[Classic_Rock_Forever] Aerosmith, Iron Maiden, Queensryche, Slayer, Phil Anselmo, Anthrax, Great White and tons more hard rock and heavy metal news

0
 

AEROSMITH guitarist Joe Perry recently signed a deal to write his autobiography — likely to be released in fall 2013 — and told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution he plans to be candid about the band's history.

"I expect there will be a fair amount about me and Steven [Tyler, vocals], considering I've spent a good part of my life with him and three other guys," Perry said. "The reality of writing it is starting to sink in, but I'm mostly wondering how much I want to put in the book and what to keep out."

Tyler's "Does The Noise In My Head Bother You?" autobiography was issued last year, while the band's drummer, Joey Kramer, had his own tale, "Hit Hard: A Story Of Hitting Rock Bottom At The Top", published in 2009. AEROSMITH bassist Tom Hamilton is also rumored to be working on a book.

AEROSMITH's new album, "Music From Another Dimension!", will arrive on November 6 via Columbia Records. The CD was helmed by producer Jack Douglas, who previously worked with AEROSMITH on classic early albums like "Toys In The Attic" and "Rocks" as well as on 2004's "Honkin' On Bobo".

"I'm really anxious to hear what fans have to say about it," Perry said. "It's different than anything we've done in a long time, but the energy that runs through rock 'n' roll has stayed constant through all the years. Mostly by now I'm so sick of listening to the [new] songs, but now I'm listening for the fun of it."

AEROSMITH began work on its first all-new album since 2001 last year, with the rest of the band working on music while Tyler made his "American Idol" debut.

Tyler announced his departure from "Idol" last month after serving as a judge for two seasons on the hit Fox show. The AEROSMITH frontman explained that he wanted to refocus on his music career.

"I know he really wanted to go back to the show if they asked him, but when the record started gathering momentum and the thought of going out and being locked into another year…as much as he enjoyed doing ['Idol'], I think he missed being in the band full time," Perry told The Atlanta Journal-Constitution, quickly adding, "Not that I ever felt he wasn't present 100 percent for the band."
 
According to InGoal Magazine, backup goaltender Chris Mason of the NHL hockey team Nashville Predators is set to debut his new mask, featuring another tribute to British heavy metal legends IRON MAIDEN in the shape of the band's mascot Eddie.

The design in question utilizes Eddie from the Egyptian-themed cover of MAIDEN's "Powerslave" album, which also produced the single "Aces High" and corresponding Eddie included on Mason's 2011 Winnipeg Jets mask. Both covers were originally created originally by artist Derek Riggs, who inspired the mask's artist, Steve Nash of EyeCandyAir.

Nashville Predators signed Mason earlier this summer to a one-year contract worth $1.25 million and $250,000 in potential bonuses for a cap hit of $1.5 million.

The 36-year-old Mason previously spent eight seasons with the Predators — from 1998 to 2002 and 2003 to 2008. Since his most recent departure from Nashville, he played two seasons for St. Louis (2008-2010) and two seasons for Atlanta/Winnipeg (2010-2012).
 
http://www.blabbermouth.net/soulflypremiere/chrismasonmasknew.jpg
 
 
Christa Titus of Billboard.com recently conducted an interview with the new QUEENSRŸCHE lineup — featuring singer Todd La Torre as the replacement for Geoff Tate — alongside Michael Wilton (guitar), Eddie Jackson (bass), Scott Rockenfield (drums) and Parker Lundgren (guitar). An excerpt from the chat follows below.

Billboard.com: What progress are you making with the demos you're doing?

Rockenfield: It's going well. We've been writing for the last couple months. It's all so fresh to us, even just our relationship with Todd being in the band. It's kind of a whirlwind. I think our heads every day are kind of spinning with everything that we're dealing with. Some of it's good and some of it's bad that you gotta deal with, and you know all the stuff that we're going through.

Wilton: Each one of us has hard drives full of material that was never used for whatever reasons . . . We all wanna write these songs together. We all want to be in the room, use the best ability of everybody and make these songs a band signature, [where] we play it before we burn it on a computer. You gotta play it together. We wanna bring that essence back like we used to do in Scott's basement that we used to call the Dungeon [where the band rehearsed in its early days]. That's where the magic happens.
Jackson: It also prepares yourself even more so for right before you start recording these songs.

Rockenfield: What we're going to try to do is get back to our face-to-face interactive roots and write songs and pull from our history, and look what we are excited about and do that. The cool thing is, Todd, joining and doing this with us now, is helping us do that, because he's excited about that direction and likes do that as well. The plan is, soon enough down the road, we'll be able to give some news about what's happening, get in the studio in the next coming months. We don't have any timeline for that yet, but that's the plan [to] be able to go out and support some of that next year.

Billboard.com: Are Todd and Parker helping you with songwriting?

Jackson: Absolutely. Everyone's contributing. Just sharing ideas and, like Scotty was saying, we don't really have an exact studio date or time, but hoping to get in the studio here within the next month or so.

Wilton: That's fun for me to actually work with Parker so he's not actually just being told what to do. The guy has a lot of creative elements that are untapped, and obviously in playing some of [former guitarist] Chris [DeGarmo's] parts he's really learned and he's really upping his game. It's exciting for him and me to kind of bring these elements that he's never done before and really hone in, like Scott said, on the past of guitar double solos and experimenting with sounds.

