enter the studio this month to begin recording its fifth album, "Brumlebassen", for an early 2012 release via NoiseArt Records. The group will track the drums, bass, guitar and main vocals over a three-week period beginning on November 7 at Strand Studios with engineer Marius Strand, after which they will move on to their own Trollskogen recording facilities to record the extra vocals, choirs, and instruments.
As with all TROLLFEST's previous releases, "Brumlebassen" will tell a story involving Trolls and a certain amount of drinking. Without wanting to give too much away at this early stage, a spokesperson for the band said that the storyline will revolve around a brewer called Brumlebassen who is charged with making the mead much beloved by the Trolls. Cover art for the album will once again be in the hands of Swedish artist and cartoonist Jonas Darnell and designer Terje "Andy Wartroll", both of whom have worked with the band for several years, and whose work on the group' last CD, "En Kvest For Den Hellige Gral", has yet again proved to be a huge hit with the fans and an integral part of the overall TROLLFEST "experience."
TROLLFEST, which comprises members of URGEHAL, PANTHEON I, UNTIME, MELCH, SARKOM, HALLUCINATIONS and POWERSWORD, has already written ten metal tracks and a handful of acoustic ones, and will decide which to include on the album once recording is completed. There will also be guest musicians, who will be announced at a later date.
As with all TROLLFEST's previous releases, "Brumlebassen" will tell a story involving Trolls and a certain amount of drinking. Without wanting to give too much away at this early stage, a spokesperson for the band said that the storyline will revolve around a brewer called Brumlebassen who is charged with making the mead much beloved by the Trolls. Cover art for the album will once again be in the hands of Swedish artist and cartoonist Jonas Darnell and designer Terje "Andy Wartroll", both of whom have worked with the band for several years, and whose work on the group' last CD, "En Kvest For Den Hellige Gral", has yet again proved to be a huge hit with the fans and an integral part of the overall TROLLFEST "experience."
TROLLFEST, which comprises members of URGEHAL, PANTHEON I, UNTIME, MELCH, SARKOM, HALLUCINATIONS and POWERSWORD, has already written ten metal tracks and a handful of acoustic ones, and will decide which to include on the album once recording is completed. There will also be guest musicians, who will be announced at a later date.
Grammy-winning rock giants CREED will hold special intimate two-night events in Chicago, New York and Philadelphia to perform their classic, multi-platinum selling albums "My Own Prison" and "Human Clay" in their entirety, frontman Scott Stapp announced this morning on "VH1 Big Morning Buzz Live". The band will perform one album on each night of the special engagement along with hits from their albums "Weathered" and "Full Circle". The events will be a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity for CREED fans to see the band perform in an intimate setting. Tickets will be available on November 19.
"'My Own Prison' and 'Human Clay' are very special albums for us and I look forward to performing them for our fans. The songs bring back a lot of great memories for me and I hope for them too," said Stapp.
2012 marks the 15-year anniversary of CREED's debut blockbuster album, "My Own Prison", which has sold over 6 million copies to date. The follow-up, 1999's massive global hit "Human Clay", has sold over 11 million copies to date and features the rock radio mainstays "With Arms Wide Open" and "Higher".
The dates are as follows:
April 13 - Chicago Theatre - Chicago, IL ("My Own Prison")
April 14 - Chicago Theatre - Chicago, IL ("Human Clay")
April 16 - Tower Theatre - Philadelphia, PA ("My Own Prison")
April 17 - Tower Theatre - Philadelphia, PA ("Human Clay")
April 19 - Beacon Theatre - New York, NY ("My Own Prison")
April 20 - Beacon Theatre - New York, NY ("Human Clay")
For more information, visit www.creed.com.
"'My Own Prison' and 'Human Clay' are very special albums for us and I look forward to performing them for our fans. The songs bring back a lot of great memories for me and I hope for them too," said Stapp.
2012 marks the 15-year anniversary of CREED's debut blockbuster album, "My Own Prison", which has sold over 6 million copies to date. The follow-up, 1999's massive global hit "Human Clay", has sold over 11 million copies to date and features the rock radio mainstays "With Arms Wide Open" and "Higher".
