Ozzy Osbourne, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Bill Ward — four names that resonate throughout rock's recorded history as clear and sublime as the haunting bell that tolls the opening to their eponymous debut album from 1970.
Collectively, they formed BLACK SABBATH and forged the most haunting and hypnotic rock sound of all time. From humble beginnings, the Birmingham quartet enslaved the minds and souls of millions of rock fans around the world and continue to do so into the new millennium. The musical genre they created inspired countless musicians and spawned countless bands. Hailed as metal's originators, their musical contributions to the world are still formidable and current forty years later. Their unique sound still echoes in many of today's greatest metal bands. BLACK SABBATH, established now in the forever of Metal's ongoing musical progression, beckon and await you to enjoy their triumphs within.
Due on November 15, "The Ozzy Years - Complete Albums Box Set (Limited Collectors Edition)" contains all the Ozzy-era BLACK SABBATH albums housed in a black cross, the box also contains a 100-page exclusive illustrated discography featuring rare covers from throughout the world.
The box set will include:
* Complete albums set in exclusive Japanese Miniatures, housed in Cross with booklet
- Black Sabbath
- Paranoid
- Master Of Reality
- Volume 4
- Sabbath Bloody Sabbath
- Sabotage
- Technical Ecstasy
- Never Say Die
- We Sold Our Souls
* Containing a complete 100-page "Ozzy Years" discography
* 3 exclusive radio documentaries
* Guitar-pick set
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Eagle Records has set a November 16 U.S. release date for "Neon Nights: 30 Years Of Heaven & Hell" CD/DVD featuring a recording of HEAVEN & HELL's July 30, 2009 concert at the Wacken Open Air festival in Germany. Columbia Music Entertainment will make the CD available in Japan on November 10. The limited-edition first pressing in Japan features cardboard sleeve artwork and the high-fidelity SHM-CD format (compatible with standard CD players).
A description of the set reads as follows: "On Thursday July 30, 2009, HEAVEN & HELL took to the stage at the famous Wacken festival in Germany as part of the tour in support of their album 'The Devil You Know', released earlier in the year. Although nobody knew at the time, it was to be Ronnie James Dio's last filmed concert appearance before his death in May 2010 from stomach cancer. HEAVEN & HELL were on fantastic form and played a set blending tracks from the newly released album with classics from their BLACK SABBATH days. This is a truly fitting tribute to one of the legendary voices of rock."
"Neon Nights: 30 Years Of Heaven & Hell" track listing:
01. E5150
02. The Mob Rules
03. Children of the Sea
04. I
05. Bible Black
06. Time Machine
07. Fear
08. Falling Off the Edge of the World
09. Follow The Tears
10. Die Young
11. Heaven and Hell
12. Encore: Country Girl
13. Neon Knights
Professionally filmed video footage of HEAVEN & HELL's July 30, 2009 concert at the Wacken Open Air festival in Germany can be viewed below.
"The Devil You Know" sold 30,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release back in May 2009 to debut at position No. 8 on The Billboard 200 chart.
In 2006, BLACK SABBATH members Dio, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Vinny Appice reunited to record a trio of new songs for Rhino's "Black Sabbath: The Dio Years" before launching a greatly acclaimed world tour under their new moniker HEAVEN & HELL.
BLACK SABBATH's "The Rules Of Hell" box set — which features all three of SABBATH's Dio-era studio releases ("Heaven And Hell", "Mob Rules", "Dehumanizer") and its double live collection ("Live Evil"), each remastered for the first time — sold around 2,650 copies in the United States in its first week of release back in July 2008. "The Rules Of Hell" came packaged in a deluxe slipcase with extensive liner notes featuring all-new interviews with the band.
In 1989 BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi and DEEP PURPLE singer Ian Gillan were just a few names in a long list of talent involved in the recording of the DEEP PURPLE track "Smoke on The Water". This song was re-recorded to raise money for those affected by the Leninakan earthquake that struck Armenia in 1988.
In October of last year both Tony and Ian traveled to Armenia to see how the funds raised had helped the local community. On their trip they visited a music school only to find it being run out of temporary accommodation, with its only location not having been rebuilt 20 years after the earthquake had struck.
Next week Tony and Ian will be heading back into the studio, joined by keyboardist Jon Lord (DEEP PURPLE, WHITESNAKE) and drummer Nicko McBrain (IRON MAIDEN) to record a new track to raise money to rebuild the Armenian music school.
In October 2009, Gillan and Iommi were awarded the Orders Of Honor — which were delivered to them by Prime Minister of Armenia Tigran Sargsyan — for the Armenia Grateful To Rock program (see video below). The objective of the program, was to express gratitude to those musicians who 20 years ago participated in the Rock Aid Armenia.
ALICE COOPER and BON JOVI are among 15 artists nominated for induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2011. Other acts who were nominated are BEASTIE BOYS, CHIC, Neil Diamond, Donovan, Dr. John, J GEILS BAND, LL Cool J, Darlene Love, Laura Nyro, Donna Summer, Joe Tex, Tom Waits and Chuck Willis.
The inductees will be announced in December, and the 26th annual induction ceremony will be held on March 14, 2011 at the Waldorf-Astoria in Manhattan.
To be eligible for nomination into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, an act must have released its first single or album at least 25 years prior to the year of nomination. This year's nominees had to release their first single no later than 1985.
Ballots will be sent to more than 500 voters, who will select the artists to be inducted at the induction ceremony, which will be televised live on Fuse.
Legendary rocker Alice Cooper has released the following statement in response to the announcement that he is among 15 artists who were nominated for induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2011:
"On behalf of Dennis (Dunaway), Neal (Smith), Michael (Bruce) and the late great Glen (Buxton), we are honored to be nominated for induction in to the Hall. Anytime you are nominated in your chosen profession, it's definitely a compliment to be recognized.
"It's hard to fathom possibly being in the same club as artists who inspired us originally, like THE BEATLES, THE [ROLLING] STONES, THE BEACH BOYS, THE WHO, THE YARDBIRDS, and Chuck Berry, and to be nominated the same year as legendary artists like my personal favorite songwriter of all time, Laura Nyro, as well as Donovan, who sang on our 'Billion Dollar Babies' record, and our good friends in Bon Jovi, is a great feeling.
"Five guys starting a band, just hoping to meet girls and drink free beer, rehearsing and playing local bars five hours a night for the first few years — that was us. We came up with the theatrics and made every effort not to sacrifice the music one bit; we thought it was like our job to bring theatrics to rock 'n' roll. And then, amazingly enough, we were having a bunch of massive hit records which was proof that theatricality and rock 'n' roll could, in fact, be joined successfully. We've been told that we revolutionized the live concert experience and if that's truly the case and it's led to this nomination for induction into the Hall of Fame, the only thing to say is, of course, 'There's no business like show business!'"
Other acts who were nominated for induction into next year's Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame are BON JOVI, BEASTIE BOYS, CHIC, Neil Diamond, Donovan, Dr. John, J GEILS BAND, LL Cool J, Darlene Love, Laura Nyro, Donna Summer, Joe Tex, Tom Waits and Chuck Willis.
The inductees will be announced in December, and the 26th annual induction ceremony will be held on March 14, 2011 at the Waldorf-Astoria in Manhattan.
To be eligible for nomination into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, an act must have released its first single or album at least 25 years prior to the year of nomination. This year's nominees had to release their first single no later than 1985.
Ballots will be sent to more than 500 voters, who will select the artists to be inducted at the induction ceremony, which will be televised live on Fuse.
KISS earns a minimum of $500,000 per concert, placing the leegndary rock band near the top of the summertime tour earnings list, according to contract records that have been acquired by The Smoking Gun web site.
Some of the rock acts featured on the list:
#2: KISS - $500,000
#15: BUCKCHERRY - $100,000
#17: HEART - $100,000
#19: SHINEDOWN - $85,000
#20: REO SPEEDWAGON - $75,000
#26: BRET MICHAELS - $64,000
#33: WARRANT - $12,000
Scot McFadyen, who co-directed the award-winning documentary about legendary Canadian trio RUSH, called "Rush: Beyond The Lighted Stage", tells Entertainment Weekly that the band once again being snubbed by the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame at next year's induction ceremony is "unfortunate. We were hoping a lot more people in the [nominating] room had seen our documentary, and maybe that would have given them a different perspective on the band," he said. "But there are just some people that are holding out."
McFadyen says that he wasn't surprised by RUSH's continued exclusion from the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame even though the band has been eligible for the Hall since 1999. "They've never been a critics' band," he said. "The industry people that are involved with the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, RUSH has never been cool enough for them."
Reformed heavy metal legends ACCEPT will embark on a European headlining tour in January.
