ole has signed a worldwide music publishing administration deal with the legendary American singer, songwriter, and AEROSMITH frontman, Steven Tyler.
The agreement encompasses all of Tyler's co-writes on the upcoming AEROSMITH record, "Music From Another Dimension" (including the lead single, "Legendary Child", and stand-out tracks "Beautiful", "What Could Have Been Love" and "Another Last Goodbye", plus four additional Tyler compositions, including "Love Lives", which was the theme song for the Japanese major motion picture "Space Battleship Yamato" in 2010 and Tyler's hit single "(It) Feels So Good" that reached #35 on the Billboard Hot 100 and accompanied the release of his autobiography, "Does The Noise In My Head Bother You?" The book, released in May 2011 by HarperCollins, reached #2 on the New York Times Best Seller List.
ole L.A. Creative Director Chad Richardson comments: "As one of the few people to have heard the upcoming AEROSMITH record, 'Music From Another Dimension', I can enthusiastically say that it's an amazing piece of work and that Steven and the band sound better than ever." Reiterates Tyler, "Chad is a songwriter and lover of music, who heard what I heard and it was a perfect fit into another dimension for all of us and I look forward to working with Chad and ole."
Tyler and AEROSMITH cemented their iconic standing in pop culture as "America's Greatest Rock 'N' Roll Band" through their ubiquitous presence on radio and the use of some of the band's most evocative and emotionally-charged songs in several notable movie soundtracks such as Armageddon ("I Don't Want To Miss A Thing"). The band has sold over 150 million records worldwide and has taken home countless prestigious awards including Grammy Awards, American Music Awards, Billboard Awards, MTV Awards and even a Soul Train Award.
AEROSMITH kick off their Global Warming Tour in support of "Music From Another Dimension" on June 16 in Minneapolis. These dates promise to be this summer's most sizzling tour and the Bad Boys from Boston's most ambitious live shows ever.
ole is one of the world's largest independent music publishers with offices in Toronto, Nashville and Los Angeles. ole is committed to being the best and most innovative global destination for world-class songwriters, composers, and management talent, and the first choice music source for creators in all media.
The agreement encompasses all of Tyler's co-writes on the upcoming AEROSMITH record, "Music From Another Dimension" (including the lead single, "Legendary Child", and stand-out tracks "Beautiful", "What Could Have Been Love" and "Another Last Goodbye", plus four additional Tyler compositions, including "Love Lives", which was the theme song for the Japanese major motion picture "Space Battleship Yamato" in 2010 and Tyler's hit single "(It) Feels So Good" that reached #35 on the Billboard Hot 100 and accompanied the release of his autobiography, "Does The Noise In My Head Bother You?" The book, released in May 2011 by HarperCollins, reached #2 on the New York Times Best Seller List.
ole L.A. Creative Director Chad Richardson comments: "As one of the few people to have heard the upcoming AEROSMITH record, 'Music From Another Dimension', I can enthusiastically say that it's an amazing piece of work and that Steven and the band sound better than ever." Reiterates Tyler, "Chad is a songwriter and lover of music, who heard what I heard and it was a perfect fit into another dimension for all of us and I look forward to working with Chad and ole."
Tyler and AEROSMITH cemented their iconic standing in pop culture as "America's Greatest Rock 'N' Roll Band" through their ubiquitous presence on radio and the use of some of the band's most evocative and emotionally-charged songs in several notable movie soundtracks such as Armageddon ("I Don't Want To Miss A Thing"). The band has sold over 150 million records worldwide and has taken home countless prestigious awards including Grammy Awards, American Music Awards, Billboard Awards, MTV Awards and even a Soul Train Award.
AEROSMITH kick off their Global Warming Tour in support of "Music From Another Dimension" on June 16 in Minneapolis. These dates promise to be this summer's most sizzling tour and the Bad Boys from Boston's most ambitious live shows ever.
ole is one of the world's largest independent music publishers with offices in Toronto, Nashville and Los Angeles. ole is committed to being the best and most innovative global destination for world-class songwriters, composers, and management talent, and the first choice music source for creators in all media.
In the last year, Alice Cooper could be seen everywhere from special guesting on stage with Vince Gill to rocking out with Rob Zombie. This past weekend he even popped up singing Lady Gaga at Bonnaroo.
Cooper can do anything in music, entertain every audience, and still be cutting edge enough to be a premier name in music after almost 50 years in the business, countless awards and nominations and 36 albums. He shows no signs of slowing down and he is set to continue his monumental career as his band goes on the road with Iron Maiden this summer and fall.
CityBeat was privileged to speak with the legend to preview his upcoming show near Dayton before he hits the road with Iron Maiden. He spoke about longevity and told of the more bizarre stories of being a tenant in the Queen City. Alice Cooper performs at the Fraze Pavilion in Kettering this Wednesday.
CityBeat: Your show in Dayton is coming up.
Alice Cooper: Yes, we start this tour in June with Iron Maiden. We will be out there as their guest star on the show, their guests, so that's an hour show. The show we are doing there in Dayton is our regular show which will be a full out Alice Cooper show.
CB: I am actually a photographer and I've photographed you many times. You are one of my favorite artists to shoot.
AC: Well we give photographers a lot to shoot. If you are going to go all that trouble to do all that theatrics and really coordinate the show like that, then I want to see lots of shots. I love seeing different angles, people will hand me an envelope full of pictures and I will go, "That's a great shot. That's a great shot." And it gives me a different perspective of what the show looks like because we only see it from the stage. We never see it from the audience point of view.
CB: I have interviewed many of your past guitarists, Jason Hook and Al Pitrelli and people that have toured with you and everybody always has spectacular things to say about you as a mentor and just to be around. One of my questions is how do you choose band members on your tours now?
AC: Honestly, I am very instinctive about guitar players. Of course the guitar players are the gunslingers. They are the guys that you can sit and listen to and go, "When I quit singing, I want to hear something take over," and it better be a guitar that can take over what I'm doing when I step back, I want that guitar player to step up. So getting a Damon Johnson, when we first got Damon, every guitar player wants to stand back a little bit and I say, "No, no, no, when it is your solo, you take two steps forward into the light and let it go."
A lot of times lead singers don't want their lead guitar player to share the limelight. I want everybody in that band to have their moment on stage where they are the star. So when you get (young Australian guitarist) Orianthi, who is a natural, she is a natural star up there. I mean the girl is such a great player.
CB: Is she going to be with you?
AC: Yes, I mean she is such a great character for a Alice Cooper show. And you get Ryan Roxie on this tour and Ryan is a show unto himself. He has his own production going on over there which I really like because he really brings it every night. And Tommy, who I have in the middle as a rhythm guitar player, has got his own show going on. It's great to get guys to come out of their shells and just when you get on stage be a rock star. I don't want you to be a sideman.
CB: Again, it's always been amazing to talk to all these people who have worked with you over the years and I know they appreciate it as well.
AC: I think it is because I let them play. I want you to play. When it is your turn to play, I want you to be Eric Clapton, I want you to be Jeff Beck, I want you to be the guy and sometimes it takes a little bit of getting used to. These guys are not used to being the center of attention, they are used to being the guys that stand in the background and play.
Sometimes it's hard for Johnny Depp, when Johnny plays with us, I kind of have to push him forward a little bit because he likes to hang back a little bit.
CB: We are in Cincinnati. Can you tell me what your craziest Cincinnati story is from your past?
AC: I have the best Cincinnati story you have ever heard. This is a true story. We finally left L.A. We decided we had to move some place out of L.A., out of New York, some place in the Midwest.
Related to:Alice CooperFraze Pavilion
So we go to Cincinnati and we play this show there and we get a standing ovation. We decided the first standing ovation we get, that is where we are going to move.
So we played in Cincinnati and got a standing ovation, I think it may have been after the Cincinnati Pop Festival, the one we did with Iggy (Pop and The Stooges), and we found this area down by the college. It was this big, beautiful house for rent. So we came in and rented this house at the beginning of summer, and we went in and painted it and did everything like that.
For three months we lived there until in September, all of a sudden, there was a knock at the door, we walked outside and there were 10 guys that are football players and they are going "What are you doing at our house?" And I said, "What are you talking about? We rented this house indefinitely." And the guy goes, "This is our frat house. I don't know who rented this to you but they didn't own the house. You are paying rent to someone that doesn't even own the house."
Some guy rented us a frat house and he didn't even own it. He just walked in and put up a "For Rent" sign because nobody was there and we just assumed he just owned the house. So for these guys, it was kind of cool to them that Alice Cooper was living in their house, but we had to leave because it was their frat house.
CB: So did you pick another city or did you hang around town?
AC: We moved to Detroit then but it was really funny because we really thought Cincinnati was where we were going to live and then we got ejected by the frat house.
CB: I guess it could have worked out a lot different. You could still be in our hometown. You have spoken openly the last few years that you have become a Christian and about your Christian beliefs. Did that change how you put your show together?
AC: I think what it is, you do a certain amount of your own, not censoring, but you start shaping the show whereas there may be a couple of songs that I used to do that, now when I sing those songs, I don't believe that anymore. So, it is hard for me to sing that.
It hasn't been any big hits, "School's Out", "18", "Billion Dollar Babies", all those songs have nothing to do with Christianity or nothing to do with something that I couldn't sing as a Christian. Most of it is social satire anyway, but there are a few songs that I looked at and I went, "You know what, I don't believe that anymore," so I am going to stay away from that show.
I am just being true to myself to be honest with you. It really hasn't affected how I do my stage show because I don't believe Alice was promoting anything that was anti-Christian. We were like a musical horror movie and I think if people took Alice Copper as entertainment, as pure entertainment, there is certainly a dark side to my sense of humor but I don't think there has ever been anything in there that was, that any Christian couldn't see and have fun with.
CB: It's all in good fun. It's all perspective.
AC: Yeah, and I think if you look at it as a social satire, I am fine with it. I don't really have a problem with that. I am still very involved, I read twice a day, I have two different times of devotional for myself. I hope and I try not to just be a Christian in "Oh, I'm a Christian." I try to live that life. It is a one-on-one relationship with Christ so I really try to keep that as my lifestyle. In other words, you aren't ever going to see me at the strip club after a show.
CB: I know you gave up drugs and alcohol a long time ago for good reasons. Is there still ever a struggle on the road to stay sober?
AC: No, never has been. I was literally healed from that. People say you are cured, I say no, it was much different. I never went to AA. I never had to do any of that. I came out of a hospital and it was gone. It was gone as if I had cancer and cancer was gone the next day. It was totally taken away from me. I never had a struggle with alcohol. When I came out of the hospital, I was absolutely straight as an arrow. I never had a desire or a craving for alcohol which even the doctors say is weird. I know because I have a lot of friends that are in AA and they struggle with it all the time. They say, "How do you do it?" and I say "I am not an alcoholic anymore. I was one but I am not anymore." I wouldn't challenge myself. In other words, I wouldn't sit around and say, "Well I think I will take a drink of beer." Because I know that could be a trigger that takes me back to where I was. So I won't even approach that, but at the same time I don't have any desire to do that.
CB: Well, my Mom saw you in 1974 and she still talks about it today as I go shoot your shows. It was one of her memorable experiences with you and some chickens in Nashville at Memorial Coliseum…
AC: Well the music hasn't changed much since the '70s to now, if you look at the bands that are still out there — Aerosmith, Ozzy, Alice, Thin Lizzy — we are all still playing the same kind of music. I think it is funny that 16, 17, 18 year old kids are more into Classic Rock than they are into modern Rock so I think there is a large audience for us that has never seen us. One of the reasons we are playing the Iron Maiden tour is because I don't think the Iron Maiden audience has ever seen Alice Cooper so I want to expose them to Alice Cooper.
CB: Has touring for you changed from now to then?
CB: Has touring for you changed from now to then?
AC: It's a lot easier now. When you are physically in better shape and you are mentally and spiritually in better shape, (my wife) Sheryl and I have been together for 36 years, and I never been happier in my life. My kids are great. All my ducks are in a row. Physically, I am healthy. Touring is easy then. Physically, it is a workout and you have to get used to traveling and you have to get used to being away from your family a lot even though now my family can travel with me any time they want to. My wife will go out for three weeks then go home for a week and come back out for two or three weeks. So, touring to me is easy.
CB: You spoke about music now and what people are listening to. Are there any current bands you listen to these days?
AC: I wish there was — my pet peeve right now is that 80-90% of the modern Rock bands are just testosterone-free. I am listening to these bands and going, "Where is the spark? Where is the fire?" These bands are whining like crazy. I hear these bands and go, "What is wrong with these guys?" And then I look at a picture of the band and I could go into a mall and pick any five guys, it's like they are trying not to be rock stars. They just want to be normal guys that play in a band with no image and no fire just we are in a band. "What is wrong with that?" That's crazy. If you are in a Rock band, you get in a Rock band to be something different. I guess modern Rock bands really just want to blend in and I think it is the most boring time in Rock right now that I have ever seen.
