IRON MAIDEN's Bruce Dickinson joined JETHRO TULL frontman Ian Anderson and Justin Hayward of the MOODY BLUES on Saturday, December 10 for what was being billed as "Canterbury Rocks At Christmas" in the nave at the famed Canterbury Cathedral in Kent, England in support of The Canterbury Gift, which raises money for renovation work on the cathedral. Dickinson guested on two songs — "Revelations" and "Jerusalem" — and all three musicians performed the encore, "Locomotive Breath" from TULL's "Aqualung" album.
Fan-filmed video footage of Dickinson's appearance can be seen below.
Last year Ian Anderson and friends performed a Christmas show with special guest Greg Lake, and it was a resounding success, and this year, Dickinson was invited to perform along with Hayward.
The 900-year-old Canterbury Cathedral, which is said to be one of the most important sites in Britain's Christian heritage, remains in need of urgent repairs, particularly to its 235-foot-high central tower, known as Bell Harry tower, its medieval stained glass windows, and its 19th-century lead roof tiles. More than £10 million has been raised in recent years but another £3 million a year must be found over the next decade.
Having spent over forty successful years in the rock industry, Ian Anderson is the frontman, flautist and voice of the legendary band JETHRO TULL, who have some 30-odd albums to their credit and sales worldwide totaling more than 60 million.
Considered widely as the man who introduced the flute to rock music, Anderson has also received recognition as an accomplished solo artist with four diverse albums under his belt along with acoustic and orchestral concerts throughout the world.
Speaking about why he had chosen to play last year's Christmas gig, Ian Anderson spoke of the importance of supporting Canterbury Cathedral. "If our generation and the future generations don't do it, then it will be lost," he said. "There is a real parallel regarding the preservation of our great buildings, and the greater sense of conserving our world. We need a huge change of thinking about the stewardship of our planet and all it contains, both natural and man-made.
"Canterbury Cathedral is a place for life today. But it is also a place for the future and, whether you are a Christian or not, it is a place which should remain forever close to our hearts."
Fan-filmed video footage of Dickinson's appearance can be seen below.
Last year Ian Anderson and friends performed a Christmas show with special guest Greg Lake, and it was a resounding success, and this year, Dickinson was invited to perform along with Hayward.
The 900-year-old Canterbury Cathedral, which is said to be one of the most important sites in Britain's Christian heritage, remains in need of urgent repairs, particularly to its 235-foot-high central tower, known as Bell Harry tower, its medieval stained glass windows, and its 19th-century lead roof tiles. More than £10 million has been raised in recent years but another £3 million a year must be found over the next decade.
Having spent over forty successful years in the rock industry, Ian Anderson is the frontman, flautist and voice of the legendary band JETHRO TULL, who have some 30-odd albums to their credit and sales worldwide totaling more than 60 million.
Considered widely as the man who introduced the flute to rock music, Anderson has also received recognition as an accomplished solo artist with four diverse albums under his belt along with acoustic and orchestral concerts throughout the world.
Speaking about why he had chosen to play last year's Christmas gig, Ian Anderson spoke of the importance of supporting Canterbury Cathedral. "If our generation and the future generations don't do it, then it will be lost," he said. "There is a real parallel regarding the preservation of our great buildings, and the greater sense of conserving our world. We need a huge change of thinking about the stewardship of our planet and all it contains, both natural and man-made.
"Canterbury Cathedral is a place for life today. But it is also a place for the future and, whether you are a Christian or not, it is a place which should remain forever close to our hearts."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=BfN-woMpD04
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http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hxOAXjEVr7o&feature=player_embedded
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According to the Reno Gazette-Journal, a man who embezzled more than $287,000 from WHITESNAKE founder David Coverdale and his wife, Cindy, was sentenced to six months in jail.
Eric Hosmer, 44, was reportedly hired as a groundskeeper by Coverdale and his family, who own multiple properties in in Incline Village in North Lake Tahoe, Nevada. According to the police, Hosmer was submitting fradulent invoices to Coverdale's accounting firm for payment.
Washoe Judge Patrick Flanagan ordered Hosmer to probation for two counts of felony theft and ordered he pay restitution of more than $69,000.
Coverdale called Hosmer a "deceiver, liar and a thief."
Eric Hosmer, 44, was reportedly hired as a groundskeeper by Coverdale and his family, who own multiple properties in in Incline Village in North Lake Tahoe, Nevada. According to the police, Hosmer was submitting fradulent invoices to Coverdale's accounting firm for payment.
Washoe Judge Patrick Flanagan ordered Hosmer to probation for two counts of felony theft and ordered he pay restitution of more than $69,000.
Coverdale called Hosmer a "deceiver, liar and a thief."
GUNS N' ROSES frontman Axl Rose was presented with a key to the city about one hour into the band's concert Wednesday night (December 14) at the Maverik Center in West Valley City, Utah. Right before the group launched into its cover version of Paul McCartney's "Live And Let Die", Mayor Mike Winder walked onstage and greeted Rose, congratulating the singer on this past week's announcement that the Los Angeles-based act will be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.
"How long do you stay open?" Rose asked the mayor after being presented with the key.
"All night for GUNS N' ROSES," the mayor replied.
GUNS N' ROSES reportedly played a three-hour set last night consisting of more than 30 songs, ending just after 2 a.m. with the band's classic track "Paradise City".
As previously reported, it has been confirmed that ex-GUNS N' ROSES bassist Duff McKagan's band LOADED will open two shows for the latest version of GUNS on that band's current North American tour. LOADED will warm up for GUNS N' ROSES on December 16 at the Key Arena in Seattle and December 17 at Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, British Columbia.
McKagan made worldwide headlines in October 2010 when he joined GUNS onstage for four songs at a concert in London, England, marking the first time he had set foot on a stage with GUNS N' ROSES in 17 years.
GUNS N' ROSES will be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame next April in Cleveland, prompting speculation about whether the event could lead to a reunion of the band's original lineup.
McKagan admitted last month in an interview that he had a hard time imaging such a possibility, saying, "I can't. I can't picture it. Your guess is as good as mine. There is no picture."
Rose was ambivalent in a recent interview about the Hall Of Fame, and told Billboard.com in 2009 that he could never see himself playing with original GUNS guitarist Slash again, saying, "One of the two of us will die before a reunion. However sad, ugly or unfortunate anyone views it, it is how it is."
"How long do you stay open?" Rose asked the mayor after being presented with the key.
"All night for GUNS N' ROSES," the mayor replied.
GUNS N' ROSES reportedly played a three-hour set last night consisting of more than 30 songs, ending just after 2 a.m. with the band's classic track "Paradise City".
As previously reported, it has been confirmed that ex-GUNS N' ROSES bassist Duff McKagan's band LOADED will open two shows for the latest version of GUNS on that band's current North American tour. LOADED will warm up for GUNS N' ROSES on December 16 at the Key Arena in Seattle and December 17 at Pacific Coliseum in Vancouver, British Columbia.
McKagan made worldwide headlines in October 2010 when he joined GUNS onstage for four songs at a concert in London, England, marking the first time he had set foot on a stage with GUNS N' ROSES in 17 years.
GUNS N' ROSES will be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame next April in Cleveland, prompting speculation about whether the event could lead to a reunion of the band's original lineup.
McKagan admitted last month in an interview that he had a hard time imaging such a possibility, saying, "I can't. I can't picture it. Your guess is as good as mine. There is no picture."
Rose was ambivalent in a recent interview about the Hall Of Fame, and told Billboard.com in 2009 that he could never see himself playing with original GUNS guitarist Slash again, saying, "One of the two of us will die before a reunion. However sad, ugly or unfortunate anyone views it, it is how it is."
Matt Sorum (VELVET REVOLVER, GUNS N' ROSES, THE CULT) was interviewed last week on Sydney, Australia's Triple M radio station when he was in town for the Hard Rock Café opening down in Darling Harbour, a locality of the city center of Sydney.
When asked what the final straw was that broke up the creative partnership between GUNS N' ROSES lead singer and guitarist Slash, Matt said, "The very, very end of it was us trying to make this record [that became 'Chinese Democracy'] that came out 15, 16, 17 years later. There was a certain style of music that… Axl was always trying to push the envelope. Even with 'Use Your Illusion I' and 'II', we moved forward and people always go back to [the classic GN'R debut] 'Appetite For Destruction'. But if you look at 'Use Your Illusion', it was more of an epic kind of undertaking. Axl, in his mind, would want it to be this epic, stadium, worldwide-renowned supergroup, and he looked at bands like QUEEN and LED ZEPPELIN and THE ROLLING STONES as, sort of, the benchmark for that. So we created these opuses, these epic numbers like 'November Rain', to really, sort of, become this bigger thing. When we went into the next particular record, Axl really wanted to take it to another level, he wanted to experiment with electronics and stuff like that, and we were like, 'Oooh… Now we're getting into a little bit of a gray area.' He was really into NINE INCH NAILS, and we were starting to get a little bit uncomfortable with the musical direction. And at that point, we had written a bunch of songs that were more like 'Appetite For Destruction' — stripped down, raw rock and roll; we almost wanted to go back to our roots. But Axl was really pushing to go someplace else. [He] was so obsessed with where the music was going. And I remember it was [after] about four or five years of rehearsals, and Axl came in and said, 'I think we've got one good verse.' [Laughs] And we all looked at each other. And at that point, me and Slash had written a bunch of songs together, which became the first SLASH'S SNAKEPIT album. Slash said, 'Matt, let's just go do a tour and make a record.' 'Cause Slash said, 'Axl doesn't like the songs.' So we made a record, we put it out, and Slash went on tour. And that was the straw that broke the camel's back.
He continued, "In retrospect, Slash was out doing a bunch of stuff. If the band would have stepped closer together, maybe we could have figured out what to do, but we were starting to divide; there were solo projects going on, me and Duff [McKagan, bass] did NEUROTIC OUTSIDERS. But we were all sort of frustrated; we couldn't get moving again. They had a bit of a blowout, and I was there, sitting right there on the couch, and I listened to them going through this whole shenanigans. And that was it. And it was over. It was horrible. And then after Slash left, I was in rehearsals — me and Duff were sticking around, trying to figure out how to do it — and I just said, 'We need to get Slash back,' and Axl said, 'No, I don't think so.' And at that point I was out. And then I went home and I drank heavily with this band called CANDLEBOX who was living at my house at the time. I remember I came home, I stopped by a liquor store and I walked in and I said, 'Axl just fired me, and I think this time it's for real.' [Laughs] 'Cause he had fired me many times before, and he used to call me, too, and say it like this: [imitating Axl's screeching voice] 'You're fired' in that classic voice. It was awesome. I wish I had it on tape. It was killer. But he would call back and go, 'See you at rehearsal tomorrow?' [Laughs]"
Sorum, who joined the band in 1990 following the dismissal of original member Steven Adler, told Australia's The Vine he's hoping for the best but prepared for the worst when the band gets inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in April. Sorum said, "It's going to be as big of a train wreck as the SEX PISTOLS, BLONDIE, or any of those other bands. That's my prediction. Or VAN HALEN, which I don't know if you saw, but we [VELVET REVOLVER] were involved in that. Train wreck; it was a complete train wreck. But maybe it won't; maybe it will be a miracle; I hope for that and put out the positive vibrations."
Slash recalled how VELVET REVOLVER performed for VAN HALEN's induction into the Hall in 2007, when most of the members of VAN HALEN did not attend. "They couldn't get everybody to show up for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame when those guys, when VAN HALEN was inducted, so they of course obviously couldn't perform," he said. "So they asked if we would fill in, and so we did. And that was basically it."
Only ex-members Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony turned up for VAN HALEN's induction.
Although Rose was ambivalent in a recent VH1 interview about reuniting with his old GUNS bandmates at the induction, Sorum added that he's wary of making predictions about the big night. He explained, "It's better if I just go, 'I don't know shit.' Which is the absolute truth. They could be in a room right now . . . and I wouldn't be invited, you know what I'm saying?"
It's widely expected that Sorum will be inducted along with Adler, in addition to the other four original members of the group. GUNS will be inducted into the Hall on April 14 in Cleveland, along with the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, THE BEASTIE BOYS, LAURA NYRO and DONOVAN.
When asked what the final straw was that broke up the creative partnership between GUNS N' ROSES lead singer and guitarist Slash, Matt said, "The very, very end of it was us trying to make this record [that became 'Chinese Democracy'] that came out 15, 16, 17 years later. There was a certain style of music that… Axl was always trying to push the envelope. Even with 'Use Your Illusion I' and 'II', we moved forward and people always go back to [the classic GN'R debut] 'Appetite For Destruction'. But if you look at 'Use Your Illusion', it was more of an epic kind of undertaking. Axl, in his mind, would want it to be this epic, stadium, worldwide-renowned supergroup, and he looked at bands like QUEEN and LED ZEPPELIN and THE ROLLING STONES as, sort of, the benchmark for that. So we created these opuses, these epic numbers like 'November Rain', to really, sort of, become this bigger thing. When we went into the next particular record, Axl really wanted to take it to another level, he wanted to experiment with electronics and stuff like that, and we were like, 'Oooh… Now we're getting into a little bit of a gray area.' He was really into NINE INCH NAILS, and we were starting to get a little bit uncomfortable with the musical direction. And at that point, we had written a bunch of songs that were more like 'Appetite For Destruction' — stripped down, raw rock and roll; we almost wanted to go back to our roots. But Axl was really pushing to go someplace else. [He] was so obsessed with where the music was going. And I remember it was [after] about four or five years of rehearsals, and Axl came in and said, 'I think we've got one good verse.' [Laughs] And we all looked at each other. And at that point, me and Slash had written a bunch of songs together, which became the first SLASH'S SNAKEPIT album. Slash said, 'Matt, let's just go do a tour and make a record.' 'Cause Slash said, 'Axl doesn't like the songs.' So we made a record, we put it out, and Slash went on tour. And that was the straw that broke the camel's back.
He continued, "In retrospect, Slash was out doing a bunch of stuff. If the band would have stepped closer together, maybe we could have figured out what to do, but we were starting to divide; there were solo projects going on, me and Duff [McKagan, bass] did NEUROTIC OUTSIDERS. But we were all sort of frustrated; we couldn't get moving again. They had a bit of a blowout, and I was there, sitting right there on the couch, and I listened to them going through this whole shenanigans. And that was it. And it was over. It was horrible. And then after Slash left, I was in rehearsals — me and Duff were sticking around, trying to figure out how to do it — and I just said, 'We need to get Slash back,' and Axl said, 'No, I don't think so.' And at that point I was out. And then I went home and I drank heavily with this band called CANDLEBOX who was living at my house at the time. I remember I came home, I stopped by a liquor store and I walked in and I said, 'Axl just fired me, and I think this time it's for real.' [Laughs] 'Cause he had fired me many times before, and he used to call me, too, and say it like this: [imitating Axl's screeching voice] 'You're fired' in that classic voice. It was awesome. I wish I had it on tape. It was killer. But he would call back and go, 'See you at rehearsal tomorrow?' [Laughs]"
Sorum, who joined the band in 1990 following the dismissal of original member Steven Adler, told Australia's The Vine he's hoping for the best but prepared for the worst when the band gets inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in April. Sorum said, "It's going to be as big of a train wreck as the SEX PISTOLS, BLONDIE, or any of those other bands. That's my prediction. Or VAN HALEN, which I don't know if you saw, but we [VELVET REVOLVER] were involved in that. Train wreck; it was a complete train wreck. But maybe it won't; maybe it will be a miracle; I hope for that and put out the positive vibrations."
Slash recalled how VELVET REVOLVER performed for VAN HALEN's induction into the Hall in 2007, when most of the members of VAN HALEN did not attend. "They couldn't get everybody to show up for the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame when those guys, when VAN HALEN was inducted, so they of course obviously couldn't perform," he said. "So they asked if we would fill in, and so we did. And that was basically it."
Only ex-members Sammy Hagar and Michael Anthony turned up for VAN HALEN's induction.
Although Rose was ambivalent in a recent VH1 interview about reuniting with his old GUNS bandmates at the induction, Sorum added that he's wary of making predictions about the big night. He explained, "It's better if I just go, 'I don't know shit.' Which is the absolute truth. They could be in a room right now . . . and I wouldn't be invited, you know what I'm saying?"
It's widely expected that Sorum will be inducted along with Adler, in addition to the other four original members of the group. GUNS will be inducted into the Hall on April 14 in Cleveland, along with the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, THE BEASTIE BOYS, LAURA NYRO and DONOVAN.
SLAYER founding guitarist Jeff Hanneman — who in January contracted necrotizing fasciitis, likely caused by a spider bite, and has been undergoing surgeries, skin grafts and intense rehab since — spoke to U.K.'s Classic Rock magazine about his recovery which has seen him sit out an entire year's worth of touring with the band.
Hanneman was kicking back in a hot tub with a couple of beers when noticed a spider bite him on the arm.
"Didn't even feel it," he says now. "But an hour later, I knew that I was ill." On his way to the hospital, "I could see the flesh corrupting," he recalls. "The arm was real hot. I got to the emergency room, and thank god the nurse knew straight away what it was. By chance, although it's pretty rare, she had seen a case a little while before. At that point, I was an hour away from death."
Although the spider bite itself was not serious, it had caused bacterial infection in the deeper layers of the skin and tissues of the arm.
"Unbelivably, the doctor was a SLAYER fan," says Hanneman, "First thing he said to me was: 'First I am going to save your life. Then I am going to save your arm. Then I am going to save your career.'"
Hanneman underwent emergency surgery to remove the dead and dying tissue. The doctor was able to save the muscles and the tendons, but the guitarist had a large open wound on his arm. He spent the next two months in hospital, having extensive skin grafts and heavy doses of antibiotics to suppress the infection.
"I had to learn to walk again," Hanneman says: "I hadn't stood up for a month, apart from anything else. The skin grafts were very painful and all the muscles and tendons in the arm where very weak. That was ok though. I count myself lucky that the nurse and doctor knew right away what had happened to me, because things could have been a whole lot worse."
While Hanneman's SLAYER bandmates fufilled their touring commitments with stand-in guitarist Gary Holt (EXODUS), Jeff spent most of 2011 rehabilitating. With the worst of it behind him, Hanneman can see the humour in the situation, too.
"It's the kind of thing I might have written a song about," he acknowledges. "Everything that could go wrong this year did, but you know, it turned out okay. Satan had my back."
Hanneman was kicking back in a hot tub with a couple of beers when noticed a spider bite him on the arm.
"Didn't even feel it," he says now. "But an hour later, I knew that I was ill." On his way to the hospital, "I could see the flesh corrupting," he recalls. "The arm was real hot. I got to the emergency room, and thank god the nurse knew straight away what it was. By chance, although it's pretty rare, she had seen a case a little while before. At that point, I was an hour away from death."
Although the spider bite itself was not serious, it had caused bacterial infection in the deeper layers of the skin and tissues of the arm.
"Unbelivably, the doctor was a SLAYER fan," says Hanneman, "First thing he said to me was: 'First I am going to save your life. Then I am going to save your arm. Then I am going to save your career.'"
Hanneman underwent emergency surgery to remove the dead and dying tissue. The doctor was able to save the muscles and the tendons, but the guitarist had a large open wound on his arm. He spent the next two months in hospital, having extensive skin grafts and heavy doses of antibiotics to suppress the infection.
"I had to learn to walk again," Hanneman says: "I hadn't stood up for a month, apart from anything else. The skin grafts were very painful and all the muscles and tendons in the arm where very weak. That was ok though. I count myself lucky that the nurse and doctor knew right away what had happened to me, because things could have been a whole lot worse."
While Hanneman's SLAYER bandmates fufilled their touring commitments with stand-in guitarist Gary Holt (EXODUS), Jeff spent most of 2011 rehabilitating. With the worst of it behind him, Hanneman can see the humour in the situation, too.
"It's the kind of thing I might have written a song about," he acknowledges. "Everything that could go wrong this year did, but you know, it turned out okay. Satan had my back."
Revolver magazine is celebrating the release of its "Mega 100th Issue" by spotlighting the "100 Greatest Living Rock Stars." From Ozzy to Axl to Lemmy, the issue features those who have rocked the hardest and lived to tell about it. On newsstands now and available online right here, the issue also features Revolver's Top 20 albums of 2011, which crowns KORN's controversial dubstep-infused record, "The Path Of Totality", with top honors.