The dates are as follows:
April 13 - Chicago Theatre - Chicago, IL ("My Own Prison")
April 14 - Chicago Theatre - Chicago, IL ("Human Clay")
April 16 - Tower Theatre - Philadelphia, PA ("My Own Prison")
April 17 - Tower Theatre - Philadelphia, PA ("Human Clay")
April 19 - Beacon Theatre - New York, NY ("My Own Prison")
April 20 - Beacon Theatre - New York, NY ("Human Clay")
For more information, visit www.creed.com.
Vocalist Jay Gordon of ORGY, the "death pop" band from Bakersfield, California, has posted a new message on Facebook announcing his plans to reform the group with a brand new lineup. He said, "I'm not saying I wouldn't consider playing with the all original lineup at some point, and there has been correspondence between the [other] original members and myself. This situation is a good thing, and not intended to piss anyone off or anything." He added, "I have spoken to [fellow original ORGY members] Amir [Derakh, guitar] and Bobby [Hewitt, drums] about the situation, and neither seemed to be angry in any way. Bobby is making movies, and Amir and Ry [Ryan Shuck, guitar] are doing JULIEN-K. I am friends with all of the ORGY cast, so please don't trip. I will keep everyone posted as I know more. Thanks for being UNDERSTANDING..."
About 12 hours later, Derakh responded to Gordon's comments with a statement of his own. He wrote, "Ryan and I have both discussed recently with a booking agent representing a possible ORGY tour that we wanted to be a part of it. We only had two conditions: 1) To have AS MANY of the original members involved as possible, and 2) That Lou Gordon [Jay Gordon's father] not be involved.
"We have always stated that we are only interested in doing a reunion under these conditions. We are all grownups here and can do this ourselves.
"Ryan and I have stated MANY times that we will MAKE TIME to do this! I don't understand why this is still being used an an excuse. If this is planned out properly, we can do it, people! Really!
"Honest truth is they don't want us to be a part of it...
"I also reached out last weekend by text message to Jay to try and set up a phone call for us to talk. I got a very long message on Facebook instead. Jay asked me not to re-post any of it and I am respecting his request."
Shuck also chimed in with a separate post, writing, "ORGY — the actual BAND ORGY — is NOT 'OK' with this 'new' ORGY 'thing.' We think it's ridiculous. Seems like an Axl Rose move to us, and we don't want to be associated with it at all.
"We have told Jay for five years that we would be happy to do the REAL ORGY — with ALL the original members, and all the original unique gear that makes ORGY such an amazing live act. NO — we are not 'too busy' to do ORGY. In fact, for the 20th time at least, our agent approached us to possibly do ORGY BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR, and Amir and I said 'YES,' if it's the REAL ORGY. Not a hybrid, no impersonators — Jay, Paige, Bobby, Ryan and Amir. The real band. We have too much respect for what we all created TOGETHER to stand by and watch it turn into a COVER band that goes out and fools our fans into buying tickets thinking they are going to see the REAL band ORGY. ORGY is a BAND. That's why it's cool. It isn't a person.
"I will have a lot more to say this week, on every outlet available to me. In the meantime, we are somehow going to fit a DEAD BY SUNRISE show into our 'busy' schedules.... somehow Chester Bennington, a truly big rock star, easily works in LINKIN PARK and DEAD BY SUNRISE — weaving in between JULIEN-K and all the other stuff we do... Its not an "either/or" situation... We can do EVERYTHING — IF Jay actually wanted to. Somehow... we went around the world four times in the last year and a half... and still had MONTHS and MONTHS off. Weird. If the REAL ORGY wanted to tour, we could have scheduled it.
"I'm sick of repeating myself."
Earlier today, Gordon — who owns the name ORGY — responded to his former bandmates' comments with the following post:
"Hey everyone, just so everyone is clear, I'm not gonna feed into any negativity, and want each and every one of you to know, that I respect all of your opinions, individually and collectively.
"This will serve as my only response to any of the discord between myself and the other members of the original lineup.
"With the good comes the bad, and not everyone will agree, as we all know. All you can do is keep your head up, and move forward. That's all that is being done on my end, with no animosity, or guilt, for lack of trying.
"Things like this are hard for people to accept, and for those who are disappointed, I apologize.
"Quite frankly, I'm a little baffled, as I offered JULIEN-K a co-billing on the tour, and thought it would be cool if we could all get up there, and play a few songs with most of the original members at the end of each show. If that is not a sign of respect, I don't know what is. I have performed with them on stage to promote their efforts, without hesitation.
"Believe what you must, but I am not trying to make anyone else look bad in order to make myself look good, that's for sure.