Billboard.com: Clearly, as expressed by all the commentary online, there are a lot of fans that support you, but there are also fans who feel there is no way you can go on without Geoff.

Rockenfield: We can't go out and try to convince the fans. The only way we can do that or to show them what is available for them as QUEENSRŸCHE, we're just gonna go out and do it and they can come out and experience what we're gonna do. Our fans have been family. There's a lot of people in our camp for 30 years that have been with us for a long time and we're quite close to a lot of them, and it is affecting them, once again, kind of like a divorce, where they don't know what to do. They don't know what side to take. It hasn't been the easiest thing. But there's a lot of them that have been understanding of it and they get it, and they're gonna make a decision about what they wanna do or how they wanna judge their opinion based upon their own personal thing, and that's totally cool.
 
Three of the leading gear/technology companies for both musicians and consumers alike are returning with their successful "Metal Masters" clinic series. Partnering up with Guitar Center, "Metal Masters 4" will take place in New York City on September 7 at The Gramercy. Doors will open at 7:00 p.m. with the clinic starting at 8:00 p.m. "Metal Masters 4" is bringing back some of the classic "Metal Masters" while adding a few new members to the list. As always, fans can expect some surprise appearances and unforgettable performances. "Metal Masters 4" will be comprised of Philip Anselmo (DOWN, ex-PANTERA), Kerry King (SLAYER), Dave Lombardo (SLAYER), Scott Ian (ANTHRAX), Charlie Benante (ANTHRAX), Frank Bello (ANTHRAX) and newly added masters Billy Sheehan (MR. BIG, DAVID LEE ROTH) and Gary Holt (EXODUS, SLAYER).

Speaking to Artisan News, King stated about the upcoming "Metal Masters" event, "The reason I still do it to this day is to get Phil involved, because I think the world misses him. He's good at what he does and I'm one of the few guys he looks up to to the point where he'd come out and do it. And I'm not blowing sunshine up my ass; it's just a fact. And everybody wants to see Phil. Everybody loves Phil. When I come out, it's a huge applause. When Phil comes out, it's like somebody came back from the dead; they're not expecting it. And it's cool."

Regarding which songs fans can expect to see performed at "Metal Masters 4", King said, "We're gonna do more SLAYER stuff this time. We've been focusing on PANTERA. So we're gonna do a few… I think Holt signed on this time, so we'll probably do an EXODUS tune and just see what fucking comes of it."

If the still-circulating buzz from "Metal Masters 3" is any indication, "Metal Masters 4" will not disappoint anyone who is lucky enough to see it. "Metal Masters 3", which took place at the Key Club in Los Angeles, featured the "Metal Masters" demonstrating their personal techniques and styles used to create the music that millions bang their heads to every day. The highlight of the event came when vocalist and now returning "Metal Master" Philip Anselmo jumped onstage to perform SLAYER fan favorites "Angel Of Death" and "Raining Blood" before launching into five songs from the PANTERA classic album "Vulgar Display Of Power". Anselmo and the "Metal Masters" comprised of David Ellefson (MEGADETH), Chris Broderick (MEGADETH), Kerry King (SLAYER), Dave Lombardo (SLAYER), Charlie Benante (ANTHRAX), Frank Bello (ANTHRAX) and Mike Portnoy (ADRENALINE MOB, FLYING COLORS), blazed through "Mouth For War", "A New Level", "Walk", "Fucking Hostile" and "This Love". Geezer Butler, of the legendary BLACK SABBATH, joined all of the "Metal Masters" on stage for the finale of "Hole In The Sky".

"We're extremely excited to be bringing the Metal Masters series back home to the East Coast with our most diverse and talented lineup to date," says Mark Menghi, Samson's Director of Marketing. "I say it every time and this time will be no different, but 'Metal Masters 4' is going to be the best one yet..."

Tickets are available for $20 (first come, first served) at the Gramercy Theatre's box office and online at Ticketmaster.com.
 
According to the Los Angeles Times, the biopic "Greetings From Tim Buckley", which marks the feature film debut of ANTHRAX bassist Frank Bello, will premiere this September at the Toronto International Film Festival. Frank Wood ("Changeling", "The Taking of Pelham 1 2 3") plays songwriter and Jeff Buckley collaborator Gary Lucas, while Penn Badgley ("Gossip Girl") has been cast as Tim Buckley's son Jeff. Dan Algrant ("People I Know", "Naked in New York") directed from a script he co-wrote with Emma Sheanshang and David Brendel.

When asked how he got involved with the project, Bello told Artisan News (see video below), "I have an agent friend in New York — she's an acting agent. I've studied theater way back when — I love it; it's just another extension of performing. So… nobody's gonna become the big-actor guy. I love acting, but it's a thing I do; it's just a hobby. So I got a call to go read for this 'Greetings From Tim Buckley' movie. I liked the script; it was great. This role of Richard Hell, a rock/punk icon, I thought it would look really cool. I did some research on it. I read for it and it worked; it just clicked. I read for it on a Thursday, I was cast on a Friday and it started shooting on a Monday. . . I did a week on it — seven days. It was 16-hour shoots."