The "100 Greatest Living Rock Stars" list takes a no-holds-barred look at the rock arena and highlights those artists who embody rock and roll's rebel attitude. Whether it's the well-chronicled debauched exploits OF MÖTLEY CRÜE or newcomer James Durbin bringing metal to pop's biggest forum, "American Idol", these artists have what it takes to stand out from the pack. Included in the feature are rock star tips and tales from Gene Simmons, Chris Cornell, Bret Michaels and Dave Navarro, among others.
"Some would say the era of the rock star is dead," says Revolver editor-in-chief Brandon Geist. "And those are probably the same disbelievers who have told us many times that rock is dead, that metal is dead, that print is dead. And yet, here Revolver is at 100 issues —100 real, tangible, bathroom-ready printed issues — celebrating 100 rock stars who are very much alive and kicking ass. Needlessly to say, reports of all these deaths are greatly exaggerated."
The cover of Revolver's "Mega 100th Issue" features 22 notable rockers partying hard in celebration of the milestone in a special illustration created by famed horror-artist Jason Edmiston. These rock stars include: GUNS N' ROSES' Axl Rose, Ozzy Osbourne, METALLICA's James Hetfield, KISS' Gene Simmons, KORN's Jonathan Davis, Marilyn Manson, Slash, MÖTLEY CRÜE and SIXX: A.M.'s Nikki Sixx, SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR's Corey Taylor, MOTÖRHEAD's Lemmy Kilmister, FOO FIGHTERS' Dave Grohl, Alice Cooper, Rob Zombie, SLAYER's Kerry King, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY's Zakk Wylde, LAMB OF GOD's Randy Blythe, AVENGED SEVENFOLD's M. Shadows, JANE'S ADDICTION's Dave Navarro, Sebastian Bach, BLACK VEIL BRIDES' Andy Biersack, and FALLING IN REVERSE's Ronnie Radke.
The cover of Revolver was recently named by Billboard to be the #1 place to get maximum exposure as a hard-rock artist; Revolver expands its reign as the leading hard-rock and heavy-metal destination with its 100th issue, which is its first issue ever to be sold at Walmart. Kicking off the relationship, 775 of the retailer's top locations will feature custom Revolver displays in their music sections to make the issue easily accessible for music fans around the country. The celebratory issue is also the first to feature a redesign to both the up-front and back-of-book sections.
Also included in the "Mega 100th Issue" is Revolver's highly anticipated list of the Top 20 albums of 2011. "Album Of The Year" honors go to KORN for their album "The Path Of Totality", which sees the pioneering metal band collaborating with such dubstep producers as Skrillex, Excision, Kill the Noise and Nosia. Other albums making the cut include MACHINE HEAD's "Unto the Locust", MEGADETH's "TH1RT3EN", the FOO FIGHTERS' "Wasting Light" and EVANESCENCE's self-titled release.
In addition, the issue features a commemorative fold-out poster of late, great PANTERA guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott; a download code for 15 free songs, including tracks by BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, HATEBREED, HIGH ON FIRE; articles on BLACK SABBATH, SHINEDOWN, GWAR, SKELETONWITCH, CLUTCH, and many others; as well as the "Top 10 Presents to Kick 2012 Up to 11," Revolver's holiday gift guide with the perfect items for the rockers on your list.
The "100 Greatest Living Rock Stars" list takes a no-holds-barred look at the rock arena and highlights those artists who embody rock and roll's rebel attitude. Whether it's the well-chronicled debauched exploits OF MÖTLEY CRÜE or newcomer James Durbin bringing metal to pop's biggest forum, "American Idol", these artists have what it takes to stand out from the pack. Included in the feature are rock star tips and tales from Gene Simmons, Chris Cornell, Bret Michaels and Dave Navarro, among others.
"Some would say the era of the rock star is dead," says Revolver editor-in-chief Brandon Geist. "And those are probably the same disbelievers who have told us many times that rock is dead, that metal is dead, that print is dead. And yet, here Revolver is at 100 issues —100 real, tangible, bathroom-ready printed issues — celebrating 100 rock stars who are very much alive and kicking ass. Needlessly to say, reports of all these deaths are greatly exaggerated."
The cover of Revolver's "Mega 100th Issue" features 22 notable rockers partying hard in celebration of the milestone in a special illustration created by famed horror-artist Jason Edmiston. These rock stars include: GUNS N' ROSES' Axl Rose, Ozzy Osbourne, METALLICA's James Hetfield, KISS' Gene Simmons, KORN's Jonathan Davis, Marilyn Manson, Slash, MÖTLEY CRÜE and SIXX: A.M.'s Nikki Sixx, SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR's Corey Taylor, MOTÖRHEAD's Lemmy Kilmister, FOO FIGHTERS' Dave Grohl, Alice Cooper, Rob Zombie, SLAYER's Kerry King, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY's Zakk Wylde, LAMB OF GOD's Randy Blythe, AVENGED SEVENFOLD's M. Shadows, JANE'S ADDICTION's Dave Navarro, Sebastian Bach, BLACK VEIL BRIDES' Andy Biersack, and FALLING IN REVERSE's Ronnie Radke.
The cover of Revolver was recently named by Billboard to be the #1 place to get maximum exposure as a hard-rock artist; Revolver expands its reign as the leading hard-rock and heavy-metal destination with its 100th issue, which is its first issue ever to be sold at Walmart. Kicking off the relationship, 775 of the retailer's top locations will feature custom Revolver displays in their music sections to make the issue easily accessible for music fans around the country. The celebratory issue is also the first to feature a redesign to both the up-front and back-of-book sections.
Also included in the "Mega 100th Issue" is Revolver's highly anticipated list of the Top 20 albums of 2011. "Album Of The Year" honors go to KORN for their album "The Path Of Totality", which sees the pioneering metal band collaborating with such dubstep producers as Skrillex, Excision, Kill the Noise and Nosia. Other albums making the cut include MACHINE HEAD's "Unto the Locust", MEGADETH's "TH1RT3EN", the FOO FIGHTERS' "Wasting Light" and EVANESCENCE's self-titled release.
In addition, the issue features a commemorative fold-out poster of late, great PANTERA guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott; a download code for 15 free songs, including tracks by BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, HATEBREED, HIGH ON FIRE; articles on BLACK SABBATH, SHINEDOWN, GWAR, SKELETONWITCH, CLUTCH, and many others; as well as the "Top 10 Presents to Kick 2012 Up to 11," Revolver's holiday gift guide with the perfect items for the rockers on your list.
One of the founding fathers of heavy metal, bass player and lyricist for BLACK SABBATH, Geezer Butler, will lend his earth-moving rhythms to this massive gathering to help celebrate the life and music of "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott (PANTERA, DAMAGEPLAN) at this year's Dimebash. Geezer has described Dimebag as "one of the greatest musicians to grace our world."
On December 14, the world of hard rock and metal come together in a communion of thunderous songs and stories to tip its collective glass to one of the true masters of not only guitar, but music as a whole.
The Key Club in Hollywood will play host to all-star jams featuring the talents of heavy-hitters like:
* Tim "Ripper" Owens (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH, DIO DISCIPLES)
* Geezer Butler (BLACK SABBATH, HEAVEN & HELL)
* Jerry Cantrell (ALICE IN CHAINS)
* David Draiman (DISTURBED)
* Duff McKagan (VELVET REVOLVER, GUNS N' ROSES)
* Serj Tankian (SYSTEM OF A DOWN)
* Mike Muir (SUICIDAL TENDENCIES)
* Sebastian Bach (SKID ROW)
* John 5 (ROB ZOMBIE, MARILYN MANSON)
* Scott Ian (ANTHRAX)
* Phil Demmel (MACHINE HEAD)
* Warren DeMartini (RATT)
* Ben Harper
* Chris Howorth (IN THIS MOMENT)
* Tom Morello (RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE)
* Doug Pinnick (KING'S X)
* James Lomenzo (WHITE LION, MEGADETH, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY)
* Ginger Fish (ROB ZOMBIE, MARILYN MANSON)
* Brian Tichy (WHITESNAKE, OZZY OSBOURNE)
* Gene Hoglan (FEAR FACTORY, DETHKLOK, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD)
* Joey Vera (ARMORED SAINT, FATES WARNING)
The whole shebang will be emceed by "That Metal Show"'s Eddie Trunk and his co-horts, Jim Florentine and Don Jamieson. In addition, kicking off the event will be KILL DEVIL HILL, the band featuring Vinny Appice (HEAVEN & HELL, BLACK SABBATH, DIO) on drums, Rex Brown (DOWN, PANTERA) on bass, Mark Zavon (RATT, W.A.S.P., 40 CYCLE HUM) on guitar and Jason "Dewey" Bragg (PISSING RAZORS) on vocals. Also on deck are DIO DISCIPLES — the new project featuring former DIO members Simon Wright (drums), Craig Goldy (guitar), Scott Warren (keyboards) and Rudy Sarzo alongside singers Tim "Ripper" Owens (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, BEYOND FEAR, JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH) and Toby Jepson (LITTLE ANGELS, GUN) — with a special appearance by Glenn Hughes (BLACK SABBATH, DEEP PURPLE, BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION).
100% of proceeds from the event will benefit the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up & Shout Cancer Fund. Additionally, attendees will be able to land some limited-edition merchandise and purchase Monster Energy cocktail drink specials with 100 percent of the proceeds benefitting the cause as well.
Key Club
9039 Sunset Boulevard
West Hollywood, CA 90069
(310) 274-5800
Thursday, December 14, 2011
Doors Open: 7:00 p.m.
Performances Begin: 8:00 p.m.
On December 14, the world of hard rock and metal come together in a communion of thunderous songs and stories to tip its collective glass to one of the true masters of not only guitar, but music as a whole.
The Key Club in Hollywood will play host to all-star jams featuring the talents of heavy-hitters like:
* Tim "Ripper" Owens (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH, DIO DISCIPLES)
* Geezer Butler (BLACK SABBATH, HEAVEN & HELL)
* Jerry Cantrell (ALICE IN CHAINS)
* David Draiman (DISTURBED)
* Duff McKagan (VELVET REVOLVER, GUNS N' ROSES)
* Serj Tankian (SYSTEM OF A DOWN)
* Mike Muir (SUICIDAL TENDENCIES)
* Sebastian Bach (SKID ROW)
* John 5 (ROB ZOMBIE, MARILYN MANSON)
* Scott Ian (ANTHRAX)
* Phil Demmel (MACHINE HEAD)
* Warren DeMartini (RATT)
* Ben Harper
* Chris Howorth (IN THIS MOMENT)
* Tom Morello (RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE)
* Doug Pinnick (KING'S X)
* James Lomenzo (WHITE LION, MEGADETH, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY)
* Ginger Fish (ROB ZOMBIE, MARILYN MANSON)
* Brian Tichy (WHITESNAKE, OZZY OSBOURNE)
* Gene Hoglan (FEAR FACTORY, DETHKLOK, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD)
* Joey Vera (ARMORED SAINT, FATES WARNING)
The whole shebang will be emceed by "That Metal Show"'s Eddie Trunk and his co-horts, Jim Florentine and Don Jamieson. In addition, kicking off the event will be KILL DEVIL HILL, the band featuring Vinny Appice (HEAVEN & HELL, BLACK SABBATH, DIO) on drums, Rex Brown (DOWN, PANTERA) on bass, Mark Zavon (RATT, W.A.S.P., 40 CYCLE HUM) on guitar and Jason "Dewey" Bragg (PISSING RAZORS) on vocals. Also on deck are DIO DISCIPLES — the new project featuring former DIO members Simon Wright (drums), Craig Goldy (guitar), Scott Warren (keyboards) and Rudy Sarzo alongside singers Tim "Ripper" Owens (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, BEYOND FEAR, JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH) and Toby Jepson (LITTLE ANGELS, GUN) — with a special appearance by Glenn Hughes (BLACK SABBATH, DEEP PURPLE, BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION).
100% of proceeds from the event will benefit the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up & Shout Cancer Fund. Additionally, attendees will be able to land some limited-edition merchandise and purchase Monster Energy cocktail drink specials with 100 percent of the proceeds benefitting the cause as well.
Key Club
9039 Sunset Boulevard
West Hollywood, CA 90069
(310) 274-5800
Thursday, December 14, 2011
Doors Open: 7:00 p.m.
Performances Begin: 8:00 p.m.
New classic rock outfit SNAKECHARMER was finally introduced to the industry on December 5 with an intimate launch party, where selected members of the press listened to an exquisite four tracks appetizer, equally split between unforgettable WHITESNAKE classics and SNAKECHARMER's own unreleased work. A special guest appearance with URIAH HEEP at London's Shepherds Bush Empire completed the launch on December 8, introducing the band to the general public. Among the party's attendees were leading journalists from the BBC, Classic Rock magazine and Planet Rock, as well as cast and musical directors from West End rock shows. They were treated to a playback of newly recorded versions of "Fool For Your Lovin'" and "Here I Go Again" and given an exclusive preview of newly penned tracks "Smoking Gun" and "Turn Of The Screw". The two new songs were not performed at the Shepherds Bush Empire show, where a well-received selection of WHITESNAKE hits was greeted with a very enthusiastic, goose-bump-inducing sing-along.
Six of the U.K.'s most highly-esteemed and experienced rock musicians have joined forces to create SNAKECHARMER. Original WHITESNAKE members Micky Moody and Neil Murray have teamed up with Laurie Wisefield (WISHBONE ASH), Harry James (THUNDER, MAGNUM), Adam Wakeman (OZZY OSBOURNE) and Chris Ousey (HEARTLAND) to bring you classic twin-guitar based rock as it should be played.
The list of world-class bands and musicians that the members of SNAKECHARMER have collectively played with runs into literally hundreds: Eric Clapton, Tina Turner, Joe Cocker, Jeff Beck, Gary Moore, MAGNUM, QUEEN & PAUL RODGERS, just to name a few.
SNAKECHARMER is:
Micky Moody - Guitar, Slide Guitar, Vocals
Neil Murray - Bass
Laurie Wisefield - Guitar, Vocals
Harry James - Drums, Vocals
Adam Wakeman - Keyboards, Vocals
Chris Ousey - Lead Vocals
For more information, visit www.www.snakecharmer.org.
Six of the U.K.'s most highly-esteemed and experienced rock musicians have joined forces to create SNAKECHARMER. Original WHITESNAKE members Micky Moody and Neil Murray have teamed up with Laurie Wisefield (WISHBONE ASH), Harry James (THUNDER, MAGNUM), Adam Wakeman (OZZY OSBOURNE) and Chris Ousey (HEARTLAND) to bring you classic twin-guitar based rock as it should be played.
The list of world-class bands and musicians that the members of SNAKECHARMER have collectively played with runs into literally hundreds: Eric Clapton, Tina Turner, Joe Cocker, Jeff Beck, Gary Moore, MAGNUM, QUEEN & PAUL RODGERS, just to name a few.
SNAKECHARMER is:
Micky Moody - Guitar, Slide Guitar, Vocals
Neil Murray - Bass
Laurie Wisefield - Guitar, Vocals
Harry James - Drums, Vocals
Adam Wakeman - Keyboards, Vocals
Chris Ousey - Lead Vocals
For more information, visit www.www.snakecharmer.org.
Legendary Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen was recently honored by Sharpie — a manufacturer of writing instruments (mainly marker pens) whose products are sold in over 20 countries.
Sharpie president Ben J. Gadbois (pictured below with Yngwie), who did the honors, had this to say: "I have followed Yngwie since high school and am a huge fan."
He added, "It was fantastic to meet one of the greatest guitar players of all time and talk about music and several of our common interests. It was also an honor to present Yngwie with his own personalized Sharpies. It means a lot that he chooses our markers to sign autographs. He's definitely made an indelible mark on music, and in some small way, we hope Sharpie has helped him make a lasting impressions with his fans."
Released on November 22, 2010 via Malmsteen's own Rising Force Records, Yngwie's latest album, "Relentless", contains more than 60 minutes of brand new material and showcases the guitar great at his best with the signature virtuosity and mind-blowing technical speed for which he has come to be known. "Relentless" also features striking vocals from Tim "Ripper" Owens (JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH), who first collaborated with Malmsteen on "Perpetual Flame" (Malmsteen's first album for the Rising Force Records label).
Of the new album, Malmsteen commented, "The album title really says it all. The drive to surpass my own accomplishments can best be described with one word — relentless. After all these years of composing and playing music, I still am passionate about pushing myself to the limit — to the highest, most demanding level of playing possible."
Sharpie president Ben J. Gadbois (pictured below with Yngwie), who did the honors, had this to say: "I have followed Yngwie since high school and am a huge fan."
He added, "It was fantastic to meet one of the greatest guitar players of all time and talk about music and several of our common interests. It was also an honor to present Yngwie with his own personalized Sharpies. It means a lot that he chooses our markers to sign autographs. He's definitely made an indelible mark on music, and in some small way, we hope Sharpie has helped him make a lasting impressions with his fans."
Released on November 22, 2010 via Malmsteen's own Rising Force Records, Yngwie's latest album, "Relentless", contains more than 60 minutes of brand new material and showcases the guitar great at his best with the signature virtuosity and mind-blowing technical speed for which he has come to be known. "Relentless" also features striking vocals from Tim "Ripper" Owens (JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH), who first collaborated with Malmsteen on "Perpetual Flame" (Malmsteen's first album for the Rising Force Records label).
Of the new album, Malmsteen commented, "The album title really says it all. The drive to surpass my own accomplishments can best be described with one word — relentless. After all these years of composing and playing music, I still am passionate about pushing myself to the limit — to the highest, most demanding level of playing possible."
GREAT WHITE members Mark Kendall (lead guitar), Scott Snyder (bass), Audie Desbrow (drums), Michael Lardie (guitar, keyboards) and Terry Ilous (lead vocals) have responded to founding singer Jack Russell's announcement that he is planning to hit the road in early 2012 with a brand new version of GREAT WHITE.
Russell revealed over the weekend that he was joining forces with Matthew Johnson (former guitarist for GREAT WHITE), Derrick Pontier, (former drummer for GREAT WHITE), Dario Seixas (former bassist for FIREHOUSE and the Stephen Pearcy band) and Robby Lochner (former guitarist for Rob Halford's band and Cherie Currie) in a new incarnation of the classic '80s rock act, with plans to tour under the name GREAT WHITE FEATURING JACK RUSSELL in order to "try [to] avoid any confusion" with any other group calling itself GREAT WHITE.
Russell spent time earlier this year recovering from major surgery after suffering a perforated bowel (a medical emergency in which a hole in the bowel opens to allow its contents to empty into the rest of the abdominal cavity). Singer Terry Ilous of XYZ stepped in to replace Russell on lead vocals.
Kendall, Snyder, Desbrow, Lardie and Ilous have released the following statement in response to Russell's announcement:
"First and foremost, our main concern is our fans.
"We have spent 30 years trying to be the best we can be and bring our fans the top quality of music they have become accustomed to and deserve.
"It saddens us today to have to respond to Jack Russell's announcement.
"Jack Russell announced on Facebook on Saturday, December 10, 2011 that he was returning to GREAT WHITE with a new lineup. This was a complete shock to the entire GREAT WHITE family.
"This couldn't be further from the truth.
"As we all know, Jack Russell has been fighting drug and alcohol abuse for many years. He has had numerous stints in and out of treatment facilities and hospitals.
"In 2010 Jack's physical condition deteriorated to the point that he routinely fell on and off stage, forgot lyrics and we had to cancel shows due to his inability to perform.
"In the past two years, Jack has had five major surgeries and has almost died three times. His drug abuse was so bad that his body began to shut down and ultimately resulted in colostomy surgery from a perforated bowel (he nearly died during this procedure). The colostomy surgery saved his life, but vanquished him with a colostomy bag for a year.
"We stood by Jack; we supported his sobriety and eagerly awaited his return.
"Jack was first slated to return to GREAT WHITE this past summer. Unfortunately, his frail body and his drug abuse prohibited this event. In the following months, Jack had three more surgeries that delayed his return. Finally, he chose February 2012 as his target return date.