CB: Well you have your Lady Gagas…
AC: There are exceptions. Jack White is amazing. The Foo Fighters are amazing. I don't know the Black Veil Brides music very much but I love the image. At least they are going out of their way to be something that when you see them on stage you say, "That's the Black Veil Brides." But when I see 99% of the other bands up there I say those bands can be anybody. I just don't get the fact that everybody is so against having image.
CB: Are you working on any new music, maybe another album?
AC: The Welcome to My Nightmare album has been out for about a year now and that was our highest charting album for quite a long time. So after this tour, we will go back in the studio again, Bob Ezrin and I will, but we were very, very happy with Welcome to my Nightmare.
CB: I briefly spoke to you at the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame Induction this year in Cleveland. I know you weren't performing but what your favorite part of the night?
AC: You mean the last one. I thought Guns N Roses were amazing. I thought Slash and the boys were the best band there. They just rocked that place.
CB: We are heading into a critical election year, are you planning on backing any candidates this time?
AC: Boy, I'll tell you at this point right now I almost want to go independent. I am not political in the least bit. I am not in the least bit political. So when somebody says, "Who are you voting for?" I'm going, "Wow!" It's like saying, do you want a poke in the eye or a poke in the ear. Nobody is making me smile now.
CB: And it is very narrow now.
AC: Yeah, as far as I'm concerned, I wish there was somebody out there that had some spark that would make a difference but I don't think either one of these guys are.
CB: Do you have any plans to slow down or stop touring?
AC: No. For me, physically everything is fine right now. Until I physically can't tour, I think I will be touring every year.
Federal, state, and local law enforcement launched a multimedia campaign that includes two enhanced composite sketches of a suspect in the 2009 murder of Virginia Tech student Morgan Harrington. The unknown murder suspect is also connected by DNA to a 2005 sexual assault in Fairfax City, Virginia.
Authorities recently enhanced the composite sketch created in 2005 from a description by the sexual assault victim. One of the composites shows the suspect with facial hair, as the suspect was described at the time of the attack. The second composite sketch features him without facial hair.
The two attacks were connected through DNA after a forensic profile was submitted by the Virginia Department of Forensic Science to the FBI's national DNA database.
The search found that the suspect in the Harrington murder investigation matched the DNA profile of the attacker in Fairfax City.
The multimedia campaign includes a public service announcement by METALLICA lead guitarist James Hetfield appealing to the public to come forward with information concerning the Morgan Harrington investigation (see video below). The composite sketches of the suspect are being featured on bus shelters in Washington, D.C., as well as on digital billboards in Richmond, Virginia; Roanoke, Virginia; Washington, DC.; and in 23 other states along the East Coast. Social media outreach and alerts via Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, along with a website dedicated to the Harrington case were also launched Wednesday. Podcasts are now available on iTunes, and radio spots are airing to further raise awareness of the ongoing investigation.
The multi-pronged effort is designed to develop new leads and renew the public's attention in the attacks. The campaign implements techniques similar to those that have led to the arrests of the East Coast Rapist as well as Ten Most Wanted fugitive James "Whitey" Bulger.
The Jefferson Area Crime Stoppers is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for Morgan Harrington's murder. In addition, the band METALLICA is adding $50,000 to the reward, for a total of $150,000.
On the evening of Saturday, October 17, 2009, Harrington attended a METALLICA concert at John Paul Jones Arena on the University of Virginia (UVA) campus in Charlottesville, Virignia. At approximately 8:30 PM, she left the arena and was unable to re-enter the facility.
She was last seen hitchhiking for a ride from passing traffic.
Harrington was dressed that night in a black T-shirt with the word "Pantera" spelled out in tan letters and was wearing a distinctive Swarovski crystal necklace made of large crystal chain links, which investigators have yet to recover. Harrington's "Pantera" T-shirt was found on November 11, 2009, in front of a row of apartments along 15th Street, NW near Grady Avenue in Charlottesville. Harrington's skeletal remains were later discovered on January 26, 2010, in a remote field on an Albemarle County, Virginia farm along Route 29. A camera that Harrington had in her possession that night has never been recovered.
In a statement posted at their official web site, called "The Loss Of A Fan," METALLICA wrote in part, "We are profoundly saddened by the news of the discovery of Morgan Dana Harrington's body . . . Mere words cannot express the anguish and grief that we know her parents Dan and Gil are feeling, and our thoughts are with them."
Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Jefferson Area Crime Stoppers at 434-977-4000; or the Virginia State Police at 434-352-3467 or by email at bci-appomattox@vsp.virginia.gov.
Authorities recently enhanced the composite sketch created in 2005 from a description by the sexual assault victim. One of the composites shows the suspect with facial hair, as the suspect was described at the time of the attack. The second composite sketch features him without facial hair.
The two attacks were connected through DNA after a forensic profile was submitted by the Virginia Department of Forensic Science to the FBI's national DNA database.
The search found that the suspect in the Harrington murder investigation matched the DNA profile of the attacker in Fairfax City.
The multimedia campaign includes a public service announcement by METALLICA lead guitarist James Hetfield appealing to the public to come forward with information concerning the Morgan Harrington investigation (see video below). The composite sketches of the suspect are being featured on bus shelters in Washington, D.C., as well as on digital billboards in Richmond, Virginia; Roanoke, Virginia; Washington, DC.; and in 23 other states along the East Coast. Social media outreach and alerts via Facebook, Twitter, and YouTube, along with a website dedicated to the Harrington case were also launched Wednesday. Podcasts are now available on iTunes, and radio spots are airing to further raise awareness of the ongoing investigation.
The multi-pronged effort is designed to develop new leads and renew the public's attention in the attacks. The campaign implements techniques similar to those that have led to the arrests of the East Coast Rapist as well as Ten Most Wanted fugitive James "Whitey" Bulger.
The Jefferson Area Crime Stoppers is offering a $100,000 reward for information leading to the arrest and conviction of the person or persons responsible for Morgan Harrington's murder. In addition, the band METALLICA is adding $50,000 to the reward, for a total of $150,000.
On the evening of Saturday, October 17, 2009, Harrington attended a METALLICA concert at John Paul Jones Arena on the University of Virginia (UVA) campus in Charlottesville, Virignia. At approximately 8:30 PM, she left the arena and was unable to re-enter the facility.
She was last seen hitchhiking for a ride from passing traffic.
Harrington was dressed that night in a black T-shirt with the word "Pantera" spelled out in tan letters and was wearing a distinctive Swarovski crystal necklace made of large crystal chain links, which investigators have yet to recover. Harrington's "Pantera" T-shirt was found on November 11, 2009, in front of a row of apartments along 15th Street, NW near Grady Avenue in Charlottesville. Harrington's skeletal remains were later discovered on January 26, 2010, in a remote field on an Albemarle County, Virginia farm along Route 29. A camera that Harrington had in her possession that night has never been recovered.
In a statement posted at their official web site, called "The Loss Of A Fan," METALLICA wrote in part, "We are profoundly saddened by the news of the discovery of Morgan Dana Harrington's body . . . Mere words cannot express the anguish and grief that we know her parents Dan and Gil are feeling, and our thoughts are with them."
Anyone with information is encouraged to call the Jefferson Area Crime Stoppers at 434-977-4000; or the Virginia State Police at 434-352-3467 or by email at bci-appomattox@vsp.virginia.gov.
http://youtu.be/_tkVcZB2pds
With the release of the band's new album, "The Lord Of Steel", only days away, MANOWAR has revealed that the exclusive pre-release of its 12th studio album will be a limited edition with exclusive artwork.
"Metal Hammer has shown a great understanding for MANOWAR and the special bond to our fans. They understand that we always strive to do something special for our Manowarriors and with great enthusiasm they have put a special magazine together," said MANOWAR bassist Joey DeMaio. "The 'Metal Hammer Steel Edition' and 'The Lord Of Steel - Hammer Edition' are a perfect match!"
"The Lord Of Steel - Hammer Edition" will first be released digitally on June 16 on www.thekingdomofsteel.com and in a limited variant "Steel Edition" of Metal Hammer #233 on June 26, exclusively from Metal Hammer U.K.
For the "Metal Hammer Steel Edition" featuring "The Lord Of Steel Hammer Edition", go to this location (international shipping options available).
"The Lord Of Steel" — which was mixed and mastered at Wisseloord Studios in the Netherlands with the help of longtime collaborators, mixing engineer Ronald Prent and Grammy Award-winning mastering engineer Darcy Proper — is blazing with pure power, untamed energy, and a sound as raw and wild as a force of nature. Track titles like "Annihilation" and "Hail, Kill And Die!" set the tone for a record that is packed with surprises. In contrast to the 2007 release "Gods Of War", this new album is not a concept album, yet each song tells a different story, retaining the MANOWAR vision of righteousness, honor and everything MANOWAR fans have come to know and love.
MANOWAR fans should expect to have "their heads completely blown off," said MANOWAR bassist Joey DeMaio in a recent interview, and explained that "this album is all about brutality and raw power!"
"We were talking about a concept album but then got inspired to go in a different direction. This is where we are right now," explained DeMaio. "I've been doing research on getting the best microphones and pre-amps for the guitars. The bass sound is death defying. We've done a lot of work on drums too, giving Donnie [Hamzik, drums] room to stretch out. And Eric [Adams, vocals] will simply sound bigger than life, as always."
"The Lord Of Steel" will include the track "El Gringo", which will also serve as the theme song for the After Dark Action franchise film "El Gringo", an action western starring Scott Adkins ("The Expendables 2", "The Bourne Ultimatum"), Christian Slater and Yvette Yates ("Without Men").
"El Gringo" marks the first time MANOWAR has written a song specifically for a movie. The song depicts the struggle of a hero torn between his moral code and financial gain, and the challenge of being true to oneself and the real values in life — a recurring theme in MANOWAR's music.
"Everyone loves action movies! Our music, along with ass-kicking visuals and a great story, are a perfect match, not to mention a chance to actually see the music come alive on screen," said MANOWAR bassist and composer Joey DeMaio. "'El Gringo' has been a great experience, the team at After Dark Films has been a pleasure to work with, and we are ready for more!" he continued.
When asked about the long gap between MANOWAR's last CD and upcoming effort, DeMaio said, "I know that a lot of people don't wanna wait another five years for a MANOWAR record, but we hope that people are gonna think that it was worth waiting the time. Because, you know, you go to a restaurant and you order dinner, if the waiter walks in the kitchen and comes back out two seconds later and puts the dinner on the table, I really don't know what you're gonna get. Every now and then I like McDonald's, too — it doesn't mean something fast is not good — but we're not a fast-food restaurant with MANOWAR. We think it's quality, so we hope you're gonna feel the same way."
MANOWAR will headline several European festivals this summer, celebrating their new album and the 10th anniversary of one of their most popular records, "Warriors Of The World".
"Metal Hammer has shown a great understanding for MANOWAR and the special bond to our fans. They understand that we always strive to do something special for our Manowarriors and with great enthusiasm they have put a special magazine together," said MANOWAR bassist Joey DeMaio. "The 'Metal Hammer Steel Edition' and 'The Lord Of Steel - Hammer Edition' are a perfect match!"
"The Lord Of Steel - Hammer Edition" will first be released digitally on June 16 on www.thekingdomofsteel.com and in a limited variant "Steel Edition" of Metal Hammer #233 on June 26, exclusively from Metal Hammer U.K.
For the "Metal Hammer Steel Edition" featuring "The Lord Of Steel Hammer Edition", go to this location (international shipping options available).
"The Lord Of Steel" — which was mixed and mastered at Wisseloord Studios in the Netherlands with the help of longtime collaborators, mixing engineer Ronald Prent and Grammy Award-winning mastering engineer Darcy Proper — is blazing with pure power, untamed energy, and a sound as raw and wild as a force of nature. Track titles like "Annihilation" and "Hail, Kill And Die!" set the tone for a record that is packed with surprises. In contrast to the 2007 release "Gods Of War", this new album is not a concept album, yet each song tells a different story, retaining the MANOWAR vision of righteousness, honor and everything MANOWAR fans have come to know and love.
MANOWAR fans should expect to have "their heads completely blown off," said MANOWAR bassist Joey DeMaio in a recent interview, and explained that "this album is all about brutality and raw power!"
"We were talking about a concept album but then got inspired to go in a different direction. This is where we are right now," explained DeMaio. "I've been doing research on getting the best microphones and pre-amps for the guitars. The bass sound is death defying. We've done a lot of work on drums too, giving Donnie [Hamzik, drums] room to stretch out. And Eric [Adams, vocals] will simply sound bigger than life, as always."
"The Lord Of Steel" will include the track "El Gringo", which will also serve as the theme song for the After Dark Action franchise film "El Gringo", an action western starring Scott Adkins ("The Expendables 2", "The Bourne Ultimatum"), Christian Slater and Yvette Yates ("Without Men").
"El Gringo" marks the first time MANOWAR has written a song specifically for a movie. The song depicts the struggle of a hero torn between his moral code and financial gain, and the challenge of being true to oneself and the real values in life — a recurring theme in MANOWAR's music.
"Everyone loves action movies! Our music, along with ass-kicking visuals and a great story, are a perfect match, not to mention a chance to actually see the music come alive on screen," said MANOWAR bassist and composer Joey DeMaio. "'El Gringo' has been a great experience, the team at After Dark Films has been a pleasure to work with, and we are ready for more!" he continued.