He added, "It was a great experience. I think people are gonna see a different side of me. I had to sing in French, which is pretty crazy; I never spoke a word of French in my life. That was pretty fast to learn, yeah. But it was a lot of fun. I was surrounded by some really great actors. I learned a lot on it and I had some fun."

Bello told Legendary Rock Interviews about his work in "Greetings From Tim Buckley". "As soon as I got the part, I just sunk myself into doing a lot of research. I am a big Jeff Buckley fan and I really was familiar with his songs and I knew of his father Tim, so I had heard of this Richard Hell character but I really only knew of him. There was really a lot of learning I had to do because I wasn't that familiar with all of his music and his personality. It was a lot of fun once I started researching it. . . Of course, the director gave me a ton of notes on everything from the music to the look of the character. It was kind of cool to put their pieces of research together with mine and bring this character to life."

Bello shot his scenes in New York in September 2011, including an early call on the set the morning after ANTHRAX's September 14 homecoming concert at Yankee Stadium with the rest of the so-called "Big Four" of 1980s thrash metal (METALLICA, MEGADETH and SLAYER).

"Greetings From Tim Buckley" is one of three rival projects centering on Buckley's life. The film will tell the true story of the days leading up to Jeff Buckley's eminent 1991 performance at his father's tribute concert in St. Ann's Church.

According to indieWIRE, Bello previously had tiny roles in a handful of television and movie projects mostly as a member of ANTHRAX, though he did also play "Johhny, Rocker" in an episode of "Law & Order".
 
"The Classic Metal Show" recently conducted an iinterview with GREAT WHITE guitarist Mark Kendall.

Asked about whether he can see why some fans may feel it's hypocritical for GREAT WHITE to tell its former lead singer, Jack Russell, that he can't "party" anymore when the entire band had a reputation for being one of the hardest-partying acts of the 1980s, Kendall said, "Well, I think... Partying is one thing, but major drug abuse where it's destroying your body is a different thing; it's on a different level. I work with a lot of struggling addicts and alcoholics, and the reason most of them are successful is because they wanna be well, and I don't think we were really getting that with Jack. It's really frustrating. I put my heart and soul into him, trying to get him well. I was his pain-medication guy. I've tried everything. You know, it's difficult, man. I wish he would really, really just flush his body of all the stuff he does to it, and just get well. That's all I can say about that."

Kendall also addressed the possibility of GREAT WHITE one day reconciling with its former singer and returning to its classic formation. "He's suing us [over the rights to the group's name], [so] it's hard to even answer that right now," he said. "I really can't envision… I mean, if he was truly well… I'm not sure. It's difficult to answer when we're in the middle of everything we are."

He added, "[Jack] is a person that's gone down the worst drug-abuse highway that I've ever witnessed in my life. This isn't like, 'Oh, we got into a fight and we're just over each other. He just self-destructed. This is nothing that anybody wanted to see happen. We've waited, we've tried, everybody's fought to try to get him well. I mean, I've been at his bedside in rehab day after day going, 'You can do it.' I've cried in family meetings, just saying, 'I don't think you have another bender in you, buddy. C'mon. You can do it. One day at a time.' The whole thing. So it's totally not easy to watch or be a witness to… I don't know what to say.

"I've seen some of the YouTube [clips of him] playing [with his new band] and I know what he's capable of and I'm not seeing it — I'm seeing somebody who's struggling, he's not singing well. He looks like he can barely stand up. It's not the Jack Russell I've known — the guy flying around the stage and taking command like he did in the past. It's just addiction; it's ugly."

"The Classic Metal Show" can be heard heard Saturdays from 9 p.m. to 3 a.m. online and uncensored at www.theclassicmetalshow.com.
 
 
GUNS N' ROSES/SIXX: A.M. guitarist DJ Ashba will sit in with the house band THE ROOTS on tonight's (Tuesday, August 14) episode of "Late Night With Jimmy Fallon". Ashba says, "I will be rockin' out with THE ROOTS the whole show."

"Late Night With Jimmy Fallon" airs on NBC at 12:35 a.m. ET/PT.

As previously reported, Ashba will appear at the "Off The Deep End" pool party on Saturday, September 1 at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Ashba, who moved to Las Vegas in January, recently teamed up with BullyVille.com, the Internet's first anti-bullying social web site and media platform. The guitarist used BullyVille.com himself to reveal his struggles coping with being bullied as a child by his own father.

Ashba joined GUNS N' ROSES in March 2009 following the departure of Robin Finck.
 
The SeaWorld theme park has fired back at MÖTLEY CRÜE drummer Tommy Lee for his letter objecting to the blaring of rock music and use of CRÜE songs during "Shamu Rocks" shows, claiming it tortured the animals. SeaWorld representative Fred Jacobs said, "PETA [People For The Ethical Treatment Of Animals] is wrong concerning the effect of music on SeaWorld's killer whales . . . we have never played a MÖTLEY CRÜE song in any Shamu show, nor will we. I can assure you the volume of music played during parts of our killer-whale shows poses no risk at all to our animals."

This was followed by a response by Lee, who wrote in a new letter dated August 13, "Thanks for the expected lame corporate response which avoids the issue at hand.

