Rob Halford (JUDAS PRIEST), Glenn Danzig (DANZIG, MISFITS, SAMHAIN), Jerry Cantrell (ALICE IN CHAINS), Pepper Keenan (DOWN, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY), Gary Rossington (LYNYRD SKYNYRD), Nick "Animal" Culmer (ANTI-NOWHERE LEAGUE) and former METALLICA bassist Jason Newsted joined METALLICA on stage last night (Friday, December 9) for the third of four intimate shows at the Fillmore in San Francisco as part of the week-long celebration of its 30th anniversary as a band for fan club members only.
After opening sets from THE SOUL REBELS brass band and LÄÄZ ROCKIT, as well as an appearance by former FAITH NO MORE guitarist Jim Martin — who took to the stage with METALLICA frontman James Hetfield to honor late METALLICA bassist Cliff Burton — METALLICA rocked the capacity crowd with a 21-song set which featured selections from all periods of the band's career, including a previously unreleased track from the "Death Magnetic" sessions called "Hell And Back".
The band's setlist was as follows:
01. Suicide & Redemption
02. Master Of Puppets
03. ...And Justice For All
04. Of Wolf & Man
05. Fade To Black
06. The Thing That Should Not Be
07. I Disappear
08. The Outlaw Torn
09. Hell And Back (previously unreleased song from "Death Magnetic" sessions)
10. Blitzkrieg (BLITZKRIEG cover) (with fan-club members Joseph Guariglia)
11. For Whom The Bell Tolls (with Jerry Cantrell)
12. Nothing Else Matters (with Jerry Cantrell)
13. So What?! (ANTI-NOWHERE LEAGUE cover) (with Animal)
14. Tuesday's Gone (LYNYRD SKYNYRD cover) (with Gary Rossington, Pepper Keenan, Jerry Cantrell, and Jim Martin)
15. Fuel (with Jason Newsted)
16. Fight Fire With Fire (with Jason Newsted)
17. Die, Die My Darling (MISFITS cover) (with Glenn Danzig)
18. Last Caress (MISFITS cover) (with Glenn Danzig)
19. Green Hell (MISFITS cover) (with Glenn Danzig)
20. Rapid Fire (JUDAS PRIEST cover) (with Rob Halford)
21. Seek & Destroy (with Jason Newsted, Jerry Cantrell, Pepper Keenan, Jim Martin, Glenn Danzig, Animal, LAAZ ROCKIT, and THE SOUL REBELS brass band)
METALLICA frontman James Hetfield told The Pulse Of Radio he had a wishlist of people he hopes can make it for the remaining gigs. "Well, Lemmy [Kilmister, MOTÖRHEAD mainman] for sure. Ozzy. And then, you know, there's lots of other people along that way. Tony Iommi [guitarist, BLACK SABBATH], I mean, all the bands that we've admired over time, some of the bands that maybe have supported us, you know... There's so much, so many great moments that could be had."
The last show will take place on Saturday (December 10), with special guests and events, rare songs, varied setlists and more.
The band has booked several European shows next summer, including one at a venue in Denmark that used to be a prison, at which it will perform its self-titled 1991 effort, a.k.a. "the black album," in its entirety.
METALLICA was formed when Ulrich, who had moved to Los Angeles from Denmark, placed an ad in a local paper called The Recycler looking for other musicians to play with. The ad was answered by guitarists James Hetfield and Hugh Tanner of the band LEATHER CHARM.
METALLICA officially formed in October 1981 and the band's first recording was "Hit The Lights" for the compilation "Metal Massacre".
Bay Area DJ Ron Quintana came up with the group's name: he was debating between using "Metallica" and "Metal Mania" for the name of his radio show and Ulrich encouraged him to use "Metal Mania" so that he could use "Metallica" for his new band.
METALLICA's first full lineup — featuring Hetfield, Ulrich, guitarist Dave Mustaine and bassist Ron McGovney — played its first gig on March 14, 1982 at Radio City in Anaheim, California.
After opening sets from THE SOUL REBELS brass band and LÄÄZ ROCKIT, as well as an appearance by former FAITH NO MORE guitarist Jim Martin — who took to the stage with METALLICA frontman James Hetfield to honor late METALLICA bassist Cliff Burton — METALLICA rocked the capacity crowd with a 21-song set which featured selections from all periods of the band's career, including a previously unreleased track from the "Death Magnetic" sessions called "Hell And Back".
The band's setlist was as follows:
01. Suicide & Redemption
02. Master Of Puppets
03. ...And Justice For All
04. Of Wolf & Man
05. Fade To Black
06. The Thing That Should Not Be
07. I Disappear
08. The Outlaw Torn
09. Hell And Back (previously unreleased song from "Death Magnetic" sessions)
10. Blitzkrieg (BLITZKRIEG cover) (with fan-club members Joseph Guariglia)
11. For Whom The Bell Tolls (with Jerry Cantrell)
12. Nothing Else Matters (with Jerry Cantrell)
13. So What?! (ANTI-NOWHERE LEAGUE cover) (with Animal)
14. Tuesday's Gone (LYNYRD SKYNYRD cover) (with Gary Rossington, Pepper Keenan, Jerry Cantrell, and Jim Martin)
15. Fuel (with Jason Newsted)
16. Fight Fire With Fire (with Jason Newsted)
17. Die, Die My Darling (MISFITS cover) (with Glenn Danzig)
18. Last Caress (MISFITS cover) (with Glenn Danzig)
19. Green Hell (MISFITS cover) (with Glenn Danzig)
20. Rapid Fire (JUDAS PRIEST cover) (with Rob Halford)
21. Seek & Destroy (with Jason Newsted, Jerry Cantrell, Pepper Keenan, Jim Martin, Glenn Danzig, Animal, LAAZ ROCKIT, and THE SOUL REBELS brass band)
METALLICA frontman James Hetfield told The Pulse Of Radio he had a wishlist of people he hopes can make it for the remaining gigs. "Well, Lemmy [Kilmister, MOTÖRHEAD mainman] for sure. Ozzy. And then, you know, there's lots of other people along that way. Tony Iommi [guitarist, BLACK SABBATH], I mean, all the bands that we've admired over time, some of the bands that maybe have supported us, you know... There's so much, so many great moments that could be had."
The last show will take place on Saturday (December 10), with special guests and events, rare songs, varied setlists and more.
The band has booked several European shows next summer, including one at a venue in Denmark that used to be a prison, at which it will perform its self-titled 1991 effort, a.k.a. "the black album," in its entirety.
METALLICA was formed when Ulrich, who had moved to Los Angeles from Denmark, placed an ad in a local paper called The Recycler looking for other musicians to play with. The ad was answered by guitarists James Hetfield and Hugh Tanner of the band LEATHER CHARM.
METALLICA officially formed in October 1981 and the band's first recording was "Hit The Lights" for the compilation "Metal Massacre".
Bay Area DJ Ron Quintana came up with the group's name: he was debating between using "Metallica" and "Metal Mania" for the name of his radio show and Ulrich encouraged him to use "Metal Mania" so that he could use "Metallica" for his new band.
METALLICA's first full lineup — featuring Hetfield, Ulrich, guitarist Dave Mustaine and bassist Ron McGovney — played its first gig on March 14, 1982 at Radio City in Anaheim, California.
MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine has confirmed that he is in San Francisco today for METALLICA's fourth and final intimate show at the Fillmore as part of the week-long celebration of its 30th anniversary as a band for fan club members only. He writes on Twitter, "I look forward to celebrating with them."
Mustaine, who was one of the original members of METALLICA, was fired from the band by drummer Lars Ulrich in 1983. He was replaced by Kirk Hammett and went on to form MEGADETH and achieve worldwide success on his own.
In an interview with Revolver magazine conducted earlier this year, Mustaine was asked what he remembers about writing music with METALLICA while he was in the group. "I had always called us, as a group, the 'Four Horsemen,'" he said. "Before I was in METALLICA, I really loved this band called MONTROSE, and their guitarist was Ronnie Montrose. He went on to form a band called GAMMA. One of their records [1980's 'Gamma 2'] had a shark fin cutting through the grass, which I thought was so awesome. Anyway, he had a song on there called 'Four Horsemen' that I did with my band PANIC, which I was with before METALLICA. So when I joined METALLICA, I had the song 'Mechanix', which I wrote, and 'Four Horsemen' was a suggestion of mine to do 'cause we were doing cover songs. So that had planted the seed with James [Hetfield, METALLICA frontman]. And one day when we were coming to rehearsal, Lars had just said something about slowing down my song, 'Mechanix'. I had just gotten to the studio with Cliff [Burton, METALLICA bassist], and we had been listening to LYNYRD SKYNYRD, and I was being a jerk, so I played 'Sweet Home Alabama' instead of 'Mechanix', and that's basically the middle part of what would become METALLICA's 'The Four Horsemen'."