When asked about the long gap between MANOWAR's last CD and upcoming effort, DeMaio said, "I know that a lot of people don't wanna wait another five years for a MANOWAR record, but we hope that people are gonna think that it was worth waiting the time. Because, you know, you go to a restaurant and you order dinner, if the waiter walks in the kitchen and comes back out two seconds later and puts the dinner on the table, I really don't know what you're gonna get. Every now and then I like McDonald's, too — it doesn't mean something fast is not good — but we're not a fast-food restaurant with MANOWAR. We think it's quality, so we hope you're gonna feel the same way."
MANOWAR will headline several European festivals this summer, celebrating their new album and the 10th anniversary of one of their most popular records, "Warriors Of The World".
http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/soulflypremiere/manowarhammeredition.jpg
Video footage of ANTHRAX performing a cover version of the BLACK SABBATH classic "Neon Knights" this past Monday (June 11) at the Metal Hammer Golden Gods awards at Indigo2 in London, England can be seen below.
When ANTHRAX was given the choice of playing this summer's Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival main stage or the festival's Jägermeister Stage, the band opted to headline the latter, and to do something special for the crowd.
Since vocalist Joey Belladonna rejoined the ANTHRAX lineup two years ago, ANTHRAX has made one of the most impressive comebacks in rock 'n' roll. As one of the "Big Four," the original architects of speed and thrash-metal, ANTHRAX joined METALLICA, SLAYER and MEGADETH during the summer of 2010 on a series of "Big Four" shows in ten European cities, followed by a "Big Four" show outside of Los Angeles at the Coachella site (April 2011), and the big "homecoming" event for the New York-born-and-bred band members at Yankee Stadium last September.
The band released "Worship Music" on September 13, 2011, its first new album in eight years and the first with Belladonna on vocals in twenty years. "Worship Music" debuted at No. 12 on The Billboard 200 chart, received stellar reviews that included being named one of the best albums of the year in countless media outlets.
When ANTHRAX was given the choice of playing this summer's Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival main stage or the festival's Jägermeister Stage, the band opted to headline the latter, and to do something special for the crowd.
Since vocalist Joey Belladonna rejoined the ANTHRAX lineup two years ago, ANTHRAX has made one of the most impressive comebacks in rock 'n' roll. As one of the "Big Four," the original architects of speed and thrash-metal, ANTHRAX joined METALLICA, SLAYER and MEGADETH during the summer of 2010 on a series of "Big Four" shows in ten European cities, followed by a "Big Four" show outside of Los Angeles at the Coachella site (April 2011), and the big "homecoming" event for the New York-born-and-bred band members at Yankee Stadium last September.
The band released "Worship Music" on September 13, 2011, its first new album in eight years and the first with Belladonna on vocals in twenty years. "Worship Music" debuted at No. 12 on The Billboard 200 chart, received stellar reviews that included being named one of the best albums of the year in countless media outlets.
http://youtu.be/FKQigbvQl0o
Sunset Strip Music Festival (SSMF) organizers today announced that the fifth annual three-day music festival — taking place on the Sunset Strip Thursday, August 16 through Saturday, August 18 — will celebrate the music and legacy of THE DOORS.
The festival will kick off with an exclusive VIP event honoring the iconic Sunset Strip band on August 16, which will feature an all-star band celebrating THE DOORS, and will conclude with an all-day street fest on Saturday, August 18. MARILYN MANSON will headline the outdoor street fest, which will also feature performances by THE OFFSPRING, STEVE AOKI, BAD RELIGION, very special guest BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, FAR EAST MOVEMENT, DE LA SOUL, DEAD SARA, DAS RACIST and more. Many of the artists will celebrate THE DOORS by performing their take on some of THE DOORS' legendary songs.The venues within the street festival closure — The Roxy Theatre, Whisky A Go-Go and Key Club — will also host full lineups from more than 50 bands throughout the day.
As in years past, Sunset Boulevard will be closed to traffic between Doheny Drive and San Vicente Boulevardand transformed into a premier concert destination with two outdoor stages, beer gardens, an artist autograph tent, an outdoor VIP rooftop lounge, silent disco, VIP Lounge at On The Rox, food trucks and interactive experiences.
Tickets for SSMF 2012 are on sale beginning today at TicketWeb and are free of additional ticketing fees. Ticket options include general admission August 18 street festival ticket for $75 and VIP options for $135, which includes access to the rooftop VIP area with views of the West stage, VIP areas in the beer garden and venues, access to VIP lounge On The Rox, a separate entrance and additional perks. A very limited number of three-day VIP passes will also be available for $250. These special passes include access to THE DOORS celebration on Thursday, August 16, VIP access to the August 18 street festival and entrance to all of the Sunset Strip Venues on August 16, 17 and 18 — House of Blues, The Roxy Theatre, Viper Room, Whisky A Go-Go and Key Club — pending capacity.
The festival will kick off with an exclusive VIP event honoring the iconic Sunset Strip band on August 16, which will feature an all-star band celebrating THE DOORS, and will conclude with an all-day street fest on Saturday, August 18. MARILYN MANSON will headline the outdoor street fest, which will also feature performances by THE OFFSPRING, STEVE AOKI, BAD RELIGION, very special guest BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, FAR EAST MOVEMENT, DE LA SOUL, DEAD SARA, DAS RACIST and more. Many of the artists will celebrate THE DOORS by performing their take on some of THE DOORS' legendary songs.The venues within the street festival closure — The Roxy Theatre, Whisky A Go-Go and Key Club — will also host full lineups from more than 50 bands throughout the day.
As in years past, Sunset Boulevard will be closed to traffic between Doheny Drive and San Vicente Boulevardand transformed into a premier concert destination with two outdoor stages, beer gardens, an artist autograph tent, an outdoor VIP rooftop lounge, silent disco, VIP Lounge at On The Rox, food trucks and interactive experiences.
Tickets for SSMF 2012 are on sale beginning today at TicketWeb and are free of additional ticketing fees. Ticket options include general admission August 18 street festival ticket for $75 and VIP options for $135, which includes access to the rooftop VIP area with views of the West stage, VIP areas in the beer garden and venues, access to VIP lounge On The Rox, a separate entrance and additional perks. A very limited number of three-day VIP passes will also be available for $250. These special passes include access to THE DOORS celebration on Thursday, August 16, VIP access to the August 18 street festival and entrance to all of the Sunset Strip Venues on August 16, 17 and 18 — House of Blues, The Roxy Theatre, Viper Room, Whisky A Go-Go and Key Club — pending capacity.
Progressive metal giants DREAM THEATER — James LaBrie (vocals), John Myung (bass), John Petrucci (guitar and vocals), Jordan Rudess (keyboards and continuum) and Mike Mangini (drums) — are getting ready to launch a major North American headlining summer tour, which will run from June 15 to July 21. They are touring behind their 11th studio album, "A Dramatic Turn Of Events", which had 14 Top 10 debuts around the world. It also produced the band's first-ever Grammy nomination for "On The Backs Of Angels" in the "Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance" category.
A question-and-answer session with members of DREAM THEATER about life on the road follows below.
Q: How do you navigate the challenge of keeping in touch with loved ones while traveling?
John Petrucci (guitar and vocals): While international data plans on cell phones and WiFi access just about everywhere have made this a lot easier than it was 10 years ago, it can still be difficult. It's especially hard when the time zone I'm in is so off from New York, like Asia or Australia for example. Being flipped around by 180 degrees is confusing for everyone! Sometimes a quick text or Facebook message just to connect can be just the thing to bridge the gap between phone calls or Skype sessions. Obviously the best thing is when my family joins me on tour!
Jordan Rudess (keyboards and continuum): I try every form of communication tool available. Been through Treos, Blackberrys iPhones, iPads, Nooks — tablets of all shapes and sizes and computers — all for the purpose of connecting with the loved ones. There is not an app or communication software that has gone untouched by these hands.
Jon Myung (bass): I pretty much have Skype running on my laptop when stationary and either leave a voicemail or e-mail before my kids go to bed for the night.
Mike Mangini (drums): The way that I navigate keeping in touch with loved ones while I am on the road is to carefully time when I use Skype to speak with my wife and kids while putting off other emails and Internet-related things for downtime.
Q: Do you unpack or live out of your suitcase on the road?
John Petrucci: With the exception of setting up my computer and devices each day, I find that it's best not to spread out too much and to keep things in the suitcase. This way there is less of a chance of leaving something behind.
Jordan Rudess: Usually it is pretty much right outta the suitcase!!
Jon Myung: Definitely live out of my suitcase, it's like a personal locker.
Mike Mangini: I have learned not to unpack my suitcase and to never put things in the drawers or closets for fear of forgetting items (again).
Q: On a day off in a city, what do you do with your time? How do you find out which restaurants to go to?
John Petrucci: The first thing I do is find a gym and get a good workout in. I also find that I can usually fit in a healthy practice or writing session. The privacy of a hotel room coupled with the occasional jet lag makes for a very creative headspace! Honestly, sometimes it's great to just relax and catch up on some TV shows or watch a movie. There are amazing restaurants all around the world and usually we communicate with one another as to which cool spot someone may have stumbled upon in town. Sometimes just a quick e-mail to say that the room service is good works as well!
Jordan Rudess: I try to do a walk in every town I get to. It's really important to me that I get out in the light because otherwise I feel trapped and start getting this weird dark feeling! As far as restaurants, I usually ask the concierge at the hotel or just walk until I feel the vibe.
Jon Myung: I usually ask around for a good place locally or sometime venture out by foot and see where I land; the rest of the time it's getting quality sleep.
Mike Mangini: When I have a day off in a city, I normally stay in the room to eat, sleep and catch up on emails and news. That has changed as I've gotten my golf game back. Now I look to play golf when it is possible… Dinner usually entails meeting up with a band or crew members. The iPad comes in handy for finding restaurants, but personal recommendations are the way to go.
Q: Have you ever had a rough time going through customs?
John Petrucci: It's sort of hit or miss. Usually things go pretty smoothly with no questions asked. Other times, however, seemingly for no reason, they will pull you aside and go through every bag in detail. It's a real pain and when you're traveling with a group of 20 or more people — it becomes a major inconvenience!
Jordan Rudess: It's always interesting. There is the time the Pirate tried smuggling in some bananas, but I'll let him tell you about that if he likes.
Jon Myung: In general it goes smoothly — no real complaints from me.
Mike Mangini: I have been harassed by customs agents three times after I told them that I was a musician each time. One agent told me that his son was a musician and that "all musicians do drugs." I did everything to bite my tongue and not ask him if he arrested his son since "all musicians do drugs."
Q: Is there one item that you always bring on tour to remind you of home?
John Petrucci: It's difficult being away from my home, wife and kids. Everything reminds me of them! I do have hundreds of pictures in my photo library on my phone and computer that I constantly scroll through to help bring me closer.
Jordan Rudess: There are many. And they are all gadget-related and start with i……
Jon Myung: Just pictures and videos on my iPhone — it helps keep things in perspective.
Mike Mangini: One item that I bring on tour to remind of home is a written note from my children.
Q: What is your favorite album or songs to play on the long travel days?
John Petrucci: Travel days are great for catching up on new music that I've been looking forward to checking out. Just sitting on an airplane for hours with no distractions (apart from those annoying captain addresses) ensures a great listening environment and my undivided attention.
Jordan Rudess: These days it's APPARAT's album "The Devil's Walk".
Jon Myung: Lately, I have found myself listening to the "Diamond Eyes" album by the DEFTONES.
Mike Mangini: My favorite music to listen to these days on long touring travel days is PLANET X.
A question-and-answer session with members of DREAM THEATER about life on the road follows below.
Q: How do you navigate the challenge of keeping in touch with loved ones while traveling?
John Petrucci (guitar and vocals): While international data plans on cell phones and WiFi access just about everywhere have made this a lot easier than it was 10 years ago, it can still be difficult. It's especially hard when the time zone I'm in is so off from New York, like Asia or Australia for example. Being flipped around by 180 degrees is confusing for everyone! Sometimes a quick text or Facebook message just to connect can be just the thing to bridge the gap between phone calls or Skype sessions. Obviously the best thing is when my family joins me on tour!
Jordan Rudess (keyboards and continuum): I try every form of communication tool available. Been through Treos, Blackberrys iPhones, iPads, Nooks — tablets of all shapes and sizes and computers — all for the purpose of connecting with the loved ones. There is not an app or communication software that has gone untouched by these hands.
Jon Myung (bass): I pretty much have Skype running on my laptop when stationary and either leave a voicemail or e-mail before my kids go to bed for the night.
Mike Mangini (drums): The way that I navigate keeping in touch with loved ones while I am on the road is to carefully time when I use Skype to speak with my wife and kids while putting off other emails and Internet-related things for downtime.
Q: Do you unpack or live out of your suitcase on the road?
John Petrucci: With the exception of setting up my computer and devices each day, I find that it's best not to spread out too much and to keep things in the suitcase. This way there is less of a chance of leaving something behind.
Jordan Rudess: Usually it is pretty much right outta the suitcase!!