"PETA's SeaWorld campaign and my letter are based on science from the UN wildlife panel and an NRDC study on how loud noises are tortuous to marine mammals, especially captive ones.

"SeaWorld won't address the issue of noise torture because you can't defend it.

"I'm glad to know 'Shamu Rocks' doesn't feature any MÖTLEY CRÜE music; PETA members are now monitoring the sad shows to see which bands are featured so that those bands can learn about this issue too."

According to PETA, the "Shamu Rocks" shows put orcas in an environment that is even more stressful than the one they already are forced to endure.

Says PETA: "Orcas at SeaWorld are already denied everything that is natural and important to them. These intelligent animals are forced to learn circus-style tricks and are confined to pitifully small concrete tanks, where they have no choice but to swim in endless circles. Like many marine animals, orcas are guided by an intricate sonar system, which is thwarted in small aquarium tanks. Excessive outside noise only adds to the animals' distress, causing them to become fearful and aggressive. Some experts say that a noise level of 70 decibels is too much for the orcas to handle, yet 'Shamu Rocks' shows reach up to 90 decibels. These shows teach visitors all the wrong lessons: that it is acceptable to imprison animals, deprive them of freedom of movement and thought, and use them for our entertainment, despite the risks to their physical and mental health."

In 2010, Lee fired off a letter to SeaWorld over its treatment of the 12,000-pound orca named Tilikum which was involved in the death of three people, most recently Dawn Brancheau, a 40-year-old trainer with 16 years of experience at SeaWorld. Lee complained about the way SeaWorld got whale sperm from Tilikum, writing, "We know from SeaWorld's own director of safety (as well as videos on the web) that the way you get his sperm is by having someone get into the pool and masturbate him with a cow's vagina filled with hot water.

"Even in my wildest days with MOTLEY CRUE, I never could've imagined something so sick and twisted."
 
http://www.blabbermouth.net/soulflypremiere/tommyseaworldresponse.jpg
 
 
Brent Muscat (FASTER PUSSYCAT), Frank Dimino (ANGEL), Bruce Kulick (KISS), Jimmy Crespo (AEROSMITH), Paul Shortino (QUIET RIOT, ROUGH CUTT), Blas Elias (SLAUGHTER) and Ron Keel (KEEL) will be part of the rock star lineup for the weekly, free, two-hour rock trivia contest "Are You Smarter Than a Rock Star?", to be held in August and September at Kiss By Monster Mini Golf, the rock and roll-themed amusement attraction based around the band KISS.

Every Tuesday, for eight weeks, contestants will compete in a rock trivia contest that will consist of three, 30-minute rounds containing 30 rock-related questions in each round. The first three rounds will be against fellow fans of rock while the fourth round will put contestants against one of rock's very own. Breaks will be given between rounds with refreshments provided by Brew Ha Ha.

The grand finale will take place on Tuesday, September 25 in historic downtown Las Vegas at Fremont Street Experience on the 3rd Street Stage.

For more information, visit www.monsterminigolf.com.
 
Metal Hammer's Amit conducted an interview with vocalist Derrick Green and guitarist Andreas Kisser of Brazilian/American thrashers SEPULTURA before their August 10 performance at the Bloodstock Open Air festival at Catton Park, Derbyshire in the United Kingdom. You can now watch the chat below.

On SEPULTURA's plans for the remainder of 2012:

Andreas: "We're going to Indonesia and Malaysia, we're going to South America still, and we're doing a cruise at the end of the year — Barge To Hell — which will be very interesting. And then we're gonna stop. We're already thinking about new ideas for the next album, so probably next year we're gonna have something new going on. We have also plans to record a DVD with the French percussive group [Les Tambours Du Bronx], [with] which we did a show at [the] Wacken [Open Air] festival [in early August] — old SEPULTURA, new SEPULTURA music with them. And that's the plan — finsi the year on a high note."

On what SEPULTURA's new, 21-year-old drummer Eloy Casagrande has added to the band:

Derrick: "Definitely the fact that he's young and that energy helps a lot. He's a very disciplined drummer — he's been playing since he was seven. And he's been doing a lot of things by himself and playing with different people, and that's really, really impressive. He had a lot of things put together before we even met him; he's already done so much. And I think with us, a combination us together, it's a great learning process for him to grow and at the same time, we're learning a lot from him, so we can do this together. And this is something extremely important when you're doing a band that's been together for so long, to have this connection. And we felt this connection with him immediately. And we could tell that he was very focused and very committed to doing extremely good music."

Casagrande joined SEPULTURA as the replacement for Jean Dolabella, who left the band because he could no longer handle being away from home for long periods of time.

Eloy is a 21-year-old drum prodigy from São Paulo, Brazil who won the Modern Drummer "Undiscovered Drummer" contest as a teenager in 2006.

Dolabella left SEPULTURA after a five-year run of relentless touring and two studio albums. He joined SEPULTURA in 2006 following the departure of the band's original drummer, Igor Cavalera.

SEPULTURA is touring in support of its 12th studio album, and Nuclear Blast Records debut, "Kairos", which hit stores in July 2011.
 
As part of "Metal Mania" month at Guitar Center, FEAR FACTORY bassist Matt DeVries will take part in an in-store meet-and-greet today (Tuesday, August 14) at 6:00 p.m. at Guitar Center (1020 Park Manor Blvd.) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Says Matt: "Come down, hang out, and enter to win two tickets to the FEAR FACTORY show that same night at Altar Bar.... Go Pens!!!"

