Robert Gray of Ultimate-Guitar.com recently conducted an interview with FIREWIND/OZZY OSBOURNE guitarist Gus G. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
Ultimate-Guitar.com: How did "Days Of Defiance", FIREWIND's sixth album, come to fruition?
Gus: We took our time writing "Days Of Defiance"; we didn't rush. We wrote a couple of songs on the road in 2008, songs like "Embrace The Sun" and "Heading For The Dawn". Apart from that though, we basically waited until the touring for "The Premonition" was done. We then took a break, and then we got together and wrote stuff together, comparing ideas. We spent the first half of 2009, working on the songs and arrangements. Around mid summer, we then started recording everything and basically took our time doing it.
Ultimate-Guitar.com: In what ways did the current global economic crisis — in Greece especially — influence the mood of "Days Of Defiance"?
Gus: The financial, economic crisis is a general phenomenon; it's hitting almost every country right now in the world. You can see people complaining and voting and protesting. There was a little bit of that vibe on a couple of songs, especially on the first song "The Ark Of Lies". It's all about that, really; it's all about people not trusting in any political or religious leaders anymore. "Days Of Defiance"'s title actually came from one of the lines in "The Ark Of Lies"; it's mentioned on that first track, and actually, it's also mentioned on the last track of the record as well ("When All Is Said and Done"). It's cool that the first song and the last song on "Days Of Defiance" feature that line.
Ultimate-Guitar.com: Would you say that "Days Of Defiance" features a dark, rebellious mood?
Gus: On a couple of songs, maybe. Maybe musically "Days Of Defiance" is a bit darker, but lyrically speaking, maybe on a couple of songs we talk about these things but this isn't a concept album. There's other topics on there as well; for example, "Heading For The Dawn" is about us and our fans, us travelling the world and playing to our fans. There's other stuff as well; there's songs with positive messages like "Embrace The Sun" and songs like that, so "Days Of Defiance" isn't all dark and gloomy or whatever.
Ultimate-Guitar.com: In what ways would you say "Days Of Defiance" is heavier than past FIREWIND albums?
Gus: "Days Of Defiance" is as heavy as "The Premonition", maybe a little bit heavier on a few tracks, but I think what makes this album even heavier is its raw production. We have a different production and a different sound this time. We actually moved studios; we didn't mix with Fredrik Nordström this time, but went to Sonic Pump Studios in Helsinki, Finland. We had a different approach to "Days Of Defiance"; we wanted it to be less polished, a bit more stripped down, and a bit more organic. I think it really fits our music this mix, and it actually made our music sound heavier.
Ultimate-Guitar.com: You've gone on record as saying your guitar playing on "Days Of Defiance" is better than your guitar playing on past FIREWIND albums. In what ways do you feel your guitar playing is better on this full-length?
Gus: I just felt that I wasn't so stressed, because we recorded everything in our own studio really and we kind of did it ourselves. I didn't have that clock ticking, that "Oh, I only have a few more days to finish all guitars." I just recorded whenever I felt I was ready. It's actually a relief to know you're not paying tons of money every day to record in a studio. You're playing whenever you feel like playing actually, and I feel more creative that way. I think there's a little bit of that little extra thing on our playing on "Days Of Defiance" compared to the previous ones. Not to put any of our previous albums down, though, because they're really good and I'm still proud of them. I don't think I'm just speaking for myself actually, and I should speak up for the rest of FIREWIND's members as well because I think everybody captured their best performances yet on this album.
Ultimate-Guitar.com: What was your approach to providing guitar parts to "Scream"? After all, the Ozzy Osbourne group has been around for a number of years and has had many other guitarists in its ranks.
Gus: I wanted to maintain the classic element, the Ozzy sound, obviously, and I wanted to have a little bit of guitar playing from the past on there. I wanted to have a little bit of that vibe on "Scream", but I also wanted my own stamp on the record as well, and make it sound like the new chapter of Ozzy, the new era of Ozzy — because it is. That was my approach; being respectful to who's been there before me and to his past, but also making my own mark. I didn't get to do any writing, but I don't think that was necessarily bad because I think it was a very challenging situation for me, to play on an album and put my stamp on music that I didn't write. All things considered, I think it came out really great. There are a lot of great songs on "Scream".
Ultimate-Guitar.com: When the time comes for Ozzy to record another album, can you see songwriting opportunities arising?
Gus: Oh yeah, man. I've already started writing stuff for him, and we've already discussed the possibility of doing another one. We've been jamming on some riffs, and he's really excited about them. Hopefully, we're gonna get to do that after this world tour ends. Hopefully we'll take a break, and then we'll go back in and do another record. Ozzy's been talking about going in and doing the next record like they were done in the old days, like the first two albums (September 1980's "Blizzard Of Ozz" and November 1981's "Diary Of A Madman") were done; getting the actual band together to jam, and doing it together. I think if we had the chance to do that, we can create a really killer record.
