[Classic_Rock_Forever] Aerosmith, AC/DC, Megadeth, Motorhead, Michael Schenker, Robin McAuley, Volbeat, and tons of hard rock and heavy metal news

 

AEROSMITH guitarist Joe Perry will take part in a Twitter question-and-answer session on Thursday, December 29. More information will be made available on Perry's official Twitter profile.

AEROSMITH recently landed at position No. 2 on the Billboard.com "Hot Tours" rankings with ticket sales counts reported from three venues on the Latin American leg of its "Back On The Road Tour" that launched in late October. The totals included grosses from Paraguay, Argentina and Brazil. The October 26 performance in Paraguay was an outdoor concert for 32,000 fans staged at the Jockey Club, a horseracing track in the city of Asunción. Two days later the band was in Argentina and played to a crowd of 38,000 at Estadio Único Ciudad de La Plata, a soccer stadium in the Buenos Aires market, grossing over $3.8 million (US$) from one performance. The last of this week's reported concerts was an October 30 event held at Arena Anhembi, an open-air concert site in São Paulo, Brazil. Attendance was just over 29,000 with a gross of $2.9 million (US$).

AEROSMITH celebrated the 35th anniversary of its iconic 1976 album, "Rocks", with a special-edition release, made available in Japan on November 23. The release coincided with AEROSMITH's fall tour through Japan, which kicked off on November 22 in Kanazawa.

AEROSMITH entered Joe Perry's home studio (The Boneyard) in suburban Boston and the Pandora's Box (the band's main studio) in early July with Jack Douglas to begin recording its long-awaited 14th studio album. The CD will be AEROSMITH's first set of original material since 2001's "Just Push Play" and first studio offering since 2004's covers CD, "Honkin' On Bobo".

AEROSMITH and singer Steven Tyler almost went their separate ways in late 2009, but reunited and toured last year. However, Tyler then stunned his bandmates by taking a job as a judge on "American Idol", which pushed back work on the already-delayed new record.

The 2012 edition of the critically acclaimed Experience Hendrix concert tour will launch with a three-week run of dates starting March 6 featuring an all-star lineup of musical greats paying homage to the abiding genius of Jimi Hendrix. Presented by Fender Musical Instruments, this year's tour will include performances by the following musicians:

* Buddy Guy
* Dweezil Zappa
* Billy Cox
* Robby Kreiger (THE DOORS)
* Robert Randolph
* Jonny Lang
* Kenny Wayne Shepherd
* David Hidalgo & Cesar Rosas (LOS LOBOS)
* Keb' Mo
* Eric Johnson
* Brad Whitford (AEROSMITH)
* LIVING COLOUR
* Chris Layton (STEVIE RAY VAUGHAN & DOUBLE TROUBLE)
* THE SLIDE BROTHERS

The announcement coincides with latest issue of Rolling Stone wherein Jimi Hendrix was, predictably, designated "The Greatest Guitarist of All Time." The tour will alight in twenty markets including Baltimore, Nashville, Atlanta, Miami, Orlando, Houston, Austin, Denver and more.

As has been the case with previous Experience Hendrix outings, special guests are expected to sit in at many of the dates, making the concerts all that much more memorable for both new and veteran Hendrix fans.

Janie Hendrix, President/CEO of Experience Hendrix L.L.C., noted, "Every day we see how Jimi's musical legacy continues to transcend generational and cultural boundaries. It's always been our continuing mission to do all we can to celebrate what he's given us and to keep his music in the forefront and the Experience Hendrix tour does that most directly. As a child Jimi promised to take care of me and I promised to take care of him. He wanted people to experience the 'Electric Church' and wake 'the sleeping people.' The Experience Hendrix Tour does just that with brilliant musicians who love Jimi and will electrify the stage with his music and sound,"

Notes Experience Hendrix Tour producer John McDermott, "The lineup for this tour reflects the breadth of Jimi's ongoing influence that reaches down through the generations. The guests that have been attracted to participate are enthusiastic about the proposition of performing with their counterparts. That mindset underscores the fact that the Experience Hendrix tour is all about musical camaraderie and the recognition that Jimi Hendrix, undeniably, casts the longest shadow in the realm of great music and great musicians."

Experience Hendrix Tour confirmed dates (additional dates to be added)

March 06 - Tue - Baltimore, MD - Strathmore Theater
March 07 - Wed - Greensboro, NC - War Memorial Auditorium
March 08 - Thu - Knoxville, TN - Civic Auditorium
March 09 - Fri - Nashville, TN - Tennessee Performing Arts Center
March 10 - Sat - Atlanta, GA - Fox Theater
March 11 - Sun - Charleston, SC - North Charleston Performing Arts Center
March 14 - Wed - Hollywood, FL - Seminole Hard Rock
March 15 - Thu - Clearwarter, FL - Ruth Eckerd Hall
March 16 - Fri - Saint Augustine, FL - Saint Augustine Amphitheatre
March 17 - Sat - Orange Beach, AL - Warf Amphitheatre
March 22 - Thu - Houston, TX - Arena Theater
March 23 - Fri - Thackerville, OK - Winstar Casino
March 24 - Sat - Austin, TX - ACL Live @ Moody Theater

DAYTONA BEACH, Fla. -- The voice that raised a million arena lights was wafting out of a garage bay at Daytona International Speedway, not in its normal high-decibel rasp, but in laughter. There, in a threadbare fire suit rolled down to his waist, Brian Johnson stood, arms crossed, his barrel of a torso cocking backward and then forward as he related a morning's misadventure in the high-powered BMW/Riley Daytona prototype parked behind him.

"There she is. This is the star of the show," said Johnson, the 64-year-old lead singer of the rock group AC/DC and beginning on this December day, a NASCAR driver preparing for his first Grand-Am Series Rolex 24. "I just have to try and keep her in one piece."

Grinning profusely as he turned to his teammates and a small group of onlookers that had come to see this spectacle of Rock and Roll Hall of Famer turned sports car driver, Johnson noticed an energy drink sticker loosely affixed to his t-shirt.

"Ah!" he carped in mock derision. "I guess I have to thank my f------ sponsor now, too."

It's A Long Way To The Top (If You Wanna Rock And Rolex Series)

Brian Johnson understands scrutiny. He can sense when he is expected to fail. This, after all, is a man chosen to replace Bon Scott -- possessor of one of the most iconic voices and rollicking personalities in hard rock history -- when the lead singer died of acute alcohol poisoning in 1980. With Johnson out front, the already legendary AC/DC returned with Back in Black, which has sold 49 million copies worldwide, second all-time only to Michael Jackson's Thriller. The group, once on the verge of disbanding, catapulted into its next and on-going 30-year incarnation with Johnson. Johnson, from a long line of Newcastle, England coal miners, forged his own identity with his ubiquitous driving cap and a power-tool growl of a voice that is still roars from speakers at hockey games, concert halls and wedding receptions. No one, it seems, can resist Shook Me All Night Long. He has seen or done many things since he joined AC/DC in 1980, and with the latter stages of his music career sorting themselves out to his liking, he's found time for his other passion: cars, and for the last 11 years, racing.

Johnson has won races and stood upon podiums in the Heritage Racing Series in his trusty '65 Lola T70, and some time ago he was approached by part-time Predator Racing teammate and Chattanooga businessman Byron DeFoor about joining him for a project he was putting together for the 24-hour season-opening Grand-Am race at Daytona.

"He asked [if I was interested in joining him], and I said, 'More than anything else in the world'," Johnson remembers. "Being a kid growing up in Europe, it was the 24 hours of Le Mans, the Mille Miglia you just read about in mags and stuff. There were those wonderful images of heroic drivers with goggles and all this kind of thing, [it] stirs the imagination."

Johnson, who still recites the names of those drivers with child-like reverence, learned more about North American endurance racing when he began touring with AC/DC.

"I just always wanted to be part of it, but to actually drive in it, was just ..." he said. "I didn't even have the ability to even mix with these puppies, but after about 12 years of vintage racing, everybody said, 'Come on Brian. Give it a shot. You got a few podiums,' and stuff like that. Byron just made it happen."

The similarities between conducting an arena full of fans and a race car full of horsepower and mayhem are "frightening," Johnson said.

"You have to do them to understand what I'm talking about," he said. "There are very few people who have ever had that unique experience. When you go on stage, you go with four other lads, and in my case I've got four of the greatest guys on the planet to play with, my friends, great lads. [On stage] the flag drops, kind of, and you come out and you start, and it's the same as racing. You can't give too much too early. You can't dive into that first corner. You've got two and a half hours to go. You've got to bring it up and keep it going. You can't just give it all away and have the rest of it be pretty boring. And then it's the same in racing. You can't be a big flurry of arms and fists and fists and arms because you'll end up in the grass, screwed up or whatever. It's a case of using your head."

Highway To Help

The logo is emblazoned on the left front side of the No. 50 Dinan-prepared BMW/Riley, just above the wheel well. It's the symbol of the philanthropic mission that makes their endeavor in the 50th Rolex 24 more than just the fulfillment of a sporting dream. Established to benefit the Austin Hatcher Foundation for pediatric cancer research and named -- with a softened twist -- after a pre-Johnson AC/DC smash (Highway to Help), the charity has set a $1 million fundraising goal for the Rolex 24 and the Grand-Am events at Indianapolis and Watkins Glen at which Johnson is also scheduled to drive. A radiothon and live DJ are scheduled to help stoke donations at Daytona.