DeVries, previously of CHIMAIRA (where he played guitar) and most recently SIX FEET UNDER, joined FEAR FACTORY in February as the replacement for Byron Stroud.

"I have been a fan of FEAR FACTORY since 1992 and I could not be more excited to be part of this incredible band," Matt stated at the time. "We have shared the stage many times together and now I'm beyond stoked to be on the same stage playing together."
 
Guitarist/vocalist Matt Heafy of Florida metallers TRIVIUM took part in a special one-night-only acoustic performance to benefit MOSCOT Mobileyes Foundation. The event was held last night (Monday, August 13) between 7:30 p.m. and 9:00 p.m. at The MOSCOT Gallery & Music Space in New York City.

In addition to playing a seven-song set, Heafy took questions throughout the performance from the audience.

Commenting on his side project MRITYU, Heafy said, "It was originally intended to be full-on black metal… '90s style, second or third wave black metal." Heafy added that he decided to take the new group in different direction after discussing it with former EMPEROR frontman Ihsahn. "Somehow we got in touch and I sent the demo along. He started passing a few things to me to listen to, films to watch, CDs to check out, and it inspired this band to become this whole other thing. I don't even know what to call the genre anymore."

He added, "It's not going to play shows. It's just me on vocals, guitar and bass. I'm going to have Nick [Augusto, TRIVIUM drummer] on drums. If it ever did play live, I'll only have TRIVIUM guys play in it. You'll maybe see something with that band a year from now. It's got to be staggered with the TRIVIUM release. So yeah, I'll be doing another thing. I guess you can call it extreme metal."

TRIVIUM is continuing to tour in support of its fifth studio album, "In Waves", which came out a year ago.
 
JODIS, the band featuring members of KHANATE, ISIS, MAMIFFER, BLIND IDIOT GOD, OLD, KHLYST, and OLD MAN GLOOM, will release its sophomore album, "Black Curtain", on October 2 via Hydra Head Records. The follow-up to 2007's "Secret House" will be available via limited vinyl LP, CD, and digital.

Known for their work in the dark recesses of heavy music via such vehicles as KHANATE, ISIS and BLIND IDIOT GOD, the trio of Aaron Turner, James Plotkin and Tim Wyskida would have found it easy enough to kick out something adequately dark and crushing with the formation of JODIS in 2007. Certainly outside expectations of what the group would sound like fell along those lines, but to the dismay of some and the delight of others, the final results were altogether more lush, melodic, and downright beautiful than anything previously imagined. The foundation for their debut album, "Secret House", was laid around a careful synthesis of Plotkin and Wiskyda's reductive, mercurial rhythmic interplay coupled with Turner's knack for constructing monolithic sounds and dramatic ambience. Each note was deliberate. The gaps between notes were as important as the notes themselves. Tempos were made malleable. But a clear sense of structure and a dreamy, understated elegance threaded through the album's seven tracks to produce an alluring, if somewhat bleak sonic landscape for the listener.

After several years of steady concentrated work, JODIS has returned with its sophomore album, "Black Curtain". Once again, the trio's emphasis on sparseness and tension remains in full force, but is tempered by a greater focus on melody and slow blooming song structure. While its predecessor thrived on a kind of predatory patience, "Black Curtain"'s reserve is more of a salve than a threat. The album opens with "Broken Ground", where spikes of reverb- drenched guitar sprawl across a humming electronic horizon, over which delicately draped vocal melodies twist, collide and dissolve. Drums occasionally rise from the ether, punctuating the meditative passages of pastoral calm. The band continues to explore the many outlets of their panoramic minimalism across the airy expanses of "Silent Temple", the shimmering melancholy of "Red Bough", the hymn-like repetition of "Corridor", and the mantric chants of "Awful Feast". The more visceral and vitriolic elements of JODIS's members' past work are put on hold for the majority of "Black Curtain". But the thunderous low-tuned throbs of guitar and strong-armed pounding of the drums rear their head in the closing track "Beggar's Grasp". Even in this rousing close to the album, the harmonious core is retained, and the listener is immersed in the depths of the sound around them, rather than mercilessly suffocated by it.

"Black Curtain" is no doubt heavy — emotionally, even sonically — but its true strength lies in its graceful reserve and reverential worship of gray-skied beauty.

"Black Curtain" vinyl track listing:

01. Broken Ground
02. Silent Temple
03. Awful Feast
04. Red Bough
05. Corridor
06. Beggar's Grasp

"Black Curtain" CD track listing:

01. Broken Ground
02. Silent Temple
03. Red Bough
04. Corridor
05. Awful Feast
06. Beggar's Hand
 
Relapse Records has announced the signing of Richmond, Virginia's INTER ARMA. The band featuring T.J. Childers (drums), Steven Russell (guitars), Trey Dalton (guitars), Mike Paparo (vocals), and Joe Kerkes (bass), formed in 2006 and released its full-length debut, "Sundown", in 2010 via Forcefield Records.

Combining a punk rock ethos with an esoteric blend of psychedelia, black metal, and doom/sludge, the quintet quickly developed a name for themselves in the underground through relentless touring and mesmerizing live performances.