"We had five clear conditions for Jack's return:
1. Jack had to be drug free. Off all opiates, methadone, Valium or Xanax.
2. Jack had to be off prednisone (a steroid that ate away at Jack's internal organs that caused the perforated bowl).
3. Jack had to be sober and off crack cocaine and all alcohol.
4. Jack had to agree to weekly drug tests.
5. Jack must attend weekly meetings for AA and NA.
"Last week Jack notified management he would not make it back by February 2012. Jack referred to his doctor's opinion that he would not be ready. He had just started physical rehabilitation again and his legs and back needed more rehab to handle the rigors of touring. Jack thought he would be ready by May to start the summer touring season. However, he wasn't sure if he could be off the methadone by then or ever. Management reiterated that he had to be completely drug-free for his return. He owed it to the fans. He owed it to us. He owed it to himself.
"Out of nowhere, we all received an email on Saturday, December 10, 2011 stating that he was coming back now and that he was starting his own (a different lineup) GREAT WHITE. As you can imagine, this was shocking, to say the least. We were saddened and hurt from this shocking announcement.
"We only want to do right by our fans.
"We aim to give the best possible show and have every fan leave the show feeling they got their money's worth.
"This band is sober and music is our passion. With Jack Russell not being drug-free and unable to physically perform on stage, it will only let down our fans.
"Time and again, Jack Russell has let down his band and fans. His addictions have ruined his life the past eight years.
"We will not sit by and enable our brother to abuse alcohol and drugs to kill himself. We have lost too many loved ones to this madness. After the passing of our dear friend, the talented Jani Lane, it has become more evident that this has to stop. It must end.
"Since Jack's departure in August 2010, GREAT WHITE has performed almost 100 concerts. We've had no shortened sets, cancelations or song choice limitations due to vocal issues.
"In this struggling economy, fans need and deserve more — not less. We owe it to our fans and the promoters to not to allow Jack Russell and some garage band to hurt GREAT WHITE's classic rock legacy and bright future.
"Jack Russell does not have the right to start his own GREAT WHITE or use the name without our names in the lineup.
"We will litigate any promoter that books 'Jack Russell's GREAT WHITE' or uses any logo featuring the name GREAT WHITE.
"We give you our word, we will continue through 2012 and beyond to provide you with the top-quality musical performances you have been accustomed and deserve.
"We hope and pray that Jack gets healthy, happy and sober. His health and well being is the only thing that matters."
Russell revealed over the weekend that he was joining forces with Matthew Johnson (former guitarist for GREAT WHITE), Derrick Pontier, (former drummer for GREAT WHITE), Dario Seixas (former bassist for FIREHOUSE and the Stephen Pearcy band) and Robby Lochner (former guitarist for Rob Halford's band and Cherie Currie) in a new incarnation of the classic '80s rock act, with plans to tour under the name GREAT WHITE FEATURING JACK RUSSELL in order to "try [to] avoid any confusion" with any other group calling itself GREAT WHITE.
Russell spent time earlier this year recovering from major surgery after suffering a perforated bowel (a medical emergency in which a hole in the bowel opens to allow its contents to empty into the rest of the abdominal cavity). Singer Terry Ilous of XYZ stepped in to replace Russell on lead vocals.
Kendall, Snyder, Desbrow, Lardie and Ilous have released the following statement in response to Russell's announcement:
"First and foremost, our main concern is our fans.
"We have spent 30 years trying to be the best we can be and bring our fans the top quality of music they have become accustomed to and deserve.
"It saddens us today to have to respond to Jack Russell's announcement.
"Jack Russell announced on Facebook on Saturday, December 10, 2011 that he was returning to GREAT WHITE with a new lineup. This was a complete shock to the entire GREAT WHITE family.
"This couldn't be further from the truth.
"As we all know, Jack Russell has been fighting drug and alcohol abuse for many years. He has had numerous stints in and out of treatment facilities and hospitals.
"In 2010 Jack's physical condition deteriorated to the point that he routinely fell on and off stage, forgot lyrics and we had to cancel shows due to his inability to perform.
"In the past two years, Jack has had five major surgeries and has almost died three times. His drug abuse was so bad that his body began to shut down and ultimately resulted in colostomy surgery from a perforated bowel (he nearly died during this procedure). The colostomy surgery saved his life, but vanquished him with a colostomy bag for a year.
"We stood by Jack; we supported his sobriety and eagerly awaited his return.
"Jack was first slated to return to GREAT WHITE this past summer. Unfortunately, his frail body and his drug abuse prohibited this event. In the following months, Jack had three more surgeries that delayed his return. Finally, he chose February 2012 as his target return date.
"We had five clear conditions for Jack's return:
1. Jack had to be drug free. Off all opiates, methadone, Valium or Xanax.
2. Jack had to be off prednisone (a steroid that ate away at Jack's internal organs that caused the perforated bowl).
3. Jack had to be sober and off crack cocaine and all alcohol.
4. Jack had to agree to weekly drug tests.
5. Jack must attend weekly meetings for AA and NA.
"Last week Jack notified management he would not make it back by February 2012. Jack referred to his doctor's opinion that he would not be ready. He had just started physical rehabilitation again and his legs and back needed more rehab to handle the rigors of touring. Jack thought he would be ready by May to start the summer touring season. However, he wasn't sure if he could be off the methadone by then or ever. Management reiterated that he had to be completely drug-free for his return. He owed it to the fans. He owed it to us. He owed it to himself.
"Out of nowhere, we all received an email on Saturday, December 10, 2011 stating that he was coming back now and that he was starting his own (a different lineup) GREAT WHITE. As you can imagine, this was shocking, to say the least. We were saddened and hurt from this shocking announcement.
"We only want to do right by our fans.
"We aim to give the best possible show and have every fan leave the show feeling they got their money's worth.
"This band is sober and music is our passion. With Jack Russell not being drug-free and unable to physically perform on stage, it will only let down our fans.
"Time and again, Jack Russell has let down his band and fans. His addictions have ruined his life the past eight years.
"We will not sit by and enable our brother to abuse alcohol and drugs to kill himself. We have lost too many loved ones to this madness. After the passing of our dear friend, the talented Jani Lane, it has become more evident that this has to stop. It must end.
"Since Jack's departure in August 2010, GREAT WHITE has performed almost 100 concerts. We've had no shortened sets, cancelations or song choice limitations due to vocal issues.
"In this struggling economy, fans need and deserve more — not less. We owe it to our fans and the promoters to not to allow Jack Russell and some garage band to hurt GREAT WHITE's classic rock legacy and bright future.
"Jack Russell does not have the right to start his own GREAT WHITE or use the name without our names in the lineup.
"We will litigate any promoter that books 'Jack Russell's GREAT WHITE' or uses any logo featuring the name GREAT WHITE.
"We give you our word, we will continue through 2012 and beyond to provide you with the top-quality musical performances you have been accustomed and deserve.
"We hope and pray that Jack gets healthy, happy and sober. His health and well being is the only thing that matters."
GREAT WHITE singer Jack Russell says that he is "deeply hurt and saddened" by his estranged bandmates' decision to "purposely exploit [his] personal and private medical conditions to try to prevent [him] from doing what [he] love[s]."
Russell revealed over the weekend that he was joining forces with Matthew Johnson (former guitarist for GREAT WHITE), Derrick Pontier, (former drummer for GREAT WHITE), Dario Seixas (former bassist for FIREHOUSE and the Stephen Pearcy band) and Robby Lochner (former guitarist for Rob Halford's band and Cherie Currie) in a new incarnation of the classic '80s rock act, with plans to tour under the name GREAT WHITE FEATURING JACK RUSSELL in order to "try [to] avoid any confusion" with any other group calling itself GREAT WHITE.
In response, the current touring lineup of GREAT WHITE — Mark Kendall (lead guitar), Scott Snyder (bass), Audie Desbrow (drums), Michael Lardie (guitar, keyboards) and Terry Ilous (lead vocals) — issued a statement in which they claimed that Russell's "frail body" and "drug abuse" have prohibited him from taking part in the band's performances for the past year. They additionally revealed that Jack had undergone "five major surgeries" after his drug abuse got so bad that "his body began to shut down and ultimately resulted in colostomy surgery from a perforated bowel." In the statement, GREAT WHITE also insisted that the singer "does not have the right to start his own GREAT WHITE or use the name without our names in the lineup" and they vowed to "litigate any promoter that books 'Jack Russell's GREAT WHITE' or uses any logo featuring the name GREAT WHITE."
In a brand new statement released to BLABBERMOUTH.NET, Russell said about his bandmates' decision to air their dirty laundry in public, "I am deeply hurt and saddened by the fact that my old friends and bandmates would purposely exploit my personal and private medical conditions to try to prevent me from doing what I love. I can't even fathom as to why they would do such a thing and why they would want to personally hurt me so much. This is very upsetting considering that more than half of the band has had their own issues, demons, or personal problems at some point, all of which affected the band at one time or another." He added, "I am excited about the future and look forward to seeing all my friends on the road. My interview with Metal Sludge is the only one I will be doing right now, and I will make no further comments regarding this matter."
Russell revealed over the weekend that he was joining forces with Matthew Johnson (former guitarist for GREAT WHITE), Derrick Pontier, (former drummer for GREAT WHITE), Dario Seixas (former bassist for FIREHOUSE and the Stephen Pearcy band) and Robby Lochner (former guitarist for Rob Halford's band and Cherie Currie) in a new incarnation of the classic '80s rock act, with plans to tour under the name GREAT WHITE FEATURING JACK RUSSELL in order to "try [to] avoid any confusion" with any other group calling itself GREAT WHITE.
In response, the current touring lineup of GREAT WHITE — Mark Kendall (lead guitar), Scott Snyder (bass), Audie Desbrow (drums), Michael Lardie (guitar, keyboards) and Terry Ilous (lead vocals) — issued a statement in which they claimed that Russell's "frail body" and "drug abuse" have prohibited him from taking part in the band's performances for the past year. They additionally revealed that Jack had undergone "five major surgeries" after his drug abuse got so bad that "his body began to shut down and ultimately resulted in colostomy surgery from a perforated bowel." In the statement, GREAT WHITE also insisted that the singer "does not have the right to start his own GREAT WHITE or use the name without our names in the lineup" and they vowed to "litigate any promoter that books 'Jack Russell's GREAT WHITE' or uses any logo featuring the name GREAT WHITE."
In a brand new statement released to BLABBERMOUTH.NET, Russell said about his bandmates' decision to air their dirty laundry in public, "I am deeply hurt and saddened by the fact that my old friends and bandmates would purposely exploit my personal and private medical conditions to try to prevent me from doing what I love. I can't even fathom as to why they would do such a thing and why they would want to personally hurt me so much. This is very upsetting considering that more than half of the band has had their own issues, demons, or personal problems at some point, all of which affected the band at one time or another." He added, "I am excited about the future and look forward to seeing all my friends on the road. My interview with Metal Sludge is the only one I will be doing right now, and I will make no further comments regarding this matter."
Former SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach will play three "special concerts" in New York City at the end of January with BILLY IDOL guitarist Steve Stevens. The shows will take place on January 27, January 28 and January 29 at at The Iridium and will see Bach and Stevens "doing two sets a night," including "some special unexpected songs." Sebastian says, "I have always wanted to play with Steve, so I am really looking forward to it."
In other news, Bach and his solo band will open for GUNS N' ROSES on December 27 at Comerica Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona and on December 30 and December 31 at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Bach states, "[The Phoenix show] will be great because it's our guitar player Nick Sterling's hometown and we are playing on his dad Jim's 50th birthday! So it will be a fun-filled three days, for sure!"
Bach's "TunnelVision" video can be seen below. The clip is one of three videos that the singer filmed on June 28 in Hollywood, California with director Devin DeHaven of Fortress Entertainment (PAPA ROACH, WHITESNAKE, METHOD MAN, TALIB KWELI).
"TunnelVision" comes off Bach's new album, "Kicking & Screaming", which 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.
In other news, Bach and his solo band will open for GUNS N' ROSES on December 27 at Comerica Theatre in Phoenix, Arizona and on December 30 and December 31 at The Joint at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada. Bach states, "[The Phoenix show] will be great because it's our guitar player Nick Sterling's hometown and we are playing on his dad Jim's 50th birthday! So it will be a fun-filled three days, for sure!"
Bach's "TunnelVision" video can be seen below. The clip is one of three videos that the singer filmed on June 28 in Hollywood, California with director Devin DeHaven of Fortress Entertainment (PAPA ROACH, WHITESNAKE, METHOD MAN, TALIB KWELI).
"TunnelVision" comes off Bach's new album, "Kicking & Screaming", which 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.
Blunt Force Trauma was released earlier this year, since this is your second album with Cavalera Conspiracy, how would you say that you connected with this album than you did with Inflikted?
It's more brutal, more aggressive. I think the fans wanted something heavier after the first record and we decided to give it to them, you know? So, it's like the old saying, "give them what they want." So, we did just that. We went a step further in the heaviness; songs are shorter. Stuff like Torture and Thrasher are like barely two minutes, it's like Raining Blood [Slayer], you know?
I made a comment, I said that the new album sounded a lot like modern thrash on crack (laughs) because modern thrash is really fast, and if it were on crack, it would be even faster and heavier. But yeah, it's going good, we're playing stuff off of the new record. It's amazing, the reaction of the fans, they love the new stuff. Killing Inside, everybody sings. Warlord, we start with that. Thrasher. Ghengis Khan, we play that right in the middle of the set. Then later we play I Speak Hate together with Roots [Sepultura]; it's great, a great reaction.
When you were recording, or just recording in general whether it had been for this album or for any of your other bands; I know you're very isolated when doing so. You know how you have that connection and energy on-stage, how do you try to incorporate that energy into your albums, or did you even try?
It's tricky, but there's ways to do it. A lot of times, just get everybody pumped up, the whole band, and we write a kick ass song, everybody feels really killer. And then you, normally, when you just make it, you imagine how this part's going to be when we play live! And it's "Hell yeah! We're going to fuck shit up, you know, we're going to turn it up when we play this live!"
So, I think that's what it takes it to do it, it's the imagination in the studio; surrounded by good guys in the band. It gets everybody excited and then you start writing all of these parts that you'd imagine them how they'd be live. And you'd be like, "this part's going to be sick live! That part is going to be pure live!" You know? Just do that.
But in the studio atmosphere, it's a little-- yeah, like you said, kind of cold, because there's only four walls, and you don't have a crowd there. So you have to imagine how it's going to be when it eventually hits the fans and when they get it, when we play it in front of them, how killer it will be. So, you have to be creative, use the imagination kind of thing.
Yeah. When you're writing, whether it be lyrics, melodies, or anything, how does that all start to materialize inside of your mind?
Well, I write all of the riffs before I enter the studio, so I just sit down with my guitar and four-track machine and drum machine, and write the majority of the stuff and then I put that on the CD and I send that to Igor [Cavalera, drummer] and Marc [Rizzo, guitarist] and they all get the CD with fifteen songs-- almost complete songs. And then we take that CD to the studio and we make that CD into kind of the guide of what we use every day. We pick a song off of that CD and make it into a real song.
So, that's kind of the process that I use, it seems to work really good, and then I can spend time on writing the riffs; it takes me a couple of months just to write the riffs to pick the right riffs for the album. It is very important to have a good riff, you know?
Yeah. When you're writing your lyrics though, how do you take those ideas from your mind and turn them into a song?
The lyrics come later, after the music is recorded because I have all of the music in front of me and then I start thinking of what kind of lyrics I'm going to put on those songs. And a lot of it comes from the actual music gives the idea of the kind of lyric because a lot of the lyrics are brutal; are brutal subjects, like Warlord and Torture, (pauses) Burn Waco-- those are hardcore topics, you know? So, it fits the music.
So, the music is actually, it is what it's-- in a way giving the idea of what the topic of the song is going to be like. So, the music is actually calling for these kind of lyrics, which is really kind of cool. The music calls for it, aggressive lyrics.
That's really interesting.... How would you say that you express your passion through your music?
I think it's on an every day basis on everything I do, you know? It's like, now it's on tour, so I'm on tour with Cavalera [Conspiracy]. Every night is a release of a lot of emotions and passion is one of them is one that you have inside of you. Anger, aggression, and you save it all the way through the day, then the night comes and the show comes and you release them on the crowd.
And it's the same thing that happens with the audience, they have waited, I don't know, a couple of months for the show and some of them have waited for a long time and it finally comes to a time where you're there and it's actually happening, and it's really great. And then they release that either on the moshpits or the circle pits, screaming real loud, singing with you, you know? Whatever way they found the way to release the energy out of them. So, it's a combination of both.
I was going to ask this later, but this kind of coincides with what you are talking about right now... How does writing your own music give yourself an escape?
Oh, it's great. When I play the song, we get transported to a different place; we get really excited. Sometimes, you know, you can just close your eyes and imagine you are in some other place. And that's with your own music. And then, of course, I listen to my iPod or my CD player, I pick the music I want to hear and that's everything from heavy thrash stuff to dub-music, different kinds of stuff I listen to, you know?
As you were talking about earlier, with your passion, how would you say that it has evolved over the years that you have been doing this, in general?
Umm... I don't think it's changed that much. I'm very connected to music, I love music. I get up with it, I go to bed with it, I wear headphones, listen to music when I'm super tired and finally give up and go to sleep. And then on tour, of course, you play the songs every night, and touring-- I love touring.
Touring is one of my favorite parts of being in a band. I love being in a different city every night, a different crowd to play, experience a different crowd reaction every night. Every night's different from each other, you know? The venue's different, the people are different, the atmosphere is different. It's cool, I like that.
Every time you play one of those shows where everything "clicks" - everything goes well, the sound is perfect, the crowd is amazing, how does that feel when you step foot on that stage?
It's very satisfying to me, sometimes in some parts of the show, I just love what's happening at that moment. It's just as if it's as good as it's going to get, it's like, it cannot get any better. The sound is great, the band is rocking out, the crowd's going crazy... No, it doesn't get any better. (laughs) It's a great feeling. But of course, there are some shitty nights when not everything is good. You have shitty sound, sometimes not many people show up, but you still got to do the same show.
I have the philosophy of, no matter how many people are there, you should always play the same show; if it's a less or big crowd, you should always-- always even when there's less people, you should even do a better show because those people are there, they're the hardcore fans. They came in small numbers, but they came.
Yeah, and sometimes those kinds of shows would be the most special to you, I would imagine...
Yeah, sometimes it happens that way. Like, you think it's going to be totally shitty and nobody's there, and it ends up being a really good show. It depends, you know?
Yeah. I could not imagine living on a tour bus for such a long time or just touring nonstop like you have... And also, being on tour with your brother as well, being a part of this entire lifestyle... How would you say that all of this has made you stronger throughout the years?
It's a harsh lifestyle. It's not for everybody, you know? Everybody thinks it's luxury and stuff. There is some luxury, but there is also a lot of struggle.
Yeah and I'm sure you never sleep...
Yeah, you know it's hard to sleep, you're in a different place every day. You want to eat healthy? Forget about it! That's out of the window when you go on tour. It's going to be pizza after the show and that's it. You better eat that, or you don't eat. But all of that put together makes you stronger because if you can get through this, I can get through anything mentality. Like a marine, a little bit, you know? So, we're like the marines of metal.
(laughs) I love that! What has been something that happened to you that has really impacted the way you are as a person, the way it has really affected the way you write, or just impacted you in general?
A couple things... The birth of my first son, Zyon, was really great. And I was doing Sepultura at that time and it was something that I really wanted everybody to know I had a son, I didn't want to hide that from the world, you know? I wanted to show people that you could still be aggressive, play heavy music, but be a dad at the same time, that was ok because a lot of people have a preconception of that if you're a dad, you can't rock out anymore. That's bullshit! Just because you have a family doesn't mean you can't play fast, you know? So I was very proud and I announced it to the whole world; I made pictures with him-- Roadrunner [Records] made special pictures of me holding him and I wrote his name on my knuckles which I ended up tattooing afterwards. That was a great moment!
And I think through the years, special places that have made an impact, Eastern Europe, Serbia, Russia, you know, I visited-- Soulfly played a lot of like-- Siberia, we did ten shows in Siberia. We played in places that nobody even goes, [where] there's no concerts, and that was so cool. We would go there and give that music to those kids that never have seen anything; they're so grateful. They weren't spoiled, you know? It's like, sometimes here in the West, we get spoiled because we have a choice to see twenty shows in a night, and you just get spoiled, and you just don't care. And they had one show, that was the only show; it was so cool, man. It just makes you look at music a whole different way. It's great.