"Brian is the most down-to-earth person you will ever meet, especially considering his stardom," said DeFoor, who is involved with healthcare banking and lending, "and he said, 'This [driving in the Rolex 24] is an ego thing for me and you, but the [charity] is the right thing. Use me for anything you need to do.'"

Johnson, fellow Rolex 24 rookie DeFoor, former race-winners Elliott Forbes-Robinson and Jim Pace and Carlos de Quesada form an aptly named Fifty-Plus Racing team (all are older than 50) that is working in conjunction with Predator Performance and Alegra Motorsports.

Though Johnson is the latest in a long line of celebrities that have undertaken sports car racing in general and the Rolex 24 in particular, Johnson was a curiosity within the Grand-Am community as word leaked that he would compete. The garage is, after all, filled with men who once had High Voltage cassettes in their hot rods. Johnson has captivated that community with the self-deprecating way he has ingratiated himself to his new peers and his preternatural gifts of connection and storytelling.

Reigning series and Rolex 24 champion Scott Pruett said in a phone interview with SI.com that he, too, was eagerly awaiting his opportunity to introduce himself to one of his musical favorites. Though the Rolex 24 is the signature event of the Grand-Am season, it is a perfectly acceptable venue for newcomers, Pruett said.

"When you look at some of the celebrities in the past who've come out to drive, from Bruce Jenner back with me in the late '80s or Patrick Dempsey and Craig T. Nelson, there's been a lot of celebrities who've come to be a part of our sport," said Pruett, who has four Grand-Am Daytona Prototype championships. "One of the best [races] to come be a part of is the Rolex 24, because as long as you approach it the right way and have the right team around you to keep you grounded, not get excited, once the race gets up and rolling, you can run your own pace, stay out of trouble, run the miles without the stress of a three-hour race or six-hour race where you have to make things happen."

Pruett said he is therefore not concerned about the competency of Johnson or other neophytes dabbling in the most prestigious race of his season. Grand Am, a subsidiary of NASCAR, vets all drivers before they are allowed to compete.

Wonderstruck

Brian Johnson was born into a drab post-war village of Dunston in the fall of 1947, where life was "coal mine, steel works, ship-build and Newcastle United on a Saturday," he said. He lives most of the year in Sarasota, Fla. -- the rest of the year he spends in London -- but his thick Geordie accent defines him, most evidently when he says the name of his band, "Ehya-C-Deeya-C." He should have been a fifth-generation coal miner, getting as close as an apprentice engineer, but his mother intervened. And from a very young age, there was a love of cars.

"I love the way they look, I love the way they sound," Johnson said, his voice waxing nostalgic. "It's probably because I was born in a small mining village and it's probably because there wasn't many cars there. The doctor had a car, the foreman had a car. The local policeman would have a car, but we lived in government housing and there just wasn't many cars. You might get your odd one but it was all motorbikes and sidecars. Petrol was still rationed and the cars were still ... a lot of them were pre-war cars and just horrible and black. It was dull and turgid."

Everything changed for Johnson in the mid-1950s. England was ascendant again. Hormones and rock and roll and, of course, cars were changing his life.

"Suddenly, in the mid-'50s, there was something," he beamed. "There was the Nash Metropolitan. The first one I ever saw I was like, "Wow, it's two-toned." It just looked different. It was gorgeous. Then the Jowett Javelin, which was stunning. And then cars started turning into these beautiful objects. To me they did, anyway, with these bright colors and blues, and then the Minis.

"England was the king of the world. We had the Beatles, we had the Mini. We still had an army that could fill a football stadium. It was a great time and it was swinging England. And in America, the great thing was, cars and rock and roll came together. The '50s ... watching an Elvis Presley movie, these beautiful Cadillacs, gorgeous, bright red. They were works of art on their own. Of course, they were massive. You couldn't turn a corner in them, but who cares when you have your arm round a beautiful girl, driving down the beach at sunset? It was just stuff my dreams were made of. And it just fed my passion."

Johnson's love of cars was such that when he finally found time to write a memoir, it was a comprehensive tome on all things motoring in his life called Rockers and Rollers. It confused not only booksellers, who didn't know where to shelve it, but fans who turned it into a brisk seller thinking they were about to learn the inside story on Back in Black.

Johnson's car collection is a mix of the nostalgic and the sleek, but he tools around Sarasota in a Rolls-Royce Phantom, odometer approximately 11,000. That's not to say he doesn't get a lot of mileage out of it.

"This one is f------ brilliant," he grinned, referring to the Phantom. "I was telling [Top Gear co-presenter Jeremy] Clarkson about it, because it's his favorite car, too. He says, 'What is it good for, Brian? What was it made for?' and it was him that said, 'I'll tell you what it's for. It's to arrive in.' It was designed to arrive in. And I f------ love it. I love driving it. It's fast. It's quick."

De Quesada learned just how quick the Phantom was during a late-night drive to a test at Sebring International Raceway in November, when his Porsche -- traveling at 120 mph -- was left in a vapor trail among the cattle ranches and groves by Johnson. Johnson and de Quesada met formally for the first time a while later at the track.

"We got a good laugh out of that one," Johnson bellowed.

For Those About To Wreck, We Salute You

Though his goals have heightened incrementally as he and DeFoor have pared down lap times under the guidance of their professional teammates, Johnson remains aware of his limitations, joking with DeFoor that perhaps a cross warning should be etched on their rear bumper. But still, they feel a top-five finish is plausible in a 12-team field in the fastest class.

"First of all we were thinking, well, if we can just finish and have a bit of fun, but it's starting to change now," Johnson admitted, sheepishly. "It really is starting to change. ... We've come leaps and bounds. We've knocked about 10 seconds off our time in a day. That's pretty cool. Now it starts to get a steep learning curve, to get that last three to four seconds. We'll never be professionals. We know that. Professional boys go around so fast and make it look so easy ... The last thing they said was don't try to follow them. Don't do that monkey-see, monkey-do s--- or you'll go straight off. These guys know what they're doing. So we're trying not to be heroes and just be sensible and get round the best we can."

But if he errs somewhere in the middle of the night with an innocent little mistake in a curve or out in the fog, he knows his adventure will be dismissed as some metal god's bucket list item gone awry, which would be missing the point. The headlines, though, would be glorious:

For Those About To Wreck, We Salute You?

Shot Down In Flames?

Whole Lotta Slow-sie?

Johnson's cheeks widened at the thought, appreciating the potential humor in his sublime attempt.

"You might yet get to use that one," he cackled. "We're old, but we're spirited."

There aren't many compelling examples in rock history of awesome musicians finding religion and then continuing to be awesome. Bob Dylan was Born Again in the late 70s and almost immediately became a sanctimonious douche. Brian "Head" Welch quit Korn to start making Christian rock that nobody listens to, unless you're into fun party music like "Bury Me, Resurrected." Alice Cooper is a borderline tolerable Christian, when he's not making untenable claims like "Sarah Palin is a breath of fresh air." Probably the closest thing to a rock star who started going to church and managed not to alienate his fan base is Dave Mustaine. The Megadeth frontman converted to Christianity in 2003, and didn't immediately try to destroy his legacy with religious claptrap. He's admitted to praying with his band before shows, Madonna-in-Truth-or-Dare-style, and he once refused to play on the same bill as overtly anti-Christian bands like Rotting Christ and Dissection. But none of that qualifies as insane behavior. His just released Rock Prodigy interactive app offers lessons in guitar shredding, not scripture. And his just released Megadeth album, Th1rt3en, doesn't even have hints of his Born Again beliefs. Okay sure, he went on ABC News in July and made some crazy claims about Satan. "He could be in this room right now," Mustaine said with a spooky gravitas that wouldn't have been embarrassing if he was a camp counselor trying to freak out teenage campers. And then he told SPIN magazine last month that he cured a Megadeth fan in Kentucky of throat cancer, which would've been funny coming from somebody who doesn't also believe that a guy named Jesus performed miracles and rose from the dead. But Mustaine's music remains, for the most part, thank the sweet Lord, relatively non-pious.

I called Mustaine to talk about Th1rt3en, but really, I wanted to ask him about heaven and hell and Rick Perry.

Was there some significance to naming the new album Th1rt3en? Or did you just pick it cause it sounds badass?

Well, one would think the latter. But there's actually a deeper meaning to the number thirteen for me. There've been a lot of thirteens in my life. I was born on the 13th of September. I started playing guitar when I was thirteen. And this is Megadeth's thirteenth record.

Do you think theories that thirteen is an unlucky number are just superstitious hogwash?

It hasn't been unlucky for me, that's all I know. It was definitely unlucky for the Knights Templar, because they all got burned at the stake on Friday the 13th. I think that's where all the superstition about thirteen being a bad number came from. But for me, it's always been lucky.

I read somewhere that Taylor Swift loves the number thirteen and writes it on her hand before concerts.

Yep, that's where I got it from. You busted me, dude.

Did I just ruin thirteen for you?

No, it's fine. What Taylor Swift believes or doesn't believe really doesn't bother me one way or the other.