Confirmed dates are as follows:
Jan. 14 - Osnabrück, Germany @ Halle Gartlage
Jan. 15 - Kassel, Germany @ Outback
Jan. 16 - Antwerp, Belgium @ Hof ter Lo
Jan. 18 - Paris, France @ Elysee Montmartre
Jan. 19 - Biarritz, France @ L'Attabal
Jan. 21 - Madrid, Spain @ La Rivera
Jan. 22 - Pamplona, Spain @ Totem
Jan. 23 - Barcelona, Spain @ Apollo
Jan. 25 - Pratteln, Switzerland @ Z7
Jan. 27 - Milan, Italy @ Magazzini
Jan. 28 - Tuttlingen, Germany @ Stadthalle
Jan. 29 - Geiselwind, Germany @ Eventcentrum Strohofer
Jan. 31 - Stuttgart, Germany @ LKA
Feb. 01 - Wien, Austria @ Arena
Feb. 02 - Budapest, Hungary @ Diesel
Feb. 04 - Katowice, Poland @ [to be announced]
Feb. 05 - Warsaw, Poland @ [to be announced]
Feb. 06 - Gdansk, Poland @ [to be announced]
Feb. 08 - Hamburg, Germany @ Große Freiheit
Feb. 09 - Köln, Germany @ Live Music Hall
Feb. 10 - München, Germany @ Tonhalle
Feb. 12 - Zlin, Czech Republic @ Masters of Rock Cafe
Feb. 13 - Athens, Greece @ Fuzz Club
Russian and U.K. shows will be announced soon.
"Blood Of The Nations", the new album from ACCEPT, sold around 2,900 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 187 on The Billboard 200 chart.
Released in North America on September 14 via Nuclear Blast Records, "Blood Of The Nations" was recorded at Backstage Studio in Derbyshire, England with acclaimed British producer and SABBAT guitarist Andy Sneap (MEGADETH, EXODUS, ARCH ENEMY, MASTERPLAN). The CD marks the recording debut of the band's latest addition, vocalist Mark Tornillo (ex-TT QUICK).
After debuting their new lineup to a sold-out audience in New York this past May and then traveling to Europe to devastate the masses with shows in 16 different countries in 80 days (including two shows opening for AC/DC), ACCEPT has returned to tour the U.S. for the first time in 14 years on a co-headlining tour with KING'S X. ACCEPT's first show kicked off the eleventh annual ProgPower USA festival in Atlanta.
ACCEPT 2010 is:
Wolf Hoffmann: Guitar
Peter Baltes: Bass
Herman Frank: Guitar
Mark Tornillo: Vocals
Stefan Schwarzmann: Drums
Reformed heavy metal legends ACCEPT have been confirmed for next year's edition of Hammerfest, set to take place March 17-19, 2011 in Prestatyn, North Wales.
The festival billing is shaping up as follows:
ACCEPT
BIOHAZARD
MUNICIPAL WASTE
MUTANT
REVOKER
ATTICA RAGE
Over 50 more bands will be announced during the coming months.
For more information, visit www.hammerfest.co.uk.
Metal Asylum recently conducted an interview with guitarist Wolf Hoffmann of reformed heavy metal legends ACCEPT. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
Metal Asylum: When ACCEPT reformed in the '90s, the songs on "Objection Overruled", "Death Row" and "Predator" were either hit or miss. Can you explain what was happening at that time and what lead to those albums being inconsistent?
Wolf: We were searching (like a lot of bands), it was a weird time for heavy metal, as you know, and we didn't know what was happening in metal music, if we should adapt slightly, we really didn't know what to do. All throughout the '90s we knew we couldn't keep doing the same old same old because the audiences were dwindling more and more with each album and tour. We tried to expand our style a little bit, and maybe in retrospect they are not great albums... Well, on the whole, they do have some good songs, I think, but nothing that is really strong. There are several songs I'd love to still play today, like "Slaves To Metal", and we may do that soon, but overall those albums were not considered classic ACCEPT.
Metal Asylum: Why were you the only guitar player on those three albums ("Objection Overruled", "Death Row", "Predator")?
Wolf: Because everyone was kind of tired of working on that second guitar player. I mean, I usually get the bad rap [laughs], like I didn't want anybody else, but the truth is really we were always in the studio with the three of us… Peter [Baltes, bass], myself and Stefan Kaufmann [drums] — that is, until he left and was no longer part of the writing team. The core was always drums, bass, and one guitar, and then the second guitarist usually came in for the album and tour, or just the tour. That was always a difficult spot in our band, and then you had to teach the new guy the whole set and how to play the parts right. Everyone just got sick of it, so it was easier just to have one guitar and we had a ball doing it. But, really, if you're really honest, you know that ACCEPT is a two-guitar band, so when we reformed this time we went back to what ACCEPT is really known for.
Metal Asylum: The new songs on "Blood of The Nations" have a fresh and invigorated sound. Was this a result of the break from the band being together, or by the addition of having Mark [Tornillo] singing?
Wolf: Both. And the addition of Andy Sneap as producer because having him on board was all the difference. Mark really is a terrific singer and he brings something to the table Udo [Dirkschneider] didn't have. But having both those guys on the creative team helped to pull these songs in the right direction. Andy picked through the rough material and told us what he'd like to hear more of, things that made our sound our own because he grew up listening to ACCEPT. He was sort of like another member of the band, not just a producer. Of course, he is a world-class producer. He made us look at ourselves and reconnect with the things that made records like "Restless And Wild" and "Balls To The Walls" classics. He also went on and on about "sound German," but I didn't realize there was such a thing in music. [laughs]
Metal Asylum: Who wrote the music and who wrote the lyrics on "Blood of The Nations"?
Wolf: Peter and I wrote all the songs accept for one which was Herman (Frank, guitar), and then Mark wrote all the lyrics. In the past it was always it was always ACCEPT manager Gaby Hauke [a.k.a. Deaffy], who wrote all the lyrics (as most people know by now), but now that we have an American singer it was time he wrote the lyrics.
Metal Asylum: How has the reaction been from the fans and critics to Mark being the new singer in ACCEPT?
Wolf: Oh, man, phenomenally good everywhere, it was triumphant. We've been bracing for anything — he could be the greatest guy to us, but until you actually go out and play live you never know. Luckily for us, it has been great.
Metal Asylum: Are you playing the same setlist every night and if not which songs are getting rotated?
Wolf: Now that we are gonna start this American run in the fall we are doing about 4-5 songs from "Blood Of The Nations" and gonna rotate those to see what works best. And then from our past we are throwing in some obscure songs like "Demon's Night", "Run If You Can", whatever...songs we rarely played in the past because Mark likes to mix up the setlist and not play the same thing every night. Udo was always leery of that. Like the fans have been asking for "Demons Night".
Metal Asylum: What are the plans for ACCEPT for the rest of the year into 2011?
Wolf: A lot of touring. The album has been released already in Germany and it's doing very well so there is a lot of excitement in the air. Let's see how far we can take this. The most important thing is we are having fun and ACCEPT is back where we belong. I think we want to take this as far as we can. We are already thinking about and writing for the next record. We've all missed doing ACCEPT and we realized we missed doing this. Of course we are not 20 years old anymore and not ready to do just anything to be successful, we're not that desperate. [laughs] We are looking to do what makes sense and that's fun. I've been a photographer for many years and that is satisfying to an extent, but it's nothing like standing on a stage in front of thousands of screaming fans singing your songs. There's nothing like it.
"Shred guitar" and "neo classical metal" are two phrases that have been commonplace in the world of heavy metal for decades by this point, but both can be attributed to the unmistakable work by Yngwie Malmsteen.
Ever since the early 1980s, Yngwie has been pushing the limits of guitar, and influencing countless other players in the process. And he continues to impress to this day, as evidenced by his forthcoming album, "Relentless", the highly anticipated follow-up to 2008's critically acclaimed "Perpetual Flame" (Yngwie's first album for Rising Force Records).
The second Yngwie CD to feature ex-JUDAS PRIEST and ICED EARTH singer Tim "Ripper" Owens, "Relentless" contains over 60 minutes of "incredibly complex, kick-ass arrangements," according to a press release.
"This title truly is the right one for this album," explains Yngwie. "I mean, after all these years, some kind of force is driving me to create something that totally surpasses everything I've done before. I tried to capture the raw energy of a live performance, yet push myself to the most demanding level of playing and composing to harness that elusive magic that can't just be switched on. All the way out, caution to the wind, but disciplined performances was what I went for. Maybe I did it too, check it out!"
"Relentless" will feature the following tracks:
* Relentless
* Look At You Now
* Shot Across the Bow
* Adagio B Minor Variation
* Caged Animal
* Critical Mass
* Into Valhalla
* Enemy Within
* Caprici Di Inferno
Malmsteen released the "Raw Live" DVD on June 29. According to a press release, the set "provides an unprecedented and unique look at the rise of a guitar god. Spanning from 1981 through 1999 and encompassing extremely rare footage of Yngwie's early years in Sweden, this video displays the infancy of Yngwie's prodigious skills well prior to his first worldwide album and travels through Yngwie's masterful career, including his masterful performances from his first solo albums, 'Rising Force', 'Marching Out', and 'Trilogy'. Also included in this unique video are never-released behind-the-scenes footage of Yngwie and newly shot personal touches of Yngwie which open up the viewer to a side of the guitar maestro which is rarely seen by the public."