And that's what I like about music, you go places that you normally you're not supposed to go, like Siberia. Maybe by nature you're not supposed to go there, but you end up going anyway because you go against nature, you know? And I am one of the people, I beg my booking agent to take me to these places; I always want to go somewhere exotic like Indonesia. If I could tour Vietnam, I'd go there-- the Middle East, I'm not fucking scared; I'd go there, they're not going to bomb me. If they do, I'd die on the stage, it's the fucking perfect place...
To die what you love doing.
Exactly! Better than old, in a wheelchair, some shit like that. (laughs)
(laughs) You're very blunt... We touched on this earlier, a little, but I'd like you to elaborate more on this... What is the most special or most meaningful thing to you about music, for you only?
I think the most meaningful thing is what you can get from it. (pauses) Your life goes up and down, but music is always there. It's a constant for you, you can always count on it. So when things are good, it's there, but when things are bad, it's also there. So, it's something that you can count on, it's like a true friend that you can have. I think that music's like that for me. It's something that always-- if you're feeling down, you can put on some kick-ass record that you like and you feel better after that. That's great; the power of music.
It is, it's amazing. I know so many people have definitely told you that your music has changed their lives. What do you think it that is so special about your music for your fans, whether it be Sepultura, Soulfly, Cavalera Conspiracy?
That, I don't know... It's something that's different for everybody.
What do you think, though?
I think that, maybe the amount of time that's been put on it. So much time spent on this, like all the projects I've been on; Sepultura, Soulfly, Cavalera, Nailbomb-- there are years of investment on that. And it's years of passion in music, building, to have this huge discography, songs that I can pick to play. It's great. And for some people, I play an older song like Refuse/Resist [Sepultura], Troops of Doom [Sepultura], it takes them back in time when they first heard that song, they were like in college like, "Man, I remember when I first heard this!" So many people tell me that.
A lot of people tell me also that they, that my music has helped them during war, you know? A lot of soldiers listen to my music, it's really cool.
So, yeah, I like the idea that music that travels, that music goes to places too. It's hard to believe, but it is true, but like in the middle of Afghanistan there is some metal heads. It's great, it's so cool. The most strange place that you'd never think music would hit it, it has the power to break barriers, and go places that normally it isn't supposed to go. That's one thing I like a lot about music.
Ok, you said "like" -- what is what you love about music?
(pauses) Umm... The feeling that you get which is like indescribable... You can't really describe it, put it into words, what you get from it. Like, when I write the perfect riff, I get a satisfaction from it, which is indescribable; I found this riff, and I know it's going to be a great riff, and when I play it for people, "Oh yeah, this is a great riff!" So, I thank the "riff Gods" for giving me the riff.
How do you feel when you're writing those riffs? How do they translate into who you are?
Sometimes, they come out of nowhere. I'll be just jamming, you know? Without even paying much attention. It'll be like at the end of the day, I'm not even that interested anymore, and boom this fucking killer riff comes and whoa! Changes everything, I get excited. It's like new blood, you know? I get really excited again, so I start working on it and then the next day I pick it up again and mess around with it again and make it a little better, you know? Sometimes I'll work on a riff for months sometimes, change it a little bit until it's perfect to go to the studio.
How do you know when everything is ready and done?
You just know. It's weird. You just feel it. You know, it's like, "Ok, you can stop now, it's ok now." There's not a book about it, it doesn't tell you how to do it, you just do it and it's done.
It comes to you?
It comes to you and tells you it's done and you know it. And if it's a good riff, a great riff, and I work on it for a month and change it as much as I can change, and I say to myself, "I can't change it anymore, it's perfect the way it is." That's how you know it's done.
Music is a journey for everyone, what have been some of those moments in that journey that have really been significant for you?
I think a lot of, there's been some special shows, like the first Soulfly tour in Australia was really great. It was the first time Soulfly was accepted... I was so... (pauses) Relieved because I made this band with a lot of fear of people liking-- coming from Sepultura, what people were going to think about it, and when I hear the crowd accepting it and chanting "Soulfly" it's like, "Yes, I made it. It's going to be ok for now." That was a great moment. Being accepted in the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame because they just put up the Sepultura, it has some writings on it, from when I was a kid, that's in the Rock 'n Roll Hall of Fame right now. That's a great moment, you know? Because to know it's there, a part of history, a part of rock history; I'm right in there together with KISS, and Van Halen, and all my legends, people that I looked up to when I was a kid.
That's really amazing! Since we're out of time, would you like to say anything else?
Just thanks to coming to the shows, enjoy it. And next year, new Soulfly coming out! So, it should be a great year!
In a lot of ways, the year 2011 was huge for Slipknot/ Stone Sour singer Corey Taylor. But it's also been heartbreaking.
He had to rebuild Slipknot after the unexpected 2010 death of bassist Paul Gray, who died following an accidental overdose of morphine and fentanyl, as well as significant heart disease.
Earlier this year, Stone Sour drummer Roy Mayorga suffered a stroke, causing the band to cancel all remaining dates on its U.S. jaunt.
However, there have been significant successes in Taylor's life, too. On July 12, he released his first book, "Seven Deadly Sins: Settling the Argument Between Born Bad and Damaged Good." And he embarked on a critically acclaimed club tour that featured acoustic music, spoken word and Q&A sessions with fans. It wraps up Tuesday (12/13).
Taylor spoke to SoundSpike about 2011, the future of Slipknot and his hatred for the J.G. Wentworth commercials.
When you look back at the year 2011, what do you see?
Corey Taylor: Um, it's pretty crazy. It's been one of the biggest years for me. It's been bittersweet, obviously, taking the stage with Slipknot for the first time without Paul. Of course, Roy Mayorga having his stroke. It really was a year of ups and downs. It had its peaks and valleys. It's kind of like making an album. You can only hope that after the valleys you end on that high note. It seems like this year is ending in a really good place. I'm hoping next year is even better, basically.
You're preparing to wrap up an acoustic/spoken word tour. How is that going?
The tour's been fantastic, to be honest. It's been a blast. All the audiences have been really cool. They've really enjoyed it. Yeah, it's been everything I've ever hoped for.
Why did you decide to do a tour like this?
I'd done a couple of shows like this in England when the book had come out. They'd gone so well, I was like, "Man, I gotta do a tour like this in the States." It just made sense to try to do it in little clubs, to keep it interesting. Keep it intimate. Basically let me scratch an itch that I'd been wanting to do for a while, which is basically just get up and do a bunch of spoken word stuff. It was really cool.
It's received great reviews.
A lot of people have really enjoyed it. I wasn't sure how the audience was going to take it at first. The more I got into it, it became more and more fun. The audience really seems to be having a good time. So I must be doing something right.
I read in one article that you did the J.G. Wentworth jingle in one of your songs. That's hilarious. I told my husband that and he's been singing it all morning.
That song gets stuck in my head so easily. I hate, I hate that commercial so much. I was like, "I'm just going to share the warmth on that one and start singing that song."
Part of your amazing year was the opportunity to speak to students at Oxford University in England.
That was one of the most nerve-wracking experiences I've ever experienced in my life. It wasn't that I was nervous, I was very anxious. You know how when you're looking forward to something so much you almost mess it up worse than you could have if you'd just been nervous? So it took me a little bit to settle myself down. Just try to enjoy it don't just try to get through it. Just try to enjoy it. It was great. They've been trying to get me for three years. The cool thing about it is the list of people they come up with is requests that come from the students themselves. When they asked me to speak, I was just blown away. I wanted to make sure I was able to do it this year. It went really well. It seemed like the students really dug what I was saying, Then when we were done, I had some time left, so I was like "Well screw it, let's have a Q&A real quick." That's really where the idea for the Q&A in my show came from, was doing that speech at Oxford. You take a little bit with you no matter what you do.
Do you get crazy questions at your shows?
I get fairly inane questions and I also get really profound questions, which lead me on certain tangents depending on which side of the fence they fall on. But I get some really good ones. I get some weird, stupid ones. But that's the risk you take when you put the power in the audience's hands, you know?
What do you have planned for next year?
Next year is basically working on a new Stone Sour album. Hopefully get in the studio in March and start recording that. Slipknot, we're going to tour Australia on the Soundwave festival, and then in late summer, we're going to go out on a summer festival tour here in the States. Yeah, that's the plan right now. Plus, in there somewhere, be a dad and basically just start work on book No. 2.
You must have really enjoyed writing book No. 1 then?
Yeah ,I had a really good time doing it. It came together quicker than I thought it was going to. I was just really excited that (a) I wrote it myself and (b) people really, really, really, really dug it. That was really what was important for me, is making sure I wrote it from righteous standpoint and that people read it and enjoyed it, and it's still doing really well. I'm really happy about that.
Was it difficult to write at times?
Not really; the thing that I learned quickly was that if I was feeling the inspiration, I would write. If I wasn't, I would leave it alone. I never tried to force anything. That really helped me get to the meat of it. It kept it fresh. It kept it exciting. It kept it more creative. I didn't really suffer any writer's block, so that was a good thing.
That's good. That can be really difficult. I heard the new Stone Sour album is going to be a concept album?
Yeah, yeah. If I have my way, it'll be a double concept album and it'll be something very grandiose and something that probably will be the biggest thing we've ever done in our career. I'm really, really excited about it. The songs that we have right now alone are enough to make it fantastic and really get people's attention. So I'm really stoked.
Do you foresee a new album with Slipknot?
Not yet. It's still a little quick to be doing anything like that. The great thing is we have all the time in the world to do something like that. When we do make another album, it's gotta feel right. It's gotta be for the right reasons. It's gotta be for the right music. I think if we ran in right now and tried to force something, it would sound forced and it wouldn't be as vibrant as the stuff we've put out in the past. Plus, we're missing one of our key songwriters. Right now it makes more sense for us to rebuild everything as a band and maybe in a couple years go in and make a new Slipknot album. I'm not saying there won't be one. I'm just saying right now I have no plans to make one.
I understand you're participating in the Zakk Wylde roast on Jan. 19 at The Grove in Anaheim, CA.
I was just talking to [VH1 Classic's "That Metal Show" co-host] Jim Florentine, too, because he came to the show last night. Me and him have gotten to be really good friends. He said, "Dude, I'm writing pages and pages of stuff. Don't feel like you're going to get out of it." Oh for Christ's sake, here we go, I'm really going to have to step my game up when it comes to this. It's going to be really good.
"Through The Ashes Of Empires" (2003), the fifth album by the San Francisco Bay Area metal band MACHINE HEAD, was certified silver by the BPI (British Phonographic Industry) on December 9, 2011 for sales in excess of 60,000 copies in the United Kingdom.
MACHINE HEAD's new album, "Unto The Locust", sold more than 17,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 22 on The Billboard 200 chart — putting MACHINE HEAD in the Top 25 for the first time in the band's 17-year history. Even more impressively, this is the third consecutive album to show at least a 20 percent increase in sales over its predecessor, a virtually unprecedented feat for any band or artist, let alone a metal band in 2011. Add to that the fact that MACHINE HEAD's last CD came out four and a half years ago, a period of time that has seen the music market drop by more than 45 percent, and you're looking at something amazing.
MACHINE HEAD has consistently averaged more than 100,000 copies sold in the U.S. for each of its seven albums and has shifted double that overseas (accruing several silver records in the U.K.), resulting in cumulative worldwide sales of more than 2.4 million.
MACHINE HEAD's previous CD, "The Blackening", opened with just under 15,000 units back in April 2007 to debut at No. 54 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's 2004 effort, "Through The Ashes Of Empires", premiered with less than 12,000 copies to land at No. 88.
MACHINE HEAD will embark on a North American headlining tour in January/Febraury with support from SUICIDE SILENCE, DARKEST HOUR and RISE TO REMAIN.
MACHINE HEAD's new album, "Unto The Locust", sold more than 17,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 22 on The Billboard 200 chart — putting MACHINE HEAD in the Top 25 for the first time in the band's 17-year history. Even more impressively, this is the third consecutive album to show at least a 20 percent increase in sales over its predecessor, a virtually unprecedented feat for any band or artist, let alone a metal band in 2011. Add to that the fact that MACHINE HEAD's last CD came out four and a half years ago, a period of time that has seen the music market drop by more than 45 percent, and you're looking at something amazing.
MACHINE HEAD has consistently averaged more than 100,000 copies sold in the U.S. for each of its seven albums and has shifted double that overseas (accruing several silver records in the U.K.), resulting in cumulative worldwide sales of more than 2.4 million.
MACHINE HEAD's previous CD, "The Blackening", opened with just under 15,000 units back in April 2007 to debut at No. 54 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's 2004 effort, "Through The Ashes Of Empires", premiered with less than 12,000 copies to land at No. 88.
MACHINE HEAD will embark on a North American headlining tour in January/Febraury with support from SUICIDE SILENCE, DARKEST HOUR and RISE TO REMAIN.
GOJIRA
Interview with Joe Duplantier (Vocals / Guitar)
By Metal Mike
Interview with Joe Duplantier (Vocals / Guitar)
By Metal Mike
Since the release of their 4th full length, The Way of All Flesh, French heavy metal behemoth GOJIRA has virtually exploded into the international metal scene. Following the release of that album, the four Frenchmen followed METALLICA as the opening act for well over a year, creating a solid fan base all over the world. What really makes these guys unique is that GOJIRA is not your average death metal band. They sing of man's destruction of nature, loss of connection with the world, and the power of "Love". Being French, these guys have been on my radar for quite a number of years and getting the opportunity to talk with frontman and guitarist Joe Duplantier was almost a dream come true. I will always remember playing a live video of this band in front of my high school French class and being the only one in the room headbanging to the churning riffs. But I digress, now in New York City recording their long awaited album; the band looks to make a powerful new edition to the GOJIRA anthology. After waking from my turkey coma, I picked up the phone and discussed with the Frenchman the recording of the long awaited new album, what is going on with the Sea Shepherd EP, and his thoughts on the Big Apple.
GOJIRA is currently in New York City at Spin Studios recording the long awaited new album, how did you guys end choosing this studio?
So I arrived in New York about two months ago with the idea of finding a studio and a recording partner, either a co-producer or engineer. In the beginning I had no idea where I was going. I was by myself and when I started looking at studios it wasn't very easy as I wasn't in my element and New York isn't the first city someone's thinks of for making an album. But I really wanted to make it in New York so that's why we chose to record here since as co-producer I really wanted to chose something that worked. This studio was actually the first I vested and I found it perfect, it was almost a random finding.
For this album, the producer is Josh Wilbur, the same man who produced LAMB OF GOD's new record, did you get in touch with him through LOG or did you seek him out yourself?
Josh Wilbur is actually the co-producer for this album because at first I was going to produce this myself. When I was visiting the studio, Josh was there and was putting the finishing touches on the LAMB OF GOD album. I didn't know he was producing it at the time or that they were working together. He had me listen to some of the LOG takes and I found them to be really awesome and from there we decided to work together. Well, I invited him to join us for the album after a completely random meeting. It was actually pretty uncommon, usually these types of connections are made first by management but this time it was through a personal meeting.
And you're happy with your choice?
Yes very happy. I actually prefer when things roll out this way, I search for a place that I like and when I find this place or person, it's just like ok, good. When everything is done by email or by telephone, you never know that the person is the right man for the job. But yeah, I'm very happy with all the work that's been done up to now.
You guys took a lengthy break after touring heavily with METALLICA and LAMB OF GOD, do you guys feel more relaxed and prepared to write a new album having been 3 years since your last release?
Yeah, we need a certain kind of atmosphere to write music, we aren't really able to while we are on tour. It's tiring; we're concentrated on the shows, which really doesn't make it easy to write. And we're with the whole technical team so it's really not the best writing environment. So we definitely needed some time, we took about 8 months of with a few shows in between but we really succeeded in creating the perfect environment for the recording.
In terms of the album itself, how is that going so far?
Everything's going great. Usually we do it all really ourselves in our own place. When we do it at home we have a lot of mistake and we have to play catch up with ourselves sometimes. But with this new studio and Josh there really aren't any errors made on the technical level and we do everything really one step at a time. We just finished the drum part and I'm really happy with how they turned out. I really think that it's the best drum sound we've ever had until now.
Was the writing process different at all compared to The Way of All Flesh?
Yeah, on The Way of All Flesh we had just finished all of our tours and it kind of felt like we had to pull this album out of thin air. So we hurried ourselves a little bit for the writing of The Way of All Flesh. It was basically just Mario and I who worked on everything on the computers and it was only the two of us because the others (guitarist Christian Andreu and bassist Jean-Michel Labadie) had other things to take care of. So we pushed things a little bit but for this album since we've had more time we were really able to do things as a band. We jammed together a lot, we'd have entire sessions of nothing but jamming and it was the best way for us to compose. It really gives it a band energy that will really be felt throughout the album.
That sounds awesome, I know that you guys like to experiment with sounds that don't necessarily come from instruments, what sort of wild and crazy objects have you guys been using for the new album?
So, we actually used a door. We like using acoustic sounds, natural sounds that don't come from our drums or guitars. It not really a concept, we just like to send the listener on an auditory trip. When people listen to the album, we want to create a journey and with this album using the door, that's actually the front door to the studio, is a big metallic door that sounds in the staircase that brings up to the studio. We spent a long time experimenting with the door, we banged a lot on it and we put different instrumental sounds over it. It almost sounds like it was a sound generated by a computer because it has a real metallic sound but it's really 100% real.
So far is it just you and Mario who are in the studio or are the members with you and if not, will they be joining you in the big apple?
So far we've only done the drum parts and my guitar parts and we'll have to see for the rest. As of now it's only Mario and I who are in the studio, later the other will come over and we'll be working all together.
And do you guys find it different at all to record in the states rather than in France?
Yeah, I'd say there's a difference and that's why we decided to record in New York. We wanted to create an environment unlike anything we've done. On the previous album like on The Way of All Flesh, we did the drums in Los Angeles and we did the whole mixing at our home in the country. We did the same for the album previous but for this one we wanted to be with people in the studio that were really completely into what we were doing. The energy that's in New York in really particular, which is something that really draws me to it, so I wanted to put a little of that energy into the album. When Mario first got here to do the drums, je was surprised to take the metro everyday just to go to the studio and to see all the different types of people. There's a huge mix in New York, it's that particular energy that's in the city.
GOJIRA fans are wildly rabid for new material, is this album going to blow their minds?
Absolutely! *Laughs*, I definitely hope that it'll blow their minds. For me it's really important to do make something powerful, that's "crushing". I'm really happy with all of our new pieces, we have a sort of vindication with this album, it's almost as if we had fire burning in our stomachs.
Earlier this month you guys signed with Roadrunner Records, are you happy with the new label?
Yes, we're very happy. As of yet it's still a little early because it's all still pretty new. But we're gonna get to see the work done of the promotion and distribution since everything so far that has to do with composition we've done it all ourselves as usual. But we're very happy to be working with Roadrunner, it's filled with very passionate people; the people who are recruited are really metal heads. There are of course a few commercial minded people as with any label, but there are some people who worked on the first albums of SEPULTURA and DEATH so yeah we're definitely happy. It's a good place for us to be.
I read online that you guys also have a new live DVD coming out; can you give us some details on what that's about?
This DVD is going to be really interesting because it's going to be a DVD that goes back and examines the life of the band since the last album. There are a bunch of cool live shows too, there's a show that was filmed in Bordeaux, a city close to where we live. There's a bunch of other live material as well so we're going to do a mix of all those shows. In the bonus material too there's going to be a movie of about an hour that was all filmed from the inside. We took our digital cameras, phone, and small movie cameras so it's not the greatest of quality but it was all filmed ourselves. You see the studio we worked in and you see everything that we did. There isn't a lot of blah blah, more just of the band and the work we did on that album.
You guys have been having technical problems with the Sea Shepherd EP where hard drives have been crashing and a whole bunch of other chaos. Are you guys still working on the EP or are you focusing solely on the album for now?
Right now it's pretty much impossible to work on it while we do the album. We've only gotten two days off because of Thanksgiving and right after I'm going right back to the studio to work on the album. But as soon as this album is finished, we're going to be getting right back to work on the EP. It's definitely important for us to finish this, there are songs on it that we love and a lot of people have worked on it so we're definitely going to release it. We can't really give any conclusive dates on it but it's definitely going to come out.
Good to hear, so how did you like Thanksgiving?
Well, *laughs*, Thanksgiving is really a family celebration and you know, I'm pretty far from my family. My girlfriend is here with me and we went out to a restaurant where we were served a traditional Thanksgiving meal. It was pretty cool.