Regarding what his favorite METALLICA song is, Mustaine said, "I had to do a lot of coming to terms with myself in order to listen to METALLICA. Before, whenever I heard them, it triggered me in my mind to get up on my soapbox and spit out complaints of what had happened to me. And then once I finally realized, 'Dave, you're lucky, you're blessed, you're in a great band, you're in another great band.' I finally just said, 'You're missing it.'
"And I remember hearing this song when I was talking to Lars once and telling him this is my favorite song off the 'Black Record.' And he goes, 'Really? Fuck, man.' It was 'The Unforgiven'. I liked it because I thought this was really the first time I've ever really heard James [Hetfield] sing. He had sung before, and he was a great singer. But that was the first time I ever heard him really, really sing."
Mustaine, who was one of the original members of METALLICA, was fired from the band by drummer Lars Ulrich in 1983. He was replaced by Kirk Hammett and went on to form MEGADETH and achieve worldwide success on his own.
In an interview with Revolver magazine conducted earlier this year, Mustaine was asked what he remembers about writing music with METALLICA while he was in the group. "I had always called us, as a group, the 'Four Horsemen,'" he said. "Before I was in METALLICA, I really loved this band called MONTROSE, and their guitarist was Ronnie Montrose. He went on to form a band called GAMMA. One of their records [1980's 'Gamma 2'] had a shark fin cutting through the grass, which I thought was so awesome. Anyway, he had a song on there called 'Four Horsemen' that I did with my band PANIC, which I was with before METALLICA. So when I joined METALLICA, I had the song 'Mechanix', which I wrote, and 'Four Horsemen' was a suggestion of mine to do 'cause we were doing cover songs. So that had planted the seed with James [Hetfield, METALLICA frontman]. And one day when we were coming to rehearsal, Lars had just said something about slowing down my song, 'Mechanix'. I had just gotten to the studio with Cliff [Burton, METALLICA bassist], and we had been listening to LYNYRD SKYNYRD, and I was being a jerk, so I played 'Sweet Home Alabama' instead of 'Mechanix', and that's basically the middle part of what would become METALLICA's 'The Four Horsemen'."
Regarding what his favorite METALLICA song is, Mustaine said, "I had to do a lot of coming to terms with myself in order to listen to METALLICA. Before, whenever I heard them, it triggered me in my mind to get up on my soapbox and spit out complaints of what had happened to me. And then once I finally realized, 'Dave, you're lucky, you're blessed, you're in a great band, you're in another great band.' I finally just said, 'You're missing it.'
"And I remember hearing this song when I was talking to Lars once and telling him this is my favorite song off the 'Black Record.' And he goes, 'Really? Fuck, man.' It was 'The Unforgiven'. I liked it because I thought this was really the first time I've ever really heard James [Hetfield] sing. He had sung before, and he was a great singer. But that was the first time I ever heard him really, really sing."
Dave Mustaine (MEGADETH) will join METALLICA on stage tonight (Saturday, December 10) at the fourth and final intimate show at the Fillmore as part of the week-long celebration of its 30th anniversary as a band for fan club members only. He will play five songs with METALLICA: "Hit The Lights", "Metal Militia", "Phantom Lord", "Jump In the Fire" and "Seek And Destroy".
Mustaine, who was one of the original members of METALLICA, was fired from the band by drummer Lars Ulrich in 1983. He was replaced by Kirk Hammett and went on to form MEGADETH and achieve worldwide success on his own.
In an interview with Revolver magazine conducted earlier this year, Mustaine was asked what he remembers about writing music with METALLICA while he was in the group. "I had always called us, as a group, the 'Four Horsemen,'" he said. "Before I was in METALLICA, I really loved this band called MONTROSE, and their guitarist was Ronnie Montrose. He went on to form a band called GAMMA. One of their records [1980's 'Gamma 2'] had a shark fin cutting through the grass, which I thought was so awesome. Anyway, he had a song on there called 'Four Horsemen' that I did with my band PANIC, which I was with before METALLICA. So when I joined METALLICA, I had the song 'Mechanix', which I wrote, and 'Four Horsemen' was a suggestion of mine to do 'cause we were doing cover songs. So that had planted the seed with James [Hetfield, METALLICA frontman]. And one day when we were coming to rehearsal, Lars had just said something about slowing down my song, 'Mechanix'. I had just gotten to the studio with Cliff [Burton, METALLICA bassist], and we had been listening to LYNYRD SKYNYRD, and I was being a jerk, so I played 'Sweet Home Alabama' instead of 'Mechanix', and that's basically the middle part of what would become METALLICA's 'The Four Horsemen'."
Regarding what his favorite METALLICA song is, Mustaine said, "I had to do a lot of coming to terms with myself in order to listen to METALLICA. Before, whenever I heard them, it triggered me in my mind to get up on my soapbox and spit out complaints of what had happened to me. And then once I finally realized, 'Dave, you're lucky, you're blessed, you're in a great band, you're in another great band.' I finally just said, 'You're missing it.'
"And I remember hearing this song when I was talking to Lars once and telling him this is my favorite song off the 'Black Record.' And he goes, 'Really? Fuck, man.' It was 'The Unforgiven'. I liked it because I thought this was really the first time I've ever really heard James [Hetfield] sing. He had sung before, and he was a great singer. But that was the first time I ever heard him really, really sing."
Mustaine, who was one of the original members of METALLICA, was fired from the band by drummer Lars Ulrich in 1983. He was replaced by Kirk Hammett and went on to form MEGADETH and achieve worldwide success on his own.
In an interview with Revolver magazine conducted earlier this year, Mustaine was asked what he remembers about writing music with METALLICA while he was in the group. "I had always called us, as a group, the 'Four Horsemen,'" he said. "Before I was in METALLICA, I really loved this band called MONTROSE, and their guitarist was Ronnie Montrose. He went on to form a band called GAMMA. One of their records [1980's 'Gamma 2'] had a shark fin cutting through the grass, which I thought was so awesome. Anyway, he had a song on there called 'Four Horsemen' that I did with my band PANIC, which I was with before METALLICA. So when I joined METALLICA, I had the song 'Mechanix', which I wrote, and 'Four Horsemen' was a suggestion of mine to do 'cause we were doing cover songs. So that had planted the seed with James [Hetfield, METALLICA frontman]. And one day when we were coming to rehearsal, Lars had just said something about slowing down my song, 'Mechanix'. I had just gotten to the studio with Cliff [Burton, METALLICA bassist], and we had been listening to LYNYRD SKYNYRD, and I was being a jerk, so I played 'Sweet Home Alabama' instead of 'Mechanix', and that's basically the middle part of what would become METALLICA's 'The Four Horsemen'."
Regarding what his favorite METALLICA song is, Mustaine said, "I had to do a lot of coming to terms with myself in order to listen to METALLICA. Before, whenever I heard them, it triggered me in my mind to get up on my soapbox and spit out complaints of what had happened to me. And then once I finally realized, 'Dave, you're lucky, you're blessed, you're in a great band, you're in another great band.' I finally just said, 'You're missing it.'
"And I remember hearing this song when I was talking to Lars once and telling him this is my favorite song off the 'Black Record.' And he goes, 'Really? Fuck, man.' It was 'The Unforgiven'. I liked it because I thought this was really the first time I've ever really heard James [Hetfield] sing. He had sung before, and he was a great singer. But that was the first time I ever heard him really, really sing."