Do you consider yourself an optimist? Are you looking ahead to 2012 and thinking, "This year's gonna rock?"

I think 2012 is going to be fine for me in some circumstances, but I think it's going to be really horrible for our country.

How so?

Everything is pretty shitty right now, with the eradication of the middle class, and we've got an attorney general who won't come clean about the Fast and Furious stuff. I think that we're headed for a lot of trouble. We've got an incredible debt, which is just continuing to get higher and higher. We need jobs right now, man. We don't need any more Washington deals, we need jobs. There are so many things wrong with this current administration.

If you could give one piece of advice to Obama, what would it be?

To me, a president should be the one who steps up to the plate and says "Knock it off."

Maybe he should consider using that as his election slogan instead of "Yes We Can."

That's not a bad idea.

Obama in 2012: "Knock It Off!"

Yeah, I still don't think I'd believe him. I always thought Colin Powell would make a great president, but he doesn't want anything to do with politics anymore. I can't say I blame him. Given our choices for president, I think next year is going to be just terrible.

Even more so if the Mayans are right and we're all doomed.

Yeah, but nobody seriously buys into that crap. It's just a lot of fear-mongering.

Do you believe in the apocalypse?

"I did two hexes. One was on a guy who punched me in the back of the head when I wasn't looking, and the other was on a girl that I wanted to seduce."

Based on the Mayan Calendar?

Doesn't have to be on their timetable. Do you believe in End Times at all? Are you braced for the Rapture?

Well … [Long pause.]

I just thought, you know, as a Christian who believes in the bible as a literal document, isn't an apocalypse part of the deal?

Well, I'm a Christian, so I kinda do believe that things will end in a certain kind of way. But I don't force my beliefs on anybody. I never have. My mom was a Jehovah's Witness and to me that's what people should be afraid of, not me sitting at home listening to my bible tapes.

How do you think the world will end?

I think it's going to be restored back to what it once was. But who knows when that'll happen. It won't be in 2012, I don't think.

Rick Perry claimed in a recent campaign ad that there's a war on Christianity. As an intelligent, seemingly non-crazy Christian, do you agree with him?

I think there's enough evidence that shows there is some effort being made toward controlling religion.

Could you give me an example?

It's pretty clear that they're taking prayer out of school. It's been happening for a very long time. The very first schoolbook that was written had God all over it. I collect books and I have some really, really old schoolbooks, and God is mentioned on every single page. They're taking God out of the schools to dumb us down.

I'm almost positive they're trying to have the opposite effect.

It's not just in the schools. There are a lot of people being persecuted for what they believe in. There was that girl who was fired from a Macy's in Texas because she didn't let some cross-dressing dude into the woman's dressing room. Come on! Are you out of your mind, Macy's?

I think she was transgender, not a cross-dresser.

That's not my point.

There's a pretty big difference. And if we want to talk about persecution …

All I know is, if my wife walked in there and some transgender dude in a dress walked out, I would beat his ass.

Her ass.

What?

You mean her ass.

The dude in the dress?

 

Dave Mustaine performs with Megadeth in Stevenage, U.K., July 2011 Photo: Ollie Millington/Getty Images

Never mind, let's awkwardly change the subject. You have firm religious convictions that I assume include a belief in heaven and hell, right?

That's right.

If a Christian hell exists, isn't it likely that Elvis Presley is down there?

[Pause.] You're asking if I think Elvis is in hell?

Or any rock legend. Jim Morrison is probably in hell, right? John Bonham's in hell. John Lennon, hell. Jimi Hendrix, hell. Dimebag Darrell, hell. Bon Scott is definitely in hell. Doesn't that depress you a little?

Well, I don't know where any of those dudes are, because I don't really know where they were at before they died.

Where they were at spiritually?

Yeah. I know that Jimi Hendrix became a Christian because a friend of mine that recently passed away had known Jimi really well and owned almost every piece of memorabilia you can imagine. He had the psychedelic V and a couple of his strats. He had Hendrix's prayer mat.

A prayer mat? Like to cushion your knees while you pray?

Yeah. Hendrix used to kneel on it and pray before he went onstage. Towards the end, before he died, he became a Christian. I had no idea.

Before you became a Christian, you dabbled in witchcraft. Or maybe dabbled isn't the right word.

No, there was no dabbling. I definitely practiced it full-on.

Did you cast any hexes?

Of course. [Laughs.] If you're not casting hexes, you're not really doing witchcraft. You're just reading about it.

Did you have any favorite hexes? Or any hexes that actually worked?

It's been so long. The whole subject is kind of boring to me.

That's weird. As somebody with exactly zero experience in hexes, I can't think of anything less boring.

I did two hexes. One was on a guy who punched me in the back of the head when I wasn't looking, and the other was on a girl that I wanted to seduce.

And they both worked?

They did. And that's why I don't do hexes anymore. And it's why I don't do Megadeth songs like "The Conjuring" anymore. The lyrics are basically just a list of instructions from some of the hexes I've done.

You're worried about copycats?

Yeah, I am. I could play the music, it wouldn't bother me at all. But the lyrics, I don't know. When I wrote it, I thought it was really cool to put that stuff in there. I didn't think beyond the end of my nose that other kids were going to hear it and probably take it to heart.

I just Googled the lyrics to "The Conjuring," and I guess you're right, it is like a recipe for a hex. I apparently need a candle and a piece of parchment and an eyelash from a black cat and the straw of a broom. This is all accurate?

It is, yeah.

Where do you even go to find the eyelash from a black cat? Amazon, maybe?

I have no clue. I'm not saying everybody would listen to that song and decide to try doing a hex. Maybe out of 100 people, 99 will think it's stupid, or 99 will think it's cool but would never do it. But there's always that one. You know what I mean? I don't want to be responsible for misleading anyone. It's hard enough to survive in this world without getting bad ideas from a metal song.

Th1rt3en is out now on Roadrunner Records.

The new documentary on MOTÖRHEAD singer and bassist Lemmy Kilmister, "Lemmy: 49% Motherf**ker, 51% Son Of A Bitch", is closing out 2011 in style, with gold sales certifications around the world, and a best-film award.

Directed by Greg Olliver and Wes Orshoski, "Lemmy" has now been certified gold (50,000 DVDs, Blu-rays, digital downloads shipped or sold) by the Recording Industry Association Of America (RIAA).

Called "the stuff of legends" by the Los Angeles Times and "inspiring" by NME, "Lemmy" was also recently certified gold in the U.K. by the British Phonographic Industry, and has also reached the milestone in Germany, France and Scandinavia.

"Lemmy" also took home the "Film Of The Year" trophy at the annual Classic Rock Awards in London in November, beating out titles by THE ROLLING STONES, AC/DC, FOO FIGHTERS, BLACK SABBATH, DEEP PURPLE and "The Big 4" (METALLICA, SLAYER, MEGADETH, ANTHRAX). In its review of "Lemmy", Classic Rock called the film "a heart-warming, life-affirming thing of beauty."

Filmed over more than three years, "Lemmy" features appearances by artists spanning the musical spectrum, from METALLICA, Ozzy Osbourne and Slash to Henry Rollins, Peter Hook (NEW ORDER, JOY DIVISION), Mick Jones (THE CLASH) and Jarvis Cocker.

The U.S. version of "Lemmy", a two-DVD set issued by Damage Case Films/Megaforce, is the definitive version of the documentary. The Blu-ray features more than four hours of bonus content, including featurettes, live performances from MOTÖRHEAD and Lemmy with METALLICA, extended scenes and interview outtakes. The DVD features more than three hours of extras. Both include a glossy booklet with exclusive photos and drawings only available in the U.S.

"Lemmy: 49% Motherf**ker, 51% Son Of A Bitch" sold around 3,700 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 1 on Billboard's "Top Music Videos" chart. In addition, both the DVD and Blu-ray disc were among the top 10 best-selling documentaries on Amazon.com the week of its release.

"Lemmy" U.S. bonus features:

* The Making of Lemmy
* Motörhead Live
* Lemmy & Metallica in Nashville
* (We Are) The Roadcrew
* Lemmy Interview Outtakes
* The Sweet Side of Lemmy
* Funny Stories
* Lemmy's 50th Birthday Featuring Metallica
* Marshall Stack Prototype Test
* Phil Campbell Featurette
* Mikkey Dee Featurette
* Full Dave Grohl & Lemmy Conversation
* Clarke/Kilmister/Taylor - The Early Days of Motörhead
* Meet the Superfans
* Matt Sorum Joins Motörhead
* The Making of "Motörizer"
* Triple H Interview Outtakes
* Everything Louder Than Everything Else
* Lemmy's Bass Playing Style
* Fans Around the World
* Full Billy Bob Thornton & Lemmy Conversation
* The Rocking Vickers (Extended Scene)
* Hawkwind (Extended Scene)
* Who Would Play Lemmy in a Movie?
* Lemmy World Premieres at South by Southwest 2010

Through Christmas Eve, the "Lemmy" DVD and Blu-ray are being offered at a 25 percent discount at www.lemmymovie.com.

 

Singer Robin McAuley will reunite with legendary guitarist Michael Schenker (SCORPIONS, UFO) for their first full together in almost 20 years.