Ultimate-Guitar.com: How would you compare these ideas to those on "Scream", though, an album you didn't write for?
Gus: It's hard to say; they're just me basically making riffs so far, and grooves and stuff like that. They're definitely a bit more traditional, and not as modern as "Scream" was. They're a bit more back to basics, back to the roots. You've heard me play with FIREWIND and a bunch of other bands, so you know what my style's like. They're definitely not like melodic speed metal or anything. They're more in the vein of old Ozzy.
GUNS N' ROSES members Dizzy Reed (keyboards), Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal (guitar) and D.J. Ashba (guitar) will make an in-store appearance at Billy Hyde Music in the Northern Beaches suburb of Sydney, Mona Vale, Australia this Friday, December 3 at 4:00 p.m.
Billy Hyde Music Northern Beaches
55 Bassett St
Mona Vale NSW 2103
Phone: (02) 9986 0589
Fax: (02) 9986 0587
For more information, click here.
Although it took more than a decade — 13 years, to be exact — for GUNS N' ROSES to release its "Chinese Democracy" album in 2008, the follow-up to that effort may come sooner than anyone thinks. Ashba said in an interview at this month's launch party for the "Call Of Duty: Black Ops" video game that the band is "talking about that right now. We've been throwing around a bunch of ideas and it should be good, man. We've got a lot of good stuff on the plate coming out. It won't take as long, I promise." Ashba added, "I'm excited to get this next one rolling . . . Axl [Rose, lead singer] has a lot of good shit up his sleeve, so I'm really excited about it."
In addition to Ashba, Thal, Reed and sole original member Rose, the current lineup of GUNS N' ROSES includes guitarist Richard Fortus, bassist Tommy Stinson, keyboardist Chris Pitman and drummer Frank Ferrer.
Canadian rock legends RUSH have announced more "Time Machine Tour" dates throughout North America beginning March 30, 2011 in Ft. Lauderdale and running through April 22, with shows in Greensboro, Nashville, Louisville, Toledo, Hershey, New York's esteemed Madison Square Garden, Chicago, Cleveland, Detroit, Hamilton, Montreal and Baltimore. The tour also returns to North America in June with performances in select markets that will include cities such as New Orleans, Austin, Vancouver and a very special return play in Los Angeles. More information on these dates will be made available soon.
Tickets for RUSH go on sale in select markets beginning December 6 at LiveNation.com. To benefit the relief efforts in Haiti, one dollar of each ticket sold will be donated through several charities, including "Doctors Without Borders." RUSH will also contribute a portion of their proceeds at the culmination of the tour.
Newly announced RUSH tour dates:
Mar. 30 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Bank Atlantic Center
Apr. 01 - Greensboro, NC @ Coliseum
Apr. 03 - Nashville, TN @ Bridgestone Arena
Apr. 05 - Louisville, KY @ KFC Yum! Center
Apr. 06 - Toledo, OH @ Huntington Center
Apr. 08 - Hershey, NJ @ Giant Center
Apr. 10 - New York, NY @ Madison Square Garden
Apr. 12 - Chicago, IL @ United Center
Apr. 15 - Cleveland, OH @ Quickens Loans Arena
Apr. 17 - Detroit, MI @ Palace of Auburn Hills
Apr. 19 - Hamilton, ON @ Copps Coliseum
Apr. 20 - Montreal, PQ @ Bell Centre
Apr. 22 - Baltimore, MD @ 1st Mariner Arena
The "Time Machine" tour is an evening with RUSH, where they will perform their classics, give a taste of the future and will — for the first time ever in the U.K. — feature the "Moving Pictures" album live in its entirety.
The first North American leg of the tour kicked off in June of 2010 and led to RUSH ranking #1 on Billboard's "Hot Tours" chart, followed by a return to Brazil and first-time shows in Argentina and Chile on their South American tour this past fall.
"'Moving Pictures' is our most popular album and it's the one that seems to have passed the test of time most gracefully," observes singer/bassist Geddy Lee. "We're playing better than ever, and I'm not sure we're quite ready to put that tour away," he adds.
Two men who were arrested by police investigating the death of a man who was attacked after a concert in Leeds have been released on bail.
Andrew Crawford, 44, of Wesley View, Pudsey, was attacked on Dudley Way on Thursday. He later died in hospital.
Earlier, Mr Crawford had been at a gig by Motorhead at the O2 Academy when his friend's hair was set on fire.
Police said two men, aged 30 and 26, who were arrested at the weekend, have been bailed pending further inquiries.
Mr Crawford suffered serious head injuries and was taken to Leeds General Infirmary, where he died.
West Yorkshire Police are appealing for witnesses.