"In the grand scheme of things, making music, shouldn't be this political. I never started ORGY to become a politician, nor do I have any intention of acting like an asshole behind close doors, and throwing up fake-ass, pageant waves to the people, to appear to be something I'm not. I'm just trying to go out and have some fun. That's what I enjoy doing, and I can only hope the same goes for everyone else.
"That being said, I am looking forward to seeing all of you on the road at some point very soon!"
ORGY was shot out of the hard-rock cannon in 1998 with the band's platinum album, "Candyass". Its ear-candy hooks, crushing riffs and razor-edge electronic sonics laid the scorched-earth groundwork for 2000's gold "Vapor Transmission" and 2004's "Punk Statik Paranoia". The videos for "Blue Monday", "Stitches" and "Fiction (Dreams in Digital)", meanwhile, created an indelible visual impression of post-punk artifice; the hair, the makeup, the costumes — all conspired to shroud the band in a cloak of dark menace.
After the release of 2000's "Vapor Transmission", ORGY left Reprise Records and had already severed ties with KORN's Elementree Records, which issued ORGY's first two albums. Gordon then started his own independent record label, D1 Music, which released the band's third album, "Punk Statik Paranoia", in 2004.
About 12 hours later, Derakh responded to Gordon's comments with a statement of his own. He wrote, "Ryan and I have both discussed recently with a booking agent representing a possible ORGY tour that we wanted to be a part of it. We only had two conditions: 1) To have AS MANY of the original members involved as possible, and 2) That Lou Gordon [Jay Gordon's father] not be involved.
"We have always stated that we are only interested in doing a reunion under these conditions. We are all grownups here and can do this ourselves.
"Ryan and I have stated MANY times that we will MAKE TIME to do this! I don't understand why this is still being used an an excuse. If this is planned out properly, we can do it, people! Really!
"Honest truth is they don't want us to be a part of it...
"I also reached out last weekend by text message to Jay to try and set up a phone call for us to talk. I got a very long message on Facebook instead. Jay asked me not to re-post any of it and I am respecting his request."
Shuck also chimed in with a separate post, writing, "ORGY — the actual BAND ORGY — is NOT 'OK' with this 'new' ORGY 'thing.' We think it's ridiculous. Seems like an Axl Rose move to us, and we don't want to be associated with it at all.
"We have told Jay for five years that we would be happy to do the REAL ORGY — with ALL the original members, and all the original unique gear that makes ORGY such an amazing live act. NO — we are not 'too busy' to do ORGY. In fact, for the 20th time at least, our agent approached us to possibly do ORGY BEFORE THE END OF THE YEAR, and Amir and I said 'YES,' if it's the REAL ORGY. Not a hybrid, no impersonators — Jay, Paige, Bobby, Ryan and Amir. The real band. We have too much respect for what we all created TOGETHER to stand by and watch it turn into a COVER band that goes out and fools our fans into buying tickets thinking they are going to see the REAL band ORGY. ORGY is a BAND. That's why it's cool. It isn't a person.
"I will have a lot more to say this week, on every outlet available to me. In the meantime, we are somehow going to fit a DEAD BY SUNRISE show into our 'busy' schedules.... somehow Chester Bennington, a truly big rock star, easily works in LINKIN PARK and DEAD BY SUNRISE — weaving in between JULIEN-K and all the other stuff we do... Its not an "either/or" situation... We can do EVERYTHING — IF Jay actually wanted to. Somehow... we went around the world four times in the last year and a half... and still had MONTHS and MONTHS off. Weird. If the REAL ORGY wanted to tour, we could have scheduled it.
"I'm sick of repeating myself."
Earlier today, Gordon — who owns the name ORGY — responded to his former bandmates' comments with the following post:
"Hey everyone, just so everyone is clear, I'm not gonna feed into any negativity, and want each and every one of you to know, that I respect all of your opinions, individually and collectively.
"This will serve as my only response to any of the discord between myself and the other members of the original lineup.
"With the good comes the bad, and not everyone will agree, as we all know. All you can do is keep your head up, and move forward. That's all that is being done on my end, with no animosity, or guilt, for lack of trying.
"Things like this are hard for people to accept, and for those who are disappointed, I apologize.
"Quite frankly, I'm a little baffled, as I offered JULIEN-K a co-billing on the tour, and thought it would be cool if we could all get up there, and play a few songs with most of the original members at the end of each show. If that is not a sign of respect, I don't know what is. I have performed with them on stage to promote their efforts, without hesitation.