So you guys have the new album, the new DVD, and the new EP coming out all hopefully in 2012. You guys are undoubtedly working your asses off!
Yeah we do work a lot and we're very thankful that our fans are seeing all the work that's been done with the organization for the group. With the new management and the new label we've been doing a lot of work. It's all definitely tiring nerve and metal wise. It may be tiring but we are definitely working at our fullest.
But hey, at least now fans will have something to hold them over for another 3 to 4 years!
Exactly! I hope that after this album, since it has been three years since the last album, that for the next one we will be able to release it a little faster. Now that we have a whole team with the band we'll be able to make even more albums.
You guys are undoubtedly the biggest French metal band in the business, how does it feel to represent the French people worldwide?
It's a big word to say that we represent the French people because for me, I don't just feel French, I also feel myself as a human being. We aren't especially proud of being French, we do represent it in a way and we do have a little "French touch" somewhere. But we are very happy to have fans all over the world; I think it's a very good thing.
A lot of people don't know that the French people love their metal; do you think that in a few years more French bands will make a name for themselves on the scene?
I hope so yeah. There have already been groups that have started to emerge, there is a really good scene in France and there's a certain particularity with French groups where they pay extreme attention to quality. These days there are a lot of bands throughout the world who are starting to make music and who have to fight to survive so they play a maximum of live shows. They cut back a lot of the live quality and on the sound and I think in France there is a preference that the live sound is perfect. In the US, there are a lot of groups who emphasize drum techs, guitar techs, tour managers, but in France the approach is pretty different, the live experience really has to be perfect.
You guys are definitely environmentally, socially conscious people, have you guys been paying attention to the Occupy movement and have you checked out Occupy Wall Street at all?
Yeah I actually went to Wall Street when it was first starting out and I wanted to go out and see what was going on. I know there's a lot of people who are in support of this movement, a lot of people are angry, there is a sense of we've had enough. There's also a bunch of different people at Occupy Wall Street. Some people are just there to have a good time and some people are really angry and want to destroy cars. But I think it's good for American society to do some kind of protest. It's important for any country that the youth expresses that they're tired of taking shit. In France it's a little different. It's almost an institution that every year there's at least some kind of demonstration in the streets, the people there have a much greater political conscience. In the United States I think it's been lacking a bit of this, the last social demonstrations go back to the 60's. I was surprised but also happy to have seen this in the United States.
This is something I've always been curious about, in your playing you use a lot of single finger tapping, was this something you discovered on your own or were inspired by another musician?
Well I'd say we only tap with one finger because we're not super technical pros! *Laughs*, with one finger it's easy! I couldn't really say how since we're kind of influenced by everything up to now. We also don't really have the style of going super fast. What interests us is finding some kind of emotion and that's how we've created some sort of identity.
Thanks a lot for your time Joe, I know you guys are incredibly busy, good luck with all the GOJIRA projects, and we can't wait to see GOJIRA grace the stage once more!
Thanks, it shouldn't be too long now, we're finishing the album and the mix and we should be out on the road in no time!
KORN's 10th studio album, "The Path Of Totality", sold 55,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 10 on The Billboard 200 chart.
KORN's previous album, "Korn III - Remember Who You Are", opened with 63,000 units back in July 2010 to debut at No. 2.
KORN's untitled album premiered with 123,000 copies back in August 2007 to enter the chart at No. 2. That number was slightly more than half of the 221,000 first-week tally achieved by its predecessor, "See You On The Other Side", which debuted at No. 3 back in December 2005.
"The Path Of Totality" is already one of KORN's most controversial efforts. This time, the veteran act teamed up with dubstep producers and DJs to add a whole new electronic layer to their sound. Singer Jonathan Davis told The Pulse Of Radio that he enjoys being in a group that takes risks. "We're one of those bands that take the chance and we really just want to put out music that we like making," he said. "We don't care if the people hate or if the people love it — we just want people to have open minds. I think it takes balls as a band to do something like that and to throw something out different, 'cause most bands are scared and they end up sounding the same every record."
Among the dubstep artists who contribute to the set are 12th Planet, Kill The Noise, Noisia, Downlink, Excision and Skrillex, who is featured on first single "Narcissistic Cannibal".
Much of the material for the album was recorded at Jonathan Davis' home studio, and he laid down vocals at home or in hotel rooms while on tour.
Davis said that title refers to the fact that "in order to see the sun in a full solar eclipse, you must be in the exact right place in the exact right time. That's how this album came together . . . I'm not sure it could ever happen again."
KORN's previous album, "Korn III - Remember Who You Are", opened with 63,000 units back in July 2010 to debut at No. 2.
KORN's untitled album premiered with 123,000 copies back in August 2007 to enter the chart at No. 2. That number was slightly more than half of the 221,000 first-week tally achieved by its predecessor, "See You On The Other Side", which debuted at No. 3 back in December 2005.
"The Path Of Totality" is already one of KORN's most controversial efforts. This time, the veteran act teamed up with dubstep producers and DJs to add a whole new electronic layer to their sound. Singer Jonathan Davis told The Pulse Of Radio that he enjoys being in a group that takes risks. "We're one of those bands that take the chance and we really just want to put out music that we like making," he said. "We don't care if the people hate or if the people love it — we just want people to have open minds. I think it takes balls as a band to do something like that and to throw something out different, 'cause most bands are scared and they end up sounding the same every record."
Among the dubstep artists who contribute to the set are 12th Planet, Kill The Noise, Noisia, Downlink, Excision and Skrillex, who is featured on first single "Narcissistic Cannibal".
Much of the material for the album was recorded at Jonathan Davis' home studio, and he laid down vocals at home or in hotel rooms while on tour.
Davis said that title refers to the fact that "in order to see the sun in a full solar eclipse, you must be in the exact right place in the exact right time. That's how this album came together . . . I'm not sure it could ever happen again."
Vocalist Randy Blythe of Richmond, Virginia metallers LAMB OF GOD has written a lengthy, rambling entry in his blog where he expressed his disdain for the lack of "personal accountability" in regards to the comments that are posted on the Internet, especially as it relates to the comments section on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. A couple of excerpts from the posting follow below.
"In his book ['You Are Not A Gadget'], [Jaron] Lanier [an American computer scientist, best known for popularizing the term virtual reality] is critical of the hive mind aspect of Web 2.0, its dehumanizing effect, and its part in the alarmingly rapid destruction of actual interpersonal communication via the widespread and commonplace use of anonymous and fragmentary web 'comments.' This is the stuff that really interests me on a personal level, because I have seen it reflected within what was once considered a safe haven from the mob mentality, the moronic collective 'brain' that has always tried its best to trample, degrade, and mercilessly humiliate anyone brave enough think for themselves, step out of line, and actually publicly express that thought in a creative manner. I speak of my beloved underground music scene, a place which I am starting to believe no longer exists as a true, relevant subculture at all (but that's a different argument for another time). And there is no better place that illustrates the slow destruction of that once vital, artistically nurturing community of free-thinkers and outcasts than the comments section of the site known as Blabbermouth.
"For those of you who don't know, Blabbermouth.net is a metal/hard rock-oriented 'news' site. I believe that the term 'news' should be used very, very loosely in conjunction with some of the content on this site. They regularly present things as 'news' that I think are hardly noteworthy, including the disjointed Twitter ramblings of yours truly. But the validity of their content as newsworthy items is not what bothers me. It's some of the smarmy little shits in their comments section who lurk around like one of those heavy-duty farts that just won't dissipate.
"These cowardly little turds hiding behind the veil of digital anonymity are indicative to me of a process of intellectual and ethical devolution occurring not only inside the underground music scene, but within the very human race itself. Mommy's little monsters have a soap box where they can throw their tiny little digital tantrums and there is no one to reign in their childishly offensive outbursts. The sheer amount of brazen comments that would result in immediate hospitalization (or at least a good smack or two) if made on the street is staggering on Blabbermouth and other Internet message boards and comment sections. I believe this is a result of the combination of two things: #1. an excessively indulgent, self-entitled, overly-permissive bullshit style of 'parenting,' and #2. the anonymous zero-accountability aspect of the Internet itself.
"Allow me to explain.
"About a week ago, LAMB OF GOD digitally released 'Ghost Walking', a teaser track from our forthcoming album, 'Resolution' (It's amazing! It's the best thing since sliced bread! It's WAAAY better than our 1997 demo tape! You should BUY IT! Pre-order NOW! This item is only available from this Ran-do-vision offer, but you MUST call NOW! Plug plug plug…). I got a ton of positive feedback in my Twitter feed, which really came as no surprise since I believe most of the folks who follow me there are actually fans of my band and enjoy our music. The track itself is a fairly typical LAMB OF GOD song with a couple of minor tweaks, and I feel it was a good middle-of-the-road choice for the first tune the fans would hear. All was well in rock-star land. My galactic-sized ego had been stroked, and the iTunes sales from the first eight hours alone funded the purchase of my third gold-plated helicopter.
"Being a man who values balance in all things, I decided to take myself down a notch or two myself by visiting the comments section of Blabbermouth. I knew full well what to expect there, and even posted on Twitter that I was off to troll land for a little light weight amusement before I actually checked the site.
"Blabbermouth never, ever, EVER fails to astound me when it comes to the sheer volume of mindless hatred and relentless bickering over utterly pointless topics in its comments section. Merely one of several reasons why I rarely visit the site. But any new LAMB OF GOD release warrants a quick stroll through the murky and childishly scrawled waters of the comments section by ol' D. Randall. I can't help it. For me it's like fiddling with a loose tooth or picking a scab. I know I shouldn't do it, but it only stings a little, and let's face it: it's irresistible.
"After a few satisfying doses of 'these guys suck, etc. etc.,' a few valid criticisms, and a few positive comments, I then posted on ye olden Twitter that the key board commandos had yet again done their job to make me feel some modicum of job security. If at least a few of the try-hard metal experts really hated the tune and bashed away with their usual insults, then I could go to bed extra-pleased knowing that all was well, and this album cycle was going to be a success. Some people I know in the industry chimed in about the severe lack of respect for others (that extends at times to family members and even dead people), and I agreed, suggesting knuckle sandwiches might be an appropriate serving option for some of these cretins. Makes sense to me. I said goodnight, went to play Skyrim (fuck yeeeeeaaaaah nerdery), and promptly forgot the whole thing.
"But the next day I got a ton of comments in my Twitter feed along the lines of, 'Don't worry about the haters, man! I love the new song! Fuck all those shit-talkers!' While these comments were certainly nice, and I appreciate the spirit in which they were made (thanks y'all!), they were entirely unnecessary. I've been doing this for so long that the opinions of an entire network of globally connected self-appointed critics honestly don't bother me. If what some miserable fuck-witted troglodyte sitting behind a keyboard in his mother's basement (gotta use the time-honored parent's basement sterotype) thought about my music really got the old guts churning and cost me a second of sleep, I would have quit a long time ago (or, as some have so charmingly suggested, 'blown my brains out'). Instead, IT'S FUCKING FUNNY TO ME. Why? Because A) Obviously these slugs' opinions have done absolutely NOTHING to halt my band from making music in anyway whatsoever, and B) I'm a rapidly aging grouchy old fart who is way past feeling the need for acceptance by almost anyone except my loved ones, and even then only on my 'sentimental' days.
"Oh yeah, and there IS that whole doing exactly what I want to do and getting paid pretty well for it thing.
"So anyway, in typical blabbering Blabbermouth fashion, Blabbermouth apparently almost immediately ran a 'news' item about me on how much I blabbered that I didn't give a fuck what people blabbered about me in Blabbermouth 'news' items or some such shit (confused yet?). I believe they reposted all my Twitter comments from the night before. Remember what I said earlier about the term 'news' being thrown around kinda loosely at that site. I haven't read said 'news' item, nor have I read the attendant comments. I don't have to. I'm pretty sure I know what's there. The trolls at Blabbermouth aren't going to joining their local chapter of MENSA anytime soon. It's not rocket science, and there's not a lot of deep thinking occurring over there. From my limited experience, I have found them to be a rather dull, uncreative, and excruciatingly predictable lot of malcontents. I would bet every red American cent in my bank account that many of the comments go close to something along THESE lines:
"1. 'HA! It's pathetic how that asshole rambles on about how much he doesn't care about what people say about him on the internet. Obviously he DOES care, otherwise he wouldn't make such a big deal out of it. You know he's sitting there all pissed off to bloody fuck and trying to pretend he's not…ON THE FUCKIN' INTERNET! Can you fucking believe it? Psychology 101, man. So fucking obvious. Plus LOG sucks anyway.'
"2. 'What a fucking jerk-off. Who does he think he is anyway? Fucking diva-ass wanna-be rock star monkey got his feelings hurt. It's about time. He's lucky somebody cares enough to bash his shitty band's music. LAMB OF GOD are not even real metal, never have been, its for kids at the mall. Plus he's the worst singer alive. Fuck him.'
"3. 'He needs to grow up and realize that the Internet and places like this are the way things are now. The Internet is a crucial tool in the development and growth of the music scene. This is a great place for us to COMMUNICATE, maaaan. We have every right to say whatever we want- ever heard of freedom of speech, asshole? Just because we're anonymous doesn't make our criticism any less valid. Plus LOG hasn't put out a good record since 'As The Palaces Burn' — everything since then has been a piece of shit.'
4. 'This dude fucking sucks. He should just kill himself. His band tries to sound just like PANTERA / SLAYER / TESTAMENT / whoever-the-fuck-else-is-an-influence-on-every-fucking-metal-band-today, but they fail miserably. So bad generic wanna be metal. Hail TRUE METAL \m/ Plus no one cares about gay-ass metalcore shit anyway. Fuck lamb of douchebags!'
5. 'How DARE he talk shit on the people who made his band! LOG wouldn't exist at all if it wasn't for the fans! And there are fans here. Fans who have every right to say whatever they want about the band, no matter how bad it is, since the band owes them basically everything they have. Plus that dude is rich anyway. Fuck him.'
6. 'Fuckin' MAIDEN, dude……. Fuckin' MAIDEN.'
"My ears hurt just imagining all the screeching little indignant shits.
"Guys — please, PLEASE…spare me the results of your sophomoric 'thinking' — oh, wait, I spared myself. I didn't read your infantile knee-jerk comments. But lemme guess — I was pretty close to on point, right? Well, maybe not the MAIDEN comment, but it was too funny to resist. C'mon… You KNOW it's funny."
"In his book ['You Are Not A Gadget'], [Jaron] Lanier [an American computer scientist, best known for popularizing the term virtual reality] is critical of the hive mind aspect of Web 2.0, its dehumanizing effect, and its part in the alarmingly rapid destruction of actual interpersonal communication via the widespread and commonplace use of anonymous and fragmentary web 'comments.' This is the stuff that really interests me on a personal level, because I have seen it reflected within what was once considered a safe haven from the mob mentality, the moronic collective 'brain' that has always tried its best to trample, degrade, and mercilessly humiliate anyone brave enough think for themselves, step out of line, and actually publicly express that thought in a creative manner. I speak of my beloved underground music scene, a place which I am starting to believe no longer exists as a true, relevant subculture at all (but that's a different argument for another time). And there is no better place that illustrates the slow destruction of that once vital, artistically nurturing community of free-thinkers and outcasts than the comments section of the site known as Blabbermouth.
"For those of you who don't know, Blabbermouth.net is a metal/hard rock-oriented 'news' site. I believe that the term 'news' should be used very, very loosely in conjunction with some of the content on this site. They regularly present things as 'news' that I think are hardly noteworthy, including the disjointed Twitter ramblings of yours truly. But the validity of their content as newsworthy items is not what bothers me. It's some of the smarmy little shits in their comments section who lurk around like one of those heavy-duty farts that just won't dissipate.
"These cowardly little turds hiding behind the veil of digital anonymity are indicative to me of a process of intellectual and ethical devolution occurring not only inside the underground music scene, but within the very human race itself. Mommy's little monsters have a soap box where they can throw their tiny little digital tantrums and there is no one to reign in their childishly offensive outbursts. The sheer amount of brazen comments that would result in immediate hospitalization (or at least a good smack or two) if made on the street is staggering on Blabbermouth and other Internet message boards and comment sections. I believe this is a result of the combination of two things: #1. an excessively indulgent, self-entitled, overly-permissive bullshit style of 'parenting,' and #2. the anonymous zero-accountability aspect of the Internet itself.
"Allow me to explain.
"About a week ago, LAMB OF GOD digitally released 'Ghost Walking', a teaser track from our forthcoming album, 'Resolution' (It's amazing! It's the best thing since sliced bread! It's WAAAY better than our 1997 demo tape! You should BUY IT! Pre-order NOW! This item is only available from this Ran-do-vision offer, but you MUST call NOW! Plug plug plug…). I got a ton of positive feedback in my Twitter feed, which really came as no surprise since I believe most of the folks who follow me there are actually fans of my band and enjoy our music. The track itself is a fairly typical LAMB OF GOD song with a couple of minor tweaks, and I feel it was a good middle-of-the-road choice for the first tune the fans would hear. All was well in rock-star land. My galactic-sized ego had been stroked, and the iTunes sales from the first eight hours alone funded the purchase of my third gold-plated helicopter.
"Being a man who values balance in all things, I decided to take myself down a notch or two myself by visiting the comments section of Blabbermouth. I knew full well what to expect there, and even posted on Twitter that I was off to troll land for a little light weight amusement before I actually checked the site.
"Blabbermouth never, ever, EVER fails to astound me when it comes to the sheer volume of mindless hatred and relentless bickering over utterly pointless topics in its comments section. Merely one of several reasons why I rarely visit the site. But any new LAMB OF GOD release warrants a quick stroll through the murky and childishly scrawled waters of the comments section by ol' D. Randall. I can't help it. For me it's like fiddling with a loose tooth or picking a scab. I know I shouldn't do it, but it only stings a little, and let's face it: it's irresistible.
"After a few satisfying doses of 'these guys suck, etc. etc.,' a few valid criticisms, and a few positive comments, I then posted on ye olden Twitter that the key board commandos had yet again done their job to make me feel some modicum of job security. If at least a few of the try-hard metal experts really hated the tune and bashed away with their usual insults, then I could go to bed extra-pleased knowing that all was well, and this album cycle was going to be a success. Some people I know in the industry chimed in about the severe lack of respect for others (that extends at times to family members and even dead people), and I agreed, suggesting knuckle sandwiches might be an appropriate serving option for some of these cretins. Makes sense to me. I said goodnight, went to play Skyrim (fuck yeeeeeaaaaah nerdery), and promptly forgot the whole thing.
"But the next day I got a ton of comments in my Twitter feed along the lines of, 'Don't worry about the haters, man! I love the new song! Fuck all those shit-talkers!' While these comments were certainly nice, and I appreciate the spirit in which they were made (thanks y'all!), they were entirely unnecessary. I've been doing this for so long that the opinions of an entire network of globally connected self-appointed critics honestly don't bother me. If what some miserable fuck-witted troglodyte sitting behind a keyboard in his mother's basement (gotta use the time-honored parent's basement sterotype) thought about my music really got the old guts churning and cost me a second of sleep, I would have quit a long time ago (or, as some have so charmingly suggested, 'blown my brains out'). Instead, IT'S FUCKING FUNNY TO ME. Why? Because A) Obviously these slugs' opinions have done absolutely NOTHING to halt my band from making music in anyway whatsoever, and B) I'm a rapidly aging grouchy old fart who is way past feeling the need for acceptance by almost anyone except my loved ones, and even then only on my 'sentimental' days.
"Oh yeah, and there IS that whole doing exactly what I want to do and getting paid pretty well for it thing.
"So anyway, in typical blabbering Blabbermouth fashion, Blabbermouth apparently almost immediately ran a 'news' item about me on how much I blabbered that I didn't give a fuck what people blabbered about me in Blabbermouth 'news' items or some such shit (confused yet?). I believe they reposted all my Twitter comments from the night before. Remember what I said earlier about the term 'news' being thrown around kinda loosely at that site. I haven't read said 'news' item, nor have I read the attendant comments. I don't have to. I'm pretty sure I know what's there. The trolls at Blabbermouth aren't going to joining their local chapter of MENSA anytime soon. It's not rocket science, and there's not a lot of deep thinking occurring over there. From my limited experience, I have found them to be a rather dull, uncreative, and excruciatingly predictable lot of malcontents. I would bet every red American cent in my bank account that many of the comments go close to something along THESE lines:
"1. 'HA! It's pathetic how that asshole rambles on about how much he doesn't care about what people say about him on the internet. Obviously he DOES care, otherwise he wouldn't make such a big deal out of it. You know he's sitting there all pissed off to bloody fuck and trying to pretend he's not…ON THE FUCKIN' INTERNET! Can you fucking believe it? Psychology 101, man. So fucking obvious. Plus LOG sucks anyway.'