A photo of BLACK SABBATH legends Ozzy Osbourne and Geezer Butler with the four members of METALLICA taken earlier tonight (Saturday, December 10) backstage at the Fillmore in San Francisco, California prior to METALLICA's fourth and final intimate show as part of the week-long celebration of its 30th anniversary as a band for fan club members only can be seen below. Ozzy and Geezer are expected to join METALLICA on stage to perform the SABBATH classic "Iron Man"
http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/soulflypremiere/ozzygeezermetallica.jpg
BLACK SABBATH legends Geezer Butler and Ozzy Osbourne joined METALLICA on stage last night (Saturday, December 10) for the fourth and final intimate show at the Fillmore in San Francisco as part of the week-long celebration of its 30th anniversary as a band for fan club members only. METALLICA bassist Robert Trujillo introduced Geezer as "my hero, [late METALLICA bassist] Cliff Burton's hero, [former METALLICA bassist] Jason Newsted's hero," before Butler and the METALLICA guys ripped through a mini-medley of SABBATH's "Sabbra Cadabra" and "A National Acrobat". Ozzy appeared on stage next, leading the musicians through a spirited double shot of "Iron Man" and "Paranoid".
Earlier today Geezer posted the following message on his official web site: "I had the pleasure and honor of jamming 'Sabbra Cadabra'/'A National Acrobat', and then 'Iron Man'/'Paranoid' (with Ozzy) with METALLICA at their 30th-anniversary MetClub [official METALLICA fan club] gig last night (Saturday, December 10) in San Francisco at the Fillmore. Great bunch of guys, and, of course, one of the world's greatest bands. They did their fan club proud. The late, great Cliff Burton was definitely in the house with us, and smiling…"
Earlier today Geezer posted the following message on his official web site: "I had the pleasure and honor of jamming 'Sabbra Cadabra'/'A National Acrobat', and then 'Iron Man'/'Paranoid' (with Ozzy) with METALLICA at their 30th-anniversary MetClub [official METALLICA fan club] gig last night (Saturday, December 10) in San Francisco at the Fillmore. Great bunch of guys, and, of course, one of the world's greatest bands. They did their fan club proud. The late, great Cliff Burton was definitely in the house with us, and smiling…"
Guns N' Roses (due Sunday, December 11 at 1STBANK Center) is a household name at this point and hardly needs an introduction. During the late 1980s, Guns proved that you could come out of L.A. and not have songs that were just thinly disguised paeans to sexual conquest.
Guns didn't go for the glam look of the era, either, and the band's gritty music was more in line with the kind of rock and roll made by Aerosmith and Hanoi Rocks. But with the stories that came out of singer Axl Rose's experiences coming to Los Angeles from Indiana came with a dark edge and a surprising hopefulness.
The Guns N' Roses story itself is full of ups and downs, numerous lineup changes and rumors of Axl Rose's mercurial personality and melodramatic outbursts within the band. But to Rose's credit, he kept a band together long enough to release Chinese Democracy nearly two decades after the band's last full batch of original material.
This time around, he's touring with a handpicked group of musicians who can fulfill his musical vision -- whether the critics and fair-weather fans approve of what he's done or not. We had a chance to speak with GNR guitarist Dj Ashba about his first impressions of Los Angeles, meeting Nikki Sixx and becoming friends with Neil Diamond. Page down for the full interview.
Westword:You started playing music from a very early age growing up in rural Illinois. What did you expect to find when you moved to Los Angeles and what were the biggest moments of culture shock for you?
Dj Ashba: I just remember flying in for the first time over Los Angeles. I'm from a really small country town. I just remember it never ended and thinking, "Wow, this is just L.A." and "How am I supposed to go down in that and make a name for myself. This is impossible. This is going to be a big chore ahead of me." I don't even know why I remember that. I remember it being very overwhelming, and I was just like, "Man there are millions of people down there. How does a small country kid..." -- you know? It was cool but I look back now and think, "Wow, that took a lot longer than I thought it would.
You saved up to buy your first guitar. What did you get, and did you get any guidance from anyone on what sorts of gear to acquire early on?
No, because being in the country, there was no internet back then. We had magazines and stuff, and obviously the bands in the magazines had really cool, expensive guitars, and I was just a little kid in the country. So I remember detasseling corn all summer in order to buy my first guitar out of the Sears catalog. I had no idea what was cool and what was not. I just knew that was the only guitar I could afford, and it was a white, Flying V Harmony. The reason I got that was because I loved Randy Rhoads, and it was the closest thing that kind of resembled something that he would be playing on.
Your first concert was Motley Crue, and then you wrote music for Nikki Sixx's book, and then wrote music for their most recent album: What about seeing that band live was inspirational to you immediately, and how did you meet and come to work with Nikki?
My dad took me when I was sixteen to the Girls Girls Girls concert, and I think that night changed my life. I knew I wanted to play music for a living, that's all I really knew since I was little. But up until then, it was kind of like a dream, and you'd see these people in magazines, and they just didn't seem real, kind of. Then, I guess being in the same room with them, watching them do it, something clicked that night. I was like, "Wow, it can be done. It's not a dream, they're up there doing it so there's no reason I can't." It made this thing in my head that was like a dream and turned it into a reality for me. After that, I was so determined. I was like, "I will be on that stage one day.
I didn't realize I was going to be on stage with that guy on stage, but I met Nikki eight or nine years ago at Randy Castillo's funeral, and we talked a bit there. He didn't know me from Adam, I don't think, but it was cool, because I just kept plugging away in L.A. trying to make a name for myself. I guess word got around about me, and then eventually, I got a phone call from him. We had run into each other here and there. I got the call to join Brides of Destruction, but at the time, I was working on my own thing, so I turned it down. Which he'll never let me live down.
Everything happens for a reason, and a few years later, he called me again, and we started hanging out. He invited me up to his house, and I remember the first time we sat down at a piano with an acoustic guitar, we wrote four songs in like half an hour, and we were like, "Whoa, we've got something here." He wanted to know if I wanted to team up with him as a songwriter and producer out at Funny Farm. I was about ready to sign another deal with Atlantic Records, and I actually turned down the record deal to team up with him. Then, through that, we created Sixx: A.M. without realizing it.
How is it that you know Neil Diamond enough for him to have encouraged you into joining of Guns N Roses?
Well, I've been a big fan of Neil for forever. But it was cool because we have the same manager. What was cool about it was that I got the opportunity to work with him, and I produced and wrote some stuff for him on his Christmas record, and we just became really good friends. He would send me birthday cards -- like, he'd go out and pick a birthday gift and hand write the cards and send them to my house. He was just a really big believer in me and always has been since.
I was in New York on tour, and he called me up... well back up the story a bit. When I got the call to join Guns, I got a phone call from Neil. It was kind of a big career move, and he encouraged me and said, "You have to do this. This is going to be really big for your career, and it's going to open up a lot of doors. I personally think they couldn't have picked a better guy for this." So he gave me really good words of encouragement, kind of like my dad, you know? When I joined, he sent me over a ukulele signed to congratulate me. When I was in New York, he invited me over to his house for Thanksgiving dinner and stuff. I played his birthday party. Tons of fun. He's always been the most down to earth guy you'll ever meet.
You went through an audition process before joining GNR. Did Axl ever tell you why he picked you, and what was that first practice with the band like for you?
He didn't tell me why he picked me. What happened is that I got a call, basically saying -- I got a call at Sixx: A.M., and we had a number one hit at the time, and it said: "Listen, Guns has been auditioning guitar players for about a year and a half on the down low. They can't seem to find the right guy." Then they asked if I would be interested in coming down and checking it out. And I said, "Yeah, I'll definitely come down." I guess Axl got wind that I was going to come down, and he called management and said, "If he even shows up in the room, he has the gig." So it was kind of that easy.
The first time I sat down with him after joining the band, he had known about my entire career. It blew my mind. He remembered meeting me ten years ago, probably even longer than that now, when Sharon Osborne introduced us, while I was making The Beautiful Creatures album. He said, "If I knew you would have been up for this, I would've came after you years ago." I didn't even know I was on his radar, so it was pretty flattering.
You guys play a lot of jokes with each other on tour. What's one of the worst and funniest prank someone played on you, and the worst and funniest you played on someone else?
We oil spot each other a lot. Like when we stop at truck stops and we know somebody is in there, we purposely take off. It's always fun to do stuff like that. Just buying crazy stuff and planting them in people's bunks like just whatever -- dildos or funny stuff. I remember probably one of the funniest times, and Axl actually reminded me of this, is when I got so wasted one night on tour that I woke up in my closet in my suitcase, which was kind of funny. Not really. But I guess it's a prank I played on myself. It looked comfy at the time, I guess. We have a great time and it's a lot of fun being out here.
MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx turns 53 today (Sunday, December 11).
A photo of the cake Sixx received from his bandmates and road crew while on the road in the U.K. with DEF LEPPARD and STEEL PANTHER can be seen below.