Chad Bowar of About.com recently conducted an interview with SLAYER guitarist Kerry King. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
About.com: You've been playing the "Seasons In The Abyss" album in its entirety. Do you prefer that to a greatest-hits type set?
Kerry: I don't like being married to an entire album, because it manipulates what you can do in the set. When we're only playing an hour and ten minutes on this tour, and the album takes up 45; it basically leaves 5 or 6 songs.
About.com: ANTHRAX is the opening band on this tour. What do you think of Joey Belladonna's return to the group once again?
Kerry: I think that's the era that more people know from ANTHRAX. It leans to being more credible. It's kind of like Dave Ellefson coming back to MEGADETH, and they are playing "Rust In Peace". I think it makes more sense than still having James Lomenzo, even though Lomenzo is an old friend of mine.
About.com: How did the idea for the "Vinyl Conflict" release come about?
Kerry: Good question. I would imagine it's record company people trying to figure out how to make record companies mean something in a world where record companies don't mean much and are in decline all the time. It's a cool idea. I'm looking forward to having one myself.
About.com: It seems like vinyl is making a comeback the past few years.
Kerry: A lot of kids didn't have the chance to go through vinyl like people from my era did. For them it's a new means of getting cool art and things like picture discs. It's a new medium for a younger generation. People are really getting into audiophile stuff, and this is geared towards them, too.
About.com: Do you have a timetable for the next SLAYER studio album?
Kerry: Not really, because our record has been out for a year, and we've only been touring for about three months. There is a gigantic future of touring for us on this record. I wouldn't be surprised if we were touring through next summer.
About.com: Do you write songs on the road, or do you wait until you're at home in album writing mode?
Kerry: Generally the latter. But on my down time I can be working on some stuff. Not so much at home, but at gigs between the time you get there and the time you go on. We're usually at the gig by four o'clock and we don't go on until 9:45, so if I don't have any press I'm there stroking my dick for five hours.
About.com: When I interviewed Joey from ANTHRAX, he thought there was about a 70 percent chance a U.S. "Big 4" tour will happen at some point. Do you agree?
Kerry: Yeah, I have no problem with those odds. The only thing I think it would depend on is getting all the bands logistically able to do it. As far as I know everybody is totally into it, from METALLICA to MEGADETH to ANTHRAX to us. I totally want to bring it to the U.S., South America, Australia, Japan, Western Europe, anywhere it hasn't been. I think it was that important of a tour where people should be able to be a part of it rather than just see it at the cinema.
Chad Bowar of About.com recently conducted an interview with ANTHRAX singer Joey Belladonna. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
About.com: How did the latest reunion come about?
Joey Belladonna: I got an email from Charlie [Benante, drums] saying their new management wanted to speak to me. I called them, and next thing you know we're discussing me rejoining the band.
About.com: Was there a face-to-face meeting between you and the other guys?
Joey Belladonna: We arranged to meet in the city. I went out with Charlie and Frankie [Bello, bass] one night, and Scott [Ian, guitar] and Rob [Caggiano, guitar] met up with us the next day. We talked, and asked if everybody was up for it, then decided to do it. Even to this day we're still trying to put the business end of it together, so we are clear in every little thing we want to achieve and do and how to run it. It's a business. It's been a business for a while.
About.com: What's the status of the next ANTHRAX CD?
Joey Belladonna: There's stuff already ready for the picking. We have to tweak stuff and rewrite some lyrics. All the vocals have to be placed in the songs again. I already sang on one song already, and maybe we'll take that out live with us.
About.com: Is there a release date yet?
Joey Belladonna: I'd like to shoot for the spring, just out of reality.
About.com: How did the "Big Four" shows in Europe with METALLICA, SLAYER and MEGADETH compare to your expectations?
Joey Belladonna: It was pretty much what I thought it would be. It was quite overwhelming and cool as hell to be part of METALLICA's world. The enormous venues and countries that we've never been to was awesome. We definitely came in and did what we needed to do. It was a nice start.
About.com: You're doing some V.I.P. meet-and-greets on the tour. What's your opinion on charging fans for access like that?
Joey Belladonna: I guess it's not as excessive as some bands that charge a thousand dollars for a photo. We give away some stuff as well. I guess it's not too harmful. Of course you have to make sure you're attentive to all those needs and make sure you are there to attend.
About.com: When you sing the John Bush-era songs, do you change them up or put them in a different key or anything to make it suit your voice better?
Joey Belladonna: Nope, I just leave them alone. Some songs are easy, some songs are a bit quirky. Some are in a great key, some aren't in a great key. I just go for it, let it roll. I sing it my way.
DREAM THEATER bassist John Myung, who was recently honored with MusicRadar.com's "Greatest Bassist Of All Time" award (beating such legends as Paul McCartney, James Jamerson, John Entwhistle, and even some of his personal heroes, such as Chris Squire, Geddy Lee, Steve Harris), spoke to MusicRadar.com about his huge bass poll win, his relationship with fans and his practice routine and the future of DREAM THEATER without Mike Portnoy. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
MusicRadar.com: More so than any other member, you're bound to be impacted by a new drummer — after all, the rhythm section is the bedrock of a group. Are you excited to play with somebody new?
Myung: "I'd say we're all impacted, because we all interact with the rhythms. So this isn't going to affect me more than anybody else, really. Creatively, the DREAM THEATER process has always been extremely collaborative — there's always been plenty of input from everybody — so when working with somebody new, we're going to have to look for those common ground points that we have. A new member will be influential, no doubt. Hopefully, new directions will open up. I think it can be cool."
MusicRadar.com: It has been suggested that Mike may change his mind in a year or so, that he might want to rejoin. If so, would you welcome him back with open arms, or do you see this as a necessary, clean break?
Myung: "Anything is possible. But right now, the band is focused on finding a new member to get in the studio with. We want to make a great record that we're happy with and have a great next tour. That's what we do, and that's what we're looking at."
MusicRadar.com: The "Greatest Bassist Of All Time." That's quite an honor — and a stunning testament to the devotion of your fans. But how do you even respond to such a title? Is it all too overwhelming?
Myung: "It definitely an honor. I view it as a social endorsement that reflects on a lot of different things, from the band I'm in to the records we've put out to the basses I play. But it's quite an honor, absolutely, one which tells me I'm on the right path. My gratitude goes out to everyone who voted. But I, in no way, feel that it's true in the sense of the title of the award, because there's so many great players all over the world who contribute amazing music. So, even though I'm deeply flattered and appreciative, let's say that it's taken with a bit of objectivity."
MusicRadar.com: How do you feel about your relationship with your fans? Obviously, they hold you in high regard. Do you feel a sense of duty to please them, or do you feel that, as an artist, you have only yourself to answer to?
Myung: "You know, there's a lot of people reaching out to me, and when that happens, when you get the kind of positive reinforcement that I get, it's bound to make you feel good, and it's definitely going to push you to do your best. Moving forward, I think all I can do is put my instincts to work and do my best and hope that I'm on the same page as everyone else. The fact that there's an audience out there that accepts what I do is a huge source of stimulation, motivation and energy. I wouldn't be where I am without them. The audience is a big part of this whole thing. At the same time, yes, I have to be myself because that's how it all began. So what I do is, I take in the energy from the fans, but I have to give what I have inside me and push it outward — if that makes any sense." [laughs]
According to Rock Sound and Metal Hammer, THE DAMNED THINGS — the new band featuring members of FALL OUT BOY (Joe Trohman, Andy Hurley), ANTHRAX (Scott Ian, Rob Caggiano) and EVERY TIME I DIE (Keith Buckley, Josh Newton) — will release its debut album in the U.K. on December 13. A U.S. release date for the effort has not yet been announced.
THE DAMNED THINGS made its live debut on June 1, 2010 at the Knitting Factory in Brooklyn, New York.
The band's setlist was as follows:
01. Ironiclast
02. Excellent Time
03. Bad Blood
04. A Great Reckoning
05. Handbook For The Recently Deceased
06. Fazer (QUICKSAND cover)
07. Grave Robber
08. We've Got A Situation Here
GORGEOUS FRANKENSTEIN, the band led by ex-MISFITS axeman Doyle Von Frankenstein, has released its first DVD, "You Must See It To Believe It!" The 40-minute thrill ride directed by Glenn Danzig features eight blood-curdling tracks, including "Man or Monster", "Devilgirl", "Reverse of God", "Made In Hell" and more. In addition to the live material, the DVD contains never before seen behind-the-scenes footage from GORGEOUS FRANKENSTEIN's 2008 U.S. tour. The disc also contains a previously unreleased video for "Man or Monster".