"2. 'What a fucking jerk-off. Who does he think he is anyway? Fucking diva-ass wanna-be rock star monkey got his feelings hurt. It's about time. He's lucky somebody cares enough to bash his shitty band's music. LAMB OF GOD are not even real metal, never have been, its for kids at the mall. Plus he's the worst singer alive. Fuck him.'
"3. 'He needs to grow up and realize that the Internet and places like this are the way things are now. The Internet is a crucial tool in the development and growth of the music scene. This is a great place for us to COMMUNICATE, maaaan. We have every right to say whatever we want- ever heard of freedom of speech, asshole? Just because we're anonymous doesn't make our criticism any less valid. Plus LOG hasn't put out a good record since 'As The Palaces Burn' — everything since then has been a piece of shit.'
4. 'This dude fucking sucks. He should just kill himself. His band tries to sound just like PANTERA / SLAYER / TESTAMENT / whoever-the-fuck-else-is-an-influence-on-every-fucking-metal-band-today, but they fail miserably. So bad generic wanna be metal. Hail TRUE METAL \m/ Plus no one cares about gay-ass metalcore shit anyway. Fuck lamb of douchebags!'
5. 'How DARE he talk shit on the people who made his band! LOG wouldn't exist at all if it wasn't for the fans! And there are fans here. Fans who have every right to say whatever they want about the band, no matter how bad it is, since the band owes them basically everything they have. Plus that dude is rich anyway. Fuck him.'
6. 'Fuckin' MAIDEN, dude……. Fuckin' MAIDEN.'
"My ears hurt just imagining all the screeching little indignant shits.
"Guys — please, PLEASE…spare me the results of your sophomoric 'thinking' — oh, wait, I spared myself. I didn't read your infantile knee-jerk comments. But lemme guess — I was pretty close to on point, right? Well, maybe not the MAIDEN comment, but it was too funny to resist. C'mon… You KNOW it's funny."
DEVILDRIVER, THE FACELESS, DYING FETUS, JOB FOR A COWBOY, 3 INCHES OF BLOOD and IMPENDING DOOM will join forces for the Metal Alliance Tour in March/April 2012.
The dates are as follows:
Mar. 15 - Austin, TX @ SXSW / Scoot Inn
Mar. 16 - New Orleans, LA @ The Hangar
Mar. 17 - St Petersburg, FL @ State Theater
Mar. 18 - Charlotte, NC @ Amos' Southend
Mar. 20 - Baltimore, MD @ Sonar
Mar. 21 - New York, NY @ Gramercy Theater
Mar. 22 - Danvers, MA @ Palace Ballroom
Mar. 23 - Montreal, QC @ Club Soda
Mar. 24 - Toronto, ON @ Opera House
Mar. 25 - Columbus, OH @ Alrosa Villa
Mar. 26 - Joliet, IL @ Mojoe's
Mar. 27 - St Paul, MN @ Station 4
Mar. 28 - Winnipeg, MB @ Garrick Centre
Mar. 29 - Regina, SK @ Riddell Centre
Mar. 30 - Edmonton, AB @ Edmonton Events Centre
Mar. 31 - Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theater
Apr. 01 - Seattle, WA @ Studio Seven
Apr. 03 - Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theater
Apr. 05 - Oakland, CA @ The Pound
Apr. 06 - Pomona, CA @ Fox Theater
Apr. 07 - Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theater
Apr. 09 - Denver, CO @ The Summit Music Hall
Apr. 10 - Omaha, NE @ Sokol Auditorium
Apr. 11 - Des Moines, IA @ 7 Flags Event Center
Apr. 13 - Memphis, TN @ New Daisy Theater
Apr. 15 - Lawrence, KS @ Granada Theater
Apr. 16 - Tulsa, OK @ Cain's Ballroom
Apr. 19 - Dallas, TX @ House Of Blues
Apr. 20 - Austin, TX @ Emo's East
Apr. 21 - Houston, TX @ House Of Blues
"Beast", the fifth album from DEVILDRIVER, sold a little over 11,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 42 on The Billboard 200 chart. Released on February 22 via Roadrunner Records, the CD was recorded at Sonic Ranch studios in Tornillo, Texas with producer Mark Lewis (TRIVIUM, CHIMAIRA, ALL THAT REMAINS) and was mixed by acclaimed British producer Andy Sneap (MEGADETH, EXODUS, MACHINE HEAD, NEVERMORE, ARCH ENEMY) at his Backstage studio in Derbyshire, England.
THE FACELESS is currently putting the finishing touches on its third album for a tentative February release via Sumerian Records. Guitarist Michael Keene described the CD as "the most musical and progressive record we've made." He added, "Since recording 'Planetary Duality', the goals of THE FACELESS have changed a bit. You can still expect a fast, technical and blistering record, but I personally am less focused on a musical aesthetic and more on musicality and making an expressive, unique, moody and expansive record. Speed picking, flying double bass and skin melting guitar solos are certainly still in order. However, you can also expect more clean vocals with big harmonies, some unique instrumentation, dark moody passages, interesting keyboards, synth guitars, vocoder and sequenced segments. It's going to be the most focused and depressive FACELESS record to date."
DYING FETUS have entered Wrightway Studios in Baltimore with longtime producer Steve Wright (SLIPKNOT, MISERY INDEX) to begin recording their new album for a mid-2012 release via Relapse Records. The CD will feature nine tracks and is "a 'return to roots,' with production focused slightly more on slam than in the band's last few works," according to a press relase. "Thematically, the album is set to be a good old-fashioned piece of social and political commentary in the style of DYING FETUS as we have come to know."
JOB FOR A COWBOY recently finished recording its next album for an early 2012 release via Metal Blade Records. The CD was laid down at Audiohammer Studios in Sanford, Florida with producer Jason Suecof (TRIVIUM, CHIMAIRA, DEVILDRIVER), who helmed the group's latest EP, "Gloom".
The dates are as follows:
Mar. 15 - Austin, TX @ SXSW / Scoot Inn
Mar. 16 - New Orleans, LA @ The Hangar
Mar. 17 - St Petersburg, FL @ State Theater
Mar. 18 - Charlotte, NC @ Amos' Southend
Mar. 20 - Baltimore, MD @ Sonar
Mar. 21 - New York, NY @ Gramercy Theater
Mar. 22 - Danvers, MA @ Palace Ballroom
Mar. 23 - Montreal, QC @ Club Soda
Mar. 24 - Toronto, ON @ Opera House
Mar. 25 - Columbus, OH @ Alrosa Villa
Mar. 26 - Joliet, IL @ Mojoe's
Mar. 27 - St Paul, MN @ Station 4
Mar. 28 - Winnipeg, MB @ Garrick Centre
Mar. 29 - Regina, SK @ Riddell Centre
Mar. 30 - Edmonton, AB @ Edmonton Events Centre
Mar. 31 - Vancouver, BC @ Rickshaw Theater
Apr. 01 - Seattle, WA @ Studio Seven
Apr. 03 - Portland, OR @ Hawthorne Theater
Apr. 05 - Oakland, CA @ The Pound
Apr. 06 - Pomona, CA @ Fox Theater
Apr. 07 - Tempe, AZ @ Marquee Theater
Apr. 09 - Denver, CO @ The Summit Music Hall
Apr. 10 - Omaha, NE @ Sokol Auditorium
Apr. 11 - Des Moines, IA @ 7 Flags Event Center
Apr. 13 - Memphis, TN @ New Daisy Theater
Apr. 15 - Lawrence, KS @ Granada Theater
Apr. 16 - Tulsa, OK @ Cain's Ballroom
Apr. 19 - Dallas, TX @ House Of Blues
Apr. 20 - Austin, TX @ Emo's East
Apr. 21 - Houston, TX @ House Of Blues
"Beast", the fifth album from DEVILDRIVER, sold a little over 11,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 42 on The Billboard 200 chart. Released on February 22 via Roadrunner Records, the CD was recorded at Sonic Ranch studios in Tornillo, Texas with producer Mark Lewis (TRIVIUM, CHIMAIRA, ALL THAT REMAINS) and was mixed by acclaimed British producer Andy Sneap (MEGADETH, EXODUS, MACHINE HEAD, NEVERMORE, ARCH ENEMY) at his Backstage studio in Derbyshire, England.
THE FACELESS is currently putting the finishing touches on its third album for a tentative February release via Sumerian Records. Guitarist Michael Keene described the CD as "the most musical and progressive record we've made." He added, "Since recording 'Planetary Duality', the goals of THE FACELESS have changed a bit. You can still expect a fast, technical and blistering record, but I personally am less focused on a musical aesthetic and more on musicality and making an expressive, unique, moody and expansive record. Speed picking, flying double bass and skin melting guitar solos are certainly still in order. However, you can also expect more clean vocals with big harmonies, some unique instrumentation, dark moody passages, interesting keyboards, synth guitars, vocoder and sequenced segments. It's going to be the most focused and depressive FACELESS record to date."
DYING FETUS have entered Wrightway Studios in Baltimore with longtime producer Steve Wright (SLIPKNOT, MISERY INDEX) to begin recording their new album for a mid-2012 release via Relapse Records. The CD will feature nine tracks and is "a 'return to roots,' with production focused slightly more on slam than in the band's last few works," according to a press relase. "Thematically, the album is set to be a good old-fashioned piece of social and political commentary in the style of DYING FETUS as we have come to know."
JOB FOR A COWBOY recently finished recording its next album for an early 2012 release via Metal Blade Records. The CD was laid down at Audiohammer Studios in Sanford, Florida with producer Jason Suecof (TRIVIUM, CHIMAIRA, DEVILDRIVER), who helmed the group's latest EP, "Gloom".
http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/soulflypremiere/metaalliance2012.jpg
Swedish metallers SABATON will embark on a North American headlining tour in the spring.
"Swedish Empire Tour 2012" dates are as follows:
Apr. 10 - Tampa, FL - Brass Mug
Apr. 12 - Houston, TX - Scout Bar
Apr. 13 - Dallas, TX - Trees
Apr. 15 - San Antonio, TX - Backstage Live
Apr. 17 - Lubbock, TX - Wreckers
Apr. 18 - Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater
Apr. 19 - Kansas City, MO - The Beaumont Club
Apr. 20 - Waterloo, IA - Spicoli´s Grill and the Reverb Rock
Apr. 22 - St Louis , MO - The Firebird
Apr. 23 - Milwaukee, WI - Rave
Apr. 25 - Charlotte, NC - The Casbah
Apr. 27 - Albany, NY - Bogie´s
Apr. 28 - Buffalo, NY - Broadway Joe´s
Apr. 29 - Cleveland, OH - Peabody´s
Apr. 30 - Pittsburgh, PA - Altar Bar
May 02 - Poughkeepsie, NY - The Loft
May 03 - Philadelphia, PA - The Trocadero
May 04 - New York City, NY - The Gramercy Theatre
May 05 - Worcester, MA - The Palladium
May 07 - Montreal, QUE - Petit Campus
May 08 - Quebec City, QUE - Imperial de Quebec
May 10 - Toronto, ONT - Wreck Room
May 11 - London, ONT - Music Hall
May 12 - Columbus, OH - Al Rosa Villa
May 13 - Detroit, MI - Blondie´s
May 15 - St Paul, MN - Station 4
May 16 - Chicago, IL - Reggie Rock Club
May 18 - Louisville, KY - Vernon Club
May 19 - Richmond, VA - Kingdom
May 20 - Baltimore, MD - Soundstage
May 21 - West Springfield, VA - Jaxx
May 25 - Mexico City, MX - Circo Volador
SABATON bassist Pär Sundström was forced to sit out several shows on the Canadian leg of the band's most recent North American tour due to a knee injury.
"World War Live: Battle Of The Baltic Sea", the first-ever live album from SABATON, was released on August 5 via Nuclear Blast Records.
SABATON has set "Kings Of War" as the working title of its next album, tentatively due before the end of 2012 via Nuclear Blast Records.
The band will play the final show of its current tour on December 18 at Trix/Hof Ter Lo in Antwerp, Belgium. The group stated, "This will be a one-off and we will not bring a setlist or respect any venue curfew."
"Swedish Empire Tour 2012" dates are as follows:
Apr. 10 - Tampa, FL - Brass Mug
Apr. 12 - Houston, TX - Scout Bar
Apr. 13 - Dallas, TX - Trees
Apr. 15 - San Antonio, TX - Backstage Live
Apr. 17 - Lubbock, TX - Wreckers
Apr. 18 - Denver, CO - Bluebird Theater
Apr. 19 - Kansas City, MO - The Beaumont Club
Apr. 20 - Waterloo, IA - Spicoli´s Grill and the Reverb Rock
Apr. 22 - St Louis , MO - The Firebird
Apr. 23 - Milwaukee, WI - Rave
Apr. 25 - Charlotte, NC - The Casbah
Apr. 27 - Albany, NY - Bogie´s
Apr. 28 - Buffalo, NY - Broadway Joe´s
Apr. 29 - Cleveland, OH - Peabody´s
Apr. 30 - Pittsburgh, PA - Altar Bar
May 02 - Poughkeepsie, NY - The Loft
May 03 - Philadelphia, PA - The Trocadero
May 04 - New York City, NY - The Gramercy Theatre
May 05 - Worcester, MA - The Palladium
May 07 - Montreal, QUE - Petit Campus
May 08 - Quebec City, QUE - Imperial de Quebec
May 10 - Toronto, ONT - Wreck Room
May 11 - London, ONT - Music Hall
May 12 - Columbus, OH - Al Rosa Villa
May 13 - Detroit, MI - Blondie´s
May 15 - St Paul, MN - Station 4
May 16 - Chicago, IL - Reggie Rock Club
May 18 - Louisville, KY - Vernon Club
May 19 - Richmond, VA - Kingdom
May 20 - Baltimore, MD - Soundstage
May 21 - West Springfield, VA - Jaxx
May 25 - Mexico City, MX - Circo Volador
SABATON bassist Pär Sundström was forced to sit out several shows on the Canadian leg of the band's most recent North American tour due to a knee injury.
"World War Live: Battle Of The Baltic Sea", the first-ever live album from SABATON, was released on August 5 via Nuclear Blast Records.
SABATON has set "Kings Of War" as the working title of its next album, tentatively due before the end of 2012 via Nuclear Blast Records.
The band will play the final show of its current tour on December 18 at Trix/Hof Ter Lo in Antwerp, Belgium. The group stated, "This will be a one-off and we will not bring a setlist or respect any venue curfew."
Reformed Montreal rockers SLAVES ON DOPE will release their new album, "Over The Influence", on February 28, 2012 via THC: Music/Rocket Science Ventures.
SLAVES ON DOPE's digital-only EP, "Careless Coma", came out on November 1. The effort featured three new studio tracks, as well as remixes and a radio edit of the title cut.
"Over The Influence" was produced and mixed by Kevin Jardine and will reportedly feature a guest appearance by THE AGONIST vocalist Alissa White-Gluz.
SLAVES ON DOPE 2011 is:
Kevin Jardine - Guitar
Jason Rockman - Vocals
Peter Tsefaris - Drums
Sebatien Ducap – Bass
SLAVES ON DOPE's "Inches from the Mainline" album was released through Ozzy Osbourne's now-defunct Divine Recordings label. After Divine Recordings lost its distribution deal with EMI's Priority Records, the band was left without a label. After a long search, a deal was struck with Bieler Bros. Records. SLAVES ON DOPE's second major album, "Metafour", was released in 2003.
In March 2004, SLAVES ON DOPE announced it was going on hiatus due to Jason Rockman leaving the band. The group officially reformed in 2009.
For more information, visit www.slavesondope.com.
SLAVES ON DOPE's digital-only EP, "Careless Coma", came out on November 1. The effort featured three new studio tracks, as well as remixes and a radio edit of the title cut.
"Over The Influence" was produced and mixed by Kevin Jardine and will reportedly feature a guest appearance by THE AGONIST vocalist Alissa White-Gluz.
SLAVES ON DOPE 2011 is:
Kevin Jardine - Guitar
Jason Rockman - Vocals
Peter Tsefaris - Drums
Sebatien Ducap – Bass
SLAVES ON DOPE's "Inches from the Mainline" album was released through Ozzy Osbourne's now-defunct Divine Recordings label. After Divine Recordings lost its distribution deal with EMI's Priority Records, the band was left without a label. After a long search, a deal was struck with Bieler Bros. Records. SLAVES ON DOPE's second major album, "Metafour", was released in 2003.
In March 2004, SLAVES ON DOPE announced it was going on hiatus due to Jason Rockman leaving the band. The group officially reformed in 2009.
For more information, visit www.slavesondope.com.
CREATIONS, a hardcore/metal band originally from Australia but now based in California, will enter the studio STL Studios in Sydney, Australia in January with producer Sonny Truelove to begin recording its new album for a late 2012 release via Mediaskare Records. At the conclusion of recording, the band will team up with director Tim Nagle to film music videos for two songs off the new CD.
CREATIONS' latest album, "The Gospel", came out in August through Rite Of Passage Records, a subsidiary of Mediaskare.
In other news, the band has lined up a tour of Australia alongside ASHES OF DECEMBER beginning in late January.
CREATIONS' latest album, "The Gospel", came out in August through Rite Of Passage Records, a subsidiary of Mediaskare.
In other news, the band has lined up a tour of Australia alongside ASHES OF DECEMBER beginning in late January.
Indianapolis, Indiana's prog-metal prodigies THE CONTORTIONIST will enter AudioHammer Studios in Sanford, Florida in February with producers Jason Suecof (TRIVIUM, CHIMAIRA, DEVILDRIVER) and Eyal Levi (AUGUST BURNS RED, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER) to begin recording their sophomore album for a late spring/early summer 2012 release via Good Fight Music.
In a recent interview with Guitar World, THE CONTORTIONIST guitarist Robby Baca stated about the band's sound, "I feel we have a somewhat strong sense of using interesting rhythms. And just for the sake of keeping it interesting to us, we like to hear odd rhythms and to play with dissonance and consonance — and just make interesting sounds, not focusing on just being a metal band. Sometimes the rhythms come naturally, but other times, it's very specific where we'll say, 'We want to take this measure that's a 13-count over a 4-count, and we want to do [this] for so many counts.' Sometimes it's very methodically plotted out, but other times it just comes out that way, just naturally. I'd say we're kind of mathematical."
The picture-disc vinyl release of THE CONTORTIONIST's debut album, "Exoplanet" was made available in September.
The CD version of "Exoplanet"came out on August 31, 2010 through Good Fight Music. The band's infectious, progressive and rhythmic sounds has brought it comparisons to some of today's metal greats such as MESHUGGAH, THE ACACIA STRAIN and BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME.
In a recent interview with Guitar World, THE CONTORTIONIST guitarist Robby Baca stated about the band's sound, "I feel we have a somewhat strong sense of using interesting rhythms. And just for the sake of keeping it interesting to us, we like to hear odd rhythms and to play with dissonance and consonance — and just make interesting sounds, not focusing on just being a metal band. Sometimes the rhythms come naturally, but other times, it's very specific where we'll say, 'We want to take this measure that's a 13-count over a 4-count, and we want to do [this] for so many counts.' Sometimes it's very methodically plotted out, but other times it just comes out that way, just naturally. I'd say we're kind of mathematical."
The picture-disc vinyl release of THE CONTORTIONIST's debut album, "Exoplanet" was made available in September.
The CD version of "Exoplanet"came out on August 31, 2010 through Good Fight Music. The band's infectious, progressive and rhythmic sounds has brought it comparisons to some of today's metal greats such as MESHUGGAH, THE ACACIA STRAIN and BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME.
FnA Records has issued "Boxx Of Roxx", a three-disc CD/DVD set containing previously unreleased studio tracks, live recordings, videos and photo archives from '80s Florida hard rockers ROXX GANG. Disc 1 is all rare and previously unreleased gems spanning the band's history, from its earliest studio recordings to its fiery demise. Disc 2 is a never-before-heard bootleg of ROXX GANG live in Dallas, Texas from the "Things You've Never Done Before" U.S. tour. Finally, Disc 3 contains all of ROXX GANG's video output, from the MTV favorites "No Easy Way Out" and "Scratch My Back" to the uncensored, X-rated "Startrip" video.