The full band lineup for the trek will be as follows:

* Michael Schenker (SCORPIONS, UFO) - Guitar
* Robin McAuley (SURVIVOR) - Lead Vocals
* Elliot Rubinson (Dean Guitars) - Bass
* Wayne Findlay - Keyboards, Guitar
* Pete Holmes (BLACK 'N BLUE) - Drums

The dates are as follows:

Feb. 15 - San Francisco, CA @ Mezzanine
Feb. 16 - Santa Rosa, CA @ The Last Day Saloon
Feb. 17 - Portland, OR @ Dantes (w/ Anvil)
Feb. 18 - Tacoma, WA @ Backstage Live
Feb. 19 - Seattle, WA @ Studio Seven
Feb. 20 - Victoria, BC @ 9 One 9 Nightclub
Feb. 21 - Vancouver, BC @ Venue Nightclub
Feb. 23 - Orangevale, CA @ The Boardwalk
Feb. 24 - Corona, CA @ Marquee 15
Feb. 25 - West Hollywood, CA @ House Of Blues
Feb. 26 - San Diego, CA @ 4 Th And B Concert Theatre
Mar. 01 - Libertyville, IL @ Austins
Mar. 03 - Detroit, MI @ Harpos
Mar. 04 - Etobicoke, ON @ The Rock Pile
Mar. 05 - Cleveland, OH @ Peabody's
Mar. 07 - Springfield, VA @ Jaxx
Mar. 08 - Foxborough, MA @ Showcase Live
Mar. 09 - Asbury Park, NJ @ The Stone Pony
Mar. 10 - New York, NY @ The Gramercy Theatre
Mar. 11 - Allentown, PA @ Crocodile Rock
Mar. 16 - San Antonio, TX @ Backstage Live
Mar. 17 - Dallas, TX @ Trees
Mar. 21 - Tempe, AZ @ Club Red
Mar. 22 - Las Vegas, NV @ Vamp'd
Mar. 23 - Agoura Hills, CA @ The Canyon Club
Mar. 24 - San Juan Capistrano, CA @ The Coach House

Schenker's new album, "Temple Of Rock", was released in Europe on September 23 and in North America on October 11 on CD and LP through Schenker's own Inakoustik label via MVD Entertainment Group. The album was released in Japan on September 7.

"The Temple of Rock is within me," said Michael, "where I create since I was introduced to the amazing invention of the distorted guitar which is for me the most enjoyable and the best possible way to express myself. The rock guitar sound that I fell in love with, mostly expressed as lead breaks, is what I have nurtured and treasured all of my life. Combined with the infinite spring from within and the amazing musicians around me I keep expressing an ongoing development of my art (being)."

He adds, "With 'Temple of Rock' I am entering a new stage of my life, a new level of existence enjoying life more than ever, reaping the joy of all sorts of developments from the past. These days I just want to go out there, play and have fun. Also, it seems to me that collectively, with true expressive makers of rock music, we have been building the external 'Temple Of Rock' for many years and have now come to the point of putting on the roofing and celebrating the almost completion of the Temple. All generations of this period are meeting all over the world on one stage it seems celebrating an era of 'hand make rock,' which will never be the same again due to invention of new technology but of course New Temples and New Wonders will arise to enjoy expressions in new ways."

 

 

Danish metal rock 'n' rollers VOLBEAT have tapped Hank Shermann of MERCYFUL FATE to play guitar on their their upcoming North American tour as part of "Gigantour".

Shermann most recently shared the stage with METALLICA at one of four intimate shows which took place at the Fillmore in San Francisco as part of the week-long celebration of METALLICA's 30th anniversary as a band for fan club members only.

"It's a true honor getting to work with Hank, whose guitar work has inspired all three bandmembers long before VOLBEAT was formed," says VOLBEAT frontman Michael Poulsen. "I'm very thankful that Hank has the time to join us on Gigantour in his busy schedule."

The multi-artist Gigantour bill — with metal heavyweights MOTÖRHEAD, VOLBEAT and LACUNA COIL all personally picked by Dave Mustaine of headliners MEGADETH — will kick off on January 26 in Camden, New Jersey.

Gigantour was founded by Mustaine in 2005 and was last in North America in May 2008.

VOLBEAT recently parted ways with guitarist Thomas Bredahl, who had been a member of the band since 2006.

VOLBEAT has just released "Live From Beyond Hell/Above Heaven" via Vertigo/Universal on double DVD, Blu-ray, limited double DVD + audio CD, CD, digital download and VOD. The set includes footage from VOLBEAT's sold-out show in front of 10,000 fervent fans at the Forum in Copenhagen, to the House of Blues in Anaheim, California and the Rock Am Ring show in Germany. It's VOLBEAT conquering performance territory Stateside and across Europe, showing fans that the band is just as comfortable, charged and throttled in front of an audience as intimate as 1,100 or as vast as 80,000.

 

The final show of Doro Pesch's European tour, which concluded last night (Sunday, December 18) at Docks in Hamburg, Germany, was professionally recorded. It is not presently clear when, and if, the footage will be officially released.

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

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

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

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

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

 

IN FLAMES, HAMMERFALL, OPETH and THE HAUNTED are among the five final nominees that are competing for the "Best Hard Rock/Metal" honor at the Swedish Grammis awards (Swedish Grammy equivalent), which will be held February 14, 2010 at Kungliga Operan in Stockholm. The bands are all nominated for their most recent releases, all of which came out during 2011.

"Best Hard Rock/Metal" nominees:

* GRAVEYARD - "Hisingen Blues"
* HAMMERFALL - "Infected"
* IN FLAMES - "Sounds Of A Playground Fading"
* OPETH - "Heritage"
* THE HAUNTED - "Unseen"

The most recent Grammis award in the "Best Hard Rock" category went to WATAIN for the band's "Lawless Darkness" album.

 

After a highly successful run of European festivals and select club shows, Swedish melodic metal maestros SOILWORK have started writing music for the follow-up to 2010's "The Panic Broadcast".

Commented vocalist Björn "Speed" Strid: "It's been an intense summer and at this point, me and the boys are hibernating in pretty much every corner of the world and putting our next album together. Many songs are yet to be written but the inspiration is flowing! People can expect a continuation of the intensity and presence of 'The Panic Broadcast', only taken to a higher level. That's the mindset. We will do some touring next year as well, before we hopefully enter the studio sometime in the early fall. The album title is already set: 'The Living Infinite'. Chew on that for a bit and don't spit it out until the music is invading your ears, folks!"

Video footage of SOILWORK's performance at this past summer's Roskilde festal in Roskilde, Denmark can be seen below.

"The Panic Broadcast" sold around 5,300 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 88 on The Billboard 200 chart.

The band's previous CD, "Sworn to a Great Divide", opened with 5,000 units back in October 2007 to land at No. 148.

"The Panic Broadcast" was released in Europe on July 2, 2010 and in North America on July 13, 2010 via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD was mixed at Fascination Street studio in Örebro, Sweden with Jens Bogren (OPETH, KATATONIA, PARADISE LOST, BLOODBATH).

SOILWORK's new album was the first to feature guitarist Peter Wichers since his return to the band in 2008, as well as the studio debut with axeman Sylvain Coudret, who also joined in 2008.

SOILWORK filmed a music video for the song "Deliverance Is Mine" with directorIvan Colic (EX DEO, TYPE O NEGATIVE, UNLEASHED) and producer Stanimir "Staca" Lukic (MOONSPELL, KAMELOT, DEATHSTARS, TYPE O NEGATIVE).

 

Veteran Canadian hard rockers HELIX are talking to several record companies in various territories (Canada, U.S. and Europe) about the possibility of releasing a HELIX "anthology" CD. The collection would include about 20 tracks, covering all the HELIX LPs over the years plus a couple of songs from singer Brian Vollmer's solo album, "When Pigs Fly". Also included on the CD would be re-recorded versions of some of HELIX's biggest hits: "Rock You", "Heavy Metal Love", "Deep Cuts The Knife" and "Wild In The Streets".

Tentative track listing for HELIX "anthology' CD:

01. Billy Oxygen
02. It's Too Late
03. Heavy Metal Love
04. Rock You
05. Deep Cuts The Knife
06. Wild In The Streets
07. Dream On
08. Good To The Last Drop
09. Running Wild In The 21st Century
10. That Day Is Gonna Come
11. The Same Room
12. Wrecking Ball
13. Jaws Of The Tiger
14. I'm A Live Frankenstein
15. F.U.G.L.Y.
16. Six Feet Underground
17. Cyberspace Girl
18. Make 'Em Dance
19. Monday Morning Meltdown
20. Skin In The Game

HELIX recently released the "Skin In The Game" EP. The CD was mixed by Aaron Murray and was mastered at Carvello Mastering in Toronto, Ontario. The artwork was once again created by Babyjack Design, who previously worked with the band on the "Vagabond Bones" and "Smash Hits Unplugged" releases.

Regarding the new material, Vollmer said, "I wrote [the first] four songs with Sean Kelly. One ('Angelina') was also a co-write with Moe Berg. Sean has been my partner on the last couple of HELIX discs — 'Vagabond Bones' and 'Smash Hits Unplugged' — as well as being a large part of the acoustic show.

"These four songs ('Champagne Communist', 'Angelina', 'Skin In The Game', and 'The Bitch Is A Bullet') are really just a continuation of the 'Vagabond Bones' CD. We wrote them very shortly after that CD was finished and they've been sitting in the can for a year."