"You Must See It To Believe It!" marks the first release since GORGEOUS FRANKENSTEIN made its debut in 2007. The band toured with DANZIG on his "Red Deth Sabaoth Tour" in summer 2010 and plans to announce more dates this fall.
GORGEOUS FRANKENSTEIN's debut album was produced by Glenn Danzig and was released through Glenn's label, Evilive.
Ex-SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach has slammed U.K.'s Classic Rock magazine for allegedly "fucking him around" by running a five-page feature on his former band that's trailered as "When SKID ROW found Sebastian Bach, they thought they'd found the rock star who could take them to the big time. What they got was an ego that threatened to destroy the band."
Bach wrote at Twitlonger.com, a related Twitter site where one can post messages longer than 140 characters, "As usual, the latest issue of Classic Rock mag fucks me around and completely misses the point of rock 'n' roll. Once again they have a five-page article with full-page pictures of me with my old band talking about 20 years ago. Once again they lie about me and make zero mention of Broadway, GUNS N' ROSES tours, TV shows, and, of course, no mention at all of my solo CD, 'Angel Down'. The article ends with the lie, 'Sebastian Bach refused to be interviewed for this article because he does not want to live in the past, even though his live set is half songs from the first record.'
"Complete and utter horseshit. We do more songs from 'Angel Down' in my set than any other record. They can't say this because Classic Rock mag has never and will never support me making new music. Doesn't fit into their mold they made for me. Tough shit.
"A gigantic FUCK YOU to Roger Lotring who has always fucked me in print.
"Classic Rock mag: Come see me two nights at London 02 arena with GUNS N' ROSES. Pay close attention to the song list, if you dare. Not that you give a fuck at all about music. You sell nostalgia. I have a new record on the way. Sorry . You're welcome for the five pages in your new mag. But do not think for a second you are talking about Sebastian Bach. You're not talking about me. You talk about your 'idea' of who I am. You do not know me at all. If you want to know me, listen to 'Angel Down'. It rocks just as hard as the first SKID ROW album in every way. The fact that it does not exist in your rag says more about you than me. See for yourself in the U.K. live this October."
Roger Lotring, the journalist who was responsible for writing the five-page SKID ROW story in the latest issue of Classic Rock magazine, has responded to ex-SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach's claim that the U.K. publication has "fucked him around" by "lying about him" and "completely missing the point of rock 'n' roll."
Regarding Bach's assertion that Lotring lied when he wrote in the Classic Rock story that "Sebastian Bach refused to be interviewed for this article because he does not want to live in the past, even though his live set is half songs from the first record," Lotring said, "Yes, I repeatedly requested an interview, to be told via e-mail through a representative that he [Bach] feels talking about SKID ROW is living in the past. I was told that he would talk about the debut SKID ROW album, but only during an interview for his new album (I'm not clear if that meant a forthcoming album, or 'Angel Down')."
As to why Sebastian would make the claim that Lotring "has always fucked me in print," Roger said, "I've never met Sebastian, actually. But back in 2003, I was assigned to write a SKID ROW feature about their first album featuring Johnny Solinger. So, I interviewed the entire band following a show in Connecticut. Four days later, I visited them again at a show in Massachusetts. Backstage, after the show, when someone asked Johnny about Sebastian, he said: 'Man, Sebastian Bach is a rock star! Me, I'm just the singer in SKID ROW.'
"That was the opening line of my SKID ROW feature.
"I chose that SKID ROW album as my favourite album in the Metal Edge 'Year In Review' issue that year. I also revisited that quote. Turns out, that issue also featured an interview with Sebastian on-set of 'The Gilmore Girls' TV show.
"Apparently, when said issue came out, his cast mates gave him a hard time about me liking SKID ROW without him, and also Johnny's quote."
TOOL, RAMMSTEIN, IGGY AND THE STOOGES, DEFTONES and WOLFMOTHER are among the artists that have been confirmed for the 2011 Big Day Out festival tour of Australia and New Zealand. The festival will have day-long events running in Auckland, Gold Coast, Sydney, Melbourne, Adelaide and Perth from January 21 to February 6.
International Artists:
TOOL
RAMMSTEIN
IGGY AND THE STOOGES
BLOODY BEETROOTS DEATH CREW 77
LUPE FIASCO
GRINDERMAN
PRIMAL SCREAM
DEFTONES
THE BLACK KEYS
CRYSTAL CASTLES
ANDREW W.K
THE JIM JONES REVUE
EDWARD SHARPE & THE MAGNETIC ZEROS
M.I.A
LCD SOUNDSYSTEM
BOOKA SHADE
DIE ANTWOORD
VITALIC
CSS
PLAN B
RATATAT
Local Artists
JOHN BUTLER TRIO
WOLFMOTHER
ANGUS & JULIA STONE
DEAD LETTER CIRCUS
CHILDREN COLLIDE
OPERATOR PLEASE
BLISS N ESO
GYROSCOPE
PNAU
AIRBOURNE
BIRDS OF TOKYO
KIDS OF 88
THE NAKED & FAMOUS
KID KENOBI & MC SHURESHOCK
SAMPOLOGY
BLUE KING BROWN
WILL STYLES
LITTLE RED
GYPSY AND THE CAT
LOWRIDER
2011 Big Day Out dates:
Jan. 21 - Auckland, NZ @ MT Smart Stadium
Jan. 23 - Parklands, AUS @ Gold Coast
Jan. 26 - Sydney, AUS @ Showgrounds
Jan. 30 - Melbourne, AUS @ Flemington Racecourse
Feb. 04 - Adelaide, AUS @ Showground
Feb. 06 - Perth, AUS @ Claremont Showground
"In War And Pieces", the new album from veteran German thrashers SODOM, has had its North American release date pushed back to January 11, 2011 from the previously announced November 23, 2010. The CD will be made available in Europe on November 22 via SPV/Steamhammer.
"In War And Pieces" was produced by Waldemar Sorychta, who has previously worked with TIAMAT, MOONSPELL, LACUNA COIL and SENTENCED, among many others. The cover artwork (see below) was created by Eliran Kantor, who has previously worked with TESTAMENT, SIGH, ANACRUSIS and GWAR.
In a recent interview with Mattowarrior's Metal Madness, SODOM bassist/vocalist Thomas "Angelripper" Such stated about the upcoming album, "We have a new producer, Waldemar Sorychta of GRIP INC. He's like a fourth bandmember. I told him I wanted SODOM to go back to our roots, and it's important to create an album with an old sound. I don't like productions where the bands sound like all the others. He ha[d] many ideas on how to arrange the album, and vocal lines, etc."
Such previously stated about the group's new material, "There has never been a SODOM album which is so wide-ranged, as powerful and as typically SODOM as this one."
SODOM released its long-awaited new DVD, "Lords Of Depravity - Part II", in July via SPV/Steamhammer.
The band's latest album, "The Final Sign of Evil", was released as a double vinyl package on February 1, 2008 via SPV Records. The LP features re-recordings of the material from the German thrashers' classic first EP, "In the Sign of Evil", plus no less than seven bonus tracks, all of which were originally written during the "In the Sign of Evil" era or earlier but were never officially released. As a special bonus, the album featured return appearances by drummer Chris Dudek (a.k.a. Witchhunter) and guitarist Josef "Peppi" Dominic (a.k.a. Grave Violator), both of whom were featured on the original 1984 EP.
For bassist/vocalist Thomas "Angelripper" Such, his thrash metal band SODOM is a perfect vehicle to bluntly take a stand. Like few other musicians on this scene, he personifies — along with down-to-earthiness and honesty — a healthily critical position on political authorities and decision-makers from finance and industry. On their latest album, "In War And Pieces", SODOM focuses on the worst excesses of power: arrogance, greed, spotlight-seeking, fanaticism, corruption, cowardice and oppression. Tom strates, "I've always written about what's going on in the world, about the injustice and mistakes that happen everywhere. I know that you can't change anything politically that way, but I would like to at least comment on the situation and generate an awareness of this deplorable state of affairs. Being a singer in a metal band allows me to voice my anger to a large audience."
This uncompromising attitude marks the eleven songs on sodom's latest album which could hardly sound more dynamic and violent. "In War And Pieces" owes its bloodcurdling energy largely to producer Waldemar Sorychta (GRIP INC., ENEMY OF THE SUN), whose great skill and commitment were instrumental in creating the album's — as Tom calls it — "phat, brutal and open" sound. With Sorychta's support, Angelripper (vocals, bass), Bernemann (guitar) and Bobby Schottkowski (drums) succeeded in adding new impulses to their music without watering down the band's long tradition. "Waldemar is a great musician himself and has done some brilliant work, especially on the guitar sound," Tom explains. "He knows how to get the absolute maximum out of a speaker."