The California native was a major drug abuser during much of the band's first decade, and was once even declared dead for two minutes after overdosing on heroin. Since getting sober, however, Sixx has continued to record and tour, written two books, taken up photography and become president of a record label. He told The Pulse of Radio that sometimes he can't believe his current lifestyle. "It's insane," he said. "It's insane. And you know what? If you manage it well, you can achieve so much on the planet, more than what I used to be able to achieve, which was, 'Let me write ten songs, record an album and go on tour.' That's it. That's all I did. That's like, ridiculous. If all I had to do was make a MÖTLEY CRÜE album and tour, I'd feel like I was gonna slit my wrists, I'd be so bored now."
Sixx's real name is Frank Carlton Serafina Feranna. He was born in San Jose and raised by his mother and grandparents after his father left the family.
After moving around several times, he struck out for Los Angeles on his own at the age of 17, first joining the band London before forming MÖTLEY CRÜE in 1981 with drummer Tommy Lee.
The band released its debut album, "Too Fast For Love", in 1982, and scored its commercial breakthrough in 1983 with "Shout at the Devil".
Despite other hit albums such as "Girls, Girls, Girls" and "Dr. Feelgood", the CRÜE went through a period of uncertainty in the '90s, with both singer Vince Neil and Lee leaving the group at different times.
The original band reunited in 2004 for a hugely successful world tour, at which point Sixx officially declared himself sober.
His darkest drug period was chronicled in a 2007 memoir, "The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star", and the accompanying album by his side project SIXX: A.M.
Sixx has been married twice, to Playboy Playmate Brandi Brandt and actress Donna D'Errico, and has five children. He is currently dating model Courtney Bingham.
A photo of the cake Sixx received from his bandmates and road crew while on the road in the U.K. with DEF LEPPARD and STEEL PANTHER can be seen below.
The California native was a major drug abuser during much of the band's first decade, and was once even declared dead for two minutes after overdosing on heroin. Since getting sober, however, Sixx has continued to record and tour, written two books, taken up photography and become president of a record label. He told The Pulse of Radio that sometimes he can't believe his current lifestyle. "It's insane," he said. "It's insane. And you know what? If you manage it well, you can achieve so much on the planet, more than what I used to be able to achieve, which was, 'Let me write ten songs, record an album and go on tour.' That's it. That's all I did. That's like, ridiculous. If all I had to do was make a MÖTLEY CRÜE album and tour, I'd feel like I was gonna slit my wrists, I'd be so bored now."
Sixx's real name is Frank Carlton Serafina Feranna. He was born in San Jose and raised by his mother and grandparents after his father left the family.
After moving around several times, he struck out for Los Angeles on his own at the age of 17, first joining the band London before forming MÖTLEY CRÜE in 1981 with drummer Tommy Lee.
The band released its debut album, "Too Fast For Love", in 1982, and scored its commercial breakthrough in 1983 with "Shout at the Devil".
Despite other hit albums such as "Girls, Girls, Girls" and "Dr. Feelgood", the CRÜE went through a period of uncertainty in the '90s, with both singer Vince Neil and Lee leaving the group at different times.
The original band reunited in 2004 for a hugely successful world tour, at which point Sixx officially declared himself sober.
His darkest drug period was chronicled in a 2007 memoir, "The Heroin Diaries: A Year in the Life of a Shattered Rock Star", and the accompanying album by his side project SIXX: A.M.
Sixx has been married twice, to Playboy Playmate Brandi Brandt and actress Donna D'Errico, and has five children. He is currently dating model Courtney Bingham.
http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/soulflypremiere/nikkicake.jpg
When Dave Mustaine went in the studio to record Thirt3en, Megadeth's latest record, he wasn't sure if he could do it. He'd been suffering from severe neck pain for a long time and it had affected his guitar playing. So there was a good chance that this would be his final record—ever. But he made it through—mainly by revisiting songs he'd written for earlier albums that only made it to the demo—and the resulting record is one of Megadeth's best albums ever. He recently underwent neck fusion surgery and now he's blazing up and down the neck of his guitar just like a little kid. Here, Mustaine talks about the record, his recent autobiography titled Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir, and finally laying to rest the ghost of Metallica.
UG: The 25th Anniversary Edition of Peace Sells…But Who's Buying was recently reissued. What does that mean to you?
Dave Mustaine: It's very rewarding for me on a lot of different fronts. One, I survived and two, there were just so many prophetic lyrics that have been written by this band over the years. It's not in any way gratifying for me to sit back and say, "God, I told you all this stuff was gonna happen. Look at the world—it's gone to shit right now." It doesn't make me feel good at all but on the other hand it does kinda say, "If I wanna find out what's going on in the world, maybe there's some merit in listening to heavy metal bands 'cause maybe they have an angle I may not be aware of."
But you've always insisted Megadeth was not a political band.
People have usually said we're a thinking man's band and I thought that was probably the most flattering description of us. I'd heard state-of-the-art speed metal band and a lot of really clever monikers. But thinking man's band was really to the point when it came down to what I was writing lyrically.
You've always touched on a lot of different elements in your lyrics.
Lyrics are really important if you're writing about stuff that's really personal to you and other people can't relate with. And you run the risk of people saying that your music is really stupid.
When you remixed the first eight Megadeth albums, did you gain any insight into your own legacy?
It was really fun to go back and listen to all of that stuff. You got to relive it and sometimes it was kind of a drag because you're going back to that moment and there were times where it was difficult. There were parts that were really not appealing to have to live through again. There were things I did and the other guys had done that just made it not really fun to be around everybody because we kind of lost sight of what was going on. We kinda lost the plot.
But there were more positive moments than negative ones?
Always more good times than bad. I had said in "Loved to Death" that "I remember bad times/More than good" and that's just human nature. You do remember the bad ones more than the good but that doesn't mean there isn't more good than bad. It just means we gravitate over towards those things. It's kinda like when you get old and you start comparing scars. I just did the Eddie Trunk's That Metal Show and Rex Brown and Vinny Appice were all on the same episode as me and everybody was talkin' about getting hurt and stuff like that. And I said, "What is this? M*A*S*H?" And I mean honestly it was like that—a bunch of old veterans who'd gone out there and we'd just pounded ourselves into the ground to deliver music to our fans. And sometimes you don't realize how much that wears and tears on ya.
In your new autobiography, Mustaine: A Heavy Metal Memoir, there are a lot of photos but you're hardly ever smiling. Why?
Let me give you an image here: You're watching one of those wildlife programs and it's a beautiful golden desert and you see this gazelle running and right behind it you see the lion. Is the lion smiling?
Are you the lion?
I'm a survivalist and it has been chasing what you need to survive. For us, we've had a lot of opposition from the industry and we had a lot of opposition because of our own behavior and choices that we'd done. We've had our own problems that have happened from people that wanted to work with us and for whatever reason we'd say "No" and they'd walk away and say, "This guy is a dick" and make up a story. When it was just a simple no. I remember when we were auditioning guitar players and one guy came up and it was so hilarious. He auditioned for us and didn't make it and went and told people he had written the music for "Wake Up Dead," which was on our second record [Peace Sells…But Who's Buying?] We were auditioning guitar players before we did Rust In Peace so this guy was off by two records because we had done Peace Sells and So Far, So Good…So What! by then. There are so many weird people in the world and you start auditioning musicians and you find out how really truly peculiar musicians are.
I didn't mean that as any kind of insult—it was just an observation.
No, you're cool. We're OK.
In the book, you wrote about playing with Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax at the first Big Four concert back on June 16, 2010. Was that a kind of vindication for you?
There was really no vindication necessary because in essence that would kind of give the impression I felt I was losing something. We had been friends for a while and when the four of us parted ways musically—Kirk Hammett wasn't part of the picture and Robert Trujillo obviously wasn't either—it was for a reason. The reason wasn't really clear to me at the time. We have two great bands now. At the time I was upset about it and I think a lot of had to do with the fact my judgment was being clouded by alcohol. We all drank but one thing is for sure: We've always been friends. I think that's what made it so difficult because when you really like somebody and you're forced to part ways with them, in some ways you're kinda either justified doing it or you try and cover up why you got the boot. I think that's kinda what happened over the years. Now there's no animosity and there's no explanation necessary. We're friends and all that stuff is behind us.
There's a moment in the book where you talk about auditioning Marty Friedman and you realize how much better he is than you are. That must have been a painful realization.