Commented INTER ARMA on the signing: "It's pretty crazy to think that we'll be tacitly associated with bands like NEUROSIS, AMORPHIS, HUMAN REMAINS, DISEMBOWELMENT, THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, INCANTATION, MASTODON, et al. That's a pretty high standard to hold yourself to, but we'll give it our damndest."

INTER ARMA recently released a brand new 12-inch EP, entitled "Destroyer", via Toxic Assets Records.

The band plans to finish recording its second full-length album later this summer for an early 2013 release. In the meantime, INTER ARMA will be hitting the road in for a four-week run.
 
Reactivated classic early '80s metal band OBSESSION will release its long-awaited new album, "Order Of Chaos", on October 3 in Europe and October 9 in North America through Inner Wound Recordings. The CD will be made available in Japan on September 19 through Spiritual Beast.

In a recent interview, OBSESSION vocalist Michael Vescera described "Order of Chaos" as "a cross between 'Carnival Of Lies' [2006] and the early OBSESSION stuff." He added, "I think it's geared more towards the older sound, the straight-tforward metal like the 'Marshall Law' album [1984], but you can hear some of the 'Carnival' sound in there, too."

"Order of Chaos" track listing:

01. Order Of Chaos
02. Twist Of The Knife
03. Forbidden Desire
04. When The Smoke Clears
05. License To Kill
06. Wages Of Sin
07. Cold Day In Hell
08. Act Of God
09. Mercy Killing
10. Dark Shadows

The Japanese edition of the album will feature the exclusive bonus track "The Damned".
 
The Anti-Defamation League has written a letter of apology to Connecticut hardcore/metal masters HATEBREED after the director of the organization's Upper Midwest Region wrote an article for CNN's web site which erroneously listed HATEBREED as one of "white power" bands whose names "defiantly express feelings of hate or violence."

After it was revealed that the white supremacist responsible for the massacre last week at a Sikh temple in Wisconsin was a white supremacist skinhead who played in two white power music bands, END APATHY and DEFINITE HAT, Anti-Defamation League's Lonnie Nasatir wrote an opinion piece for the cable news channel urging members of the media to "shine the light of day on the hateful lyrics and subculture, so that more people will speak out and reject their disturbing and sometimes violent message." In the article, he named less than a dozen of "about 100 to 150 white power bands" that exist in the United States, and included HATEBREED in the list.

Speaking to Metal Hammer at this year's edition of the Bloodstock Open Air festival, which was held August 9-12 at Catton Park, Derbyshire in the United Kingdom (see video below), HATEBREED frontman Jamey Jasta stated about the incident, "It was just a really dumb mistake on [CNN's] part. And I've gotta hand it to them. Dealing with the lawyers and everything, they took it off within 30 minutes."

He added, "It's just silly. The whole thing… Because the band has [name] the word 'hate' in it… Why does the word 'hate' have to be strictly used by racists? That's a fucking crock of shit. Let's take our words back. It's the English language. 'Oh, a hamburger doesn't have ham in it.' Get a fucking clue! You know what I mean?! Think about it. That's what we're dealing with here. And anybody that wants to Twitter me or Facebook me and say, 'Oh, well, you should have thought twice before you named your band HATEBREED.' What are you talking about? We have a fucking Grammy nomination, we've been in major motion pictures, we've toured all over the world with OZZY [OSBOURNE] and SLAYER… It's an awesome name. The fucking name rules! The logo is legendary and synonymous with so many fucking great things. So fuck all these people that wanna say differently; I'm over it. And the ADL [Anti-Defamation League], they issued us a really nice letter of apology [see below]. And they said, 'We know that HATEBREED has never had any sort of racist idealogy, and we regret the error and we're sorry.' And they apologized to our fans. So what more could you ask for? You know what I mean?!"

After removing HATEBREED's name from the list, CNN included the following message at the bottom of Nasatir's article: "A previous version of this commentary incorrectly included the band HATEBREED in a list of white power bands. HATEBREED is a self-described 'hardcore metal' band. CNN regrets the error."
 
LAMB OF GOD frontman Randy Blythe was released from a prison in Prague, the Czech Republic, on August 2, more than a month after he was arrested and incarcerated on charges of alleged manslaughter. Blythe was facing the possibility of conviction and a long-term jail sentence after a 2010 incident in which a fan attending a LAMB OF GOD show died almost a month later, allegedly from injuries sustained when he was thrown off the stage. Blythe's predicament galvanized the heavy rock community, with artists across the hard rock genre pledging their support.

A few days after his return to Richmond, Virginia, Blythe spoke to Linda Leseman of LA Weekly about his feelings, his plans to stand trial, and losing his own daughter to a heart defect. An excerpt from the chat follows below.

LA Weekly: You've said you'll stand trial in Prague if you have to because you can understand how the young man's family must feel, as you lost a child yourself.