As brutal as the production is the diverse songwriting on "In War And Pieces", a kind of tour de force through the whole history of thrash metal, featuring harsh arrangements, melodic solos and raging vocal attacks. "I feel that we sound more contemporary and structured than we did on our recent releases," Tom analyzes. "At the same time, there are also references to recordings such as 'Persecution Mania' and 'Agent Orange'. After VENOM, SODOM were the world's first angry band, and nothing has changed that." Tom lists as examples the impressive title track, as well as "The Art Of Killing Poetry" with its ultra-deep guitar atmospheres and the German-language song, 'Knarrenheinz', which holds up the tradition of classics such as 'Bombenhagel' and "Ausgebombt". "Knarrenheinz is the mascot on the album cover, that's why I felt he deserved his own lyrics," Tom grins. Talking of album covers: the artwork was designed by Eliran Kantor, who enjoys an excellent
reputation on the scene thanks to his work for renowned acts such as TESTAMENT, GWAR and MEKONG DELTA.
"In War And Pieces" will be released in North America on January 11, 2011 and in Europe on November 22, 2010 via SPV/Steamhammer.
The track listing for the CD is as follows:
01. In War And Pieces
02. Hellfire
03. Through Toxic Veins
04. Nothing Counts More Than Blood
05. Storm Raging Up
06. Feigned Death Throes
07. Soul Contraband
08. God Bless You
09. The Art Of Killing Poetry
10. Knarrenheinz
11. Styptic Parasite
Norman McCann of Tomb Of The Opinionated recently conducted an interview with vocalist Angela Gossow of Swedish/German extreme metallers ARCH ENEMY. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
Tomb Of The Opinionated: How did you guys find playing the Maldives? That must have been quite an experience!
Angela: It was very controversial in terms of politics and religion there. The new, young president of the Maldives invited us. Heavy metal was banned there many years by the fundamentalist old government. The president wanted to set a sign and invited a band that plays real hard, sings about rebellion and freedom and got a female singer on top of that. We had a whole bunch of protest groups around the show and had the president's police escort at the show. But we weren't afraid. The show was very exciting and we had a lot of people there! It felt very passionate and real.
Tomb Of The Opinionated: You guys are one of the first metal bands to play there. How did the show come about?
Angela: We were invited by the president in collaboration with MOHD, a company from the Maldives. Many shows fell through in the past — but we were very dedicated, didn't care about the money and just went there. It was worth the headaches and hard work. Getting a show together in a place that has no infrastructure and equipment for this type of music isn't the easiest thing to pull off. No booking agent or external manager would have touched this. But we are self-managed and I got it all happening in the end. We had a wonderful time there.
Tomb Of The Opinionated: "Rise of the Tyrants" was extremely well received. It's definitely one of the heaviest albums you guys have released! Did that just occur naturally?
Angela: Yeah. And the new album will get even heavier. We are far from being old and tired. We wanna shred, blast, scream and go nuts.
Tomb Of The Opinionated: Any updates on a new album? Have you guys started writing?
Angela: Yes. We have nine songs by now and still got a ton of riffs, ideas and melodies lying around. We will lock ourselves away from the 1st December on and the album is scheduled to be released in May 2011. Lots of hard work, but we are more than ready for it and just wanna kill!
Tomb Of The Opinionated: Being a female singer in a metal band must attract a huge amount of attention from fans. Has it become easier to deal with over the years or has the attention just kept on increasing?
Angela: I don't feel the attention is focused on me – but on the whole entity that is ARCH ENEMY. And that is very good as we wanna be out there, play shows, get around, sell CDs, get more fans. We LOVE attention because it gets us further and further.
Tomb Of The Opinionated: You specialized in online marketing. Are you heavily involved in maintaining ARCH ENEMY's online presence? What about other aspects of the bands management?
Angela: I manage ARCH ENEMY and run all financial and business aspects of the band. I oversee and decide all tours and book them in those territories we don't have a booking agent for. Me and Michael [Amott, guitar] run all online sites, promo, etc. We design all merch together as well and I do the pre-production for all shows as well. I am a workaholic and just as tough in business as I look on stage.
According to U.K.'s Rock Sound, MONSTER MAGNET mainman Dave Wyndorf has launched his own record label dubbed Studio 13. Although the imprint will initially focus on releasing seven-inch singles and accompanying download cards featuring MONSTER MAGNET-related music, the label will eventually consider adding other artists to its roster.
"Right now it's not about making tons of money; it's making a cool little place where I can put out my music," said Wyndorf. "In the land between demos and giant finished rock records, there is a cool area, an area where the ideas are fresh and mistakes are there but they are good mistakes. There is really something special about material that is fresh out of the head onto a tape machine and right out the door."
Studio 13's first release — to be made available on the band's forthcoming European tour — will be a reworked version of "Superjudge" — the title track of MONSTER MAGNET's 1993 album — and a song called "She Digs That Hole", which Dave describes as a "demented psychedelic love song about a gypsy women who picks up girls for the band to fuck."
Professionally filmed video footage of MONSTER MAGNET's August 21, 2010 performance at the Area 4 festival in Lüdinghausen, Germany can be viewed below.
MONSTER MAGNET will release its long-awaited new album, "Mastermind", this October via Austria's Napalm Records..
In celebration of the record's impending release, the band has re-launched its web site: MonsterMagnet.net. Focused around the late October worldwide release of "Mastermind", the re-launch also serves as the world premiere of the new album's cover artwork, designed by Invisible Creature (WOLFMOTHER, CHRIS CORNELL, FOO FIGHTERS).
"Mastermind" track listing:
01. Hallucination Bomb
02. Bored With Sorcery
03. Dig That Hole
04. Gods and Punks
05. The Titan Who Cried Like A Baby
06. Mastermind
07. 100 Million Miles
08. Perish In Fire
09. Time Machine
10. When The Planes Fall From The Sky
11. Ghost Story
12. All Outta Nothin'
On November, 23 all die-hard knuckleheads can rejoice: FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's debut album, "The Way Of The Fist", will be reissued as a deluxe box set. "The Way Of The Fist: Iron Fist Edition" celebrates the landmark album for the metal genre that has sold over 425,000 copies and continues to scan over 1,000 copies a week three years after its original release.
The "Iron Fist Edition" box set features the original 13 album tracks with all-new artwork, a brand new in-depth documentary DVD, "The Legend of The Fist Vol. 1", (featuring never-before seen footage and interviews spanning FIVE FINGER's career), a bonus CD with 11 B-sides and rarities, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH trading cards, and an exclusive poster and calendar.
Meanwhile, this October FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH continues its hard rock dominance on a massive tour with GODSMACK. "The Oracle 2010" tour is easily one of the most exciting events to come along this year as these two rock titans unite for the first time. FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH tour dates kick off Friday, October 1, and will run through November 5.
In addition to a new tour and new deluxe version of their first album, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH has a new single at radio. After the success of "Bad Company" — which peaked at #2 on the Active Rock charts and has been a Top 5 track for over two months — FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH just released their newest single from "War Is The Answer": "Far From Home". As a track that has special meaning to the band, "Far From Home" has already gotten an incredibly positive reaction at radio, and will be sure to ride the charts all fall. "Far From Home" is the fourth single off the hit album "War Is The Answer", which has sold over 325,000 copies to date and debuted at #7 on the Billboard chart.
FATES WARNING drummer Mark Zonder has issued the following update:
"After finishing the eight reunion shows, twenty flights and thirty thousand miles for FATES WARNING that included shows in California, Texas, Connecticut, couple shows in Greece, Bang Your Head!!! festival in Germany and Sweden Rock Festival, I have been doing a lot of recording for other artists. Some of these include:
* Brian Futch: Cross between pop and rock with great storyteller style songs and vocals.
* Richard West of THRESHOLD doing a more mainstream project with great vocals and again great songs. Very melodic.
* A band with former DREAMZFATE vocalist Ripper X, Dan Pocengal (former guitarist of DREAMZFATE / MIDNIGHT PROJECT), Chris Strayer (former keyboardist of ELI ALSO / SISTERS OF MERCY and had a stint touring with TYPE O NEGATIVE). Heavier stuff with good song structure verging on the metal-prog style. Very solid.
* Dan Pocengal solo project, which is instrumental and a bit more free form, which lets me wander a bit more.
* SPEAKING TO STONES: Finished up the album over the past year. Complete classic metal-prog with tempo and time signature changes all over the place. Really good playing and serious lead guitar playing. If you are into prog-mteal, this is for you. Should be coming out in the beginning of 2011.
* TEN, the English band featuring Gary Hughes. Great songs, great hard rock vocals and tight, tight guitar playing. Very proud of this as it was not your classic Mark Zonder-style playing. I approached this differently and was sort of surprised myself on how well it came out. Something about letting the drums and cymbals really breathe, excited me and gave me great inspiration. Great songs, great playing, really excited and curious how this comes out as it is being mixed by Dennis Ward and will be released on Frontiers in 2011. Could and should be a big record. Hopefully live playing will follow the release.