It was like having ice water poured on. The good thing is we were never meant to be the same and between the two of us we really covered that whole palette of colors that guitar players can express themselves with. Music and the frequencies are very much like the whole color world. Some of the lower frequencies like the drums and the bass guitar and stuff like that; some of the wind instruments and keybs [keyboards] and stuff, they don't get into that area that guitar can get into. It's a special kind of flavor and especially with some of the nylon and catgut string stuff that you hear with violin and cello and stuff like that. It's just so emotional. A funny thing, I was talking with Sully from Godsmack when we were out on the Mayhem festival and he goes, "Man, I read you had been inspired for your guitar solos by listening to violin stuff." And I was thinking, "God, I said that so many years ago. I can't believe that." And I was talking about Paganini and all the weird stuff you get influenced by as a musician if you're really open to it.
It's funny that you mentioned Paganini because I just did an interview with Yngwie Malmsteen and Paganini was a huge influence on him.
Oh, really? I'm not very familiar with Yngwie; I know who he is and I know he's a really exceptional talent but I'm not very familiar with his work at all.
Yngwie sort of comes from that same Shrapnel Records era as Marty Friedman.
Yeah, I remember that. I remember when Het [James Hetfield] and me went over to see Varney's. For some reason we drove up there and Yngwie had his cabinets there and they were downstairs someplace. They had 666 painted on the back and I went, "Oh, my god."
He's as much into that kind of thing as you are.
This was so long ago—we're talkin' 30 years ago. And 30 years ago that was pretty bold stuff to be doing.
There are several older songs that have been resurrected on the 13 album. Is the album a throwback to the Countdown to Extinction and Rust In Peace-era music?
To a degree, yeah. When it's the same talent, it's gonna be there to a degree but I think there's a freshness to it. With David Ellefson coming back, to a degree the bass is the same but it's not. Dave has been woodshedding the eight years we've been apart because I know how good a guy is—I can listen to somebody and in just a couple minutes determine if they're a hack or not. I know where Dave was at with his playing when he and I parted ways. He was really good and he was in that pretty untouchable league. And then he came back and he played again and I heard what he was doin' and it was like, "Wow, man, he's gotten so much better in so many areas." He's just playing much more mature, aggressive bass playing and I was excited. The songs sounded fresh and new again. When you play 'em in the studio they're awesome and then when you get out on the road you kind of get away from it. You kind of push and pull and you speed up here and you kinda slow down there and you forget a part here and you overplay there. When he came back we were playing the songs and I was like, "Damn, these things sound just like the studio." It was amazing.
You recorded the new album sober—does that bring a renewed energy to the recording process?
Let me just clear a couple things up: I'm not in the 12 Step program. When I first got into the 12 Steps it was like God sent me to A.A. and then after a while AA kind of sent me to God and that's kind of where I'm at right now. Although a lot of people really don't like hearing people talk about God or anything like that, it's my thing and it's personal and private. I'll talk to people if they want to know about it but usually I don't talk about it.
Do you still get revved up about going in to record a new album?
Yeah, absolutely. The studio for me is a place to create stuff and going in to do this last record, I knew that my neck was really, really bad. I didn't know what was gonna happen so I went in to make this record pretty much like, "OK, this is it. I'm gonna grab all my best stuff and I'm gonna put it together on this record and once this record is done I don't know if I'm gonna be touring anymore. So I'm gonna pull out all my tricks and grab all the songs I had left."
"New World Order" was one of these older songs circa Countdown To Extinction.
Yeah, that song was around and it was never released officially because we never recorded it officially. There was a demo tape floating around. Same thing with "Millenium Of the Blind," there was a demo tape that was floating around and so we rearranged "Millenium Of the Blind" but we just left "New World Order" like it was and rerecorded it. "Black Swan" was a song written and it was released to all of our fans through our fan club as a bonus track for people who ordered the record ahead of time so it was never released. But I wanted that song to get released and so we rerecorded it and finished that and it's a totally different song now. I think it's one of the best songs on the record personally.
Did you resurrect these songs because they still resonated with you?
To a degree but probably not. I think the reason I wanted them on there was I didn't know if I was gonna be able to play anymore and I had the songs that I had left. It required me writing new material and I didn't know if physically I was gonna be able to do that. I don't want to be a bleeding heart or anybody feel sorry for me. I see people like Kerry from Slayer who has been playing as long and hard as I have and he doesn't have the problems I have because he was smart enough to stretch out and exercise before he went onstage. I wish I would have thought about that but that's what sets people apart is their difference and uniqueness. I didn't think I was gonna be playing too much longer and I used the songs I knew I had. And the rest of the stuff when we say we wrote it on the spot, yeah, we did because we didn't have any songs left.
Truthfully, the Thirt3en album could have been your last recorded work?
Yeah, absolutely. I just had my neck fused together. Did you know that? I went to the Watkins Spine Institute in Marina Del Rey on my wife's birthday of all days and I had to undergo spinal surgery. So that's the beauty of this thing even happening. When I went in to go do the procedure, they found a bone fragment that was in a vertebra that was in there pushing against stuff it wasn't supposed to push against and it was causing me all that excruciating pain. At the end of the last festival we did, the Mayhem festival, we had to play like half sets for all those shows because it was just unbearable for me to endure the pain and play but I wasn't gonna cancel. Thank God for John Reese, the guy that ran the thing. He was cool enough to let us continue and finish out with whatever else I could play instead of saying, "Man, you can't play long enough. Get out of here."
The title track from Thirt3en exposes that more acoustic-oriented side. Do you dig the ballad side of things?
If it's done right it's really cool. If it's done wrong and it's jangly, it won't work in Megadeth. It's gotta be in the right surroundings and it needs to work. Megadeth has done stuff with acoustic guitar for years and years and years but it has to be done right.
Are you now in a happy place?
I'm great. You know what? I am so happy right now. My wife and kids are I are all really having so much fun right now with the band and everything. Before they kind of looked at it like it was my other life instead of, "This is my job and you're my life." Now we've just gotten to this place where we're all just so close and excited about what has happened for us. I was talking to Justis [Mustaine's son] and one place I haven't played still is in Africa. And I said, "Would you be willing to go with me down there if we played in Africa and I got tickets for us to go do a safari? Would you want to do a safari with your old dad?" And he said, "Yeah, man, fer sure, dude." He calls me dude.
Megadeth on safari.
That's right. The next thing after that is The Love Boat, right?
Vocalist Derrick Green of Brazilian/American thrashers SEPULTURA — who are currently on the road in Europe as part of the the "Thrashfest Classics" tour with EXODUS, DESTRUCTION, HEATHEN and MORTAL SIN — posted a picture of his band's damaged tour bus (see below) on his Facebook page with the following caption:
"This happened right next to my bed!! Let me tell you, this is a hell of a way to wake up in the morning!!! The driver had some parking problems [in Leipzig, Germany]."
SEPULTURA played its first show with new drummer Eloy Casagrande (GLÓRIA, ANDRÉ MATOS) on November 25 in Lichtenfels, Germany.
Casagrande joined SEPULTURA as the replacement for Jean Dolabella, who left the band because he could no longer handle being away from home for long periods of time.
Eloy is a 20-year-old drum prodigy from São Paulo, Brazil who won the Modern Drummer "Undiscovered Drummer" contest as a teenager in 2006.
Dolabella left SEPULTURA after a five-year run of relentless touring and two studio albums. He joined SEPULTURA in 2006 following the departure of the band's original drummer, Igor Cavalera.
SEPULTURA is touring in support of its 12th studio album, and Nuclear Blast Records debut, "Kairos", which hit stores in July.
"This happened right next to my bed!! Let me tell you, this is a hell of a way to wake up in the morning!!! The driver had some parking problems [in Leipzig, Germany]."
SEPULTURA played its first show with new drummer Eloy Casagrande (GLÓRIA, ANDRÉ MATOS) on November 25 in Lichtenfels, Germany.
Casagrande joined SEPULTURA as the replacement for Jean Dolabella, who left the band because he could no longer handle being away from home for long periods of time.
Eloy is a 20-year-old drum prodigy from São Paulo, Brazil who won the Modern Drummer "Undiscovered Drummer" contest as a teenager in 2006.
Dolabella left SEPULTURA after a five-year run of relentless touring and two studio albums. He joined SEPULTURA in 2006 following the departure of the band's original drummer, Igor Cavalera.