Jon Myung: Definitely live out of my suitcase, it's like a personal locker.
Mike Mangini: I have learned not to unpack my suitcase and to never put things in the drawers or closets for fear of forgetting items (again).
Q: On a day off in a city, what do you do with your time? How do you find out which restaurants to go to?
John Petrucci: The first thing I do is find a gym and get a good workout in. I also find that I can usually fit in a healthy practice or writing session. The privacy of a hotel room coupled with the occasional jet lag makes for a very creative headspace! Honestly, sometimes it's great to just relax and catch up on some TV shows or watch a movie. There are amazing restaurants all around the world and usually we communicate with one another as to which cool spot someone may have stumbled upon in town. Sometimes just a quick e-mail to say that the room service is good works as well!
Jordan Rudess: I try to do a walk in every town I get to. It's really important to me that I get out in the light because otherwise I feel trapped and start getting this weird dark feeling! As far as restaurants, I usually ask the concierge at the hotel or just walk until I feel the vibe.
Jon Myung: I usually ask around for a good place locally or sometime venture out by foot and see where I land; the rest of the time it's getting quality sleep.
Mike Mangini: When I have a day off in a city, I normally stay in the room to eat, sleep and catch up on emails and news. That has changed as I've gotten my golf game back. Now I look to play golf when it is possible… Dinner usually entails meeting up with a band or crew members. The iPad comes in handy for finding restaurants, but personal recommendations are the way to go.
Q: Have you ever had a rough time going through customs?
John Petrucci: It's sort of hit or miss. Usually things go pretty smoothly with no questions asked. Other times, however, seemingly for no reason, they will pull you aside and go through every bag in detail. It's a real pain and when you're traveling with a group of 20 or more people — it becomes a major inconvenience!
Jordan Rudess: It's always interesting. There is the time the Pirate tried smuggling in some bananas, but I'll let him tell you about that if he likes.
Jon Myung: In general it goes smoothly — no real complaints from me.
Mike Mangini: I have been harassed by customs agents three times after I told them that I was a musician each time. One agent told me that his son was a musician and that "all musicians do drugs." I did everything to bite my tongue and not ask him if he arrested his son since "all musicians do drugs."
Q: Is there one item that you always bring on tour to remind you of home?
John Petrucci: It's difficult being away from my home, wife and kids. Everything reminds me of them! I do have hundreds of pictures in my photo library on my phone and computer that I constantly scroll through to help bring me closer.
Jordan Rudess: There are many. And they are all gadget-related and start with i……
Jon Myung: Just pictures and videos on my iPhone — it helps keep things in perspective.
Mike Mangini: One item that I bring on tour to remind of home is a written note from my children.
Q: What is your favorite album or songs to play on the long travel days?
John Petrucci: Travel days are great for catching up on new music that I've been looking forward to checking out. Just sitting on an airplane for hours with no distractions (apart from those annoying captain addresses) ensures a great listening environment and my undivided attention.
Jordan Rudess: These days it's APPARAT's album "The Devil's Walk".
Jon Myung: Lately, I have found myself listening to the "Diamond Eyes" album by the DEFTONES.
Mike Mangini: My favorite music to listen to these days on long touring travel days is PLANET X.
According to The Pulse Of Radio, SMASHING PUMPKINS frontman Billy Corgan has blasted RADIOHEAD in a new interview with NME, saying that the British band is part of a current cultural view of rock music that he can't stand. Corgan explained, "I can't think of any people outside of Weird Al Yankovic who have both embraced and pissed on rock more than I have . . . there's a level of reverence, but there's also a level of intelligence to even know what to piss on." He added, "Because I'm not pissing on RAINBOW. I'm not pissing on DEEP PURPLE. But I'll piss on fucking RADIOHEAD, because of all this pomposity. This value system that says (RADIOHEAD guitarist) Jonny Greenwood is more valuable than (PURPLE guitarist) Ritchie Blackmore. Not in the world I grew up in."
Corgan added, "Is Ritchie Blackmore a better guitar player than me and Jonny Greenwood? Yes. Have we all made contributions? Yes. I'm not attacking that. I'm attacking the pomposity that says this is more valuable than that. I'm sick of that. I'm so fucking sick of it, and nobody seems to tire of it."
The PUMPKINS founder and sole original member also blasts the political and social impact of rock music in the interview, saying, "The world has never been more dangerous than it is right now, and we have a limp, impotent artistic response to the situation," adding that he should be "celebrated as a radical."
Corgan and the current version of the PUMPKINS release a new studio album, "Oceania", next Tuesday (June 19).
The disc follows up 2007's "Zeitgeist", which was the first PUMPKINS album since the original band dissolved in 2000.
The PUMPKINS will play a private record release show in New York City on Tuesday, and plan to play the Oceania record in its entirety at that gig and other upcoming tour dates.
Corgan added, "Is Ritchie Blackmore a better guitar player than me and Jonny Greenwood? Yes. Have we all made contributions? Yes. I'm not attacking that. I'm attacking the pomposity that says this is more valuable than that. I'm sick of that. I'm so fucking sick of it, and nobody seems to tire of it."
The PUMPKINS founder and sole original member also blasts the political and social impact of rock music in the interview, saying, "The world has never been more dangerous than it is right now, and we have a limp, impotent artistic response to the situation," adding that he should be "celebrated as a radical."
Corgan and the current version of the PUMPKINS release a new studio album, "Oceania", next Tuesday (June 19).
The disc follows up 2007's "Zeitgeist", which was the first PUMPKINS album since the original band dissolved in 2000.
The PUMPKINS will play a private record release show in New York City on Tuesday, and plan to play the Oceania record in its entirety at that gig and other upcoming tour dates.
"The Industrialist", the new album from Los Angeles cyber metallers FEAR FACTORY, sold 9,300 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 38 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's previous CD, "Mechanize", opened with 10,000 units back in February 2010 to land at No. 72.
FEAR FACTORY's 2005 CD, "Transgression", registered a first-week tally of 19,000 back in August 2005 to enter the chart at No. 45. This was substantially less than the first-week number registered by its predecessor, "Archetype", which sold 32,000 copies back in April 2004 to debut on the Billboard chart at No. 30.
Released in North America on June 5 via Candlelight Records, "The Industrialist" is a conceptual record based around a story written by Burton C. Bell. Lyrics to the album's ten songs divulge the narrative as discussed recently by Bell with Decibel magazine. The album's artwork was created by American designer Anthony Clarkson with additional direction from the band. The album will be available on three formats — standard CD, a limited edition deluxe digi-book (featuring two additional songs), and 180-gram double vinyl.
"The Industrialist" again pairs FEAR FACTORY with producer Rhys Fulber. Mixed by Greg Reely (PARADISE LOST, SKINNY PUPPY, MACHINE HEAD), with additional tracking by Logan Mader (GOJIRA, DIVINE HERESY), the album is the second written by Bell and guitarist Dino Cazares since reuniting in 2009 after a seven-year split.
"The Industrialist" track listing:
01. The Industrialist
02. Recharger
03. New Messiah
04. God Eater
05. Depraved Mind Murder
06. Virus of Faith
07. Difference Engine
08. Dissemble
09. Religion is Flawed Because Man is Flawed
10. Human Augmentation
11. Blush Response (Difference Engine) *
12. Landfill *
* Available on deluxe digibook only
FEAR FACTORY recently enlisted Matt DeVries as the band's new bass player. DeVries, previously of CHIMAIRA (where he played guitar) and most recently SIX FEET UNDER, joined FEAR FACTORY as the replacement for Byron Stroud (now with 3 INCHES OF BLOOD). FEAR FACTORY also tapped Mike Heller (MALIGNANCY, SYSTEM DIVIDE) as its new touring drummer.
FEAR FACTORY's 2005 CD, "Transgression", registered a first-week tally of 19,000 back in August 2005 to enter the chart at No. 45. This was substantially less than the first-week number registered by its predecessor, "Archetype", which sold 32,000 copies back in April 2004 to debut on the Billboard chart at No. 30.
Released in North America on June 5 via Candlelight Records, "The Industrialist" is a conceptual record based around a story written by Burton C. Bell. Lyrics to the album's ten songs divulge the narrative as discussed recently by Bell with Decibel magazine. The album's artwork was created by American designer Anthony Clarkson with additional direction from the band. The album will be available on three formats — standard CD, a limited edition deluxe digi-book (featuring two additional songs), and 180-gram double vinyl.
"The Industrialist" again pairs FEAR FACTORY with producer Rhys Fulber. Mixed by Greg Reely (PARADISE LOST, SKINNY PUPPY, MACHINE HEAD), with additional tracking by Logan Mader (GOJIRA, DIVINE HERESY), the album is the second written by Bell and guitarist Dino Cazares since reuniting in 2009 after a seven-year split.
"The Industrialist" track listing:
01. The Industrialist
02. Recharger
03. New Messiah
04. God Eater
05. Depraved Mind Murder
06. Virus of Faith
07. Difference Engine
08. Dissemble
09. Religion is Flawed Because Man is Flawed
10. Human Augmentation
11. Blush Response (Difference Engine) *
12. Landfill *
* Available on deluxe digibook only
FEAR FACTORY recently enlisted Matt DeVries as the band's new bass player. DeVries, previously of CHIMAIRA (where he played guitar) and most recently SIX FEET UNDER, joined FEAR FACTORY as the replacement for Byron Stroud (now with 3 INCHES OF BLOOD). FEAR FACTORY also tapped Mike Heller (MALIGNANCY, SYSTEM DIVIDE) as its new touring drummer.
"Phantom Antichrist", the new album from German thrash metal veterans KREATOR, sold 3,900 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 130 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD landed at No. 1 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.
In Canada, "Phantom Antichrist" came in at No. 128 on the Top 200 Albums chart and at #15 on the Top Hard Music Albums chart. In the band's native Germany, the CD debuted on the German Media Control chart at No. 5.
KREATOR's previous album, "Hordes Of Chaos", sold around 2,800 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 165 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD landed at No. 7 on the Heatseekers chart.
Released on June 1 in Europe and June 5 in North America via Nuclear Blast Records, "Phantom Antichrist" was recorded at Fascination Street Studios in Örebro, Sweden with renowned producer Jens Bogren (OPETH, KATATONIA, SOILWORK, DEVIN TOWNSEND, AMON AMARTH).
The cover artwork for the standard edition of "Phantom Antichrist" was created by Wes Benscoter (SLAYER, DIO, BLACK SABBATH) and can be seen below.
The limited edition of "Phantom Antichrist" was made available as two-disc digipack, including a bonus DVD.
"Phantom Antichrist" formats:
- Jewel case CD *
- 2LP yellow vinyl *
- 2LP bi-colored vinyl (red/black): limited to 500 copies, hand-numbered *+
- 2LP picture vinyl **
- CD/DVD digi limited edition: 2 digipacks in a slipcase. **
- Limited mailorder edition: metallic box including CD/DVD digi limited edition, T-shirt, exclusive CD "Live In Wacken", poster, signing card, limited to 500 copies, hand-numbered **+
* = Featuring artwork by Wes Benscoter (DIO, BLACK SABBATH, SLAYER)
** = Featuring artwork by Jan Meininghaus
+ = only available at www.nuclearblast.de/shop
"Phantom Antichrist" track listing:
CD:
01. Mars Mantra
02. Phantom Antichrist
03. Death To The World
04. From Flood Into Fire
05. Civilisation Collapse
06. United In Hate
07. The Few, The Proud, The Broken
08. Your Heaven In My Hell
09. Victory Will Come
10. Until Our Paths Cross Again
11. Iron Destiny (Japan exclusive)
Limited-edition bonus DVD:
* Conquerers Of The Ice – The Making Of Phanom Antichrist
* Harvesting The Grapes Of Horror
* Live at Wacken Open Air in 2011 and 2008 (mixed by Klaus Scheuermann, edited by Marcel Schleif and Stephan Lier)
Wacken Open Air 2011:
01. Choir Of The Damned
02. Hordes Of Chaos
03. War Curse
04. Coma Of Souls / Endless Pain
05. Pleasure To Kill
06. Destroy What Destroys You
07. Phobia
08. Terrible Certainity / Reconquering The Throne
09. Flag Of Hate / Tormentor
Wacken Open Air 2008:
10. The Patriarch
11. Violent Revolution
12. People Of The Lie
13. Europe After The Pain
The "Phantom Antichrist" video can be seen below. The clip was helmed by Poland's Grupa 13, which has previously worked with BEHEMOTH, ELUVEITIE, SONATA ARCTICA and DECAPITATED, among others.
In a recent interview with Suicide Scriptures, Petrozza stated about "Phantom Antichrist", "We made sure that it contains all the trademarks that we're known for — crushing brutality, riffs that are very hard to play, lyrics that talk about things that I get angry about. You know, the full treatment, basically. We didn't try to do anything different. The only goal that we set for the band was we wanted to top everything that we'd done before and make this record an exciting record. That's always the main goal."