"Believe what you must, but I am not trying to make anyone else look bad in order to make myself look good, that's for sure.
"In the grand scheme of things, making music, shouldn't be this political. I never started ORGY to become a politician, nor do I have any intention of acting like an asshole behind close doors, and throwing up fake-ass, pageant waves to the people, to appear to be something I'm not. I'm just trying to go out and have some fun. That's what I enjoy doing, and I can only hope the same goes for everyone else.
"That being said, I am looking forward to seeing all of you on the road at some point very soon!"
ORGY was shot out of the hard-rock cannon in 1998 with the band's platinum album, "Candyass". Its ear-candy hooks, crushing riffs and razor-edge electronic sonics laid the scorched-earth groundwork for 2000's gold "Vapor Transmission" and 2004's "Punk Statik Paranoia". The videos for "Blue Monday", "Stitches" and "Fiction (Dreams in Digital)", meanwhile, created an indelible visual impression of post-punk artifice; the hair, the makeup, the costumes — all conspired to shroud the band in a cloak of dark menace.
After the release of 2000's "Vapor Transmission", ORGY left Reprise Records and had already severed ties with KORN's Elementree Records, which issued ORGY's first two albums. Gordon then started his own independent record label, D1 Music, which released the band's third album, "Punk Statik Paranoia", in 2004.
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida rockers NONPOINT are rumored to have recruited three members of the Chicago-based heavy rock act INN CINEMA: Rasheed Thomas (guitar), Dave Lizzio (guitar) and Adam Woloszyn (bass).
NONPOINT recently parted ways with guitarist Zach Broderick and founding bassist Ken MacMillan.
Ken and Zach are currently involved in a new project that will be revealed soon.
INN CINEMA's self-titled EP — a seven-song, 30-plus-minute affair — came out last year.
NONPOINT is already deep into writing its forthcoming album, having demoed over two dozen songs. The new CD is currently slated for a spring of 2012 release via the band's new record label, Razor & Tie.
NONPOINT is managed by Izvor "Izzy" Zivkovic (Split Media) and represented for touring by Tim Borror and Anthony Paolercio for The Agency Group.
The band's latest album, "Miracle", sold around 8,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 60 on The Billboard 200 chart.
"Miracle" was released in Europe on June 14, 2010 via Powerage Records. The CD was made available in the U.S. on May 4, 2010 via the band's own 954 Records in partnership with Rocket Science Ventures / RED / Sony.
NONPOINT recently parted ways with guitarist Zach Broderick and founding bassist Ken MacMillan.
Ken and Zach are currently involved in a new project that will be revealed soon.
INN CINEMA's self-titled EP — a seven-song, 30-plus-minute affair — came out last year.
NONPOINT is already deep into writing its forthcoming album, having demoed over two dozen songs. The new CD is currently slated for a spring of 2012 release via the band's new record label, Razor & Tie.
NONPOINT is managed by Izvor "Izzy" Zivkovic (Split Media) and represented for touring by Tim Borror and Anthony Paolercio for The Agency Group.
The band's latest album, "Miracle", sold around 8,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 60 on The Billboard 200 chart.
"Miracle" was released in Europe on June 14, 2010 via Powerage Records. The CD was made available in the U.S. on May 4, 2010 via the band's own 954 Records in partnership with Rocket Science Ventures / RED / Sony.
Relapse Records has announced the signing of New Zealand progressive death metallers ULCERATE. The band will enter the studio in the fall of 2012 to begin recording its next album.
ULCERATE (Paul Kelland: bass/vocals, Michael Hoggard: guitar, William Cleverdon: guitar, and Jamie Saint Merat: drums) formed in 2000 and has previously released three full-length albums. The band's latest CD, "The Destroyers Of All", came out earlier this year and received international critical acclaim for its blend of ambitious songwriting and unorthodox extremity.
Commented ULCERATE drummer Jamie Saint Merat: "Working with Relapse is a very logical next step for us, and we're really looking forward to the partnership. Their presence of quality releases regardless of genre, overarching aesthetic and attention to detail is something that we find very natural to align with, as well as being fans of the label's releases well before the band was even started.