The following is an interview with John Arch (above left), former vocalist of Fates Warning, current vocalist of the band Arch/Matheos. The interview was conducted by Phil Swanson. Swanson, who has written for Powerline numerous times, is a Connecticut musician involved with various bands: Upwards of Endtime, Vestal Claret, Atlantean Kodex, Seamount, Briton Rites and Lords of Triumph. Swanson  is a lifelong John Arch fan. He is also extremely knowledgeable of the world's underground metal scene. The interview covers everything from Fates Warning's genesis to the new Arch/Matheos release Sympathetic Resonance (read Powerline's review of the album here). Enjoy.

 

You spent time in Long Island working with Dream Theater in their early days. What ever came of that and were there any other prospects between that and A Twist of Fate (2003 solo EP)?
John Arch: The audition for Dream Theater was sort of a fleeting couple of weekends where we had gotten together to explore the possibilities. I had been half-heartedly stepping in the direction of getting back into music again and as it turned out, the events and commitments in my life at the time instinctivley pulled me back home. Dream Theater had graciously given me an opportunity, but it wasn't to be.

Were there any notable offers over the years to join up with any other bands?
Arch: I had been contacted by various bands and people looking for a project vocalist, but nothing of major label caliber. I wasn't actively seeking out anything of that nature either.

Lyrically, IMO, you are the best writer in music. Where do you draw your ideas and concepts from — beyond the obvious?
Arch: Well, thank you for the compliment. In the earlier works with Fates, the music and the name had a mystical connotation to it, and what I thought would be fitting lyrically would be sort of a hybrid of fantasy, lore and the intangible — with glimpses of reality. It was all about using the imagination and taking a journey away from the harsh realities of life. The music has progressed to more complex arrangements with many movements, so, in essence, the lyrics and melodies have to evolve with the music and weave in between and around to compliment the music. It wouldn't be very interesting to sing in a simplistic way to this music in my opinion. Sympathetic Resonance, much like A Twist of Fate, the lyrics are of a different beast and deal with less mythology, but in my opinion something equally perplexing and intangible: the human emotion. No matter how jaded some may think this is, to me it is the only way I could have turned something I've experienced that almost killed me, into something that can help me begin to heal.

Your voice is more powerful than ever, what do you attribute that to — seeing that most diminish with age? What's your secret?
Arch: I wish there was a secret, because I'd love to hear it. In my humble opinion the digital recording versus analog brings more clarity, and the beauty of the studio gives you multiple takes. Having said that, I don't believe we used auto tune and a plethora of effects, just straight-forward singing until we got it right. I had a difficult time at first on the onset of the recording because of not singing for the last eight years since Awaken the Guardian. So, in essence, it was a building process, getting my voice into respectable recording shape. I say "recording shape" because there is a difference between recording and the endurance you need to build for performing, which is a whole different animal.

Your style is so distinct and identifiable and, to be honest, the most courageous I've ever heard. An inspiration, if I do say so myself. To be an original voice seemed very difficult back then, do you agree?
Arch: Well thank you again. It is very gratifying to break away from the early comparisons and find your own voice. I still hear singers today who sound identical to early Geoff Tate, and although that is a remarkable achievement and takes skill, it seems more like a competition rather than offering an original voice. … which I believe everyone has…. you just have to find it. It is really interesting how opinions can differ and not everyone hears, or processes, the sound of my voice the same way, and I totally respect all opinions. To me it sounds like a natural progression, and I try to sing with as much emotion as my connection to the music and lyrics allows. This time around, I tried to use more of a range and stay away from anything that wasn't complimentary to the music, such as singing in to high of a register. I partially succeeded in that.

It seems you were the most underrated singer in the genre. Do you feel a bit vindicated by the current demand for your comeback?
Arch: I don't know. … I'm a little weird when it comes to accolades and such. I wouldn't be truthful if I didn't say that on some level I find it rewarding when the music connects with the listener, but parades and big fanfare brings with it "expectations" and that tends to make me nervous.

What prompted you to finally reunite with each other? Europe is rabid for Arch-era Fates Warning. How is it dealing with the great demand for a return? Was it the major factor in this reunion? Who approached who first on the idea? And what transpired between the Twist of Fate solo record and this Arch/Matheos record?
Arch: I, in particular, have never felt like I needed to do any of this out of necessity, and although I am humbled and honored that the fans have been so loyal to the music, this project came together by happenstance. It just so happened that Jim was looking for someone to collaborate with, so he contacted me to see if I was interested. It seemed like a good time in my life to get focused and keep my head busy, and I guess it was just what the doctor ordered.

What separates this from a Fates Warning reunion seeing how virtually almost all participants have worked with Fates warning on some level in the past?
Arch:I guess you may call it what you will, as long as we keep the facts straight. The proper respect must be payed to all the current members of Fates Warning.How far back do the pre-Fates Warning demos go … are there more besides "Misfit"?
Arch:I hope not.. those are not my proudest moments.

I am much like you, not a fan of touring and the live environment. Have your feelings changed over the years? Do you see any real importance in it in the end?
Arch: I totally "get it" as far as touring goes. I am a fan of many a band as well and love seeing a show. I have just recently better understood the connection the fans have with the music as part of an era or time in their lives where the music got them through tough times, or maybe in their youth. … it was the best of times, we all want to re-live that. My issues with touring are multi-dimensional. I remember when I was in the best of shape vocally, totally immersed in the band and touring and it was hard enough back then. Here we are twenty some odd years later and having been so out of that element for so long makes the tour very intimidating. To up the ante, during the ATG tour I was experiencing something many performers become hit with out of the blue And although I had no idea what was happening to me at the time I now better understand that it was a piece of the puzzle that would be part of a diagnosis years later. It still baffles me that something I once craved became a source of dread.

I respect more than anything an artist who recognizes the importance of real life work and family over the fantasy of a rock and roll dream. Can you share your opinion of the balance between music and reality and what it all means to you?
Arch: There is no question to take the risk and choose a career, or should I say hope to make a living with music takes a leap of faith… I suppose I wasn't willing to take. It also seems to me those around me had more faith in me than I had in myself, and I have never been one that has "thought big." I tend to limit myself and sometimes define myself by my weaknesses. Having said that, we all make choices when we come to the great divide, sometimes for reasons we are not aware of yet. A willingness to accept the decision isn't easy, but it's easier than spending your life regretting. Putting things in prospective, I think I have had the life that is more conducive to my personality, and also have had this opportunity to make music again and connect with the fans. I have to be grateful for that. I find it interesting that you use the word fantasy because I have often thought of the parallels between the fans and the performers sort of temporarily existing vicariously through one another, feeding off the energy and creativity, during a live show, as well as Just listening to a CD while banging on your dashboard. Either way one can't exist without the other.

How do you see the prospect of metal now versus the heyday of the '80s?
Arch: I'm pretty open minded and can appreciate that there is some quality or redeeming element in almost anything. I think technically, the speed and precision in which some of these musicians have progressed to is mind blowing, and I enjoy listening to new undiscovered bands. The prospect for new metal you ask? well there are plenty of us with like minds who need this type of music to stimulate our hungry brains, so as long as this breed of homo sapiens roam the earth, there will be metal.

What have you learned from your experiences?
Arch: Nothing, I keep making the same mistakes over and over.

What do you each think your biggest regret was over Fates Warnings career?
Arch: I tend to think in black and white, and that has been self defeating for me in all aspects of my life. A little more faith and a bigger dream may have been life changing.

What would you change if you could go back in time?
Arch: I would change… being afraid of change. That in itself has probably been my biggest obstacle. And, if part of this trip, me going back in time had an all-inclusive "new brain chemistry gift" with my frequent-flyer miles, I would treat myself and all that are closest to me like it were our final days on this planet.

How unforgiving has heavy metal been to you in the past and what motivates you to stick it out as you've returned to it?
Arch: When you speak of motivation, there must be some sort of reward or I wouldn't be motivated to do it. And of course, when you do the math…. unless your willing to tour extensively and market yourselves as you would in any other business, sell a boatload of records, have a ton of talent, timing and luck … you'll be eating Taco Bell seven days a week, and living out the back of a Ryder rental truck. Been there, done that. Since none of that is part of the equation for me by choice, it has been the reward of connecting with the fans, and knowing that somewhere you are making a small difference in someone's life that has motivated me.

What can you say about growing up in Connecticut and how its environment separated you and your style from other bands of the scene in the '80s?
Arch: I'll have to guess that being on the east coast and close to so many major cities we as individuals had access to so many shows at any city any day of the week, and that we all had pretty similar influences, But I think it is how our influences manifested themselves in us as individuals that contributed to the style of our collective works rather than any definitive attribute related to our home town.

What are your current influences versus your past influences that have come into this new project? Obviously there is a much more modern style especially on the Twist of Fate EP as well as a bit of Tull, if I'm not mistaken, on Sympathetic Resonance it seems?
Arch: If there was one album that is more void of external influence than any other, it would be Sympathetic Resonance. There is always a subconscious influence in everything we do, but I had not been active in music nor listening to much when I began working with Jim. The only influences were the music that Jim presented me, and some inner turbulence I had been trying to resolve that would be the impetus for the lyrics. I really feel I had drawn inspiration from my internal workings and any influence besides what I've mentioned is not obvious to me, but very well could be. I guess it's up to the listener and what they hear.