"Just continuing to record, having a great time."
"This Is The Time", the new single from Dutch female-fronted symphonic metallers EPICA, will be released digitally on October 15. A video for the song, which was written for the World Wildlife Fund (WWF), was filmed in March was in Hilversum, The Netherlands and can be viewed below.
For more than 45 years, WWF has been protecting the future of nature. The world's leading conservation organization, WWF works in 100 countries and is supported by 1.2 million members in the United States and close to 5 million globally. WWF's unique way of working combines global reach with a foundation in science, involves action at every level from local to global, and ensures the delivery of innovative solutions that meet the needs of both people and nature.
Commented EPICA: "The awareness that we should be more careful with the earth, increases every day. We should also try to live in closer harmony with nature. EPICA is lyric-wise strongly connected to these themes and would like to devote themselves to this cause for a better world!"
Added WWF's Jörgen van Beem: "WWF's mission is to stop the degradation of our planet's natural environment, and build a future in which humans live in harmony with nature. A planet where people and nature can thrive together, in a stable environment, now, and for generations to come. For more than 40 years, WWF has been at the forefront in protecting the Amazon and are therefore enthusiastic that EPICA decided to raise funds for the Brazilian forest programs of WWF, which ensure conservation and sustainable development throughout the world's largest rainforest."
Greek epic metallers BATTLEROAR have announced the addition of guitarist Antreas Sotiropoulos (EVERDOME, WOLFCRY) to the group's ranks. The band states, "The new lineup is already working out really well and everybody is pleased and excited."
BATTLEROAR last year parted ways with singer Marco Concoreggi due to "personal reasons" and replaced him with John Papanikolaou. Papanikolaou has since left the group. A replacement vocalist has not yet been announced.
BATTLEROAR's third album, "To Death and Beyond", was released in April 2008 via Cruz Del Sur. The CD was produced by John Boulamakis and features artwork by Greek comic artist John Rubulias ("Conan" Greek edition). A limited digipak edition, featuring a bonus track and an exclusive embroidered patch, was also released.
The group was previously signed to the now-defunct Black Lotus label, which released BATTLEROAR's second album, "Age of Chaos".
For more information, visit www.myspace.com/battleroar1.
Massachusetts-based punk-rock-metal band MONGREL has released a new EP, "The New Breed of Old School", featuring six songs from its debut full-length album, "Fear, Lies, & Propaganda" (Screaming Ferret Wreckords / Locomotive Records), re-recorded with the group's new lineup consisting of Jessica Sierra (vocals), Adam Savage (guitar), Rev (bass), and Dave Kazukiewicz (drums).
Commented band founder Savage, "After six years of male singers, it was quickly decided that with the addition of our new (female) singer Jessica, it was going to be important to re-introduce the band and the songs to the fans in order to let them hear for themselves what made her the clear choice to take singer job for MONGREL. By picking songs that have essentially been fan favorites from the old album, it really allows both the long-term fans as well as new people to appreciate just what Jessica and our new drummer Dave bring to the table and why we feel this is the strongest line-up the band has had to date."
"The New Breed of Old School" EP was recorded at White Sight & Sound and engineered and mixed by Jim Foster (NULLSET, GRAVEYARD BBQ, DAMONE, P.O.D.) September 6-7, 2010 and was released under the band's Immolation Records banner as the band has chosen to remain independent thus far since its mutually-agreed-upon split with former label Screaming Ferret Wreckords last fall with the release of "Revenge".
MONGREL will re-enter the studio in October with Jim Foster to begin recording its next full-length album, slated for an early spring 2011 release.
For more information, visist www.myspace.com/mongrel.
Guitarist Stefan Weinerhall of the Swedish metal band FALCONER has issued the following update:
"Recording time is coming up. Most songs [for the next FALCONER album] are written and rehearsed soon as the studio time is drawing nearer, starting to feel a bit stressed!! The album will be mixed in the end of January so I'd guess we're up for a late spring release.
"The title of the new album will be 'Armod' and will be completely sung in Swedish except for the bonus tracks that will simply be English versions of the best (according to us) new songs.
"This time we have concentrated on the traditional folk side of our music including more traditional folk songs (the majority of the material is still our own), more fiddles and flutes.
"Be calm, the horrid sound of accordions will firmly be left behind!!
"This is a way to finally devoting an entire album to the influences and getting that out of our system, so to speak, and to do the thing some have asked for during ten years. This is not the new direction of us but just the sound of THIS album.
"We are prepared for nagging about lack of speed and the full use of the Swedish language and, of course, the cynical opinions that we lack inspiration and thus use more traditional folk songs.
"The next time we'll take another step; I wonder what that can be."
"Carnival Of Disgust", the latest video from FALCONER, can be viewed below. The clip, which was shot at the medieval Vadstena castle on a windy and cold April day, "exceeds [all] expectations," according to a press release. The song comes off the band's most recent album, "Among Beggars And Thieves", which was released in August 2008 via Metal Blade Records. The CD was recorded at Andy La Rocque's (KING DIAMOND) Sonic Train Studio in Varberg, Sweden. 13 songs were mixed during the sessions, including two bonus tracks for the LP's first edition.
FALCONER in 2007 extended its deal with Metal Blade for another four albums.
Legendary '80s French metal band VULCAIN will make its North American live debut on October 9 at the Katacombes venue in Montreal, Quebec, Canada. The concert, whichwill be filmed to be released on a special high-definition DVD, will also feature the black/speed metal band MIDNIGHT from Cleveland, punk metal act INEPSY and heavy/doom metal group CAUCHEMAR from Montreal.
ULCAIN broke out of the French underground speed metal movement in the early 1980s to rule the French metal world, selling thousand of records and packing venues and festivals across the country. Despite great demand in the '80s, these musical giants have never flown overseas until now.
Formed in Paris in 1981, VULCAIN has released seven albums, including the classics "Rock and Roll Secours", "Desperados" and "Big Brothers". Their style, a high-speed metal rock 'n' roll, quickly gave them the nickname of "the French MOTÖRHEAD." The band broke up in 1998, but came back in 2009, playing many festivals and many shows across Europe.
LEAVES' EYES — the German/Norwegian band formed by ex-THEATRE OF TRAGEDY singer Liv Kristine Espenaes Krull and members of ATROCITY — has been forced to cancel the remaining dates on its previously announced North Americna tour. The group's official statement on the matter reads as follows:
"We regret to announce that the remaining dates of our North American Tour will not take place. This also includes the show in Mexico City.
"As a result of KAMELOT's last-minute cancellation of their headlining tour, LEAVES' EYES still tried their best to play as many dates in the USA and Canada as possible.
The big gap between the cancelled KAMELOT tour dates and our own headlining dates is just to big to overcome. This made it impossible to continue any further.
"We are feeling terribly sorry for having to release this statement as we put an immense amount of energy and effort to make a full North American tour happen. Everybody was very excited to play in North America and Mexico again. However, the power to decide was not at all in our hands. We deeply regret that we now had to stop touring and return to Europe.
"We are very greatful to our fans, friends, BLACKGUARD, the radio stations, all the promoters who made it possible for us to play the shows we did so far. We will never forget these fantastic moments. We really hope that we have better luck when touring America next time."
"Take The Devil In Me", the new video from LEAVES' EYES, can be viewed below. The song comes off the group's latest album, "Njord", which was re-released in May as a "special fan edition," containing three previously unreleased tracks — "At Heaven's End", "Angus and the Swan" and an acoustic version of "Irish Rain". The set also features an appearance by Liv's sister, Carmen Elise Espenaes from MIDNATTSOL, as a guest vocalist on "Irish Rain". The special fan edition comes with a noble matt and glossy foil printed slipcase, which is strictly limited.
The "special fan edition" of "Njord" consists of the "Njord" digipack, including two bonus tracks, as well as the brand new bonus CD "At Heaven's End", which contains seven non-album tracks, and the "My Destiny" video.
"Njord - Special Fan Edition" contents:
"Njord" (limited-edition digipak)
01. Njord
02. My Destiny
03. Emerald Island
04. Take the Devil in Me
05. Scarborough Fair
06. Through Our Veins
07. Irish Rain
08. Northbound
09. Ragnarok
10. Morgenland
11. The Holy Bond
12. Frøya's Theme
13. Landscape of the Dead (bonus track)
14. Les Champs de Lavande (bonus track)
"At Heaven's End" (bonus CD)
01. At Heaven's End (non-album track)
02. Angus and the Swan (non-album track)
03. Irish Rain (acoustic version - non-album track)
04. The Battle of Maldon (non-album track)
05. Scarborough Fair (acoustic version - non-album track)
06. Nine Wave Maidens (non-album track)
07. My Destiny (remix - non-album track)
08. My Destiny (video)
LEAVES' EYES recently entered Mastersound Studio in Germany to begin recording its new album for a tentative late 2010/early 2011 release.