"In terms of what's next for ULCERATE, 2012 will be a big year for us — in February we're touring Europe for 23 dates with our good friends in SVART CROWN, followed up by Maryland Deathfest X and accompanying side-shows in the U.S. in May, New Zealand shows in December (2011) and January, and a tentative return to Australia mid-year. We'll also begin work on album number 4..."
ULCERATE (Paul Kelland: bass/vocals, Michael Hoggard: guitar, William Cleverdon: guitar, and Jamie Saint Merat: drums) formed in 2000 and has previously released three full-length albums. The band's latest CD, "The Destroyers Of All", came out earlier this year and received international critical acclaim for its blend of ambitious songwriting and unorthodox extremity.
Commented ULCERATE drummer Jamie Saint Merat: "Working with Relapse is a very logical next step for us, and we're really looking forward to the partnership. Their presence of quality releases regardless of genre, overarching aesthetic and attention to detail is something that we find very natural to align with, as well as being fans of the label's releases well before the band was even started.
"In terms of what's next for ULCERATE, 2012 will be a big year for us — in February we're touring Europe for 23 dates with our good friends in SVART CROWN, followed up by Maryland Deathfest X and accompanying side-shows in the U.S. in May, New Zealand shows in December (2011) and January, and a tentative return to Australia mid-year. We'll also begin work on album number 4..."
In November 2010, San Diego extreme metallers CATTLE DECAPITATION returned home from headlining "The California Blood Tour" and decided to take the next year off and immediately began writing the follow-up to their critically-acclaimed 2009 release "The Harvest Floor". The band has been holed up in the confines of its rehearsal studio in National City, California ever since and is preparing to unleash a new slab of human-dissecting carnage for a spring 2012 release via Metal Blade Records. The group will record the effort in January/February at Flatline Audio in Denver, Colorado with producer/engineer Dave Otero (CEPHALIC CARNAGE, CATHETER, TRIVIUM) and will showcase the new material at a handful of shows on the way out to Denver. Artist Wes Benscoter is again on board to deliver more "breathtaking gore-geousness" to the album cover as he has done on our past four releases.
Commented guitarist Josh Elmore: "As it comes down to the home stretch before recording, we have been focusing on getting the last two songs written as well as refining and tightening the tracks which are already completed. The overwhelming impression I get from this new batch of tunes is that they have benefitted greatly from a more streamlined approach to composition and song structure. A lot of these songs are very 'to-the-point' with just enough embellishment to keep them dynamic, whilst avoiding sinking into some bells-and-whistles mire. Lean and mean. There will be no forays in eight-string djentiness and none of us bought v-neck shirts or deck shoes to 'modernize' our sound and look, respectively. Expect some riffy, ripping blackened deathgrind with nods to our past work and tastes of what's to come. These songs are going to be a blast to play live and we are anxious to have these recorded and get on the road to play them for you."
Commented guitarist Josh Elmore: "As it comes down to the home stretch before recording, we have been focusing on getting the last two songs written as well as refining and tightening the tracks which are already completed. The overwhelming impression I get from this new batch of tunes is that they have benefitted greatly from a more streamlined approach to composition and song structure. A lot of these songs are very 'to-the-point' with just enough embellishment to keep them dynamic, whilst avoiding sinking into some bells-and-whistles mire. Lean and mean. There will be no forays in eight-string djentiness and none of us bought v-neck shirts or deck shoes to 'modernize' our sound and look, respectively. Expect some riffy, ripping blackened deathgrind with nods to our past work and tastes of what's to come. These songs are going to be a blast to play live and we are anxious to have these recorded and get on the road to play them for you."
California-based "atmospheric" death metal band LORD OF WAR has inked a deal with Unique Leader Records. The group's debut album, "Celestial Pestilence", will receive an international release on January 31, 2012.
Since 2008, LORD OF WAR has been inflicting its unique brand of thematically driven progressive brutality on their hometown of Oceanside.
Drawing inspiration from all across the modern extreme metal spectrum, LORD OF WAR brings to the table a perfect balance of engaging technicality and progressive elements — seamlessly intertwined with powerful melodies and crushing breaks. They pride themselves in keeping an expansive repertoire and a "something for everyone" ethos, while simultaneously maintaining an uncompromising level of dedication to musicianship and innovation within the scene. They constantly push their collective skill sets to the next level in order to deliver increasingly imaginative aggression to their fan base.
With the official release of their debut album looming on the horizon, and the signing of a multi-album deal with Unique Leader, LORD OF WAR is poised to take their campaign of domination to an international scale.