Are there plans to continue with Arch/Matheos or even perhaps a full-fledged Fates Warning reunion — and how far ahead to the future are you looking?
Arch: Well for me, I am rehearsing for the KIT [Keep It True] festival in Germany. This is a huge step for me and has consumed my focus. I am well aware of the requests for more shows and will be faced with a major decision if that were to happen. I am happy with the way things turned out  and would tend to not be afraid of my own shadow, so to speak, if the opportunity comes about to make more music.

AFTERWORD BY INTERVIEWER, Phil Swanson:
Powerline asked me to include a personal bio to the end of the  John Arch interview. I guess, to give my background. I'm not much of a writer — more of a fanboy — but I have written reviews and blog posts, and conducted interviews for Powerline in the past. Lately, I've been on the other side of things, making it harder to do these things with the same integrity. It feels different when you know what it's like to be on the other end of things. But there's always the exception to the rule; as is the case when being asked to interview John Arch. I am a lifelong fan — as my friend, the editor Pat Prince, is obviously well aware of.

I'm a huge fan of '80s heavy metal and Fates Warning — solely the John Arch years with Night on Bröcken (left) being one of my top 10 all-time favorite records and Jon Arch being one of my top 10 all-time favorites singers.

My obsession with '80s heavy metal runs so deep that in 2005 I finally decided to wear it on my sleeve by finally starting my own traditional heavy metal band Upwards of Endtime —  who, like Fates Warning, is a Connecticut-based band. My passion for John and Fates Warning was so strong, I actually set out to record our first demo at Gallery Studios in Hartford just to somehow capture some of that essence. While in the vocal booth I felt as if I was on sacred ground even though I'm sure the studio had moved since 1984. No matter to me though — as long as in my mind I was there.

Now writing this, I can only believe that that essence did, in some way, stay with me. Despite many other failed musical projects, Upwards of Endtime was only the beginning for me. Releasing three  full-length records I was able to build a steady career which led me to more popular bands I now front. From UoE I started Vestal Claret whose double album is finally seeing release after 5 years with an assortment of guest musicians from all over the world, before joining German epic kings Atlantean Kodex for a short term, then German doom rockers Seamount (who is my mainstay and getting ready to release our 4th record). I am also working on my 3rd album with "occult masters" (I'm quoting of course) who recently (I've read on forums) have been compared to Fates Warning (for reasons unknown to me): Briton Rites, a nwobhm flavored band for fans of Witchfinder General, is releasing our second record in 2012 and Lords of Triumph epic doom from Denmark. There are maybe a few more (and maybe more to come) but I'm just having fun and doing what I can when I can. And if John left any of his magic in that booth, it's safe to say, I took it all with me!

 

Nobody can refute the fact that Newcastle-born black metal-pioneers VENOM are anything but one of the most important bands in extreme music history. Their first four albums are legendary and there are more bands hailing them for influencing their sound than there are bands who don't.

After over thirty years VENOM with their new album "Fallen angels" prove that there still is plenty of go left in the band, serving up their strongest efforts since "Possessed" and maybe even "At War With Satan". Because of this we just had to have a talk with the main man, and only remaining member of the classic original line-up, Cronos (born Conrad Lant).

You've said that this new album is the best VENOM has made since the eighties and I'm inclined to agree. Was there anything particular that you did differently this time to make it come out a head above the previous albums?
– Well, you know, you always try and do your best. For every band their newest album is always "the best they've ever made" because it's new and it's fresh. It's hard to put your new product into perspective but I've tried to learn from past mistakes with this one. Things that I may not have been so happy with on the previous albums that we've could've done differently, you know. We created the original sound of VENOM from a very innocent perspective. We had no masterplan, we had no great expensive producers and super-fantastic high-end studios or anything stupid like that, Cronos explains.

– It was an indie label, [in a] small shitty studio and we just did our damnedest. But somewhere around "Cast In Stone" (1997) everybody started to get into this digital technology with the Pro Tools and the samples, and we embraced that like everybody else to improve the sound of the band and the end product. But you know, now today when I'm listening to all of the recent stuff out there and I think that everything sounds the fucking same. I'm getting really bored with it! And I also kind of think it's lazy, you know. They might as well be kicking around cardboard boxes but once the producers put their magic tricks on it, all their samples and triggers and all that, it's like "wow, listen to that drumkit". Why not put real microphones on it and actually fuck with it a bit? You know, put gaffa tape on it, tape coins to the skin and all that. It can take days to perfect the drum sound and it's a fuck-on, but at the end of the day, it's real, it's in your face. During the shows that we were doing last year, Danté had this new drumkit with the really great cymbals and it sounded great. So I told the guys, when we go in to record this new album let's approach it like we did in the old days. Let's put microphones on it, be like cavemen here and get the drumkit sounding like a real fucking drumkit! Not like somebody's sample, not like somebody's trigger, not like some invented sound on a computer, let's get real drums, real microphones and let's fucking do the hard work! And I didn't wanna stop there. I wanted the Marshall-stack with a microphone on it, I wanted the guitar plugged in with a damn cable, I wanted to go back to basics. You know, there is a saying in music that goes "it's not what you play, it's what you don't play" and there's some truth to that. Instead of for example playing a really buzzy lead break, Cronos says and does a sound mimicking an Yngwie Malmsteen-type guitarsolo, it can sometimes be just as effective to just hold one note and sustaining it.

– I was kind of going [for] that type of mentality. Stop looking for quick fixes and easy approaches. Let's do it for real and do the hard work like a live band. Except for the fact that it's a hard drive doing the recording and not a tape machine there wasn't much difference from back in the old days, you know. It was cables, microphones, three musicians standing in a room and pressing "record" and I think it has to be the best way to record album; the way you'd play the songs live. I don't have fucking triggers live, I have microphones and cables. I was like, hey, we've played a bunch of gigs, it's tight as fuck, we've never sounded heavier so let's approach the album the same way. The result speaks for itself and I couldn't be happier. I'm so fucking proud of this album. It's got all the things you'd expect from a VENOM-album, the fast songs, the slower heavy stuff, all the bits and bobs you know, Cronos proclaims and lets out a little chuckle. We're riding high on this fucker!

part from what you've just said, does the approach to doing a new album today differ significantly from how you went about it in the eighties? I'm thinking about the whole process, from writing the songs to recording them to choosing a cover and putting the album out there finally.
– I always write music. I don't go "oh, we're doing a new album, let's write some songs!" I'm always recording riffs, writing lyrics and bits and pieces like that so when it comes to doing a new album, yes, of course you do still come up with spontaneous stuff and structure songs together, but many of the ideas may have been originally created years ago. Even since recording "Fallen Angels" I think we've got five or six complete new songs. When we put this line-up together in 2009 I said "we're gonna be playing songs of every VENOM album plus some singles in there" so these guys are really tuned in to VENOM, you know. They've got the whole thirty plus year history of the band down, all of the songs and that, Cronos explains.

– But I told them "I don't just wanna write fifteen songs and tell you to learn them. If you're just playing my songs, then you're just playing my songs. But if you're playing your songs as well, you'll be playing with a lot more conviction. So I would love for you guys to contribute to the new album and we'll take it from there". Naturally they were very excited but at the same time a bit nervous, wondering if they could actually produce something VENOMous. But I just told them to let me be the judge of that initially and ultimately let the fans be the judge of that, and I think they did a hell of a job. They soon started to come up with stuff even without me even being there and breathing down their necks, Cronos chuckles.

– That's just great because that's what it was like back in the day. We had the confidence to just create something and judge it later. If it feels good, let's do it you know? So I'd say that we really have approached this album more like we did back in the day. I mean sure, there were songs that I came to the guys with back then that were all done already, like "Sons Of Satan", "Bloodlust" and "In Nomine Sathanas", but a lot of the old VENOM songs were actually written by me and Mantas (gitarr, 1979–1985, 1989-1992, 1995-2004) together. I think I've just tried to simplify things and let things grow by themselves you know, not over think stuff and try to make it too perfect, and I think that some really good things can come out of that approach. I was watching a documentary on the FOO FIGHTERS the other day and apparently I'm not the only one thinking like this. Dave Grohl had a whole load old tape-recorders set up in his garage and they recorded their album there. Not only musicians are thinking like this, a lot of people are getting bored with all the samples and the triggers, it's making everybody sound the same! With the real microphones we're getting the individuality back and I'm sure this is a trend that a lot more bands are going to pick up on.