He added, "First off, we don't plan ahead too much. I take a long time to prepare the songs at home, in my little home studio, and then when I feel that have something lyrically and musically that I feel is good and exciting and powerful, then I play it to the other guys and then we discuss it. And we might come up with new ideas or we might arrange the songs differently, or we tear them apart and put them back together. It's a long process. We started this in the beginning of 2011, and we kept writing and rehearsing the songs until January 2012."
Regarding the lyrical themes covered on "Phantom Antichrist", Mille said, "Many things: injustice; the crisis in Greece; me thinking that religion is obsolete now in this day and age; personal things. I think the lyrics for 'From Flood Into Fire', they're very different, but it's very hard for me to explain what it's about. I want people to listen to it and leave room for their own imagination. I go to the movies all the time and I'm a big movie nerd, and I hate watching a 'making-of' [documentary featuring behind-the-scenes footage] before I go into a movie. So if I would explain the lyrics right now, [it would lose the magic]."
On the topic of the "Phantom Antichrist" artwork, Mille said, "I got in touch with [artist] Wes Benscoter in the middle of June last year and I gave him a couple of songtitles. And I told him that the album might be called 'Phantom Antichrist'. I already had the idea and I told him what the lyrics were about — it's all about the apocalypse, evil in the world… typical KREATOR topics that I always write about. I think he had 'Pleasure To Kill', and he knew about the band. I liked this AUTOPSY cover that he did, and then I found that he did a lot of great stuff for BLACK SABBATH, SLAYER and many, many bands. . . I talked to one of my colleagues that plays in a German band and he told me that he would draw, with a pencil, artworks and then he would give it to a professional artist. I don't have that much influence on the artwork. I think it's best to give an idea and maybe a title or something, maybe some music even… I think that's more of letting the artist be the artist. He needs to create the visual as we do with the music."
KREATOR is:
Miland "Mille" Petrozza – Vocals, Guitrar
Sami Yli-Sirniö - Guitar
Christian "Speesy" Giesler - Bass
Jürgen "Ventor" Reil - Drums
In Canada, "Phantom Antichrist" came in at No. 128 on the Top 200 Albums chart and at #15 on the Top Hard Music Albums chart. In the band's native Germany, the CD debuted on the German Media Control chart at No. 5.
KREATOR's previous album, "Hordes Of Chaos", sold around 2,800 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 165 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD landed at No. 7 on the Heatseekers chart.
Released on June 1 in Europe and June 5 in North America via Nuclear Blast Records, "Phantom Antichrist" was recorded at Fascination Street Studios in Örebro, Sweden with renowned producer Jens Bogren (OPETH, KATATONIA, SOILWORK, DEVIN TOWNSEND, AMON AMARTH).
The cover artwork for the standard edition of "Phantom Antichrist" was created by Wes Benscoter (SLAYER, DIO, BLACK SABBATH) and can be seen below.
The limited edition of "Phantom Antichrist" was made available as two-disc digipack, including a bonus DVD.
"Phantom Antichrist" formats:
- Jewel case CD *
- 2LP yellow vinyl *
- 2LP bi-colored vinyl (red/black): limited to 500 copies, hand-numbered *+
- 2LP picture vinyl **
- CD/DVD digi limited edition: 2 digipacks in a slipcase. **
- Limited mailorder edition: metallic box including CD/DVD digi limited edition, T-shirt, exclusive CD "Live In Wacken", poster, signing card, limited to 500 copies, hand-numbered **+
* = Featuring artwork by Wes Benscoter (DIO, BLACK SABBATH, SLAYER)
** = Featuring artwork by Jan Meininghaus
+ = only available at www.nuclearblast.de/shop
"Phantom Antichrist" track listing:
CD:
01. Mars Mantra
02. Phantom Antichrist
03. Death To The World
04. From Flood Into Fire
05. Civilisation Collapse
06. United In Hate
07. The Few, The Proud, The Broken
08. Your Heaven In My Hell
09. Victory Will Come
10. Until Our Paths Cross Again
11. Iron Destiny (Japan exclusive)
Limited-edition bonus DVD:
* Conquerers Of The Ice – The Making Of Phanom Antichrist
* Harvesting The Grapes Of Horror
* Live at Wacken Open Air in 2011 and 2008 (mixed by Klaus Scheuermann, edited by Marcel Schleif and Stephan Lier)
Wacken Open Air 2011:
01. Choir Of The Damned
02. Hordes Of Chaos
03. War Curse
04. Coma Of Souls / Endless Pain
05. Pleasure To Kill
06. Destroy What Destroys You
07. Phobia
08. Terrible Certainity / Reconquering The Throne
09. Flag Of Hate / Tormentor
Wacken Open Air 2008:
10. The Patriarch
11. Violent Revolution
12. People Of The Lie
13. Europe After The Pain
The "Phantom Antichrist" video can be seen below. The clip was helmed by Poland's Grupa 13, which has previously worked with BEHEMOTH, ELUVEITIE, SONATA ARCTICA and DECAPITATED, among others.
In a recent interview with Suicide Scriptures, Petrozza stated about "Phantom Antichrist", "We made sure that it contains all the trademarks that we're known for — crushing brutality, riffs that are very hard to play, lyrics that talk about things that I get angry about. You know, the full treatment, basically. We didn't try to do anything different. The only goal that we set for the band was we wanted to top everything that we'd done before and make this record an exciting record. That's always the main goal."
He added, "First off, we don't plan ahead too much. I take a long time to prepare the songs at home, in my little home studio, and then when I feel that have something lyrically and musically that I feel is good and exciting and powerful, then I play it to the other guys and then we discuss it. And we might come up with new ideas or we might arrange the songs differently, or we tear them apart and put them back together. It's a long process. We started this in the beginning of 2011, and we kept writing and rehearsing the songs until January 2012."
Regarding the lyrical themes covered on "Phantom Antichrist", Mille said, "Many things: injustice; the crisis in Greece; me thinking that religion is obsolete now in this day and age; personal things. I think the lyrics for 'From Flood Into Fire', they're very different, but it's very hard for me to explain what it's about. I want people to listen to it and leave room for their own imagination. I go to the movies all the time and I'm a big movie nerd, and I hate watching a 'making-of' [documentary featuring behind-the-scenes footage] before I go into a movie. So if I would explain the lyrics right now, [it would lose the magic]."
On the topic of the "Phantom Antichrist" artwork, Mille said, "I got in touch with [artist] Wes Benscoter in the middle of June last year and I gave him a couple of songtitles. And I told him that the album might be called 'Phantom Antichrist'. I already had the idea and I told him what the lyrics were about — it's all about the apocalypse, evil in the world… typical KREATOR topics that I always write about. I think he had 'Pleasure To Kill', and he knew about the band. I liked this AUTOPSY cover that he did, and then I found that he did a lot of great stuff for BLACK SABBATH, SLAYER and many, many bands. . . I talked to one of my colleagues that plays in a German band and he told me that he would draw, with a pencil, artworks and then he would give it to a professional artist. I don't have that much influence on the artwork. I think it's best to give an idea and maybe a title or something, maybe some music even… I think that's more of letting the artist be the artist. He needs to create the visual as we do with the music."
KREATOR is:
Miland "Mille" Petrozza – Vocals, Guitrar
Sami Yli-Sirniö - Guitar
Christian "Speesy" Giesler - Bass
Jürgen "Ventor" Reil - Drums
DRUM! magazine recently conducted an interview with drummer Chris Adler of Richmond, Virginia metallers LAMB OF GOD. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
On the recording sessions for the band's new album, "Resolution":
Adler: "It's not lost on me that when we started this, the drums were done in ten hours. I'm still ready to knock it all out in one day, but our producer insists that you do two a day and go home and refresh. The studio is a luxury for me [now]. It makes for more creativity on the spot. If anything's different than previous records, it's that. When you get to the studio, you have to perform perfectly right away. There's no time for overdubs. Get it right, or it will live on the recording. This is the first time that I came in and realized that I don't have to kill myself that hard — I know 99 percent of what I'm going to do, but I can improve a fill along the way."
On LAMB OF GOD's musical evolution:
Adler: "This is our seventh record. It's not easier to do anything better, or else we would have done it better to begin with. It's analogous to how you swim — you might race your best lap, but six months later you're a little bit better, and two years later you're twice as good. Every time we do an album, we think, 'Holy shit, I can't believe we got here.' It's this natural evolution. If you're not getting better, you should probably stop. That's the conversation we've had with each other. We've built a career where we don't necessarily need to make metal records [anymore]. But we want to make them."
On abandoning his bid for speed king, avoiding a trap that befalls so many players of double bass-drum kits:
Adler: "Our first record has some of the most aggressive drumming I've ever done in my career. I was showing off. But having a guy in the band that's only interested in going 300 bpm all the time and showing off does not make for an interesting song. It's really a race that nobody can win, and if there is a winner, you get nothing. The more time I played, the more I realized how futile it was. I was overlooking so much more on the instrument that it was driving me crazy. It was more important to not play than to overplay. I try to find holes to not fill. It's not entirely 180 [degrees] from when I started, but once I got up to speed, I very quickly backed off of it."
On touring solo as part of the "A Throne With A View" drum clinic:
Adler: "In the past, I was so insecure in my playing that I was unwilling to sit down with anyone else and share my playing. It was honestly an embarrassment. Recently, I got out and did a clinic tour that was very well accepted — but it was torturous for me because I couldn't believe it was happening; I didn't feel I belonged there. Doing that — what I was afraid of, and conquering it — made a huge impact in my accomplishments."
On preparing for a 20-month tour:
Adler: "In a live setting, I'm harder on myself. Both really require a lot of me off of the kit. There's a tremendous amount of practice, of course, but for me as I get older I need to stay in pretty good shape and avoid injury performing. The seven months leading up to the recording process, I didn't have a drink, didn't smoke, ran 45 miles a week in the gym — this is my job. I really want to do my job really well. It's a matter of pride for me. I know when I get on stage, I want to be in top form — for myself and for the people paying money."
On leaving his family — including a three-year-old daughter — for long periods of time to go n otur:
Adler: "It's very difficult for us to leave our wives for that long a period of time. It's not easy. It is emotionally torturous to be away. It's very similar to military couples. It's support for both people, because the wives are behind and wake up in the same house with the same chores to do. At least we wake up and there are people smiling and wanting to hear our art. It's probably the most difficult part of the job. The tradeoff, though, is that if I didn't do it — if I only stayed at home to be a Dad — it would really build a sense of unhappiness and regret."
On the recording sessions for the band's new album, "Resolution":
Adler: "It's not lost on me that when we started this, the drums were done in ten hours. I'm still ready to knock it all out in one day, but our producer insists that you do two a day and go home and refresh. The studio is a luxury for me [now]. It makes for more creativity on the spot. If anything's different than previous records, it's that. When you get to the studio, you have to perform perfectly right away. There's no time for overdubs. Get it right, or it will live on the recording. This is the first time that I came in and realized that I don't have to kill myself that hard — I know 99 percent of what I'm going to do, but I can improve a fill along the way."
On LAMB OF GOD's musical evolution:
Adler: "This is our seventh record. It's not easier to do anything better, or else we would have done it better to begin with. It's analogous to how you swim — you might race your best lap, but six months later you're a little bit better, and two years later you're twice as good. Every time we do an album, we think, 'Holy shit, I can't believe we got here.' It's this natural evolution. If you're not getting better, you should probably stop. That's the conversation we've had with each other. We've built a career where we don't necessarily need to make metal records [anymore]. But we want to make them."
On abandoning his bid for speed king, avoiding a trap that befalls so many players of double bass-drum kits:
Adler: "Our first record has some of the most aggressive drumming I've ever done in my career. I was showing off. But having a guy in the band that's only interested in going 300 bpm all the time and showing off does not make for an interesting song. It's really a race that nobody can win, and if there is a winner, you get nothing. The more time I played, the more I realized how futile it was. I was overlooking so much more on the instrument that it was driving me crazy. It was more important to not play than to overplay. I try to find holes to not fill. It's not entirely 180 [degrees] from when I started, but once I got up to speed, I very quickly backed off of it."
On touring solo as part of the "A Throne With A View" drum clinic:
Adler: "In the past, I was so insecure in my playing that I was unwilling to sit down with anyone else and share my playing. It was honestly an embarrassment. Recently, I got out and did a clinic tour that was very well accepted — but it was torturous for me because I couldn't believe it was happening; I didn't feel I belonged there. Doing that — what I was afraid of, and conquering it — made a huge impact in my accomplishments."
On preparing for a 20-month tour:
Adler: "In a live setting, I'm harder on myself. Both really require a lot of me off of the kit. There's a tremendous amount of practice, of course, but for me as I get older I need to stay in pretty good shape and avoid injury performing. The seven months leading up to the recording process, I didn't have a drink, didn't smoke, ran 45 miles a week in the gym — this is my job. I really want to do my job really well. It's a matter of pride for me. I know when I get on stage, I want to be in top form — for myself and for the people paying money."
On leaving his family — including a three-year-old daughter — for long periods of time to go n otur:
Adler: "It's very difficult for us to leave our wives for that long a period of time. It's not easy. It is emotionally torturous to be away. It's very similar to military couples. It's support for both people, because the wives are behind and wake up in the same house with the same chores to do. At least we wake up and there are people smiling and wanting to hear our art. It's probably the most difficult part of the job. The tradeoff, though, is that if I didn't do it — if I only stayed at home to be a Dad — it would really build a sense of unhappiness and regret."