Randy: My first wife and I... we had a daughter together who had a heart defect. We knew that when the baby was in utero. And the doctors told us it's going to be no big deal, when [she comes] out, we'll operate on her...At about seven and a half, eight months or so, the baby went into distress in utero. So there was a Caesarean section. She came out. She was alive. But, due to the fact that she was slightly premature, she was too small for them to go ahead and operate on. So, she was alive for a while, and then they were like, "This isn't working out." So, I said, "Well, let her go." It's something I really can't describe in words and nobody could understand unless they had to live through this. I know that this family [in Prague] is just going through the worst possible hell, and they have questions. So, despite the fact that I maintain my innocence, I feel ethically and morally obliged to do my best to provide them with some answers, if it goes to trial, to help them go down this road, where their pain can lessen a little bit.

LA Weekly: It almost sounds like you're trusting that you're not going to be convicted.

Randy: I think we have a good case. I think it'll be hard for them to convict me on the charge that they have leveled against me because it's ludicrous. From what I understand, it's a crime of intent, and I certainly never intended to hurt anyone at any point in time during that show. But, life shows up and happens. Right? It shows up and happens. And if it shows up, and they give me ten years, I will have to deal with it as such. It's frightening for me to think about. The fact of the matter that I don't want to go to prison for ten years in a foreign country or in America or in any country has nothing to do with the fact that I need to do the right thing. That's the whole thing, you know? I have to do the right thing. Otherwise, I wouldn't be able to face myself.
 
PAPA ROACH frontman Jacoby Shaddix is one of a number of musicians who have come out in support of LAMB OF GOD frontman Randy Blythe, who is facing manslaughter charges in the Czech Republic.

Blythe was released from a prison in Prague on August 2, more than a month after he was arrested and incarcerated. Blythe was facing the possibility of conviction and a long-term jail sentence after a 2010 incident in which a fan attending a LAMB OF GOD show died almost a month later, allegedly from injuries sustained when he was thrown off the stage. Blythe's predicament galvanized the heavy rock community, with artists across the hard rock genre pledging their support.

Speaking to AOL's Noisecreep, Shaddix said, "I'm good friends with Randy. We've been e-mailing each other since he got home. It's awesome that he is home but what is more special is just how the dude is handling everything. We can all just learn so much from this guy. As frontmen, we all have to be resilient. We carry a lot on our backs. We are the ones at the front line. But it's like Friedrich Nietzsche said, you know, 'What doesn't kill me makes me stronger.' Randy has taught me so many lessons the last few weeks, just by all of the inner strength he has shown. I am very proud of my friend. He is a hell of a man, believe me."
 
California rockers PAPA ROACH will release their new album, "The Connection", on October 2 via Eleven Seven Music. The CD was recorded at the band's hometown studio, The Red House in Sacramento, California, and was produced by rock veteran James Michael (SIXX: A.M., HALESTORM) and John Feldmann (PANIC AT THE DISCO, THE USED, ESCAPE THE FATE).

"This is the best project to date! Our best record — period," PAPA ROACH vocalist Jacoby Shaddix told AOL's Noisecreep. "We topped ourselves on this one — it encompasses all things about this band and we went back in he vault and listened and listened to all of our styles and themes to figure out where we were headed and we nailed it, dude. This is a wear your heart on your sleeve, honest, vulnerable record that give one a sense of hope in the darkness. It's adventurous as hell, we laid all these grooves down that are sick, dirty, slinky — there's some hip-hop, more keyboards than before, sound loops, textures — it's dynamic, diverse and vulnerable. That is PAPA ROACH. Dude, we started in 1993 in a garage. In 2000 we got popular and we are still still popular — fucking A. We have never sounded better."

Asked how the album's cover artwork came about, Jacoby said, "This time around with the imaging we wanted to switch things up. So Jerry, my guitar player, found this amazing artist Android Jones. He'd done an image we really wanted, but he had commissioned it to someone else. So we said, 'Let's do something original,' and so we did. We wanted [it] built around four things: the biological, the spiritual, the electrical and the digital to represent all of the elements of the record. And so the dude broke it down. I mean, is that not the most amazing album cover?"

The first single from "The Connection" is a track called "Still Swinging", which was released at the end of last month.

A video for the song was filmed in New York City with David Brodsky of Brooklyn, New York's MyGoodEye Music Visuals (HELLYEAH, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, GOATWHORE, MUNICIPAL WASTE, SUFFOCATION).
 
After grabbing the attention of critics and fans alike with their brutally inventive 2011 tour de force "Celestial Completion", metal adventurers BECOMING THE ARCHETYPE return with "I Am", an album that may prove to be their biggest surprise yet when it drops September 18 on longtime label Solid State Records.

Armed with what Metal Hammer called "massive songs, massive ideas and a massive array of instruments," the Atlanta, Georgia outfit has forged a cottage industry out of defying musical expectations, pushing heavy music to its breaking point with horns, Middle Eastern sitar, choirs of sopranos and bone-crushingly heavy riffage. Suffice it to say — with four full-length albums under their belt, the now-veteran act has truly mastered the art of throwing curveballs.

The band's fifth full-length effort, "I Am" is baffling first and foremost because it's not meant to be baffling. As guitarist, mastermind and band nucleus Seth Hecox explains, the album is less about reinventing heavy music than it is reinventing BECOMING THE ARCHETYPE. That's not to say listeners won't find the band doing its usual mind-warping and genre-bending, but the point of this album wasn't to transcend the artform of metal music, it was to master it.