In the past you've repeatedly said that VENOM would never do a show where you couldn't do the full show with the pyrotechnics, the big lights and all that. Nowadays though you're playing plenty of smaller venues as well. What made you change your mind and how are you liking playing the smaller shows?
– Well, I'll tell you what it was. Five or six years ago I got a call from Kerry (King, editor's note) because SLAYER was playing up in Scotland on the Unholy Alliance tour. It's only an hour and a half from where I live so I drove up there to see the show. I was expecting SLAYER to have the blood in the lighting rig and for SLIPKNOT to have their pyro you know but there was nothing like that. So I told them "fuck, where's the show," you know? And they said "well, we can't do it in this venue". So I asked them "but you do it on this tour?" and they said "yes, in the venues where we can do it". They told me that the fans were okay with that because they knew it was because they couldn't do it in that venue. I always thought that we should only do the full show because that was they way that the fans wanted it, they didn't want VENOM without the big pyro and all that. Then I started to get feedback from fans who were saying "bullshit, we'd love to have you play our small club here in Poland" and things like that. That's when we decided to give it a try and it's been amazing. We just came back from a show in a medium size venue in Bukarest, no pyro, just a great light-show, nice backdrop, drum riser and some Marshalls you know, and it was amazing. So I'm taking a leaf out of SLAYER's book really. We can do that kind of show, we are and we will. We'll do the big production when we can and if people wanna come see VENOM even when we can't, now they can. It's made it so that we've been able to play in lots of places that we've never even been before so it's just great.

Can we expect a lot of touring and maybe some festival gigs for "Fallen Angels" then?
– Oh yeah, that's what we're hoping for. We've been touring for almost two years before recording the album so we're really itching to get back out there. We're hoping to play everywhere next year so we're busy talking to Australia for example and trying to get some shows in Japan also. But we're definitely playing Europe and there are several festivals in Sweden that are of interest. I know our management has been talking to two of them so you can pretty much guarantee a show in Sweden next year.

There's no question that VENOM is one of the most important bands in heavy metal-history. The amount of bands you've influenced and keep influencing is substantial to say the least, and so is your legacy. Is this something you think about when preparing for a new album or an upcoming tour? Is it a bit daunting to think about the impact you've had on the metal music genre as a whole?
– It would be too daunting now wouldn't it? No, it's not something I think of at all. Look, I'm very humbled by [the fact] that people are influenced by our music and I feel very privileged to be in the position where I can create the music I love to create and to have the kind of job I've got, which to me is the greatest job in the world, but really I'm just glad that VENOM were a catalyst to give people the confidence to go out and create for themselves. Like I've said to bands for years, don't just copy VENOM, you can create what you want also, you know. I started playing this music when people were saying rock'n'roll was dead, back when even bands like DEEP PURPLE were getting bored with it and everybody was saying it was over. I was having none of that. I said "fuck that!" because there was so much still to be said and so much to be done. People ask me how we created VENOM. Well, I just wanted to take all the best bits from all the great bands that I loved. A bigger stage show than KISS, more leather and studs than JUDAS PRIEST, I wanted it to be more satanic than Ozzy and heavier than MOTÖRHEAD, to combine all these things in one super heavy mega metal band, Cronos almost yells and then chuckles a bit.

– I'm good friends with people like Phil Anselmo from PANTERA, Dave Grohl from the FOO FIGHTERS, the guys from SLAYER, METALLICA and so on and when those guys say that they heard VENOM when they were still in school and how that made them want to start bands, it makes me think. You know, you can have a heavy metal festival with bands like SLIPKNOT and PANTERA, who both sound nothing like VENOM, and also bands like MOTÖRHEAD, JUDAS PRIEST or IMMORTAL. None of these bands sound anything like each other or like VENOM, we all sound so fucking incredibly different, but we still attract basically the same audience. It's just become so vast and so massive and I'm the happiest guy in the world for that because I'd rather be listening to the shittiest metal band there was than some crappy pop band! I just love hard, fast and aggressive music! And that's why we created VENOM. I didn't wanna hear some "falling in and out of love"-bullshit. I wanted something a bit more adult, more in your face. I'm a punk really, you know. I'm from the seventies and I grew up loving SEX PISTOLS, SHAM 69, CLASH, THE DAMNED and all that. I love music that's got an edge. But really, it's not something you wan to think about too much. As I said I'm humbled by all of it because I've seen so many musicians, that I consider to be fantastic, that never made it. It makes me wonder how I'm still here when those guys aren't? So it's not really tangible. You can't just put all the ingredients together and say "there you go, there's your supergroup". It's the right place at the right time, a lot of luck and I'm just happy to be here still creating music after over thirty years, says the master of the bulldozer bass.

There's no doubt that you were the first ones to call yourselves "black metal" but something that I find interesting is that most bands today belonging to the black metal genre sound nothing like VENOM. They sound more like BATHORY or maybe CELTIC FROST.
– You know I've been saying this for years. Those bands should really take credit for what they've created and call their music something else like norse metal or corpse metal or whatever. People say to me "oh, you created black metal" but I didn't.

Cronos didn't create those bands, he argues with noticable excitement in his voice.

– We were a catalyst but they should take credit for what they themselves, what did and what they continue to do, you know? The way the whole Scandinavian black metal-scene has evolved… I was just watching the new DIMMU BORGIR video and that shit's fantastic! The imagery, the corpse-paint, the milk in the bath, the blood, and all that, it's fantastic! Very professional and great to watch, and I also think they sound really cool as well. They and others like them have evolved that kind of music and that's why I think they should really give it a new name. It's not black metal, speed metal, power metal or thrash metal; it's a new form of metal that they've created.

There are a couple of bands that are considered to be the formative bands of the genre. I'm referring to bands like BATHORY, CELTIC FROST, SODOM and MERCYFUL FATE. Do you have in relation to these bands today?
– No, not really. We kind of made a divide of sorts some years ago. The reason that I called the album "Metal Black" was to draw a line and say that was the last millennium and this is the new one, you know. Black metal has always been in my bones and something that I've always had the urge to create and finding like-minded musicians can be hard. That's why I've had so much trouble with previous line-ups, sometimes people have joined VENOM and thought that they could just put their feet up and become millionaires and don't have to do any hard work. But it is hard work being in a band, you have to work at it but the more hard work you put in, the better it gets! I genuinely think I've found two guys now who are in it for the right reasons and who are fully motivated. When you talk about the whole original line-up thing the thing is that the last concert with the whole original line-up of VENOM, which was at Full Force Festival in 1997, was a complete mess. I'm ashamed to say it but it was embarrassing. I think the other two guys, they really didn't even wanna be there. Since then it's been my mission to do that festival again and put the record straight and that's what we did last year, Cronos says with satisfaction in his voice.

– I talked to one of the fans afterwards and he summed it up perfectly for me, the exact words that I had in my own head. He saw us in 1997 and he said he'd rather see a great VENOM on stage that's tight and fast and loud than see the original guys playing sloppy and being shit. I totally agree because VENOM is bigger than any one member. VENOM is bigger than Cronos. VENOM is bigger than Danté. VENOM is bigger than Mantas, and so on. VENOM is an entity, a force that we've created. It's not about the members of the band, it's about the band. It's not a Cronos-album, it's a VENOM-album. Cronos contributed to that album and he's on that album but he's not VENOM. VENOM is the entity and we have respect and protect that. So personally, as a fan of this music, given the choice to see a band with the original guys who suck or the band with the new guys that are passionate and can kick some shit, I'll go for the new guys.

Speaking of the old guys, what is your relationship Mantas and Abaddon like these days?
– None really, Cronos answers quickly. The only contact is through the business-side of it all, because I'm working with Universal and all the back catalogue and obviously we have to pay those guys that are on the albums. That's the only contact there is. Nothing to do with the music today. Ten years ago some people would be saying crap like "the only real VENOM is the original line-up" but nowadays the audience consists of more young people who might have started buying the albums from "Resurrection" and onwards. A lot of the kids in the front row, and those who make up the majority of the crowd, are singing along to the songs from "Resurrection", "Metal Black" and "Hell". It's the older guys that are closer to my age who are the minority, standing at the back with their arms folded and waiting for the rendition of "Bloodlust" and "Witching Hour". Sure, the young guys know the history of the band and they know those songs too but I think they can be more passionate about the newer material because those albums came in their time you know, he says sensibly.

– Some of them weren't even born when "Welcome To Hell" came out! But they're now the majority of the audience, so it's been ten years since I heard anybody whining to me about "VENOM is not VENOM without Mantas and Abaddon". That's history now. People don't give a shit about the old guys anymore.

Since we're already on the subject of the older albums and previous members I just have to ask, what is your opinion on the VENOM-albums that were released without you?
– Well, I always say, and this is not really my opinion, I'll tell you my opinion in a minute, when you look at the music business as a business, which you have to do from time to time unfortunately, and this is what I always tell bands today when I give them advice and shit, in this game you have two exams. The first one is can you sell your product? Can you sell your album? And the second one is can you put bums on seats? Can you make people walk through the door into the venue? Can you draw a crowd? If you can't sell your albums and can't get people to come to your concert you're fucked. You cannot survive. Unless you're Lars Ulrich and you have a rich dad. Oops! Who said that, Cronos chuckles.