"Boxx Of Roxx" covers the entire ROXX GANG history, from the first recordings with guitarist Eric Carell, who died in a mysterious accident, to demos from the band's last recording sessions. All of the group's videos are released here for the first time, including a performance of "Red Rose" from an early club gig. The box set also contains a 15-page booklet of never-before-relesed photos from frontman Kevin Steele's personal archive, liner notes from Kevin and a foreword from U.K. author and music journalist Macolm Dome (Kerrang!, Record Mirror).
"Boxx Of Roxx" covers the entire ROXX GANG history, from the first recordings with guitarist Eric Carell, who died in a mysterious accident, to demos from the band's last recording sessions. All of the group's videos are released here for the first time, including a performance of "Red Rose" from an early club gig. The box set also contains a 15-page booklet of never-before-relesed photos from frontman Kevin Steele's personal archive, liner notes from Kevin and a foreword from U.K. author and music journalist Macolm Dome (Kerrang!, Record Mirror).
Japan's SIGH will release its ninth album, "In Somniphobia", in March 2012 via Candlelight Records. According to a press release, the CD is "by far more musically varied" compared to the [band's] last two albums. Put heavy metal, classical music, jazz, Indian traditional music, Stockhausen, and Xenakis into a cauldron of hell and stir it, you'll get 'In Somniphobia'. It is a pure sonic nightmare that lasts more than an hour. . . It is not easy to describe its direction, but probably one can say that it is something between 'Imaginary Sonicscape', 'Hail Horror Hail' and 'Gallows Gallery', or rather, simply a nightmarish version of 'Imaginary Sonicscape'."
"In Somniphobia" track listing:
01. Purgatorium
02. The Transfiguration Fear
Lucid Nightmares
03 i) Opening Theme: Lucid Nightmare
04 ii) Somniphobia
05 iii) L'excommunication a Minuit
06 iv) Amnesia
07 v) Far Beneath the In-Between
08 vi) Amongst the Phantoms of Abandoned Tumbrils
09 vii) Ending Theme: Continuum
10. Fall to the Thrall
11. Equale
i) Prelude
ii) Fugato
iii) Coda
"In Somniphobia" track listing:
01. Purgatorium
02. The Transfiguration Fear
Lucid Nightmares
03 i) Opening Theme: Lucid Nightmare
04 ii) Somniphobia
05 iii) L'excommunication a Minuit
06 iv) Amnesia
07 v) Far Beneath the In-Between
08 vi) Amongst the Phantoms of Abandoned Tumbrils
09 vii) Ending Theme: Continuum
10. Fall to the Thrall
11. Equale
i) Prelude
ii) Fugato
iii) Coda
Perhaps until now better known as the sculptor whose extraordinary work graced the stage and album covers for bands such as MAYHEM, Spacebrain is set to launch the debut album from his band SUCHTHAUS with a show at his own music venue, the Spacebunker, in Oslo, Norway on December 17. While the event is a celebration of the release of "The Dark Side And The Bright Side", it also marks the closure of the unique venue itself, where the audiences mingled and the bands played amongst Spacebrain's sculptures. Spacebrain himself has now confirmed that he no longer intends to continue with his sculpting, but will instead concentrate on his music and SUCHTHAUS, so this will probably be the last time that his sculptures and stage sets are on display together in one place.
The 14-track album, which comes in at just over 72 minutes in length and is released on Spacebrain's own label, Rollabigone Records, on December 17, has all the trademarks of Spacebrain's perspective as a visual artist. He is insistent that the band is given no genre label, and that the tracks bear no names so that the listeners come to them with no preconceptions and can form their own opinions.
SUCHTHAUS itself is formed of the nucleus of Spacebrain and Fruen, with a fluid line up that varies as the fancy takes them, while the list of guests on the album is as eclectic as the band itself with, amongst others, SKITLIV and former MAYHEM frontman Maniac, MAYHEM drummer Jan Axel Blomberg, CURRENT 93's DavidTibet, Ingvar Magnusson of SKITLIV, Fredrik A. Juell of BURNING RUBBER and BERSERK BASTARDS, and Sibob Jawara who has sung the world over but has never used a microphone before recording with SUCHTHAUS. It is certainly worth noting that this will be the first time that Maniac and Blomberg appear together on an album since the vocalist quit MAYHEM several years ago.
Commenting on his decision to move away from sculpting to concentrate of music, Spacebrain had this to say: "I'd reached the point where it was becoming impractical for me to continue to work with the metal and other heavy materials that I was using for my sculptures. First of all I'm not as young as I used to be, and the work was physically very taxing, and secondly and probably more importantly, finding premises in Oslo that could house the size of work that I was producing had become virtually impossible. With the building that houses the Spacebunker due for demolition, it was the right time for me to change direction. After all, music and performance has always been an integral part of what I do, and art is art, whatever form it takes, so it's not as big a leap as it might at first appear."
He continued, "SUCHTHAUS is a reflection of our own musical preferences and you can't therefore squeeze it into some particular genre. Every track on 'The Dark Side And The Bright Side' has its own individual character — the atmosphere changing with our mood and the amount of drugs and alcohol we consume while we're making the sounds, and varies from the very dark to the very bright. Most tracks are an experiment with sounds, and we start each one with no plan or idea of where the piece will lead us. Some tracks are made as a one man project; others have 7-8 contributors. The best way to describe what we do is that instead of making visual sculptures, we try to make sound sculptures, although we do visualize them with the help of videos."
The 14-track album, which comes in at just over 72 minutes in length and is released on Spacebrain's own label, Rollabigone Records, on December 17, has all the trademarks of Spacebrain's perspective as a visual artist. He is insistent that the band is given no genre label, and that the tracks bear no names so that the listeners come to them with no preconceptions and can form their own opinions.
SUCHTHAUS itself is formed of the nucleus of Spacebrain and Fruen, with a fluid line up that varies as the fancy takes them, while the list of guests on the album is as eclectic as the band itself with, amongst others, SKITLIV and former MAYHEM frontman Maniac, MAYHEM drummer Jan Axel Blomberg, CURRENT 93's DavidTibet, Ingvar Magnusson of SKITLIV, Fredrik A. Juell of BURNING RUBBER and BERSERK BASTARDS, and Sibob Jawara who has sung the world over but has never used a microphone before recording with SUCHTHAUS. It is certainly worth noting that this will be the first time that Maniac and Blomberg appear together on an album since the vocalist quit MAYHEM several years ago.
Commenting on his decision to move away from sculpting to concentrate of music, Spacebrain had this to say: "I'd reached the point where it was becoming impractical for me to continue to work with the metal and other heavy materials that I was using for my sculptures. First of all I'm not as young as I used to be, and the work was physically very taxing, and secondly and probably more importantly, finding premises in Oslo that could house the size of work that I was producing had become virtually impossible. With the building that houses the Spacebunker due for demolition, it was the right time for me to change direction. After all, music and performance has always been an integral part of what I do, and art is art, whatever form it takes, so it's not as big a leap as it might at first appear."
He continued, "SUCHTHAUS is a reflection of our own musical preferences and you can't therefore squeeze it into some particular genre. Every track on 'The Dark Side And The Bright Side' has its own individual character — the atmosphere changing with our mood and the amount of drugs and alcohol we consume while we're making the sounds, and varies from the very dark to the very bright. Most tracks are an experiment with sounds, and we start each one with no plan or idea of where the piece will lead us. Some tracks are made as a one man project; others have 7-8 contributors. The best way to describe what we do is that instead of making visual sculptures, we try to make sound sculptures, although we do visualize them with the help of videos."
MURDER CONSTRUCT, the Los Angeles, California-based band featuring Travis Ryan (CATTLE DECAPITATION) on vocals, Leon del Muerte (EXHUMED, PHOBIA, IMPALED) on guitar and vocals, Kevin Fetus (FETUS EATERS, WATCH ME BURN) on guitar, Danny Walker (INTRONAUT, EXHUMED, UPHILL BATTLE) on drums, and Caleb Schneider (BAD ACID TRIP) on bass, has entered the studio to begin work on its full-length debut full-length for a mid-2012 release via Relapse Records. The as-yet-untitled follow-up to the group's acclaimed self-titled EP is being tracked at Architeuthis Sound with engineer Sean Vahle and at Trench Studios with John Haddad (ABYSMAL DAWN, EXHUMED, INTRONAUT). The mastering duties will be handled by Dan Randall (TOXIC HOLOCAUST, IMPALED, MAGRUDERGRIND) at Mammoth Sound.
Commented MURDER CONSTRUCT's Leon del Muerte: "I'm not even sure we thought we'd ever finally get around to doing this shit. Over the last couple of years, we've managed to piece together 12 shivarees to the blast beat. We decided to invite some of our friends over to help with the shenanigans, too! Overall, should be a big, fat, noisy fucking mess that picks up where the EP left off."
Commented MURDER CONSTRUCT's Leon del Muerte: "I'm not even sure we thought we'd ever finally get around to doing this shit. Over the last couple of years, we've managed to piece together 12 shivarees to the blast beat. We decided to invite some of our friends over to help with the shenanigans, too! Overall, should be a big, fat, noisy fucking mess that picks up where the EP left off."
According to the Jakarta Globe, police in Banda Aceh, the provincial capital and largest city in the province of Aceh, Indonesia, raided a punk rock concert Saturday (December 10), shaving the mohawks and stripping the punk-style garb from 64 concertgoers they detained because of the perceived threat to Islamic values. The arrestees were then taken to Aceh State Police School for "re-education."
Police chief Inspector General Iskandar Hasan described the punishment awaiting them when they reached the police school in the Seulawah hills, 62 kilometers east of he capital. "There will be a traditional ceremony," he said. "First their hair will be cut. Then they will be tossed into a pool. The women's hair we'll cut in the fashion of a female police officer. Then we'll teach them a lesson."
The police chief added that detainees' "disgusting" clothes will be replaced, and that they'll be given toothbrushes and shampoo and prayer gear. "I'll remind [police] not to breach human rights. We are oriented to educating our community, our nation. This is our country, too, right?" Hasan said.
Twenty-year-old punker, Fauzan, was quoted by the Associated Press as saying, "Why? Why my hair?! We didn't hurt anyone. This is how we've chosen to express ourselves. Why are they treating us like criminals?"
Evi Narti Zain, executive director of the Aceh Human Rights Coalition, lambasted the authorities for their extreme actions.
"What is this education? The police's action is inconsistent because the punks did nothing wrong," Zain said. "Punk music is their way of expressing themselves. It is normal and is found all around the world. It's their right to express their freedom. There's nothing wrong with punk kids."
Police chief Inspector General Iskandar Hasan described the punishment awaiting them when they reached the police school in the Seulawah hills, 62 kilometers east of he capital. "There will be a traditional ceremony," he said. "First their hair will be cut. Then they will be tossed into a pool. The women's hair we'll cut in the fashion of a female police officer. Then we'll teach them a lesson."
The police chief added that detainees' "disgusting" clothes will be replaced, and that they'll be given toothbrushes and shampoo and prayer gear. "I'll remind [police] not to breach human rights. We are oriented to educating our community, our nation. This is our country, too, right?" Hasan said.
Twenty-year-old punker, Fauzan, was quoted by the Associated Press as saying, "Why? Why my hair?! We didn't hurt anyone. This is how we've chosen to express ourselves. Why are they treating us like criminals?"
Evi Narti Zain, executive director of the Aceh Human Rights Coalition, lambasted the authorities for their extreme actions.
"What is this education? The police's action is inconsistent because the punks did nothing wrong," Zain said. "Punk music is their way of expressing themselves. It is normal and is found all around the world. It's their right to express their freedom. There's nothing wrong with punk kids."
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=yJZABjcDm5Y
Blare magazine recently spoke to vocalist Liam Cormier and bassist Jaye Schwarzer of Canadian metallers CANCER BATS about the band's forthcoming fourth album, tentatively titled "Dead Set On Living" and due in early 2012.
"I think sound-wise there's definitely more of the natural evolution of how gnarly we keep getting and how more refined everyone sounds," Cormier said. "I'd say the majority of our fans now have seen our band live and know how gnarly and ferocious it is, so trying to compress that into a recording still is kind of difficult. Like we'd say, I thought we did it pretty well on 'Bears',' and then we'd re-examine that and we'd see there's still some elements that are missing."
Added Schwarzer: "But there's always stuff that comes up with every record, like what haven't we really captured yet. With doing the [BLACK] SABBATH covers at Sonisphere [festival] and then going into writing this one and thinking about how they had written their songs, we tried to apply some of that into what we're doing. Different elements are always going to come up when recording a new record. We'd always ask ourselves, 'What haven't we done?' and 'How can I make this better?' and doing that made it way more interesting."
Cormier continued, "I think the big thing too is the realization that we're always going to be CANCER BATS. And from looking at BLACK SABBATH, we realized that even though BLACK SABBATH are these four guys, none of them are doing the same thing at the exact same time. Like none of it lines up at any point but it all works so well, to the point where you don't even notice it. That was a big thing. We used to feel that all the parts playing along together would sound tighter, but now we've found that everyone confidently playing their own part makes the whole thing sound tighter and more cohesive. On this album, nothing sits on top of anything because it's all got its own distinct voice."
Stated Schwarzer: "I think having the confidence to try different things, but know that ultimately the end product is always going to be a CANCER BATS record is important. That's never going to change; it's never going to stray too far outside of its norm."
Cormier concluded: "We're at the point where we've realized whatever we do is going to be CANCER BATS because we already do so much weird shit anyway. So if we were to do a jazz record, it would still be a CANCER BATS record (laughs)."
CANCER BATS was nominated in the "Rock Album of the Year" category at the 2011 Juno Awards (the Canadian equivalent of the Grammy Awards). The band faced off against fellow Canadians DIE MANNEQUIN, FINGER ELEVEN, HAIL THE VILLIAN and MATTHEW GOOD.
CANCER BATS's third studio album, "Bears, Mayors, Scraps & Bones", sold around 600 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 95 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.
"Bears, Mayors, Scraps & Bones" was made available on April 13, 2010 via Good Fight Music. CANCER BATS also released a digital EP containing "Scared to Death" and its take on the BEASTIE BOYS classic "Sabotage". The EP is available on iTunes.
"I think sound-wise there's definitely more of the natural evolution of how gnarly we keep getting and how more refined everyone sounds," Cormier said. "I'd say the majority of our fans now have seen our band live and know how gnarly and ferocious it is, so trying to compress that into a recording still is kind of difficult. Like we'd say, I thought we did it pretty well on 'Bears',' and then we'd re-examine that and we'd see there's still some elements that are missing."
Added Schwarzer: "But there's always stuff that comes up with every record, like what haven't we really captured yet. With doing the [BLACK] SABBATH covers at Sonisphere [festival] and then going into writing this one and thinking about how they had written their songs, we tried to apply some of that into what we're doing. Different elements are always going to come up when recording a new record. We'd always ask ourselves, 'What haven't we done?' and 'How can I make this better?' and doing that made it way more interesting."
Cormier continued, "I think the big thing too is the realization that we're always going to be CANCER BATS. And from looking at BLACK SABBATH, we realized that even though BLACK SABBATH are these four guys, none of them are doing the same thing at the exact same time. Like none of it lines up at any point but it all works so well, to the point where you don't even notice it. That was a big thing. We used to feel that all the parts playing along together would sound tighter, but now we've found that everyone confidently playing their own part makes the whole thing sound tighter and more cohesive. On this album, nothing sits on top of anything because it's all got its own distinct voice."
Stated Schwarzer: "I think having the confidence to try different things, but know that ultimately the end product is always going to be a CANCER BATS record is important. That's never going to change; it's never going to stray too far outside of its norm."
Cormier concluded: "We're at the point where we've realized whatever we do is going to be CANCER BATS because we already do so much weird shit anyway. So if we were to do a jazz record, it would still be a CANCER BATS record (laughs)."
CANCER BATS was nominated in the "Rock Album of the Year" category at the 2011 Juno Awards (the Canadian equivalent of the Grammy Awards). The band faced off against fellow Canadians DIE MANNEQUIN, FINGER ELEVEN, HAIL THE VILLIAN and MATTHEW GOOD.
CANCER BATS's third studio album, "Bears, Mayors, Scraps & Bones", sold around 600 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 95 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.
"Bears, Mayors, Scraps & Bones" was made available on April 13, 2010 via Good Fight Music. CANCER BATS also released a digital EP containing "Scared to Death" and its take on the BEASTIE BOYS classic "Sabotage". The EP is available on iTunes.
Finnish dark metallers SOULFALLEN will release their third album, "The Promise Of Hell", on January 18, 2012 via the band's own label, Grave New Music, with distribution from Inverse Records/Supersounds (Finland), Plastic Head (U.K.), Bertus (Holland), Sound Pollution (Sweden), Disk Union (Japan), The End Records (USA), Rebeat (Austria), Non Stop (Switzerland), and LSP/MetalZone (Belgium). The cover artwork was created by Maija Ranka and can be seen below.
Commented SOULFALLEN frontman Kai Leikola: "The new album will be the final part of a trilogy, the closing of a chapter. It will bear the trademark sound of SOULFALLEN with some new flavors directly from the ever-burning kitchens of Hell. The story will continue where 'Grave New World' left off: at the burial of the world. Something has gone terribly wrong and life has united with death in a way never seen before. Humanity is not allowed rest but trapped in a Hell where even death cannot save those already dead."
A video for the song "Scars Aligned" was filmed this past fall and will make its online debut next month to coincide with the album's release. The clip features a guest vocal appearance by Annika Jalkanen.
In other news, SOULFALLEN has parted ways with longtime guitarist Simo Rahikainen and drummer Matti Auerkallio " due to personal reasons." The band states, "There was no drama involved, but merely they felt they could not give the band 100 percent and decided it was their time to move on. These changes will not affect the release of the album nor our upcoming live shows in 2012 that will be played with a renewed lineup."
SOULFALLEN's second album, "Grave New World", was released in March 2009 via Off Records, distributed by Firebox.
Commented SOULFALLEN frontman Kai Leikola: "The new album will be the final part of a trilogy, the closing of a chapter. It will bear the trademark sound of SOULFALLEN with some new flavors directly from the ever-burning kitchens of Hell. The story will continue where 'Grave New World' left off: at the burial of the world. Something has gone terribly wrong and life has united with death in a way never seen before. Humanity is not allowed rest but trapped in a Hell where even death cannot save those already dead."
A video for the song "Scars Aligned" was filmed this past fall and will make its online debut next month to coincide with the album's release. The clip features a guest vocal appearance by Annika Jalkanen.
In other news, SOULFALLEN has parted ways with longtime guitarist Simo Rahikainen and drummer Matti Auerkallio " due to personal reasons." The band states, "There was no drama involved, but merely they felt they could not give the band 100 percent and decided it was their time to move on. These changes will not affect the release of the album nor our upcoming live shows in 2012 that will be played with a renewed lineup."
SOULFALLEN's second album, "Grave New World", was released in March 2009 via Off Records, distributed by Firebox.
Just days after two TOOL tour dates appeared and then mysteriously vanished on Ticketmaster's web site, the band has officially unveiled the first batch of shows for a 2012 winter tour. The dates begin on January 14 in Reno, Nevada, with 11 more shows confirmed so far. It is unknown how long the tour will run for, since singer Maynard James Keenan starts another trek with his musical lounge act PUSCIFER on February 23rd in Austin, Texas.
TOOL last hit the road in mid-2010 for a short run of summer gigs.
The band has reportedly been writing material for its long-awaited new album, which would follow up 2006's "10,000 Days".
A report that they had entered the studio to begin recording turned out to be a joke on the part of the group's webmaster. The recording was actually being done for a side project of drummer Danny Carey.
Keenan has been touring with PUSCIFER behind its second album, "Conditions Of My Parole", and also did some shows with A PERFECT CIRCLE in the past year.
While he enjoys performing, Keenan told The Pulse Of Radio not long ago that he's not into the travel. "If I could do something that would get the music out there and get the performances out there in a way that didn't require me leaving home, I would for sure do it," he said. "Soon as they invent an affordable holographic projection of touring, I'm all over it (laughs). A simultaneous performance all across the country, one night, but you stay in one spot and it's holographic — I'm in."