Brazilian female-fronted metal band SHADOWSIDE will support W.A.S.P. on the "The Return To Babylon 2010 Tour" of Europe in October-December.
Commented SHADOWSIDE singer Dani Nolden: "I trust that our anxiety and excitement alone might be enough to set the stage on fire even with the European cold weather!
"We're extremely proud for having the opportunity to share the stage with such a legendary band like W.A.S.P. We've played with lots of great bands before, headlined packed venues back home but this definitely feels special. We'll do our best and with a lot of energy, to satisfy the crowd and get them ready to be rocked crazy by Mr. Lawless. It will be a true heavy metal party not to be missed!"
The dates are as follows:
Oct. 31 - New Age Club - Treviso, Italy
Nov. 01 - Live Club - Milan, Italy
Nov. 02 - Ninkasi Kao - Lyon, France
Nov. 03 - Le Bikini - Toulouse, France
Nov. 04 - Le Cabaret Aleatoire - Marseille, France
Nov. 05 - Sala Totem - Pamplona, Spain
Nov. 06 - Pabellon Desportivo - Montorio, Spain
Nov. 08 - Sala El Tren - Granada, Spain
Nov. 09 - Sala Heineken - Madrid, Spain
Nov. 10 - Razzmatazz 2 - Barcelona, Spain
Nov. 12 - Kaminwerk - Memmingen, Germany
Nov. 13 - De Pul Live - Uden, Netherlands
Nov. 14 - Stadthalle - Tuttlingen, Germany
Nov. 15 - Volkshaus - Zurich, Switzerland
Nov. 17 - Outback - Bad Arolsen, Germany
Nov. 18 - Stadthalle - Langen, Germany
Nov. 19 - Trix - Antwerpen, Belgium
Nov. 20 - Rock City - Nottingham, England
Nov. 21 - Garage - Glasgow, Scotland
Nov. 24 - Academy 2 - Manchester, England
Nov. 25 - Millennium Music Hall - Cardiff, Wales
Nov. 26 - Wulfren Hall - Wolverhampton, England
Nov. 27 - The Academy - Dublin, Ireland
Nov. 28 - Mandela Hall - Belfast, Ireland
Nov. 30 - Markthalle - Hamburg, Germany
Dec. 01 - LKA Longhorn - Stuttgart, Germany
Dec. 02 - Halle Gasometer - Wien, Austria
Dec. 03 - Diesel - Budapest, Hungary
Dec. 04 - Kwadrat - Kraków, Poland
Dec. 05 - Progresja - Warsaw, Poland
Dec. 07 - Forum Palace - Vilnius, Lithuania
Dec. 08 - Rock Cafe - Tallin, Estonia
Dec. 09 - House of Culture - Helsinki, Finland
Dec. 10 - Pakkahuone - Tampere, Finland
Dec. 11 - Club Teatria - Oulu, Finland
"Hideaway", the latest video from SHADOWSIDE, can be viewed below. The clip, which was directed, produced and edited by Luiz Felipe Amorim, was filmed in an abandoned garage in the group's hometown of Santos. It features the band performing as well as lead singer Dani Nolden playing the main character. She says, "[The track deals with] people who are misunderstood, mistreated and put down by society for their whole lives, for the sole reason of being different and unusual. In this case, we portrayed it on a more personal level and showed a teenage girl accused by her mother of painting masks to disrespect her, to be aggressive, while all she wants is to express herself and ends up hiding who she really is."
"Hideaway" comes off SHADOWSIDE's second album, "Dare To Dream", which was produced and mixed by Dave Schiffman (SYSTEM OF A DOWN, AUDIOSLAVE, AVENGED SEVENFOLD) and Howie Weinberg (AEROSMITH, IRON MAIDEN, METALLICA, PANTERA, RUSH).
SHADOWSIDE is:
Dani Nolden (vocals)
Raphael Mattos (guitar)
Ricardo Piccoli (bass)
Fabio Buitvidas (drums)
Acclaimed San Antonio, Texas-based guitarist/composer Ron Jarzombek (WATCHTOWER, BLOTTED SCIENCE, SPASTIC INK) has issued the following update:
"Basically, what's going on is I have quite a few things in the works right now, but haven't completed much of anything since the BLOTTED SCIENCE 'The Machinations Of Dementia' CD in late '07 (well, I released 'PHHHP! Plus' last year but that was previously recorded material).
"This is what I get for starting up too many things, trying to run everything, handle nearly all production work, and I get so overloaded that I lose focus on what I should be working on, what is priority at the time, and nothing gets completed. Hopefully, one of the projects listed below will actually be completed sometime soon, but don't hold your breath or you will die.
"I have not touched the DVD material since I posted the 'Oscillation Cycles' video over a year ago. I had so many people asking what the DVDs would be like, so I completed that segment and posted it just to give fans a glimpse of what I'm putting together, but knew that after that I would be getting back with WATCHTOWER in hopes of finishing up 'Mathematics'.
"There will be three instructional DVDs, the first based on common scale use and abuse, the second on timing, and the third on 12-tone uses. I've got tons of work done on all three DVDs, but am far from being completed on any of them. They will be completed and released when they are done.
"How's that?
"Believe me folks, I REALLY want to get back to my DVDs, but I usually put bands/projects first when other band/project members are co-operating.
"Seems like whenever WATCHTOWER try to complete 'Mathematics', we hit a snag, roadblock, or wall. We've re-worked the material for the third time now (2000, 2004, and now 2010), and I'm just tired of talking about it. It's REALLY getting old. You guys can keep asking me, but the answer will be the same... I really don't know when the CD will be done. I really don't. We need to get the damn thing done sometime, somehow, some way. But we have over an hour of good material sitting around waiting to be recorded and released. If we can just get this vocalist situation worked out, we should be fine.
"In April 2010 we digitally released 'The Size Of Matter' and played the Keep It True festival in Germany and I thought at that point we would for sure get back on track and get the recordings done (just like I did in 2000 and 2004). So we'll just have to wait and see what happens.
"When we got together for the Tampa rehearsals in mid '08, we began talking about plans for a second BLOTTED SCIENCE CD and came up with a wacky concept. Let's just say there were LOTS of crazy and interesting ideas floating around. The 'Laser Lobotomy' and 'Oscillation Cycles' rehearsal videos were posted and talks of gigging were in the air, but nothing materialized. No writing for the second CD really happened after that. Alex [Webster] continued working heavily with CANNIBAL CORPSE, Charlie [Zeleny] with BEHOLD... THE ARCTOPUS, and I was working on the DVDs/WATCHTOWER. We just kept in contact and were thinking of how we could pull off this concept'. After a year and a half of focusing on WATCHTOWER, and it coming to a grinding halt, I REALLY wanted to get moving on something. I was getting hounded by fans about a second BLOTTED SCIENCE CD, so I began putting things together for BLOTTED SCIENCE II. Realizing that a full CD would take too long to
complete, we decided that an EP would be our best and most realistic move at this point.
"Alex is heavily involved with CANNIBAL CORPSE and our new drummer, Hannes Grossmann, is writing/recording/touring with OBSCURA.
"New drummer?! What?!!
"Yes, folks, please welcome Hannes to BLOTTED SCIENCE! Those of you in the death metal world should be very familiar with his work with NECROPHAGIST and OBSCURA. Of course, Alex and I wish Charlie the very best with his current bands/projects/sessions, and many thanks for doing an absolute brilliant job on 'Machinations'.
"The EP will consists of four songs totaling 22 minutes (three of which are already written), and will be hopefully released in early '11. But again, but don't hold your breath.
"While WATCHTOWER was in Germany playing the Keep It True festival, we stayed over a few days and I got to hang out a bit with Hannes and Chris from OBSCURA. Chris and I soon starting talking about music theory, 12-tone uses, and thought that it would be cool for us to put something together, maybe just a song or two, and have it available digitally. To fill out the recording lineup we fired up Hannes, and I asked my SPASTIC INK bandmate bassist Pete Perez if he was interested, so we all pitched in with a few tunes each, and came up with a six-and-a-half-minute song. We haven't come up with a name for the project yet, but the name of the song will be 'Duodecimal Levorotation'."
Poland's Selfmadegod Records will release the new WOJCZECH full-length album, "Pulsus Letalis", mid-October 2010. The CD was recorded by Pierre Bernhard at Sessionstudio/Ostseerockstudio and mixed and mastered by Harris Johns (CORONER, KREATOR, VOIVOD, PESTILENCE) at Musiclab. The album contains 12 tracks of high-speed manic chaos. Dissonant, monolithic walls of guitar on top of a tutorial in blast beats; monumental grind metal with a crusty edge!
Formed in 1995, WOJCZECH has toured as often as possible, throughout Peru, Brazil, Southeast Asia, the U.S., Mexico, and Europe in recent years. In addition to dozens of seven-inch EPs, split EPs and a live 12-inch LP, the band released its first full-length, "Sedimente", in 2005, which was recorded by Harris Johns and released by Selfmadegod and Sensitive Wormrile.