Finnish heavy metal monsters LORDI will enter WireWorld Studio in Nashville, Tennessee in September with renowned producer Michael Wagener (METALLICA, OZZY OSBOURNE, SKID ROW, DOKKEN, RAVEN, MEGADETH) to begin recording their new album for an early 2013 release.
LORDI previously worked with Wagener on 2010's "Babez For Breakfast", which sold around 1,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 43 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.
As previously reported, LORDI will celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the release of their debut album and the 20-year anniversary of LORDI's conception (then just featuring the band's mainman, Mr. Lordi) the by issuing a new CD/DVD, entitled "Scarchives Vol. 1", containing rare and previously unreleased material.
LORDI previously worked with Wagener on 2010's "Babez For Breakfast", which sold around 1,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 43 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.
As previously reported, LORDI will celebrate the 10-year anniversary of the release of their debut album and the 20-year anniversary of LORDI's conception (then just featuring the band's mainman, Mr. Lordi) the by issuing a new CD/DVD, entitled "Scarchives Vol. 1", containing rare and previously unreleased material.
"Firebirth", the new album from Swiss hard rockers GOTTHARD, entered the chart in the band's home country at position No. 1 — the 14th time that a GOTTHARD CD has topped the Swiss chart in the group's career so far. In addition, the album landed at No. 9 on the German Media Control chart.
Commented GOTTHARD guitarist Leo Leoni: "We are really happy with this success. After the past difficult time, 'Firebirth' is like a new beginning for us and is also album number 1 of a new GOTTHARD chapter.
"We want to thank everyone who was involved, particularly our management, both record labels Nuclear Blast and Musikverttrieb — and, of course, all our fans, who have been with us all the way and have been as always like a family to us. We look upon this success as a joint effort of all of us and our fans too. We are delighted with the great GOTTHARD teamwork. As Neil Young would say, 'Hey, hey, my, my – rock 'n' roll will never die!"
"Firebirth" was released on June 1 via Nuclear Blast/Warner Music. The CD was produced at the band's own Yellow House Studios in Lugano, Switzerland, with guitarist/songwriter Leo Leoni and Paul Lani (who has previously worked with GOTTHARD on several of their earlier albums, including "G-Spot" and "Homerun") at the helm.
"Firebirth" marks GOTTHARD's first release with singer Nic Maeder, who was born in Lausanne, Switzerland, lived in Melbourne, Australia and grew up between Switzerland and "Down Under."
"Firebirth" track listing:
01. Starlight
02. Give Me Real
03. Remember It's Me
04. Fight
05. Yippie Aye Yay
06. Tell Me
07. Shine
08. The Story Is Over
09. Right On
10. S.O.S.
11. Take It All Back
12. I Can
13. Where Are You? (dedicated to Steve Lee)
GOTTHARD vocalist Steve Lee was killed on October 5, 2010 in what has been described as a freak road accident in Nevada.
The "Firebirth" album cover depicts the firebird Phoenix, which symbolically rises "from the ashes to the sky" — this line expresses what each GOTTHARD fan feels and underlines the turbulent time that GOTTHARD has gone through in the past months.
Commented GOTTHARD guitarist Leo Leoni: "We are really happy with this success. After the past difficult time, 'Firebirth' is like a new beginning for us and is also album number 1 of a new GOTTHARD chapter.
"We want to thank everyone who was involved, particularly our management, both record labels Nuclear Blast and Musikverttrieb — and, of course, all our fans, who have been with us all the way and have been as always like a family to us. We look upon this success as a joint effort of all of us and our fans too. We are delighted with the great GOTTHARD teamwork. As Neil Young would say, 'Hey, hey, my, my – rock 'n' roll will never die!"
"Firebirth" was released on June 1 via Nuclear Blast/Warner Music. The CD was produced at the band's own Yellow House Studios in Lugano, Switzerland, with guitarist/songwriter Leo Leoni and Paul Lani (who has previously worked with GOTTHARD on several of their earlier albums, including "G-Spot" and "Homerun") at the helm.
"Firebirth" marks GOTTHARD's first release with singer Nic Maeder, who was born in Lausanne, Switzerland, lived in Melbourne, Australia and grew up between Switzerland and "Down Under."
"Firebirth" track listing:
01. Starlight
02. Give Me Real
03. Remember It's Me
04. Fight
05. Yippie Aye Yay
06. Tell Me
07. Shine
08. The Story Is Over
09. Right On
10. S.O.S.
11. Take It All Back
12. I Can
13. Where Are You? (dedicated to Steve Lee)
GOTTHARD vocalist Steve Lee was killed on October 5, 2010 in what has been described as a freak road accident in Nevada.
The "Firebirth" album cover depicts the firebird Phoenix, which symbolically rises "from the ashes to the sky" — this line expresses what each GOTTHARD fan feels and underlines the turbulent time that GOTTHARD has gone through in the past months.
Long-running Arizona metallers FLOTSAM AND JETSAM have set "Ugly Noise" as the title of their new album, which the band is currently writing for a tentative late 2012/early 2013 release.
Funding for the next FLOTSAM AND JETSAM album is being aided by the PledgeMusic.com project, which encourages fans to contribute funds to the recording of albums and the artists themselves to donate to charity as a part of their fundraising.
FLOTSAM AND JETSAM last summer parted ways with drummer Craig Nielsen and was rejoined by Kelly David Smith.
The band's current lineup is the same as the one that recorded the "Cuatro" (1992), "Drift" (1995) and "High" (1997) albums:
Eric "A.K." Knutson - Vocals
Ed Carlson - Guitar
Michael Gilbert - Guitar
Jason Ward - Bass
Kelly David Smith – Drums
FLOTSAM AND JETSAM's latest album, "The Cold", was released in Europe in February 2011 via Nuclear Blast. The CD's cover artwork was created by Travis Smith, who has previously worked with OPETH, NEVERMORE, AMORPHIS and KING DIAMOND, among others.
"The Cold" was released in North America on September 14, 2010.
Funding for the next FLOTSAM AND JETSAM album is being aided by the PledgeMusic.com project, which encourages fans to contribute funds to the recording of albums and the artists themselves to donate to charity as a part of their fundraising.
FLOTSAM AND JETSAM last summer parted ways with drummer Craig Nielsen and was rejoined by Kelly David Smith.
The band's current lineup is the same as the one that recorded the "Cuatro" (1992), "Drift" (1995) and "High" (1997) albums:
Eric "A.K." Knutson - Vocals
Ed Carlson - Guitar
Michael Gilbert - Guitar
Jason Ward - Bass
Kelly David Smith – Drums
FLOTSAM AND JETSAM's latest album, "The Cold", was released in Europe in February 2011 via Nuclear Blast. The CD's cover artwork was created by Travis Smith, who has previously worked with OPETH, NEVERMORE, AMORPHIS and KING DIAMOND, among others.
"The Cold" was released in North America on September 14, 2010.
RISE TO REMAIN, DEVILDRIVER and YOUR DEMISE are among the artists who are featured on the 21st-anniversary tribute to METALLICA's 1991 self-titled fifth album, commonly known as "the black album," to be made available with next week's (June 20) issue of U.K.'s Kerrang! magazine.
Enitled "The Black Album: Covered", the CD will feature the following track listing:
01. RISE TO REMAIN - "Enter Sandman"
02. YOUR DEMISE - "Sad But True"
03. DEVILDRIVER - "Holier Than Thou"
04. THE DEFILED - "Unforgiven"
05. YASHIN - "Wherever I May Roam"
06. HAWK EYES - "Don't Tread On Me"
07. EVILE - "Through The Never"
08. LOSTALONE - "Nothing Else Matters"
09. SAVAGE MESSIAH - "Of Wolf And Man"
10. BLACK SPIDERS - "The God That Failed"
11. MOTIONLESS IN WHITE - "My Friend Of Misery"
12. DEVIL SOLD HIS SOUL - "The Struggle Within"
"Metallica" in 2009 surpassed SHANIA TWAIN's 1997 record, "Come On Over", as the best-selling CD of the SoundScan era. To date, the black album has sold more than 15.7 million copies in the United States.
Although METALLICA had scored their first radio and video airplay with their previous effort, 1988's "...And Justice For All", the black album was the band's biggest commercial breakthrough, producing five singles and making them into one of the most popular rock bands in the world.
METALLICA will play the complete "black album" at its own Orion Music + More festival, scheduled for June 23-24 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. METALLICA is headlining both days and will perform its entire 1984 album "Ride The Lightning" for the first time ever on the other day of the festival.
Enitled "The Black Album: Covered", the CD will feature the following track listing:
01. RISE TO REMAIN - "Enter Sandman"
02. YOUR DEMISE - "Sad But True"
03. DEVILDRIVER - "Holier Than Thou"
04. THE DEFILED - "Unforgiven"
05. YASHIN - "Wherever I May Roam"
06. HAWK EYES - "Don't Tread On Me"
07. EVILE - "Through The Never"
08. LOSTALONE - "Nothing Else Matters"
09. SAVAGE MESSIAH - "Of Wolf And Man"
10. BLACK SPIDERS - "The God That Failed"
11. MOTIONLESS IN WHITE - "My Friend Of Misery"
12. DEVIL SOLD HIS SOUL - "The Struggle Within"
"Metallica" in 2009 surpassed SHANIA TWAIN's 1997 record, "Come On Over", as the best-selling CD of the SoundScan era. To date, the black album has sold more than 15.7 million copies in the United States.
Although METALLICA had scored their first radio and video airplay with their previous effort, 1988's "...And Justice For All", the black album was the band's biggest commercial breakthrough, producing five singles and making them into one of the most popular rock bands in the world.
METALLICA will play the complete "black album" at its own Orion Music + More festival, scheduled for June 23-24 in Atlantic City, New Jersey. METALLICA is headlining both days and will perform its entire 1984 album "Ride The Lightning" for the first time ever on the other day of the festival.
earMUSIC, the Hamburg, Germany-based rock branch of Edel Group, has set an August 27 release date for "Act I", the new concert CD, DVD and Blu-ray from former NIGHTWISH vocalist Tarja Turunen. The effort was recorded on March 30 and March 31 at Teatro El Círculo in Rosario, Argentina. Each of the two shows featured a different setlist with the exception of five songs, including three tracks from Tarja's time with her previous band ("Nemo", "The Phantom Of The Opera" and "Over The Hills And Far Away").
In other news, Tarja is in pre-production for her third solo album, which is expected to be released sometime next year. She says, "I have 25 songs where to choose the best ones for the album. Some of the musicians are already working on them with me."
Turunen's latest project, HARUS, in December released a CD/DVD/Blu-ray, entitled "In Concert - Live At Sibelius Hall".
The first output of HARUS features traditional and emotional music from Finland presented together with more international repertoire.
Tarja's sophomore solo album, "What Lies Beneath", sold around 1,300 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 24 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.
"What Lies Beneath" was released in North America on September 14, 2010 via The End Records.
In other news, Tarja is in pre-production for her third solo album, which is expected to be released sometime next year. She says, "I have 25 songs where to choose the best ones for the album. Some of the musicians are already working on them with me."
Turunen's latest project, HARUS, in December released a CD/DVD/Blu-ray, entitled "In Concert - Live At Sibelius Hall".
The first output of HARUS features traditional and emotional music from Finland presented together with more international repertoire.
Tarja's sophomore solo album, "What Lies Beneath", sold around 1,300 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 24 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.
"What Lies Beneath" was released in North America on September 14, 2010 via The End Records.
French doom metallers MONOLITHE have finished recording their third full-length album, "Monolithe III", at Reed Studio, to be released later this year via Debemur Morti Productions in a four-panel digipack CD. The CD will be mixed and mastered this summer by Andrew Guillotin at Hybreed Studio. The artwork was created by Norwegian artist Robert Høyem.
"Monolithe III" will once again consist of a single long track.
Shortly after the release of the "Interlude Premier" EP back in 2007, MONOLITHE started to work on a new full-length album that was supposed to become "Monolithe III". This effort was also supposed to be released in 2008 via Appease Me…/Candlelight Records. However, for many reasons (including issues with Candlelight and mixing troubles), the effort never got completed and released.
In 2011, MONOLITHE decided to revisit and complete the music that had been recorded for the unfinished "Monolithe III" album and release it as a new EP. That became 2012's "Interlude Second", consisting of the tracks "Harmony Of Null Matter" Sections 1 and 2.
The next MONOLITHE album, "Monolithe III", will contain brand new material and will not feature any of the music that had been announced in 2008.
Whereas both EPs lean toward experimentation, "Monolithe III" is a continuation of what had been done with the "Monolithe I" and "Monolithe II" albums.
The "Interlude Premier" (2007) and "Interlude Second" (2012) EPs have been released via the Internet free of charge.
"Monolithe III" will once again consist of a single long track.
Shortly after the release of the "Interlude Premier" EP back in 2007, MONOLITHE started to work on a new full-length album that was supposed to become "Monolithe III". This effort was also supposed to be released in 2008 via Appease Me…/Candlelight Records. However, for many reasons (including issues with Candlelight and mixing troubles), the effort never got completed and released.