SEPULTURA is touring in support of its 12th studio album, and Nuclear Blast Records debut, "Kairos", which hit stores in July.
SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR frontman Corey Taylor has been on a solo tour for the past few weeks, combining acoustic performances with audience interaction and readings from his book "Seven Deadly Sins". But Taylor has raised eyebrows on the tour by calling STONE TEMPLE PILOTS singer Scott Weiland a "lazy piece of shit " at one stop and bashing legendary producer Rick Rubin (RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS, SLAYER, AUDIOSLAVE, SYSTEM OF A DOWN, METALLICA) — with whom he worked on SLIPKNOT's 2004 album, "Vol. 3 (The Subliminal Verses)" — as "overrated" and "overpaid" at another, saying he'd never work with Rubin again "as long as I fucking live."
When asked by Artisan News (see video below) if any of the people that he has slammed on the tour so far have responded to his comments, Taylor said, "Nobody has. Yeah, it's pretty mum as far as that end is concerned. And I knew they wouldn't, 'cause they're so busy playing their own part and whatever they're doing that I was just like, 'Whatever.' What am I supposed to be worried about? Nothing they say is gonna affect me in the slightest. And maybe that's why I've said the stuff that I do. Because, at this point, I'm just a commentator. In a world where technology, basically, lets everyone be critics behind complete anonymity, I think people think it's refreshing to see somebody out from behind the computer actually speaking his mind and backing it up, being like, 'Look, I have nowhere to hide. This is how I feel.' It's easy to come up with a username and talk smack; it takes a lot of balls to put yourself on a stage and do it. And the fans love it — for whatever reason, they love it. And they know that when they talk to me, they're gonna get the real deal. And I'm proud of that."
On the "unrehearsed" nature of his solo appearances:
Taylor: "This isn't [the Bravo TV show] 'Inside The Actors Studio'. This isn't a put-on. This isn't being braggadocios or anything. This is just 'an evening with.' And you never know what that evening's gonna entail, basically; I never know what the hell's gonna come out of my mouth, except for the songs at the end of the night. I've really just enjoyed doing this, because I've never really been able to do it with SLIPKNOT, I've had brief moments of it with STONE SOUR, but from a frontman's point view, and an out-of-control ego, obviously, that I do my best to rein in half the time, this is the perfect thing — just coming out and just entertaining, with no restraint. And hopefully people take something away from it. 'Cause if I'm not talking smack about someone else, I'm talking about myself at the end of the day, and I hope people realize that."
On what his SLIPKNOT bandmates think of the fact that he is embarking on a solo tour:
Taylor: "I don't think they really care. I mean, at this point they know me. I don't get the nickname 'The Great Big Mouth' for nothing. [SLIPKNOT percussionist] Clown was so stoked that I was coming out on this. He was like, 'It's gonna be chaos. I love it!' And I'm like, 'Oh, God. Here we go.' I think the band knows that I'm gonna do my very best to represent — both bands [SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR], actually, know that I'm gonna do my very best to represent them, and I'm not gonna insult anyone; I'm gonna give my side of things and try to make it something that people enjoy when they hear it."
Taylor told The Pulse Of Radio that he doesn't regret what he said about Rubin at all. "It's an honest answer to a perfectly reasonable question," he said. "That was my take on it. Now if you asked somebody like Clown [Shawn 'Clown' Crahan, SLIPKNOT percussionist] about the Rick Rubin experience, you'd get a totally different answer. But it is what it is. It's my opinion. At the end of the day it's not scripture. I'm gonna say what I'm gonna say — I don't think enough people do. And if it gets me in trouble, it gets me in trouble. If it doesn't, it doesn't. But I'm just gonna keep walking it."
Taylor called out Weiland a few nights after his Rick Rubin rant for recording and releasing an album of holiday standards called "The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year". He said about the disc, "Oh, it's bad."
The singer will tour Australia and North America with SLIPKNOT next year, and also plans to head into the studio with STONE SOUR.
When asked by Artisan News (see video below) if any of the people that he has slammed on the tour so far have responded to his comments, Taylor said, "Nobody has. Yeah, it's pretty mum as far as that end is concerned. And I knew they wouldn't, 'cause they're so busy playing their own part and whatever they're doing that I was just like, 'Whatever.' What am I supposed to be worried about? Nothing they say is gonna affect me in the slightest. And maybe that's why I've said the stuff that I do. Because, at this point, I'm just a commentator. In a world where technology, basically, lets everyone be critics behind complete anonymity, I think people think it's refreshing to see somebody out from behind the computer actually speaking his mind and backing it up, being like, 'Look, I have nowhere to hide. This is how I feel.' It's easy to come up with a username and talk smack; it takes a lot of balls to put yourself on a stage and do it. And the fans love it — for whatever reason, they love it. And they know that when they talk to me, they're gonna get the real deal. And I'm proud of that."
On the "unrehearsed" nature of his solo appearances:
Taylor: "This isn't [the Bravo TV show] 'Inside The Actors Studio'. This isn't a put-on. This isn't being braggadocios or anything. This is just 'an evening with.' And you never know what that evening's gonna entail, basically; I never know what the hell's gonna come out of my mouth, except for the songs at the end of the night. I've really just enjoyed doing this, because I've never really been able to do it with SLIPKNOT, I've had brief moments of it with STONE SOUR, but from a frontman's point view, and an out-of-control ego, obviously, that I do my best to rein in half the time, this is the perfect thing — just coming out and just entertaining, with no restraint. And hopefully people take something away from it. 'Cause if I'm not talking smack about someone else, I'm talking about myself at the end of the day, and I hope people realize that."
On what his SLIPKNOT bandmates think of the fact that he is embarking on a solo tour:
Taylor: "I don't think they really care. I mean, at this point they know me. I don't get the nickname 'The Great Big Mouth' for nothing. [SLIPKNOT percussionist] Clown was so stoked that I was coming out on this. He was like, 'It's gonna be chaos. I love it!' And I'm like, 'Oh, God. Here we go.' I think the band knows that I'm gonna do my very best to represent — both bands [SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR], actually, know that I'm gonna do my very best to represent them, and I'm not gonna insult anyone; I'm gonna give my side of things and try to make it something that people enjoy when they hear it."
Taylor told The Pulse Of Radio that he doesn't regret what he said about Rubin at all. "It's an honest answer to a perfectly reasonable question," he said. "That was my take on it. Now if you asked somebody like Clown [Shawn 'Clown' Crahan, SLIPKNOT percussionist] about the Rick Rubin experience, you'd get a totally different answer. But it is what it is. It's my opinion. At the end of the day it's not scripture. I'm gonna say what I'm gonna say — I don't think enough people do. And if it gets me in trouble, it gets me in trouble. If it doesn't, it doesn't. But I'm just gonna keep walking it."
Taylor called out Weiland a few nights after his Rick Rubin rant for recording and releasing an album of holiday standards called "The Most Wonderful Time Of The Year". He said about the disc, "Oh, it's bad."
The singer will tour Australia and North America with SLIPKNOT next year, and also plans to head into the studio with STONE SOUR.
For the release of Lamb Of God's new album next January, we had a discussion with Randy Blythe, the frontman of the band. An interview that shows an unaffected, spontaneous character definitely rooted in the present. The message in these records is obvious, and an album is nothing but a picture of the current time. So according to him, it's too early to claim that the shy evolutions heard on the very efficient Resolution, introduced by a sludge track and closed by a song with an orchestra (we talked about this experience for a while, then moved on to his opinion on classical music), are the start of a more defined change. We doubt it, though. The orchestra's only here thanks to a suggestion from the producer, and this really good sludge intro seems to be the result of an of-the-moment impulse that'll stay without any follow-up.
The interview has been made the day after the official announcement of Gojira's signature with Roadrunner Records; Randy being quite close to the band, we also asked him about these news.
"The world is looking very bad right now, and that people should change their behaviour, otherwise it's all gonna fuckin' blow off, you know what I mean? And it's finally already there from the unrest across the world right now I think."
Radio Metal : new album is entitled Resolution. A resolution is the decision to change something in your behaviour, your personality or your habits. So, what is Lamb Of God's Resolution ?
Randy Blythe (vocals) : Resolution doesn't necessary means just that you're going to change, a resolution can be a lot of different things. It can mean the end and result of a lot of stuff, it can mean a clarity of vision, so… You're right, it can be a decision you're going to make, so my resolution on this record is just to tour the world and put on the best show we can.