"'I Am' is 100% headbanging riffs," Hecox says. "Gone are the sitars and horns of 'Celestial Completion'. Instead, we've crafted an album full of the heaviest and most technical songs we've ever written."

But hearing is believing, and thus Hecox and the ARCHETYPE boys are inviting fans to sample the new track "The Time Bender". The catch? Listeners will have to settle for only a taste at first, but can unlock the remainder of the song by spreading the word for others to listen.

"'The Time Bender' is a microcosm of the new album because it displays elements of what BECOMING THE ARCHETYPE has done in the past as well as elements of what the BECOMING THE ARCHETYPE sound is becoming," says Hecox. "In that sense, it's a perfect bridge between people's past enjoyment of BECOMING THE ARCHETYPE's catalog and people's excitement over the new material. We've been playing the song live this whole summer so lots of ears have already heard a simplified version of this song and feedback has been spectacular. It's encouraging to know that so many people stand behind what we do and willingly follow us in each step of our musical evolution."

Recorded with producer Shane Frisby (BURY YOUR DEAD, THE GHOST INSIDE), "I Am", as the title suggests, is also a statement of an album that puts a new stamp on who BECOMING THE ARCHETYPE is and what it stands for following an inter-band shakeup — one that cleared the path for Hecox to assemble a true dream team of musicians around him.

"I Am" track listing:

01. The Ocean Walker
02. The Time Bender
03. The Eyes Of The Storm
04. The Sky Bearer
05. The Machine Killer
06. The War Ender
07. The Weapon Breaker
08. The Planet Maker
09. The Sun Eater
10. I AM
German melodic dark metallers AUTUMNBLAZE have inked a deal with Pulverised Records. The band's new album, "Every Sun Is Fragile", will be released later this year.

Spawned in 1995, AUTUMNBLAZE released four full-length albums and two EPs before laying the band to rest in 2006 in search of other musical endeavors. The band ultimately reformed just two years later to release their critically lauded "Perdition Diaries" longplayer in 2009.

States AUTUMNBLAZE drummer Arisjel: "After we had recorded the ultimate AUTUMNBLAZE record this spring, it was obvious that we would need a really passionate label to promote this new album worldwide with enthusiasm and energy. Calvin [Chiang] and Roy [Yeo] from Pulverised were totally excited about our new material and we are proud that the label will release our brand new studio album."

Regarding the musical direction of AUTUMNBLAZE's new material, Arisjel says, "Expect a various blend of epic/melancholic metal and rock. These are some of the most ambitious songs we've ever written and everything was captured by the amazing production of our friend Charles Greywolf (POWERWOLF, FLOWING TEARS)."

Adds singer Markus Baltes (a.k.a. Alvar Eldron): "With the kind help of Pulverised, we will be able to present our new masterpiece to all the AUTUMNBLAZE maniacs who have followed our way so far. Be prepared for nothing less than an original piece of soulspawn music! Detailed news will follow soon."

Pulverised Records A&R Manager Calvin Chiang notes of the signing: "Sometimes extremity in music can come in different forms. Although we have always been known to belt out some of the most vile and extreme forms of black/death metal, it comes as no surprise that we also have a penchant for dark emotional rock. In the sea of countless KATATONIA wannabes and the like, 'Every Sun Is Fragile' really touched our hearts immediately with an unbelievably soulful blend of darkness and their self-proclaimed 'trip-rock.' AUTUMNBLAZE is without doubt the best modern dark rock band we have discovered this year."

AUTUMNBLAZE is:

Markus Baltes - Vocals, Guitar
Andreas - Guitar
Arisjel - Drums, Backing vocals
French death/thrash metallers DEAD COWBOY'S SLUTS will release their debut album, "The Hand Of Death", on September 19 via M&O Music.

A trailer for the CD can be seen below.

"The Hand Of Death" track listing:

01. B.T.K.
02. Asylum Breakout
03. I Will Hunt You Down
04. Lusk
05. Must Be Broken
06. Criminal
07. Purify By Fire
08. This Hate
09. Gates Of Perdition
10. Skull Crusher
11. Life, Death, And Its Painful Intervening Period
12. The Hand Of Death Pt. 1
13. The Hand Of Death Pt. 2
14. Backdraft

According to a press release, DEAD COWBOY'S SLUTS is "a metal band that contrasts clearly with the current scene with their simple and effective music directly issued from the great period of the '90s. They prove it with their first album, in which their heavy riffs have not finished to make us headbang."

DEAD COWBOY'S SLUTS is:

Leclerc Benjamin - Vocals
Leclerc Mathieu - Guitar
Plathey Pierre - Guitar
Djinadou Morgan - Bass
Thiebault Guillaume - Drums
 
Canadian death metallers AUROCH have inked a deal with the Polish label Hellthrasher Productions for the release of the band's new album, "From Forgotten Worlds". The CD, which will be made available in October, features cover artwork by Danille Gauvin and boasts the following track listing:

01. From Forgotten Worlds
02. Fleshless Ascension (Paths Of Dawn)
03. Slaves To A Flame Undying
04. Dregs Of Sanity
05. Talisman For Total Temporal Collapse
06. Terra Akeldama
07. Bloodborne Conspiracy
08. Tundra Moon
 
 
 
 

__._,_.___
Recent Activity:
.

__,_._,___

0 comments:

Post a Comment