Since 2008, LORD OF WAR has been inflicting its unique brand of thematically driven progressive brutality on their hometown of Oceanside.
Drawing inspiration from all across the modern extreme metal spectrum, LORD OF WAR brings to the table a perfect balance of engaging technicality and progressive elements — seamlessly intertwined with powerful melodies and crushing breaks. They pride themselves in keeping an expansive repertoire and a "something for everyone" ethos, while simultaneously maintaining an uncompromising level of dedication to musicianship and innovation within the scene. They constantly push their collective skill sets to the next level in order to deliver increasingly imaginative aggression to their fan base.
With the official release of their debut album looming on the horizon, and the signing of a multi-album deal with Unique Leader, LORD OF WAR is poised to take their campaign of domination to an international scale.
The reissue of DEATH classic 1993 album "Individual Thought Patterns" sold around 700 copies in the United States in its first week of release. Remixed and remastered by Alan Douches, the LP was re-released on October 25 as a deluxe three-disc set, a two-disc standard set, and a deluxe digital download. The album was re-packaged with extensive liner notes from drummer Gene Hoglan and includes a second and third bonus disc worth of previously unreleased demos plus a full live set recorded in Germany during a 1993 European tour. Also included on the third bonus disc exclusive to this reissue are rare riff tracks from the Chuck Schuldiner archives.
"Individual Thought Patterns" track listing:
Disc 1:
01. Overactive Imagination
02. In Human Form
03. Jealousy
04. Trapped In A Corner
05. Nothing Is Everything
06. Mentally Blind
07. Individual Thought Patterns
08. Destiny
09. Out Of Touch
10. The Philosopher
Disc 2:
Live In Germany - April 13, 1993
01. Leprosy
02. Suicide Machine
03. Living Monstrosity
04. Overactive Imagination
05. Flattening Of Emotions
06. Within The Mind
07. In Human Form
08. Lack Of Comprehension
09. Trapped In A Corner
10. Zombie Ritual
"Individual Thought Patterns" Studio Outtake:
11. The Exorcist
Disc 3:
Four-Track Demos - Chuck & Gene - December 1992
01. Overactive Imagination
02. In Human Form
03. The Philosopher
04. Trapped In A Corner
05. Individual Thought Patterns
06. Jealousy
07. Nothing Is Everything
08. Destiny
09. Mentally Blind
10. Out Of Touch
Chuck's Riff Tape - 1992
11. In Human Form
12. The Philosopher
13. Trapped in a Corner
The entire "Individual Thought Patterns" reissue is available for streaming at this location.
For more information, go to this location.
The 20th-anniversary reissue of DEATH's legendary fourth album, "Human", sold 1,200 copies in the United States in its first week of release back in June.
"Human" is the best-selling DEATH album of the SoundScan era, having shifted nearly 100,000 copies in the United States since its October 1991 release.
"Individual Thought Patterns" track listing:
Disc 1:
01. Overactive Imagination
02. In Human Form
03. Jealousy
04. Trapped In A Corner
05. Nothing Is Everything
06. Mentally Blind
07. Individual Thought Patterns
08. Destiny
09. Out Of Touch
10. The Philosopher
Disc 2:
Live In Germany - April 13, 1993
01. Leprosy
02. Suicide Machine
03. Living Monstrosity
04. Overactive Imagination
05. Flattening Of Emotions
06. Within The Mind
07. In Human Form
08. Lack Of Comprehension
09. Trapped In A Corner
10. Zombie Ritual
"Individual Thought Patterns" Studio Outtake:
11. The Exorcist
Disc 3:
Four-Track Demos - Chuck & Gene - December 1992
01. Overactive Imagination
02. In Human Form
03. The Philosopher
04. Trapped In A Corner
05. Individual Thought Patterns
06. Jealousy
07. Nothing Is Everything
08. Destiny
09. Mentally Blind
10. Out Of Touch
Chuck's Riff Tape - 1992
11. In Human Form
12. The Philosopher
13. Trapped in a Corner
The entire "Individual Thought Patterns" reissue is available for streaming at this location.
For more information, go to this location.
The 20th-anniversary reissue of DEATH's legendary fourth album, "Human", sold 1,200 copies in the United States in its first week of release back in June.
"Human" is the best-selling DEATH album of the SoundScan era, having shifted nearly 100,000 copies in the United States since its October 1991 release.
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