In 2011, MONOLITHE decided to revisit and complete the music that had been recorded for the unfinished "Monolithe III" album and release it as a new EP. That became 2012's "Interlude Second", consisting of the tracks "Harmony Of Null Matter" Sections 1 and 2.
The next MONOLITHE album, "Monolithe III", will contain brand new material and will not feature any of the music that had been announced in 2008.
Whereas both EPs lean toward experimentation, "Monolithe III" is a continuation of what had been done with the "Monolithe I" and "Monolithe II" albums.
The "Interlude Premier" (2007) and "Interlude Second" (2012) EPs have been released via the Internet free of charge.
FOZZY, the band featuring WWE wrestling superstar Chris Jericho and STUCK MOJO mastermind Rich "The Duke" Ward, has set "Sin And Bones" as the title of the follow-up to 2010's "Chasing The Grail", due on August 14 (one day earlier internationally) via the group's new label, Century Media Records. The cover artwork for the CD can be seen below.
Speaking to U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine, Jericho stated about how the new album title came about, "It's actually pretty funny. It's such a deep title and it can mean a lot of things. But how it really came about was Rich was texting me, saying, 'Man, I've gotta eat something on this tour. I'm all skin and bones.' And 'skin and bones,' he missed the [letter] 'k' and it came out [as] 'sin and bones.' And I showed it to him. I go, 'Dude, what do you think of this as an album title?' And he was like, 'Yeah, it's perfect.'"
In an interview with Sophie K of Total Rock at this year's Download festival, which was held June 8-10 at Donington Park in Leicestershire, United Kingdom, Jericho said about FOZZY's new CD, "Every artist says this, but it's definitely the best thing we've ever done. It kind of takes the FOZZY concept of what we do best, which is very heavy with very melodic choruses and a lot of harmonies. We're just super-proud of it. We worked on it for the last eight months."
He added, "We said we wanna make this like our 'black' album where all the songs kind of fit the same vibe. They're kind of darker lyrically, darker songs, but still catchy and hooky. So I'm really proud of the lyrics that I wrote for this. When I write lyrics, I give them to Rich Ward, and he takes them and writes riffs and songs based around what he feels the tone of the songs are. And I guess the lyrics I wrote are very dark, because it's a very dark record."
When asked if the "darker" vibe of the new album is reflection of personal things that might have gone on in his life, Jericho said, "I don't think so. I've just always been more attuned to that. Like, I write by songtitles. I read somewhere something about somebody woke up with a spider in their mouth. And I was like, 'Spider In My Mouth'. That's like the best title I could ever think of. So I wrote a bunch of lyrics that kind of fit that vibe. So a songtitle will lead… The first single is called 'Sandpaper'. And it's not about a piece of paper that you rub on your face that chafes you, it's just about an abrasive type of a feeling that you might have toward somebody. So it's just stuff like that. But we still sing it with a smile on our faces."
Speaking about some of the individual songs that make up the new FOZZY album, Jericho said, "We've been playing 'Sandpaper' live, and right off the bat people are bobbing their heads. So people can get into it right away, which is cool. I mean, there are so many great songs. There's another song called 'She's My Addiction', which is kind of a more [THE ROLLING] STONES-y, GUNS N' ROSES-type thing, but also very dark. Phil Campbell played a solo for it, from MOTÖRHEAD; he's been a very good friend of the band. There's a song called 'Inside My Head'. There's an 11-minute song about D-Day called 'Storm The Beaches'. 'Blood Happens'… that's a heavy one."
Elaborating further on how the "Spider In My Mouth" songtitle came about, Jericho said, "I read it in a Stephen King book. It said, 'He couldn't have been more disgusted if he woke up with a spider in his mouth. And I was like, 'Ahhh… Dude, how heavy is that?' And I wrote it down in my little songtitles book and about a year or two later, I went back and I looked through and it was like, 'Boom, I could do something with that.' So…"
Ward previously stated about the forthcoming CD, "Although every band says 'this is the best thing we've ever done,' I can honestly say that this new album is going to blow everyone away. It's the epitome of who FOZZY is as a band and will expand upon the ultra-heavy yet super melodic and hooky territory that we've refined for the last 12 years. I have a strong feeling that this will be known as our definitive masterpiece for years to come."
FOZZY last year parted ways with bassist Sean Delson and replaced him with Paul DiLeo (ADRENALINE MOB).
FOZZY released the "Remains Alive & Chasing The Grail" two-CD set on July 18, 2011 via Edel's international rock label earMUSIC.
FOZZY was already on the map as the band with the pro wrestler singer, but "Chasing The Grail" broke them as a proper band. It hit #6 on the U.S. Heatseekers charts and the single "Martyr No More" was a theme song for the WWE Royal Rumble. "Remains Alive" is a 2005 live album (recorded in Australia) that was previously available in digital format only.
"Chasing The Grail" sold around 2,200 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 6 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.
Speaking to U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine, Jericho stated about how the new album title came about, "It's actually pretty funny. It's such a deep title and it can mean a lot of things. But how it really came about was Rich was texting me, saying, 'Man, I've gotta eat something on this tour. I'm all skin and bones.' And 'skin and bones,' he missed the [letter] 'k' and it came out [as] 'sin and bones.' And I showed it to him. I go, 'Dude, what do you think of this as an album title?' And he was like, 'Yeah, it's perfect.'"
In an interview with Sophie K of Total Rock at this year's Download festival, which was held June 8-10 at Donington Park in Leicestershire, United Kingdom, Jericho said about FOZZY's new CD, "Every artist says this, but it's definitely the best thing we've ever done. It kind of takes the FOZZY concept of what we do best, which is very heavy with very melodic choruses and a lot of harmonies. We're just super-proud of it. We worked on it for the last eight months."
He added, "We said we wanna make this like our 'black' album where all the songs kind of fit the same vibe. They're kind of darker lyrically, darker songs, but still catchy and hooky. So I'm really proud of the lyrics that I wrote for this. When I write lyrics, I give them to Rich Ward, and he takes them and writes riffs and songs based around what he feels the tone of the songs are. And I guess the lyrics I wrote are very dark, because it's a very dark record."
When asked if the "darker" vibe of the new album is reflection of personal things that might have gone on in his life, Jericho said, "I don't think so. I've just always been more attuned to that. Like, I write by songtitles. I read somewhere something about somebody woke up with a spider in their mouth. And I was like, 'Spider In My Mouth'. That's like the best title I could ever think of. So I wrote a bunch of lyrics that kind of fit that vibe. So a songtitle will lead… The first single is called 'Sandpaper'. And it's not about a piece of paper that you rub on your face that chafes you, it's just about an abrasive type of a feeling that you might have toward somebody. So it's just stuff like that. But we still sing it with a smile on our faces."
Speaking about some of the individual songs that make up the new FOZZY album, Jericho said, "We've been playing 'Sandpaper' live, and right off the bat people are bobbing their heads. So people can get into it right away, which is cool. I mean, there are so many great songs. There's another song called 'She's My Addiction', which is kind of a more [THE ROLLING] STONES-y, GUNS N' ROSES-type thing, but also very dark. Phil Campbell played a solo for it, from MOTÖRHEAD; he's been a very good friend of the band. There's a song called 'Inside My Head'. There's an 11-minute song about D-Day called 'Storm The Beaches'. 'Blood Happens'… that's a heavy one."
Elaborating further on how the "Spider In My Mouth" songtitle came about, Jericho said, "I read it in a Stephen King book. It said, 'He couldn't have been more disgusted if he woke up with a spider in his mouth. And I was like, 'Ahhh… Dude, how heavy is that?' And I wrote it down in my little songtitles book and about a year or two later, I went back and I looked through and it was like, 'Boom, I could do something with that.' So…"
Ward previously stated about the forthcoming CD, "Although every band says 'this is the best thing we've ever done,' I can honestly say that this new album is going to blow everyone away. It's the epitome of who FOZZY is as a band and will expand upon the ultra-heavy yet super melodic and hooky territory that we've refined for the last 12 years. I have a strong feeling that this will be known as our definitive masterpiece for years to come."
FOZZY last year parted ways with bassist Sean Delson and replaced him with Paul DiLeo (ADRENALINE MOB).
FOZZY released the "Remains Alive & Chasing The Grail" two-CD set on July 18, 2011 via Edel's international rock label earMUSIC.
FOZZY was already on the map as the band with the pro wrestler singer, but "Chasing The Grail" broke them as a proper band. It hit #6 on the U.S. Heatseekers charts and the single "Martyr No More" was a theme song for the WWE Royal Rumble. "Remains Alive" is a 2005 live album (recorded in Australia) that was previously available in digital format only.
"Chasing The Grail" sold around 2,200 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 6 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.
Randall Amplifiers has welcomed Ola Englund to the Signature Amp Series with his soon-to-debut, Mike Fortin-designed "Satan" amplifier.
Nothing can prepare you for the brutal aural assault of Satan. It's punishing, muscular all tube power will bring you to your knees, gain be damned! It is truly an amp that will come to define what metal is and will be for generations. Satan is voiced and tailored to Ola's seven-string style and will stay tight and clear with all seven-and eight-string guitars. Hell ascends in 2013.
Ola Englund is known for his blog, OlaEnglund.com, and YouTube channel which show off metal amps and how they sound in a pro recorded environment. He plays in the bands SIX FEET UNDER, FEARED and SCARPOINT and is currently on the road with SIX FEET UNDER. Ola is using a Randall RV412S cabinet loaded with Celestion Vintage 30s being driven by the Fortin hardwired prototype of Satan. Production versions of Satan will be available Q1 of 2013.
Randall Amplifiers is owned by US Music Corp., located in Buffalo Grove, Illinois.
Nothing can prepare you for the brutal aural assault of Satan. It's punishing, muscular all tube power will bring you to your knees, gain be damned! It is truly an amp that will come to define what metal is and will be for generations. Satan is voiced and tailored to Ola's seven-string style and will stay tight and clear with all seven-and eight-string guitars. Hell ascends in 2013.
Ola Englund is known for his blog, OlaEnglund.com, and YouTube channel which show off metal amps and how they sound in a pro recorded environment. He plays in the bands SIX FEET UNDER, FEARED and SCARPOINT and is currently on the road with SIX FEET UNDER. Ola is using a Randall RV412S cabinet loaded with Celestion Vintage 30s being driven by the Fortin hardwired prototype of Satan. Production versions of Satan will be available Q1 of 2013.
Randall Amplifiers is owned by US Music Corp., located in Buffalo Grove, Illinois.
"Prisoners", the third studio album from Montreal, Quebec, Canada-based melodic death metallers THE AGONIST, sold around 1,400 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD debuted at No. 19 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.
THE AGONIST's previous album, "Lullabies For A Dormant Mind", opened with 600 units back in March 2009 to land at No. 105 on the Heatseekers chart.
A three-and-a-half-minute video clip in which THE AGONIST vocalist Alissa White-Gluz talks about "Prisoners" can be seen below.
Alissa has also posted the following message on Facebook:
"Here's a little insider info just to clarify, since a lot of people don't understand how the industry now works. We would feel bad divulging this kind of info and shattering the dream, but a lot of metal musicians seem to be doing it nowadays so I think we're ok to do so as well.
"Why are we asking you to buy the album? We don't see money from album sales. We have never seen a single royalty penny. But, if your band is known to sell a lot of albums, especially in the first week of release, you get more offers for tours, therefore making it more possible to play to more fans.
"Ticket money: As an opener, we do not see any money from ticket sales or have any control over ticket price. As a headliner we rarely see any money from ticket sales as well.
"YouTube: If you think we are making money off of YouTube plays, check out whose channel our videos are on (Hint: It ain't our channel!) Again, we've never seen a penny from YouTube plays.
"Merch/CD sales: To get our albums shipped out to us, we need to pay about $10. We sell them for $15. Venue takes about 15% usually, manager takes 10%. Therefore, we are left with about $1.25 profit per CD. T-shirts, they cost about $10 to create and ship, we sell them for $20; again, you can do the math. So we have a few dollars profit per item sold, but about $200-$300 in gas per show, plus the expense of work visas (about $4000 for the USA), vehicle and trailer leasing, and all the other expenses that go into touring.
"We sleep in the van, don't eat, don't get to bathe. We hire no crew. We get maybe $20 or $30 a day to get food or save up to pay rent. We invested years of our lives into this and some had to take time off work to record this album. And this is not just our band. We can safely say that this applies to every opening metal act we have ever toured with.
"Sorry to shatter the rock-star fantasy, but the truth is we all work 9-5 as soon as we get home from tour, if our jobs are gracious enough to allow us to leave and return. Otherwise we scramble to find even the most menial jobs just to cover our bills in between tours.
"So — taking our project without paying for it is STEALING. But if you repay us by spreading the word about the band, getting your friends to come out to our shows, buying our merch, giving us a place to stay or some other form of support, you've paid us back. Nobody wants to go to work and not get their salary, but bands do it ALL THE TIME. So, have some respect for the work they do and support in whatever way you can.