– Now to answer your question, when I worked at Impulse Studios, which was basically Neat Records, there was a band that came in that had VENOM's manager's brother on drums. They were called ATOMKRAFT and I produced their record so I was very aware of what they sounded like. So when I first heard the "Prime Evil" album (which featured Tony Dolan from ATOMKRAFT on vocals, editor's note) it sounded like ATOMKRAFT to me. I didn't think it sounded like VENOM and the fans obviously didn't think so either because it didn't sell shit. Now don't get me wrong, I gave that line-up my blessing because I joined the CRONOS band and we went to the US and did our thing. I was quite to be doing the CRONOS-stuff. Abaddon actually called me up and asked me if I was going out as VENOM but I said "no no, I want a break from VENOM and do something else". Because they were actually called THE SONS OF SATAN at first but I told them that I'm touring as CRONOS so if you wanna call yourselves VENOM just go for it. So I've actually got no bad feelings about that shit really. That singer, Tony Dolan, actually said that he was very disappointed because he thought they would be going out and doing big concerts with the great spectacular show and all that. But they had trouble getting booked because nobody was really interested. So you can't just join a band and expect to be famous and shit. You have to work at it and then there's also that whole "right place at the right time" thing. It's not that easy you know.
– It's funny, I was having this discussion with a friend the other day. We were talking about music and fans and I said that a fan doesn't have to be an expert in any way. All he has to know is whether he likes it or not. That's it! It doesn't matter if you think there are five strings on a guitar, knowing if you like something or not is enough. That's all you can ever expect. It doesn't matter how clever your band is or how smart you're playing is. Remember that stuff that came out of LA, all of that Tony McAlpine, Steve Vai and Joe Satriani shit? It was all very clever and they were all super super musicians, Cronos says with scathing irony in his voice, and it lasted five minutes! The only people who liked it was musicians! Ridiculous.

Talking a bit about the business side of it all leads me into my next question. When you reunited the original line-up back in 1995 there was a massive insurgence in VENOM collecting and the prices on your old vinyl releases doubled and tripled in price. There are VENOM releases today that routinely are priced at hundreds of pounds if you can find them and collecting VENOM has almost become like collecting a band like KISS since there are so many different and odd releases. Clearly you never see a dime of the money that is shifted around for the rare collectibles, especially since many of the most sought after items are bootlegs as well. How do you feel about there being such a lucrative aftermarket for your old stuff and bootlegs in particular?
– There are different ways to look at it. At the end of the day the fans are being ripped off and I really hate that, but the people who are making this stuff are not getting rich. There's really not much we can do about since it's not like they're producing thousands of copies and making millions of bucks. They're making a few copies, maybe five or six, they sell them for a couple of hundred pounds and then they disappear. You can't even find a lawyer to go after these people because they pop up and then they vanish. With such small volumes they're never going to be millionaires, but it's unfortunate that we have such passionate fans who will spend that kind of money. Hey, I'm a fan of music but even I draw the line somewhere saying "fuck it, I'm not paying that", he laughs.
– When we did the boxed set ("MMV" in 2005, editor's note) one of the songs was off a compilation we did many years ago, a song called "Senile Decay" that we at the time didn't want to put on one of our own albums so we decided to put it on this compilation, and I'd been seeing bootlegs with that song on eBay. I thought I'd put a stop to our fans being ripped off so I went into my cellar and took the original master tape, digitized it and put the song in the boxed set. So now the fans don't have to get ripped off on eBay, they can just go and buy this song in the shops, you know.

Still you did do many official, but odd, releases back in the eighties, in colored vinyl and things like that. Do you even own most of your old releases yourself?
– There wasn't that much really. There are only a few of those odd ones that are actually legitimate. There was a purple "Bloodlust", I remember that, and when we did "Die Hard", we did a shaped picture disc and there was also a "Manitou" shaped picture disc. Then we didn't do anything weird until we did the picture disc for "Hell At Hammersmith" but all that other stuff was bootlegs.

So all the colored versions of "Black Metal" were bootlegs?
– Yes, they were not official at all. You see, I did all the artwork for VENOM. I actually drew the covers for "Welcome To Hell" and "Black metal". I was always heavily involved in all the products and I can remember all the things I was involved in and all the mad colored vinyls were bootlegs. We did re-pressings of the old stuff from 2002 and onwards and some of those were on colored vinyl but you're talking about the Neat stuff from the eighties aren't you?

Yes, I am. For example there's a brown vinyl edition of "Black Metal" that is pretty sought after and very pricey if you can find it.
– Yeah, that's a bootleg. I saw "In League With Satan" as a picture-disc a couple of years back. That's totally a bootleg as well. We did not even have the technology to make a picture disc in 1980, Cronos laughs.

The new album "Fallen Angels" has been out for a couple of weeks now, and it's available on both vinyl and that other smaller format, so go pick up your own copy and started preparing for when the mighty VENOM touch down on Swedish soil again next year. Lay down your soul to the gods rock'n'roll! Black metal!

VENOMs Official Web Site

 

 

"Relapse", the first MINISTRY album of original material since 2007's "The Last Sucker", will be released on March 30, 2012 via MINISTRY mainman Al Jourgensen's 13th Planet Records.

In support of the "occupy movement," MINISTRY will release the new song "99 Percenters" via iTunes on December 23 and stream the track on their Facebook site starting Christmas day.

According to Revolver magazine, "99 Percenters" is a rally cry for all of the protesters that have gathered across the country to demonstrate against corporate greed, cutthoat capitalism, and the one percent of Americans who earn millions of dollars a year, but receive substantial tax cuts on their income. Jourgensen said the chorus for the track, "1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 99 percent" was inspired by COUNTRY JOE AND THE FISH's Vietnam protest song "I Feel Like I'm Fixin' to Die Rag".

"Putting out this song is the least I could do," Jourgensen told Revolver. "We wanted to fly to New York and protest and get arrested and pepper sprayed. But we can't do it because I got a Christmas deadline on this album. But I'm with 'em in spirit so the least I could do is give them a chant-along song. I'm going, 'Hey man, here's your song. All you gotta do is chant the chorus.'"

Jourgensen spoke to U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine in August about his band's decision to reform for a new album and tour, including an appearance at next year's Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany.

When asked how the resurrection of MINISTRY came about, Jourgensen said, "While I was working on [the BUCK SATAN record], me and Mike Scaccia from RIGOR MORTIS fucked around to pass the time and we had like, 5,6,7 songs and I didn't really want to do anything with them but Mikey was like, 'Dude, these songs are awesome.' They weren't country, they were more like MINISTRY. So he's coming by in September and Tommy Victor's [PRONG; guitar] coming by in October with Tony Campos [SOULFLY, ex-STATIC-X; bass] and we're gonna finish up another MINISTRY album by Christmas called 'Relapse'."

Regarding the sound of the new MINISTRY material, Al said, "I think this is actually gonna wind up being the fastest and heaviest record I've ever done. Just because we did it as anti-therapy therapy against the country music we would just take days off and thrash faster than I've done in a long time, faster than Mikey's done in a long time. He did a RIGOR MORTIS tour and said it was easy compared to this MINISTRY stuff so it's gonna be brutal and it's gonna freak a lot of people out."

MINISTRY's upcoming tour will feature the lineup of Al Jourgensen, Mike Scaccia and Tommy Victor on guitar, Tony Campos on bass, Aaron Rossi on drums, and John Bechdel on keyboards.

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

 

Legendary hard rock vocalist Mark Boals (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, ULI JON ROTH, ROYAL HUNT) makes a guest appearance on "Time Of The Equinox", the new album from the Lebanese guitarist Amadeus Awad.

Due on January 13, 2012, the CD will feature Boals in the progressive metal trilogy "Paper Dreams", which consists of the following movements:

I - Requiem
II - Dies Irae
III - The Tempest

Guitarist Kris Norris (STRAIGHT LINE STITCH, ex-DARKEST HOUR) has joined forces with ex-ANNIHILATOR touring bassist Dave Sheldon and ex-DARKEST HOUR drummer Ryan Parrish in a new project called A CANCEROUS AFFAIR.

Several early demo recordings from A CANCEROUS AFFAIR, which features Sheldon on lead vocals, can be streamed below.

Commented Norris: "I love all styles of music — from pop and jazz to black metal — and with this being a project band with no intentions other than to write music we enjoy, I'm not pigeonholed into oh this song needs a fast riff or a crazy solo. It's a nice relief from the other projects and bands I'm involved in and have been involved in. I get to take my experiences from all of them and combine it into one."

He added, "So far what we put up is just the writing of the demos with some demo vocals added. The songs have already been crafted into much better versions but I thought it'd be cool to at least release this stuff, hopefully get some feedback of what people are digging and hating."

Regarding the project's name, Norris said, "The title comes from Dave. I liked it alot because it fits what we are doing. Just a bunch of musicians from different parts of the world, getting together behind their other various music projects backs almost, and creating something. His voice to me is just infectious, so when he said the name, I was, like, 'Hmmm, that's it.'"

 

 

Finnish melodic hard rockers HUMAN TEMPLE will release their third album, "Halfway To Heartache", on February 24, 2012 via Escape Music. The follow-up to 2010's "Murder Of Crows" contains "11 tracks of brilliant tunes that range from quirky rockers to powerful ballads," according to a press release.

The track listing for the CD is as follows:

01. I Will Follow
02. Bleeding Through
03. Like A Beat Of A Heart
04. Our World Our Time
05. Almost There
06. Run Away
07. Little Lies
08. Because Of You
09. Misery
10. Some Things Are Never Long Time Ago
11. She Talks To Angels

"Halfway To Heartache" features a guest appearance by fuitarist Emppu Vuorinen of Finnish/Swedish symphonic metallers NIGHTWISH.

HUMAN TEMPLE is:

Janne Hurme: Lead Vocals
Petri Lehto: Drums
Jori Tojander: Keyboards
Harri Kinnunen: Bass

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