Newly announced TOOL tour dates (subject to change):
Jan. 14 - Reno, NV - Reno Events Center
Jan. 15 - Las Vegas, NV - Mandalay Bay Events Center
Jan. 17 - Tucson, AZ - Tucson Arena
Jan. 18 - Albuquerque, NM - Tingley Coliseum
Jan. 20 - Grand Prairie, TX - Verizon Theatre
Jan. 24 - Toledo, OH - Huntington Center
Jan. 25 - Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre
Jan. 26 - London, ON - John Labatt Centre
Jan. 28 - Boston, MA - TD Garden
Jan. 29 - Camden, NJ - Susquehanna Bank Center
Jan. 31 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena
Feb. 08 - Duluth, GA - Gwinnett Arena
TOOL last hit the road in mid-2010 for a short run of summer gigs.
The band has reportedly been writing material for its long-awaited new album, which would follow up 2006's "10,000 Days".
A report that they had entered the studio to begin recording turned out to be a joke on the part of the group's webmaster. The recording was actually being done for a side project of drummer Danny Carey.
Keenan has been touring with PUSCIFER behind its second album, "Conditions Of My Parole", and also did some shows with A PERFECT CIRCLE in the past year.
While he enjoys performing, Keenan told The Pulse Of Radio not long ago that he's not into the travel. "If I could do something that would get the music out there and get the performances out there in a way that didn't require me leaving home, I would for sure do it," he said. "Soon as they invent an affordable holographic projection of touring, I'm all over it (laughs). A simultaneous performance all across the country, one night, but you stay in one spot and it's holographic — I'm in."
Newly announced TOOL tour dates (subject to change):
Jan. 14 - Reno, NV - Reno Events Center
Jan. 15 - Las Vegas, NV - Mandalay Bay Events Center
Jan. 17 - Tucson, AZ - Tucson Arena
Jan. 18 - Albuquerque, NM - Tingley Coliseum
Jan. 20 - Grand Prairie, TX - Verizon Theatre
Jan. 24 - Toledo, OH - Huntington Center
Jan. 25 - Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre
Jan. 26 - London, ON - John Labatt Centre
Jan. 28 - Boston, MA - TD Garden
Jan. 29 - Camden, NJ - Susquehanna Bank Center
Jan. 31 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Arena
Feb. 08 - Duluth, GA - Gwinnett Arena
"Hats Off To The Bull", the sixth album from the Chicago alternative hard rock trio CHEVELLE, sold 43,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 20 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was released on December 6 via Epic Records.
The album's first single, "Face To The Floor", with its hypnotic, grinding riff, is one of the most explosive songs of the band's career. The track — which rails against the corporate corruption of Bernie Madoff and Wall Street — debuted at #2 on the iTunes Rock Singles chart the week of release.
"It's an angry song," revealed lead singer Pete Loeffler. "The lyrics are about all the people who have been taken advantage of. I reference Bernie Madoff and his Ponzi scheme. He raked people over the coals, stole and is a terrible person. One day, these people have everything, and the next day it's completely gone."
This past summer, CHEVELLE hunkered down in a Los Angeles studio with producer Joe Barresi (QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, COHEED AND CAMBRIA). During the sessions, nothing was off limits, and boundaries were non-existent. Rather than simply subscribing to a tried-and-true formula, they made a conscious effort to incorporate new sounds and textures into their patented airtight anthems. As a result, "Hats Off To The Bull" is one of the group's most infectious and impressive offerings to date.
"We're a melodic hard rock band, but we wanted to expand on what that means. It's really important to be aware of what you've done already," said drummer and Pete's brother Sam Loeffler. "We never want to write the same song twice. Pete writes 300 days a year. Joe encouraged us to try different instruments and techniques and he pushed us to continually play everything until it was right too. There are so many nuances as a result." Those nuances come through loud and clear as a talk box echoes through the hard-hitting title track, reverb adds schizophrenic vitality to "The Meddler", and an organ colors the acoustic "Won't Be Left Out" with ethereal flourishes.
"Hats Off To The Bull" track listing:
01. Face To The Floor
02. Same Old Trip
03. Ruse
04. The Meddler
05. Piñata
06. Envy
07. Hats Off To The Bull
08. Arise
09. Revenge
10. Prima Donna
11. Clones
The album's first single, "Face To The Floor", with its hypnotic, grinding riff, is one of the most explosive songs of the band's career. The track — which rails against the corporate corruption of Bernie Madoff and Wall Street — debuted at #2 on the iTunes Rock Singles chart the week of release.
"It's an angry song," revealed lead singer Pete Loeffler. "The lyrics are about all the people who have been taken advantage of. I reference Bernie Madoff and his Ponzi scheme. He raked people over the coals, stole and is a terrible person. One day, these people have everything, and the next day it's completely gone."
This past summer, CHEVELLE hunkered down in a Los Angeles studio with producer Joe Barresi (QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, COHEED AND CAMBRIA). During the sessions, nothing was off limits, and boundaries were non-existent. Rather than simply subscribing to a tried-and-true formula, they made a conscious effort to incorporate new sounds and textures into their patented airtight anthems. As a result, "Hats Off To The Bull" is one of the group's most infectious and impressive offerings to date.
"We're a melodic hard rock band, but we wanted to expand on what that means. It's really important to be aware of what you've done already," said drummer and Pete's brother Sam Loeffler. "We never want to write the same song twice. Pete writes 300 days a year. Joe encouraged us to try different instruments and techniques and he pushed us to continually play everything until it was right too. There are so many nuances as a result." Those nuances come through loud and clear as a talk box echoes through the hard-hitting title track, reverb adds schizophrenic vitality to "The Meddler", and an organ colors the acoustic "Won't Be Left Out" with ethereal flourishes.
"Hats Off To The Bull" track listing:
01. Face To The Floor
02. Same Old Trip
03. Ruse
04. The Meddler
05. Piñata
06. Envy
07. Hats Off To The Bull
08. Arise
09. Revenge
10. Prima Donna
11. Clones
Frontiers Records has announced the signing of TRIXTER for the worldwide release of the band's reunion album in the spring of 2012.
Formed in Paramus, New Jersey in 1984, TRIXTER's self-titled debut album attained gold status (reaching #28 on The Billboard 200 in 1990), and spawned three minor hit singles: "Surrender" (#72), "One In A Million" (#75), and "Give It To Me Good" (#65). Despite the fact that none of the singles made the Top 40 or garnered much radio airplay, the videos for all three tunes were in heavy rotation on MTV (especially "Give It To Me Good", which was #1 on the channel for several weeks). A follow-up effort, "Hear", came out in 1992, but failed to reach the same commercial heights. The band recorded an album of cover songs, "Undercovers", in 1994, which garnered little commercial success, and TRIXTER broke up shortly after its release.
TRIXTER announced the reunion of its original lineup in 2007 and has since played a number of shows, including the Rocklahoma festival in 2008.
Comments TRIXTER guitarist Steve Brown: "The band has been playing together for the last four years, so making a new record is the next logical step. We are all very excited.
"The new CD will be entitled 'New Audio Machine' and is a classic style melodic hard rock album. All the sounds people have loved about TRIXTER will be there... Great songs, big guitar riffs, catchy vocals and a huge bottom end. A total big rock production!!!"
TRIXTER's current lineup features Pete Loran on lead vocals and guitar, Steve Brown on lead guitar, P.J. Farley on bass and Gus Scott on drums.
"We take pride in the fact that we are one of the few bands of our genre that have all original members," says Brown.
With an arsenal of great new songs and a catalogue of two successful releases, TRIXTER is looking forward to bringing its songs to the live stage. "We are hoping to land a support slot on one of the major summer tours," says Brown. "And we finally hope to play our first European tour as well."
Formed in Paramus, New Jersey in 1984, TRIXTER's self-titled debut album attained gold status (reaching #28 on The Billboard 200 in 1990), and spawned three minor hit singles: "Surrender" (#72), "One In A Million" (#75), and "Give It To Me Good" (#65). Despite the fact that none of the singles made the Top 40 or garnered much radio airplay, the videos for all three tunes were in heavy rotation on MTV (especially "Give It To Me Good", which was #1 on the channel for several weeks). A follow-up effort, "Hear", came out in 1992, but failed to reach the same commercial heights. The band recorded an album of cover songs, "Undercovers", in 1994, which garnered little commercial success, and TRIXTER broke up shortly after its release.
TRIXTER announced the reunion of its original lineup in 2007 and has since played a number of shows, including the Rocklahoma festival in 2008.
Comments TRIXTER guitarist Steve Brown: "The band has been playing together for the last four years, so making a new record is the next logical step. We are all very excited.
"The new CD will be entitled 'New Audio Machine' and is a classic style melodic hard rock album. All the sounds people have loved about TRIXTER will be there... Great songs, big guitar riffs, catchy vocals and a huge bottom end. A total big rock production!!!"
TRIXTER's current lineup features Pete Loran on lead vocals and guitar, Steve Brown on lead guitar, P.J. Farley on bass and Gus Scott on drums.
"We take pride in the fact that we are one of the few bands of our genre that have all original members," says Brown.
With an arsenal of great new songs and a catalogue of two successful releases, TRIXTER is looking forward to bringing its songs to the live stage. "We are hoping to land a support slot on one of the major summer tours," says Brown. "And we finally hope to play our first European tour as well."
GOD SEED's "Live At Wacken" DVD and CD will be released on January 27 in Europe and January 31 in North America via Indie Recordings.
The number of tracks on the "Live At Wacken" DVD was recently reduced to nine from the previously announced 13.
GOD SEED was the Norwegian band featuring former GORGOROTH members King (bass; real name: Tom Cato Visnes) and Gaahl (vocals; real name: Kristian Espedal).
"Live At Wacken" will include footage of the group's infamous live show from the 2008 edition of the Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany where they performed on the main stage in front of 75,000 screaming fans.
The Wacken performance was a reconstruction of GORGOROTH's controversial "Black Mass" show from Krakow in 2004 filmed in a TV studio in Kraków, Poland. The concert featured sheep heads on stakes, "crucified" nude models, satanic symbols, and eighty liters of sheep's blood. The band came under fire for violating Polish anti-blasphemy laws as well as Polish animal-rights laws, resulting in a police investigation with allegations of religious offence and cruelty to animals. The band went free of all charges and at Wacken 2008 they recreated this now-legendary show in all its glory.
This spectacular show is made available as a live CD, including the film of the entire show on DVD. The album is only available in a deluxe digipack edition and holds liner notes from the band about the process of recreating this special show.
"Live At Wacken" features session players Nick Barker (drums) and Ice Dale (guitar) alongside King and Gaahl.
"Live At Wacken" track listing:
CD
01. Procreating Satan
02. Forces Of Satan Storms
03. Teethgrinding
04. Carving A Giant
05. Sign Of An Open Eye
06. Wound Upon Wound
07. God Seed
08. Of Ice And Movement
09. Prosperity And Beauty
DVD
01. Procreating Satan
02. Forces Of Satan Storms
03. Teethgrinding
04. Carving A Giant
05. Sign Of An Open Eye
06. Wound Upon Wound
07. God Seed
08. Of Ice And Movement
09. Prosperity And Beauty
GOD SEED came to life after Gaahl and King lost a court battle in early 2009 against guitarist Infernus (real name: Roger Tiegs) over the rights to the GORGOROTH band name.
Commented King: "GOD SEED represents a more spiritual side to us than what GORGOROTH did. GOD SEED represents the will to grow; the will to be the super man, so to speak. I think it's a suitable name for what we will represent in the future. I am also aware of the fact that we use the word 'God' in the name. It will challenge the weak minded in the respect that we in the past used the word Satan a lot, but it's all about the same thing. The God within man, and the God within nature. I never believed in a Christian force named Satan. I believe in the God within man."
Gaahl left GOD SEED in 2009 because he chose to retire from metal music.
The number of tracks on the "Live At Wacken" DVD was recently reduced to nine from the previously announced 13.
GOD SEED was the Norwegian band featuring former GORGOROTH members King (bass; real name: Tom Cato Visnes) and Gaahl (vocals; real name: Kristian Espedal).
"Live At Wacken" will include footage of the group's infamous live show from the 2008 edition of the Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany where they performed on the main stage in front of 75,000 screaming fans.
The Wacken performance was a reconstruction of GORGOROTH's controversial "Black Mass" show from Krakow in 2004 filmed in a TV studio in Kraków, Poland. The concert featured sheep heads on stakes, "crucified" nude models, satanic symbols, and eighty liters of sheep's blood. The band came under fire for violating Polish anti-blasphemy laws as well as Polish animal-rights laws, resulting in a police investigation with allegations of religious offence and cruelty to animals. The band went free of all charges and at Wacken 2008 they recreated this now-legendary show in all its glory.
This spectacular show is made available as a live CD, including the film of the entire show on DVD. The album is only available in a deluxe digipack edition and holds liner notes from the band about the process of recreating this special show.
"Live At Wacken" features session players Nick Barker (drums) and Ice Dale (guitar) alongside King and Gaahl.
"Live At Wacken" track listing:
CD
01. Procreating Satan
02. Forces Of Satan Storms
03. Teethgrinding
04. Carving A Giant
05. Sign Of An Open Eye
06. Wound Upon Wound
07. God Seed
08. Of Ice And Movement
09. Prosperity And Beauty
DVD
01. Procreating Satan
02. Forces Of Satan Storms
03. Teethgrinding
04. Carving A Giant
05. Sign Of An Open Eye
06. Wound Upon Wound
07. God Seed
08. Of Ice And Movement
09. Prosperity And Beauty
GOD SEED came to life after Gaahl and King lost a court battle in early 2009 against guitarist Infernus (real name: Roger Tiegs) over the rights to the GORGOROTH band name.
Commented King: "GOD SEED represents a more spiritual side to us than what GORGOROTH did. GOD SEED represents the will to grow; the will to be the super man, so to speak. I think it's a suitable name for what we will represent in the future. I am also aware of the fact that we use the word 'God' in the name. It will challenge the weak minded in the respect that we in the past used the word Satan a lot, but it's all about the same thing. The God within man, and the God within nature. I never believed in a Christian force named Satan. I believe in the God within man."
Gaahl left GOD SEED in 2009 because he chose to retire from metal music.
GOD SEED's "Live At Wacken" DVD and CD will be released on January 27 in Europe and January 31 in North America via Indie Recordings.
The number of tracks on the "Live At Wacken" DVD was recently reduced to nine from the previously announced 13.
GOD SEED was the Norwegian band featuring former GORGOROTH members King (bass; real name: Tom Cato Visnes) and Gaahl (vocals; real name: Kristian Espedal).
"Live At Wacken" will include footage of the group's infamous live show from the 2008 edition of the Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany where they performed on the main stage in front of 75,000 screaming fans.
The Wacken performance was a reconstruction of GORGOROTH's controversial "Black Mass" show from Krakow in 2004 filmed in a TV studio in Kraków, Poland. The concert featured sheep heads on stakes, "crucified" nude models, satanic symbols, and eighty liters of sheep's blood. The band came under fire for violating Polish anti-blasphemy laws as well as Polish animal-rights laws, resulting in a police investigation with allegations of religious offence and cruelty to animals. The band went free of all charges and at Wacken 2008 they recreated this now-legendary show in all its glory.
This spectacular show is made available as a live CD, including the film of the entire show on DVD. The album is only available in a deluxe digipack edition and holds liner notes from the band about the process of recreating this special show.
"Live At Wacken" features session players Nick Barker (drums) and Ice Dale (guitar) alongside King and Gaahl.
"Live At Wacken" track listing:
CD
01. Procreating Satan
02. Forces Of Satan Storms
03. Teethgrinding
04. Carving A Giant
05. Sign Of An Open Eye
06. Wound Upon Wound
07. God Seed
08. Of Ice And Movement
09. Prosperity And Beauty
DVD
01. Procreating Satan
02. Forces Of Satan Storms
03. Teethgrinding
04. Carving A Giant
05. Sign Of An Open Eye
06. Wound Upon Wound
07. God Seed
08. Of Ice And Movement
09. Prosperity And Beauty
GOD SEED came to life after Gaahl and King lost a court battle in early 2009 against guitarist Infernus (real name: Roger Tiegs) over the rights to the GORGOROTH band name.
Commented King: "GOD SEED represents a more spiritual side to us than what GORGOROTH did. GOD SEED represents the will to grow; the will to be the super man, so to speak. I think it's a suitable name for what we will represent in the future. I am also aware of the fact that we use the word 'God' in the name. It will challenge the weak minded in the respect that we in the past used the word Satan a lot, but it's all about the same thing. The God within man, and the God within nature. I never believed in a Christian force named Satan. I believe in the God within man."
Gaahl left GOD SEED in 2009 because he chose to retire from metal music.
The number of tracks on the "Live At Wacken" DVD was recently reduced to nine from the previously announced 13.
GOD SEED was the Norwegian band featuring former GORGOROTH members King (bass; real name: Tom Cato Visnes) and Gaahl (vocals; real name: Kristian Espedal).
"Live At Wacken" will include footage of the group's infamous live show from the 2008 edition of the Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany where they performed on the main stage in front of 75,000 screaming fans.
The Wacken performance was a reconstruction of GORGOROTH's controversial "Black Mass" show from Krakow in 2004 filmed in a TV studio in Kraków, Poland. The concert featured sheep heads on stakes, "crucified" nude models, satanic symbols, and eighty liters of sheep's blood. The band came under fire for violating Polish anti-blasphemy laws as well as Polish animal-rights laws, resulting in a police investigation with allegations of religious offence and cruelty to animals. The band went free of all charges and at Wacken 2008 they recreated this now-legendary show in all its glory.
This spectacular show is made available as a live CD, including the film of the entire show on DVD. The album is only available in a deluxe digipack edition and holds liner notes from the band about the process of recreating this special show.
"Live At Wacken" features session players Nick Barker (drums) and Ice Dale (guitar) alongside King and Gaahl.
"Live At Wacken" track listing:
CD
01. Procreating Satan
02. Forces Of Satan Storms
03. Teethgrinding
04. Carving A Giant
05. Sign Of An Open Eye
06. Wound Upon Wound
07. God Seed
08. Of Ice And Movement
09. Prosperity And Beauty
DVD
01. Procreating Satan
02. Forces Of Satan Storms
03. Teethgrinding
04. Carving A Giant
05. Sign Of An Open Eye
06. Wound Upon Wound
07. God Seed
08. Of Ice And Movement
09. Prosperity And Beauty
GOD SEED came to life after Gaahl and King lost a court battle in early 2009 against guitarist Infernus (real name: Roger Tiegs) over the rights to the GORGOROTH band name.
Commented King: "GOD SEED represents a more spiritual side to us than what GORGOROTH did. GOD SEED represents the will to grow; the will to be the super man, so to speak. I think it's a suitable name for what we will represent in the future. I am also aware of the fact that we use the word 'God' in the name. It will challenge the weak minded in the respect that we in the past used the word Satan a lot, but it's all about the same thing. The God within man, and the God within nature. I never believed in a Christian force named Satan. I believe in the God within man."
Gaahl left GOD SEED in 2009 because he chose to retire from metal music.
Belgian black metallers ENTHRONED have inked a two-album deal with Agonia Records. The band's new album, "Obsidium", will be released in early 2012.
In other news, ENTHRONED's touring guitarist Tzelmoth has quit playing and performing in order to focus on his private life.
ENTHRONED released its eighth album, "Pentagrammaton", on March 22, 2010 via Regain Records.
ENTHRONED last year parted ways with Nguaroth (guitar) and Ahephaim (drums) and replaced them with Neraath and Garghuf (ex-GORGOROTH), respectively.
ENTHRONED is:
Nornagest - Vocals, Guitar
Neraath - Guitar, Effects
Phorgath - Bass, Vocals
Garghuf - Drums
Noens - Live Guitar
In other news, ENTHRONED's touring guitarist Tzelmoth has quit playing and performing in order to focus on his private life.
ENTHRONED released its eighth album, "Pentagrammaton", on March 22, 2010 via Regain Records.
ENTHRONED last year parted ways with Nguaroth (guitar) and Ahephaim (drums) and replaced them with Neraath and Garghuf (ex-GORGOROTH), respectively.
ENTHRONED is:
Nornagest - Vocals, Guitar
Neraath - Guitar, Effects
Phorgath - Bass, Vocals
Garghuf - Drums
Noens - Live Guitar
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