WOJCZECH has been honing the material on "Pulsus Letalis" in the live arena for years, and finally has captured its intensity on this full-length album.
Selfmadegod will handle the CD release of "Pulsus Letalis" while the vinyl edition, limited to 500 copies, will come out on RSR Records and Sensitive Wormrile in Europe, and Haunted Hotel Records in the U.S.
WOJCZECH will hit the road for a European tour with WEEKEND NACHOS from October 2 through 16 in support of the new album; check out the band's MySpace page for updates.
"Pulsus Letalis" track listing:
01. Weltenfresser
02. Battlestar
03. Reduktion
04. Zitat
05. Steinzeiten
06. Leitkultur
07. Maggots In Your Coffin
08. Izotope
09. Pulsus Letalis
10. Rausch
11. Klonkrieger
12. 67°48'0''N 12°50'0''O
INFECTIOUS GROOVES, the funkadelic side project of SUICIDAL TENDENCIES frontman Mike Muir, will play its first U.S. show in over ten years on November 23 at the House Of Blues in West Hollywood, California. This will be the band's only U.S. concert of 2010.
INFECTIOUS GROOVES in 2008 announced the addition of guitarist Tim Stewart and drummer Eric Moore to the group's ranks. The band's current lineup is as follows:
Mike Muir - Vocals
Dean Pleasants - Guitar
Tim Stewart - Guitar
Steve Brunner - Bass
Eric Moore - Drums
INFECTIOUS GROOVES was formed soon after Robert Trujillo joined SUICIDAL TENDENCIES in 1989. Mike Muir and Trujillo got together with a few friends and started writing songs centered more around the bass, but with the intent of giving everyone else a whole lot of freedom.
"SEX PISTOLS and PARLIAMENT were my two favorite bands when I was young," says Muir. "People think they are completely different but I saw a lot of similarities, even if musically they were categorized as completely different styles. There's something beautiful about breaking rules that never should have been made."
INFECTIOUS GROOVES' most recent album, "Mas Borracho", came out in 2000.
GODSMACK frontman Sully Erna recently spoke to MTV News about his newly released solo album, "Avalon", which debuted at position No. 24 on The Billboard 200 chart.
"GODSMACK will always be my main priority. I know that, but right now, 'Avalon' is my baby," Erna said. "It's a complete departure from GODSMACK, and that's why I love it so much. As a musician, I like to express different sides of myself, and this is way more intellectual and eclectic and primal than what I usually do. It's the kind of thing you'll really want to stop what you're doing when you put it on to listen to."
He added, "The hardest thing about doing this record was finding a common pulse, because all the songs were written over a number of years and they're all different. I really wanted this to be something that flows together as a single body of work, not just a bunch of singles, so it was kind of a challenge to make everything connect. If I owned a record store and I got this album, I wouldn't know where to put it because it's not like anything else that's out there."
Erna started arranging songs in late 2007 and spent over a year recording the album at Sanctum Sound studio in Boston and mixing at Serenity West studio in Hollywood.
"It was definitely a process, and it was sometimes a pain in the neck," Erna said. "Scheduling everything was really tough. I'd be arranging and composing something, and I'd realize you need a cello player for a certain part, so it's a matter of calling the right person in to do their parts and making sure they're available. That happened over and over. But everyone on there is a top-notch player and together we recorded a beautiful album."
Mark Morton of Richmond, Virginia's LAMB OF GOD recently spoke to Ed Mitchell of U.K.'s Total Guitar magazine about writing the riff for the song "Redneck" off LAMB OF GOD's 2006 album "Sacrament". A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
Total Guitar: Where did the inspiration for the "Redneck" riff come from?
Morton: "I was trying to incorporate some blues-influenced, Southern swagger into metal. I was thinking about some of the older music that I'm into, like LYNYRD SKYNYRD and THE ALLMAN BROTHERS; taking that mixture of pentatonic blues and chromatic passing notes and fusing it into a metal riff. That's where my head was at."
Total Guitar: Do you remember the "birth" of the riff?
Morton: "I had introduced the song 'Descending' when we were writing for the 'Sacrament' album [2006]. I fought for it, and it wound up being a pretty well respected and popular song, but initially within the band that song wasn't wildly popular. So I remember thinking the next one I rolled in with had to be a firecracker."
Total Guitar: So you brought in "Redneck"?
Morton: "Yeah. I was sitting in my den before practice and I still hadn't come up with anything. We start practice around noon and it was about 10 in the morning. I was playing the guitar, seeing what I could come up with, and within an hour or so I had written 'Redneck'."
Total Guitar: Did the recording of "Redneck" go as smoothly as the writing?
Morton: "Machine, our producer on that record, took a liking to the song and really wanted to make sure everything went down the way he thought it should. Everything went smoothly. It usually does for us. We don't tend to hit a lot of snags in the studio."
Total Guitar: What gear did you use to record the riff?
Morton: "The guitar I used on it was my '75 Gibson Les Paul Goldtop. That's pretty much my studio guitar. As for amps, the Mesa Boogie Mark IV is our mainstay but on that album we did a lot of re-amping through amp modellers and that kind of stuff. I can't remember which filters we ran through. That's more of a production and engineering issue. On the 'Wrath' album [2009] we used Mark IVs, but on 'Sacrament' there was a lot more of the digital stuff going on."
Slovak-Swedish melodic metal band SIGNUM REGIS, which features in its ranks vocalist Göran Edman (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, GLORY, JOHN NORUM), has inked a deal with Inner Wound Recordings. The group's new album, "The Eyes of Power", will be released in Europe and North America on November 12.
According to a press release, "The Eyes Of Power" is "a one-of-a-kind conceptual metal album. The whole concept revolves around real historical events that defined the Roman-Persian relations during the late antiquity (224 – 630 AD) in the Middle East. With a clear aim to capture the atmosphere of that particular time period and to keep the language as authentic as possible, original written sources and scholar literature were carefully studied. On the album you can hear many oriental-sounding riffs and chord progressions."
"The Eyes of Power" was mastered by Greg Reely (FEAR FACTORY, MACHINE HEAD, COLDPLAY) and features the following track listing:
01. Renewal In The East
02. Dura Europos
03. Purpleborn
04. Mystical Majesty
05. One Fatal Enterprise
06. The Underground Temple
07. Oathbreaker
08. Roma Aeterna
09. Destroyers Of The World
SIGNUM REGIS' self-titled debut album was released on Locomotive Records in 2008.
For more information, visit www.myspace.com/signumregis.
Mexican cult progressive death metal band TOXODETH has returned to activity after a long hiatus.
Raúl Guzmán, the mastermind behind the band on guitar and keyboards, along with his brother Jesús Guzmán on vocals, are still the creative force behind TOXODETH, but this time they have turned into a multinational force by the inclusion of Sweden's Wilhelm Lindh on guitar, and two Chilean members — Francisco Martín on bass (who lives in Sweden) and Ignacio Orellana on drums (who lives in New York).
TOXODETH is working on the remastering of both of their albums with Cristian Rodríguez Lunecke (PENTAGRAM, BLESSED DEATH, MEZZROW, among others), to be released early next year through the Swedish label Mechanix Records. In addition, the band is writing material for a new album, which it plans to begin recording by mid-2011. TOXODETH's got around 30 new songs and the bandmembers are going through the material to choose the best tracks to record those in demo form by early next year.
For more information, visit www.myspace.com/toxodeth.
Paragon Records will unleash the third album from DIMENTIANON, New York's masters of chaotic metal, on October 19. Entitled "Collapse The Void", the CD epitomizes the turbulent mixture of black, death and doom metal that has become the band's trademark style.
DIMENTIANON has been a force in New York City's extreme metal scene since its formation in 1995, the band then known as THE FORGOTTEN. With countless regional concerts under its belt, and backed with a solid resume of releases including the band's fist two full-lengths, multiple demos and a split release with funeral doom merchants RIGOR SARDONICOUS, the DIMENTIANON of 2010 is by far the most powerful expression of the band's chaotic nature to date. Founding member vocalist Mike Zanchelli has led the unit through many lineup changes, currently rounded out by returning bassist Maureen Murphy, drummer Pete Christopher and guitarist Zoltan Valter (SECTIONED).
"Collapse The Void" was recorded and produced by producer Pete Rutcho (REVOCATION, GRAVEHEART, FROZEN, RAVAGE) and features five massive tracks;, the shortest being just over three minutes, yet with the two longer tracks running closer to nine minutes. A maniacal yet well-orchestrated display of crushing haunting black/death metal with plenty of unexpected twists throughout, the album will surely arouse interest in any diehard fan of underground extreme metal.
"Collapse The Void" track listing:
01. Return...
02. Breathe Deep
03. Fragmented Nostalgia
04. The Forgotten
05. All Good Things End
For more information, visit www.myspace.com/dimentianon.
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