On the album's artwork we see a desertic place and what looks like an erupting volcano in the background. According to songtitles like "Desolation", "To The End" or "Ghost Walkin", the album seems to talk about the end of the world. Is "Resolution" a way for you to say that people have to change their behaviour in order to prevent a negative response from the nature?
Well, I said that on the last song of the last record, and yes. I would say that the world is looking very bad right now, and that people should change their behaviour, otherwise it's all gonna fuckin' blow off, you know what I mean? And it's finally already there from the unrest across the world right now I think. The things are more and more heading in a bad direction. Well, I don't know. 2012 will come and we'll see what happen [he laughs].
Do you believe that at the end of 2012 the world will end?
I don't know! Maybe!
You wrote on your blog that you hated the process of sequencing the album and to pick an order for the songs. Is it hard for the band to find an order that satisfies everyone?
Yes. It took a little while with this one, and we figured that out. You know, it's really hard. Everybody wants to go their own way, you know what I mean? But we finally figured it out. It's worth what it's worth and I think the sequences in this record move nicely, the pace and all, it's a good time.
Ok, but when we read these posts on your blog, it looks very emotional. Does that mean that some songs you really liked were suppressed for the sake of the record?
No! Not at all in this one. I mean, on this record, we wrote and recorded 16 songs. We weren't gonna put 'em all on the record. So we were on this very good spot where we had the "problem" of having to choose which songs won't get on the record. The album is fourteen tracks, it's almost an hour long. Any more than that is a bit overkill actually. I don't think the songs were suppressed, it was just a matter of us saying "ok, we're approaching and now let's be done with it".
Ok, and what about these other songs? Will they be released someday?
Yeah sure, of course! Somewhere. They aren't gonna disappear. Who knows where they'll go…
You declared that a great album isn't composed of every musican's favorite songs but of every musician's BEST songs. How do you manage to make the difference?
For us, that's kind of easy because we're five on this. If we were a solo project, if it was just a Randy Blythe record, then I would take my favorite songs, but since there're four other dudes, we all kind of keep each other in check. We vote and so on. It's a democratic process and I think how the four of us are acting so far as brought off the best.
Are outside people involved in that process?
No, it's just the band.
"That's a ridiculous comment. No, heavy metal is not the new goddamned classical music. People who do heavy metal – most of them – have no clue of the in-depth that compose a piece of classical music."
Musically, the album starts with a short song with a doom/sludge vibe, and it ends with a song with an orchestra. Are those songs some kind of clues of how Lamb Of God could evolve in the future?
We just finished this album, it doesn't come out 'till january, so we aren't thinking about the next record. We are thinking about this album right now. We are promoting this. I have no idea what's gonna happen in two or three years when we'll be doing our next record. You can ask me then but for now I don't know!
Both songs are pretty convincing. Why didn't you try to go further in those experimentations, like more songs with this doom/sludge vibe or more songs with an orchestra?
Because we wrote exactly what we wanted to write, and those songs were written because at the moment of time, we were on the mood to create a sludge song, we were like "what if we wrote a sludge song?", then we didn't felt like doing it anymore, so we did something else. The orchestra was added at the end. This song was not meant to have a orchestra or an opera singer, that was just added at the end.
How did you get the idea of playing with an orchestra?
Our producer Josh thought it out. He said "you know what? Some strings would sound good here as well as an opera voice", so we said "ok!".
How was this experience? What were the most difficult parts of the process of recording such a song?
About the song itself, it was the same, it was just recorded without an orchestra in mind. That came in the very end. So we were just recording it the same way we record other songs. The most difficult part of the process really was figuring out the mix in balance, to where the opera voices and orchestra wouldn't override the song itself. It was a difficult mixing issue, not so much a difficult writing issue.
About this song, Chris Adler your drummer said "We were trying to figure out how to not be black metal but do something totally different.". Do you have a problem with black metal?
No. Chris talks a lot but perhaps he probably shouldn't. I mean basically a lot of black metal bands, and we're friends of some black metal bands, use orchestra and so on, and we're not a black metal band, so we just want to make sure it didn't sound like black metal. I mean that was just a stupid comment, whatever, that really has nothing to do with anything. I'm friends with dudes in black metal bands, that's kind of their deal, you know? We're not a black metal band, it's all good, we tour with black metal bands, but no, we don't have any problem with black metal.
Are the musicians from the orchestra Lamb Of God fans?
No, they weren't fans. That was just people that were hired.
Some metalheads say that heavy metal is the new classical music. Do you agree with that?
No. Classical music is classical fuckin' music. If heavy metal guys want to use strings or whatever, there're just using an aspect of it. That's a ridiculous comment. No, heavy metal is not the new goddamned classical music. People who do heavy metal – most of them – have no clue of the in-depth that compose a piece of classical music. If you write classical music you have to write parts for thirty, fourty different instruments depending on how big the orchestra is. Heavy metal definitely has a high skill level involved, much more so than your average pop song, but it's nowhere near the skill and force that's required to write a full orchestration piece of classical music. But I don't know metalheads that think heavy metal is the new classical music… Whatever. You know, there's a few, but most of the metalheads I know are proud of what they are, like "yeah I dig it, it's fuckin' heavy metal", you know?
"[Gojira is] one of the most talented bands out there [...] There's no plans for that 'cause we're just done recording but [Joe Duplantier is] certainly a vocalist I would consider having on our record if we were gonna have guest vocals."
During your 2012 world tour, you will shoot a film documenting fans and their personal sories of how they use the band's music to cope with their everyday lives. How did you get this idea?
That's management, and that's really too early to talk about that right now. That was our managers' idea, but I don't know exactly how it's gonna work out and how they're filming and what they're giving the people for right now, the film crew and places and ideas. But really, that was our management idea. Our job is just to go out and tour, and we'll see what happen.
Do you think that Lamb Of God's music has an impact on people's everyday lives more than other bands?
I don't know! I certainly wouldn't claim that. I'm dealing with my band, not other people's band, so I'm not gonna be involved in a project that's says "ok, how listening to Rush or Black Sabbath or whatever affect your everyday life?" We're dealing with our band. No, I don't know man, I don't know everybody, I don't know how other bands impact people's lives, I only know how my band affect some people's lives because they tell me.
What about you? What bands have a real impact on your life?
Oh God… You know, the old punk rock, like the Sex Pistols, the Misfits, Bad Brain, Black Flag, all of that stuff. That's what I grew up on and that's what I still listen to these days.
We learned that the french band Gojira has signed a deal with Roadrunner Records. You're close friends with these guys, what's your opinion on that?
I think it's gonna be great for them. You know, Listenable Records did a great job for them as long as they could, Prostatic did a good job at the stage they had reached… They fought really hard to get where they are, you know? They deserve a larger label that can get their music up to as many people as possible because they really are one of the most talented bands out there I think. I'm very excited for them, I hope it does nothing but good things for them.
Since you've collaborated with them on their album The Way Of All Flesh, is it possible to see Joe Duplantier sing on a Lamb Of God song in the future?
Sure! You know, I've thought about it, absolutely, but there's no plans for that right now. He sang with us live many times, but there's no plans for that 'cause we're just done recording but he's certainly a vocalist I would consider having on our record if we were gonna have guest vocals.
German power metallers LANFEAR have inked a deal with Pure Steel Records. The band's sixth album, "This Harmonic Consonance", will be released on February 24, 2012. The group previously described the CD as "the heaviest LANFEAR album until now. [It contains] some pretty fast tracks but also the very first doom song in our history! The end result will blow your heads off! You can definitely achieve a natural and authentic production without sounding as if the recording sessions were held in a garbage can!"
LANFEAR's fifth album, "X to the Power of Ten", was released in August 2008 via Locomotive Records.
According to LANFEAR's official bio, the band "play[s] powerful and melodic metal with a progressive edge. Originality, subliminal details and intelligent songwriting combined with haunting melodies and the constant urge to evolve — that's what it's all about! Certainly not the easy way to success in the superficial pseudo-scene of these days — but LANFEAR don't give a fuck! No breakdowns, no kilts, no horns, no makeup, no image, no rockstar-dom, no support by mass media — no hot air! LANFEAR play[s] 100% underrated metal exclusively!"
LANFEAR's fifth album, "X to the Power of Ten", was released in August 2008 via Locomotive Records.