"Hope that clarified everything! Enjoy 'Prisoners'!"
"Prisoners", was released on June 4 in Europe and June 5 in North America via Century Media Records. The CD was produced by Christian Donaldson (CRYPTOPSY) and mixed by Tue Madsen (THE HAUNTED, DARK TRANQUILLITY, SUICIDE SILENCE) and it "picks right up where 2009's 'Lullabies For The Dormant Mind' left off, with soaring melodies over complex metal passages that fans of thinking-man's metal can appreciate," according to a press release.
In regards to the album artwork, Alissa White-Gluz states: "We wanted to really include a chaotic visual to reflect the chaotic sound of the band, but we also wanted to show that the lyrics on this album are a lot more introverted…The human face was left non-descript on purpose — it doesn't belong to any particular person, but we could call him the Lonely Solipsist."
"Prisoners" track listing:
01. You're Coming With Me
02. The Escape
03. Predator & Prayer
04. Anxious Darwinians
05. Panophobia
06. Ideomotor
07. Lonely Solipsist
08. Dead Ocean
09. The Mass Of The Earth
10. Everybody Wants You (Dead)
11. Revenge Of The Dadaists
THE AGONIST's previous album, "Lullabies For A Dormant Mind", opened with 600 units back in March 2009 to land at No. 105 on the Heatseekers chart.
A three-and-a-half-minute video clip in which THE AGONIST vocalist Alissa White-Gluz talks about "Prisoners" can be seen below.
Alissa has also posted the following message on Facebook:
"Here's a little insider info just to clarify, since a lot of people don't understand how the industry now works. We would feel bad divulging this kind of info and shattering the dream, but a lot of metal musicians seem to be doing it nowadays so I think we're ok to do so as well.
"Why are we asking you to buy the album? We don't see money from album sales. We have never seen a single royalty penny. But, if your band is known to sell a lot of albums, especially in the first week of release, you get more offers for tours, therefore making it more possible to play to more fans.
"Ticket money: As an opener, we do not see any money from ticket sales or have any control over ticket price. As a headliner we rarely see any money from ticket sales as well.
"YouTube: If you think we are making money off of YouTube plays, check out whose channel our videos are on (Hint: It ain't our channel!) Again, we've never seen a penny from YouTube plays.
"Merch/CD sales: To get our albums shipped out to us, we need to pay about $10. We sell them for $15. Venue takes about 15% usually, manager takes 10%. Therefore, we are left with about $1.25 profit per CD. T-shirts, they cost about $10 to create and ship, we sell them for $20; again, you can do the math. So we have a few dollars profit per item sold, but about $200-$300 in gas per show, plus the expense of work visas (about $4000 for the USA), vehicle and trailer leasing, and all the other expenses that go into touring.
"We sleep in the van, don't eat, don't get to bathe. We hire no crew. We get maybe $20 or $30 a day to get food or save up to pay rent. We invested years of our lives into this and some had to take time off work to record this album. And this is not just our band. We can safely say that this applies to every opening metal act we have ever toured with.
"Sorry to shatter the rock-star fantasy, but the truth is we all work 9-5 as soon as we get home from tour, if our jobs are gracious enough to allow us to leave and return. Otherwise we scramble to find even the most menial jobs just to cover our bills in between tours.
"So — taking our project without paying for it is STEALING. But if you repay us by spreading the word about the band, getting your friends to come out to our shows, buying our merch, giving us a place to stay or some other form of support, you've paid us back. Nobody wants to go to work and not get their salary, but bands do it ALL THE TIME. So, have some respect for the work they do and support in whatever way you can.
"Hope that clarified everything! Enjoy 'Prisoners'!"
"Prisoners", was released on June 4 in Europe and June 5 in North America via Century Media Records. The CD was produced by Christian Donaldson (CRYPTOPSY) and mixed by Tue Madsen (THE HAUNTED, DARK TRANQUILLITY, SUICIDE SILENCE) and it "picks right up where 2009's 'Lullabies For The Dormant Mind' left off, with soaring melodies over complex metal passages that fans of thinking-man's metal can appreciate," according to a press release.
In regards to the album artwork, Alissa White-Gluz states: "We wanted to really include a chaotic visual to reflect the chaotic sound of the band, but we also wanted to show that the lyrics on this album are a lot more introverted…The human face was left non-descript on purpose — it doesn't belong to any particular person, but we could call him the Lonely Solipsist."
"Prisoners" track listing:
01. You're Coming With Me
02. The Escape
03. Predator & Prayer
04. Anxious Darwinians
05. Panophobia
06. Ideomotor
07. Lonely Solipsist
08. Dead Ocean
09. The Mass Of The Earth
10. Everybody Wants You (Dead)
11. Revenge Of The Dadaists
"Serpent Sermon", the 12th studio album from Swedish black metallers MARDUK, sold around 800 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 44 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.
MARDUK's previous CD, "Wormwood", opened with around 650 units to enter the Heatseekers chart at No. 99.
"Serpent Sermon" track listing:
01. Serpent Sermon
02. Messianic Pestilence
03. Souls For Belial
04. Into Second Death
05. Temple Of Decay
06. Damnation's Gold
07. Hail Mary (Piss-Soaked Genuflexion)
08. M.A.M.M.O.N.
09. Gospel Of The Worm
10. World Of Blades
The album was made available as standard CD, vinyl and limited-edition media book with an exclusive bonus track entitled "Coram Satanae".
MARDUK's previous CD, "Wormwood", opened with around 650 units to enter the Heatseekers chart at No. 99.
"Serpent Sermon" track listing:
01. Serpent Sermon
02. Messianic Pestilence
03. Souls For Belial
04. Into Second Death
05. Temple Of Decay
06. Damnation's Gold
07. Hail Mary (Piss-Soaked Genuflexion)
08. M.A.M.M.O.N.
09. Gospel Of The Worm
10. World Of Blades
The album was made available as standard CD, vinyl and limited-edition media book with an exclusive bonus track entitled "Coram Satanae".
Virginia-based melodic tech-death metal masters ARSIS entered Audiohammer Studios in Sanford, Florida on June 7 with producer Mark Lewis (THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, WHITECHAPEL, DEVILDRIVER, DEICIDE, SIX FEET UNDER) to begin recording their fifth full-length album for a fall release via Nuclear Blast Records.
"I am so pleased with the way this album is coming together," commented founding guitarist and vocalist James Malone. "I know we all have put ourselves into this recording and I am sure this will be reflected in the end product. Noah [Martin, bass] and I did more pre-production for the album than any other ARSIS recording, Now, I just have to remember all the parts I tracked for the demos."
Martin added: "Shawn's [Priest] in the thick of tracking drums right now. We lost a little bit of time because of a tropical storm but wasn't too detracting. The album art is in the works as well as attaining the rights for the bonus track. If all goes as planned we'll have an seriously-fucking-filthy album to show for the past few months of effort."
Stated Priest: "Seven songs down, and four to go. The drums sound amazing raw, so I can't even imagine how they will sound after Mark impregnates them with his producer juice."
ARSIS's 2010 album, "Starve For The Devil" (Nuclear Blast Records), sold 1,800 copies in the United States in its first week of release, landing at No. 13 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart.
"I am so pleased with the way this album is coming together," commented founding guitarist and vocalist James Malone. "I know we all have put ourselves into this recording and I am sure this will be reflected in the end product. Noah [Martin, bass] and I did more pre-production for the album than any other ARSIS recording, Now, I just have to remember all the parts I tracked for the demos."
Martin added: "Shawn's [Priest] in the thick of tracking drums right now. We lost a little bit of time because of a tropical storm but wasn't too detracting. The album art is in the works as well as attaining the rights for the bonus track. If all goes as planned we'll have an seriously-fucking-filthy album to show for the past few months of effort."
Stated Priest: "Seven songs down, and four to go. The drums sound amazing raw, so I can't even imagine how they will sound after Mark impregnates them with his producer juice."
ARSIS's 2010 album, "Starve For The Devil" (Nuclear Blast Records), sold 1,800 copies in the United States in its first week of release, landing at No. 13 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart.
Resurrected 1990s Florida-based death metallers MASSACRE will release a seven-inch single, "Condemned To The Shadows", in August, in time for the group's appearance at the Wacken Open Air festival in Germany. The single will contain two brand new songs — "Succumb To Rapture" and "Back From Beyond" — that were recorded in February at CGM Studios in Altamonte Springs, Florida with Tim Vazquez at the helm.
The cover artwork for "Condemned To The Shadows" was created by Richard Schouten and can be seen below (pictured with the artist). According to MASSACRE guitarist Frederick "Rick Rozz" DeLillo, "the art will wrap around from front to back of the seven-inch."
MASSACRE played "Succumb To Rapture" for the first time during the group's January 14 headlining concert at The Brass Mug in Tampa, Florida. Video footage of the performance can be seen below (courtesy of Brutal Broadcast).
The Brass Mug show marked the first-ever appearance by MASSACRE's new lineup, which consists of bassist Terry Butler and guitarist Frederick "Rick Rozz" DeLillo alongside the band's latest additions, Mike Mazzonetto (drums; M INC., PAIN PRINCIPLE) and Ed Webb (vocals; DIABOLIC, GENERICHRIST, DESTINED TO RUIN).
MASSACRE's current lineup is as follows:
* Mike Mazzonetto (M INC., PAIN PRINCIPLE) - Drums
* Ed Webb (DIABOLIC, GENERICHRIST, DESTINED TO RUIN) - Vocals
* Frederick "Rick Rozz" DeLillo (MANTAS, DEATH) – Guitar
* Terry Butler (OBITUARY, SIX FEET UNDER, DEATH) – Bass
MASSACRE recently inked a worldwide deal with Century Media Records.
Rozz started his career at the age of 16 when he formed MANTAS with Chuck Schuldiner. The band's "Death By Metal" demo from 1984 was as influential on the early death metal scene as early recordings by POSSESSED (who released their infamous "Death Metal" demo the same year) and HELLHAMMER's 1983 demos. MANTAS changed its name to DEATH later in 1984, followed by the creation of MASSACRE, with Butler joining the group a short time later. After recording and touring as members of DEATH, Rozz and Butler released the MASSACRE death metal cult classic "From Beyond" in 1991, influencing generations of extreme metal bands worldwide.
"From Beyond" was reissued as a limited-edition digipak CD via Earache Records.The long-out-of-print album was made available on CD with four bonus EP tracks and comes housed in a digipak with extended artwork and a fold-out poster.
A different version of MASSACRE — consisting of DENIAL FIEND members Sam Williams (guitar), Curt Beeson (drums; NASTY SAVAGE), along with Terry Butler, Steve Swanson (guitar) and Kam Lee (vocals; MASSACRE, DEATH, MANTAS) — completed a European tour in late 2007.
The cover artwork for "Condemned To The Shadows" was created by Richard Schouten and can be seen below (pictured with the artist). According to MASSACRE guitarist Frederick "Rick Rozz" DeLillo, "the art will wrap around from front to back of the seven-inch."
MASSACRE played "Succumb To Rapture" for the first time during the group's January 14 headlining concert at The Brass Mug in Tampa, Florida. Video footage of the performance can be seen below (courtesy of Brutal Broadcast).
The Brass Mug show marked the first-ever appearance by MASSACRE's new lineup, which consists of bassist Terry Butler and guitarist Frederick "Rick Rozz" DeLillo alongside the band's latest additions, Mike Mazzonetto (drums; M INC., PAIN PRINCIPLE) and Ed Webb (vocals; DIABOLIC, GENERICHRIST, DESTINED TO RUIN).
MASSACRE's current lineup is as follows:
* Mike Mazzonetto (M INC., PAIN PRINCIPLE) - Drums
* Ed Webb (DIABOLIC, GENERICHRIST, DESTINED TO RUIN) - Vocals
* Frederick "Rick Rozz" DeLillo (MANTAS, DEATH) – Guitar
* Terry Butler (OBITUARY, SIX FEET UNDER, DEATH) – Bass
MASSACRE recently inked a worldwide deal with Century Media Records.
Rozz started his career at the age of 16 when he formed MANTAS with Chuck Schuldiner. The band's "Death By Metal" demo from 1984 was as influential on the early death metal scene as early recordings by POSSESSED (who released their infamous "Death Metal" demo the same year) and HELLHAMMER's 1983 demos. MANTAS changed its name to DEATH later in 1984, followed by the creation of MASSACRE, with Butler joining the group a short time later. After recording and touring as members of DEATH, Rozz and Butler released the MASSACRE death metal cult classic "From Beyond" in 1991, influencing generations of extreme metal bands worldwide.
"From Beyond" was reissued as a limited-edition digipak CD via Earache Records.The long-out-of-print album was made available on CD with four bonus EP tracks and comes housed in a digipak with extended artwork and a fold-out poster.
A different version of MASSACRE — consisting of DENIAL FIEND members Sam Williams (guitar), Curt Beeson (drums; NASTY SAVAGE), along with Terry Butler, Steve Swanson (guitar) and Kam Lee (vocals; MASSACRE, DEATH, MANTAS) — completed a European tour in late 2007.
http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/soulflypremiere/massacre7inch.jpg
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