According to LANFEAR's official bio, the band "play[s] powerful and melodic metal with a progressive edge. Originality, subliminal details and intelligent songwriting combined with haunting melodies and the constant urge to evolve — that's what it's all about! Certainly not the easy way to success in the superficial pseudo-scene of these days — but LANFEAR don't give a fuck! No breakdowns, no kilts, no horns, no makeup, no image, no rockstar-dom, no support by mass media — no hot air! LANFEAR play[s] 100% underrated metal exclusively!"
December 13, 2011, marks the tenth anniversary of the tragic early passing of Chuck Schuldiner, leader of the bands DEATH and CONTROL DENIED. Only 34 years old at the time, Schuldiner left behind a fifteen-year metal legacy that began with the crude groundbreaking death metal of MANTAS, expanded tremendously over more than a decade with DEATH, and ended unresolved with the virtuoso metal of CONTROL DENIED.
On this week's "Bloody Roots" heavy metal history show on the SiriusXM Liquid Metal channel, host Ian Christe ("Sound Of The Beast") will be joined by Schuldiner's longtime bandmate and friend, drummer Richard Christy (DEATH, CONTROL DENIED, CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED, "The Howard Stern Show") to pay tribute to a fallen icon with memories and merciless metal by MANTAS, DEATH, AUTOPSY, MASSACRE, CYNIC, CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED, and CONTROL DENIED.
Says Richard Christy: "Nobody would know who I am in the metal world if it wasn't for Chuck giving me a chance with DEATH. I was really just some unknown guy from Missouri. That led to me being in CONTROL DENIED, and even ICED EARTH. I really owe everything to Chuck as far as my life in metal. Chuck even had a connection with me now being on 'The Howard Stern Show', because I learned how to use recording software from being in the studio with Chuck and Jim Morris. Everything in my life has been touched by the influence of Chuck Schuldiner, and I think about that every day."
Remaining broadcast dates and times for "Bloody Roots" on SiriusXM Liquid Metal are as follows:
Sunday, December 11 @ 2 p.m. ET
Tuesday, December 13 @ 3 p.m. ET
Thursday, December 15 @ 9 p.m. ET
On this week's "Bloody Roots" heavy metal history show on the SiriusXM Liquid Metal channel, host Ian Christe ("Sound Of The Beast") will be joined by Schuldiner's longtime bandmate and friend, drummer Richard Christy (DEATH, CONTROL DENIED, CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED, "The Howard Stern Show") to pay tribute to a fallen icon with memories and merciless metal by MANTAS, DEATH, AUTOPSY, MASSACRE, CYNIC, CHARRED WALLS OF THE DAMNED, and CONTROL DENIED.
Says Richard Christy: "Nobody would know who I am in the metal world if it wasn't for Chuck giving me a chance with DEATH. I was really just some unknown guy from Missouri. That led to me being in CONTROL DENIED, and even ICED EARTH. I really owe everything to Chuck as far as my life in metal. Chuck even had a connection with me now being on 'The Howard Stern Show', because I learned how to use recording software from being in the studio with Chuck and Jim Morris. Everything in my life has been touched by the influence of Chuck Schuldiner, and I think about that every day."
Remaining broadcast dates and times for "Bloody Roots" on SiriusXM Liquid Metal are as follows:
Sunday, December 11 @ 2 p.m. ET
Tuesday, December 13 @ 3 p.m. ET
Thursday, December 15 @ 9 p.m. ET
MAGENTA HARVEST, the Finnish death metal band featuring current and former members of FINNTROLL, CHTHONIAN, MYGRAIN and ...AND OCEANS, will enter the studio later this month to begin recording its second demo. According to a press release, the new effort will see the group widening its soundscape with the help of Aleksi Virta of FINNTROLL, who "will create some epic keyboard stuff" to go along with the material. An early 2012 release is expected.
MAGENTA HARVEST released its debut EP, "A Familiar Room", in February. The four tracks — "Spawn Of Neglect", "Sermon", "Killing Sign" and "A Familiar Room" — can now be streamed below.
MAGENTA HARVEST was formed in 2005 as a two-man project featuring Timo Kontio (HAVOC UNIT, ...AND OCEANS) on guitar and Janne Manninen (MYGRAIN, ...AND OCEANS) on drums. In 2009, second guitarist Timo Hanhikangas (TOTAL VOMIT EXPERIENCE) and bassist Jonas Frilund (CHTHONIAN) joined the band. Another year went by before Mathias Lillmåns (FINNTROLL, CHTHONIAN) agreed to front the group.
MAGENTA HARVEST states: "[Lillmåns' addition to the band] was easy because we had discussed about this with Mathias already a few years earlier, but the decision wasn't that clear at first because Mathias were quite busy with his other musical activities and we thought also that there was no need for any singer before we had the rest of band in order and also some stuff ready to work with.
"When Mathias joined the band he actually came directly to the studio. Of course he didn't have any lyrics ready then, but luckily we got help from Jan (ex-FINNTROLL). "
MAGENTA HARVEST is:
* Timo Hanhikangas (TOTAL VOMIT EXPERIENCE) - Guitar
* Jonas Frilund (CHTHONIAN) - Bass
* Timo Kontio (HAVOC UNIT, ...AND OCEANS) - Guitar
* Mathias Lillmåns (FINNTROLL, CHTHONIAN) - Vocals
* Janne Manninen (MYGRAIN, ...AND OCEANS) – Drums
MAGENTA HARVEST released its debut EP, "A Familiar Room", in February. The four tracks — "Spawn Of Neglect", "Sermon", "Killing Sign" and "A Familiar Room" — can now be streamed below.
MAGENTA HARVEST was formed in 2005 as a two-man project featuring Timo Kontio (HAVOC UNIT, ...AND OCEANS) on guitar and Janne Manninen (MYGRAIN, ...AND OCEANS) on drums. In 2009, second guitarist Timo Hanhikangas (TOTAL VOMIT EXPERIENCE) and bassist Jonas Frilund (CHTHONIAN) joined the band. Another year went by before Mathias Lillmåns (FINNTROLL, CHTHONIAN) agreed to front the group.
MAGENTA HARVEST states: "[Lillmåns' addition to the band] was easy because we had discussed about this with Mathias already a few years earlier, but the decision wasn't that clear at first because Mathias were quite busy with his other musical activities and we thought also that there was no need for any singer before we had the rest of band in order and also some stuff ready to work with.
"When Mathias joined the band he actually came directly to the studio. Of course he didn't have any lyrics ready then, but luckily we got help from Jan (ex-FINNTROLL). "
MAGENTA HARVEST is:
* Timo Hanhikangas (TOTAL VOMIT EXPERIENCE) - Guitar
* Jonas Frilund (CHTHONIAN) - Bass
* Timo Kontio (HAVOC UNIT, ...AND OCEANS) - Guitar
* Mathias Lillmåns (FINNTROLL, CHTHONIAN) - Vocals
* Janne Manninen (MYGRAIN, ...AND OCEANS) – Drums
Belgian grindcore act LENG TCH'E has parted ways with drummer Tony Van den Eynde and has replaced him with Olivier Coppens.
Commented Olivier: "I am beyond stoked to be part of this band and would like to thank my new band members, my family and everybody who supports me. Can't wait to crush and destroy. See you on the road!"
The first photo of the new LENG TCH'E lineup can be seen below.
LENG TCH'E's latest album, "Hypomanic", was released in Europe in May 2010 and in North America in June 2010 via Season Of Mist. The CD was recorded at Parlour Studio in Kettering, United Kingdom with producer Russ Russell (NAPALM DEATH, DIMMU BORGIR, EVILE).
LENG TCH'E in 2008 parted ways with vocalist Boris Cornelissen and replaced him with Serge Kasongo from southern Belgian band ACKROS.
Commented Olivier: "I am beyond stoked to be part of this band and would like to thank my new band members, my family and everybody who supports me. Can't wait to crush and destroy. See you on the road!"
The first photo of the new LENG TCH'E lineup can be seen below.
LENG TCH'E's latest album, "Hypomanic", was released in Europe in May 2010 and in North America in June 2010 via Season Of Mist. The CD was recorded at Parlour Studio in Kettering, United Kingdom with producer Russ Russell (NAPALM DEATH, DIMMU BORGIR, EVILE).
LENG TCH'E in 2008 parted ways with vocalist Boris Cornelissen and replaced him with Serge Kasongo from southern Belgian band ACKROS.
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