No one was more surprised and shocked than Dream Theater singer James LaBrie when he heard that Mike Portnoy was leaving the band. There had been no indications and it truly caught him off guard. When the drummer took a brief hiatus to work on Avenged Sevenfold's Nightmare album – ostensibly just filling in for the recording dates as a temporary replacement for the recently departed Rev – LaBrie just assumed he'd be returning when the project was over. In fact, in a recent interview with Portnoy on these very pages, he never revealed anything about a desire to remain with Avenged Sevenfold fulltime and not return to DT. But Mike Portnoy is gone and Dream Theater are moving in. They're actively looking for new drummers and will return to the studio sometime next year. In the meantime, LaBrie has released Static Impulse, another solo album that brings him together yet again with keyboardist/writer Matt Guillory. It is a followup to 2005's
Elements Of Persuasion [it brought a huge laugh from the singer when I inadvertently referred to that record as "Elements of Confusion"] and features guitarist Marco Sfogli, drummer/screaming vocalist Peter Wildoer and bassist Ray Riendeau. The album was produced by LaBrie and Guillory and mixed by Opeth master, Jens Bogren. The album's lineup hits the road for an opening date on November 26th in Charlotte, North Carolina, and no, they won't be doing any Dream Theater songs in the set.
UG: Could we do a little bit of housekeeping?
James LaBrie: Yeah, I'm up for it [laughs].
When Mike Portnoy, who's always done a lot of side projects, went out to do the Avenged Sevenfold record, did you sense that anything might be different with him? That things were different and that things were gonna change?
No, not at all. I mean, Mike had mentioned that the Rev, Avenged Sevenfold's drummer, [the late James Owen Sullivan], was heavily influenced by Mike and that it was the rest of the guys' decision to want to honor his memory by bringing, you know, obviously in his main influence as far as drumming. So we said, "Yeah, you know. That's a great opportunity and we're not gonna stop you." I mean, obviously we all make our decisions and do what we feel is something that is a professional and sound decision, and that's exactly what it was. At that point it was all about him going there, recording the album. Initially it was just for him to record the album, and then it was maybe a few months later that he said, "The guys have asked me if I would tour with them."
Did that feel a little strange?
At that point it kinda felt a little weird, like, "Hey, wait a minute, our drummer's gonna be drumming with somebody else?" Not that he hasn't done that; he's done that in the past. Other projects and jammed with other various musicians here and there, which is cool. So you have to put it into perspective and realize it for what it was. But there was no indication that he was unhappy with who and what Dream Theater is or represents at this current point in our lives or career. It just came about that we were enlightened to that mindset when we had our meeting in New York, which was originally scheduled for what we were going to be doing with the next album and what it was about and when we were gonna tour again. So it was only at that point that we really… it was a shock. You know, it was kinda like, "What? [laughs]. What did you just say?"
I think it's unfortunate. You know, I just did an interview the other day and obviously my words were taken outta context. One of the questions was, "Are you sad?" and I said, "I'm not sad." And, you know, in retrospect, yeah. Should I have answered it so brashly? Maybe not, but basically, what I was trying to say is, "You know, I think it's unfortunate that he left and that this is where he is. But at the same time, we as Dream Theater and as a band, we have to think of our current situation and what our options are and our only option that we want is that we have to move onward and upward."
Of course.
You know, I think it's really unfortunate that he left. I think I could've been clearer by saying, "Am I sad? Well, I felt bad about it when it went down," but I can't linger in that 'cause life just doesn't exist like that. It doesn't afford those luxuries to wallow in our sorrow and not do anything about it, right? And unfortunately too many people just kinda misconstrued my words and said, "Oh, shit, he's insensitive, he doesn't care." Bullshit, that's the furthest thing from the truth. I care about the man dearly.
Maybe hurt might've been a little more accurate?
Yeah, absolutely. But, hey, obviously when you're in this industry that's what it's all about. It's controversy and it's people twisting your words and it's rumor and it's circumspect and it's all that shit. So, whatever, you gotta take it with a grain of salt and move forward.
James, is it too early to talk about a replacement at this point?
Absolutely it is. I can tell you this much: in a couple of weeks we're gonna start auditioning. We have the drummers coming in and basically, yeah, it all looks incredible; it's all good. You know, it's just a matter of doing that process and then coming out on the other side and making the announcement, but that hasn't happened yet.
Without any disrespect intended, it will be difficult to replace Mike but not impossible. Your fans will still be there with you.
I think the important thing to remember is that still four-fifths of the band are there. And that, and I've mentioned this in other interviews, we're all quite capable of doing things individually that's musical. For instance, my solo album that's out now, Static Impulse, and various things that we've done within Dream Theater. It really is unfortunate that this man at this point, Mike, has decided to go his separate ways, but we have to accept that, and there's no doubt in my mind that Dream Theater will still go on forward and be strong and come out with incredible music. Absolutely; no doubt.
Black Clouds and Silver Linings was the last record with that lineup with Mike. It's still pretty recent history, but can you look back at it as sort of the last testament or statement of that lineup that will close that chapter with Mike?
No, I mean, I'm biased obviously. I absolutely loved the album. I think it was great. When I was doing interviews for that album I always said, "The thing I especially love about this is that I think we really went back to our roots as far as who and what we were as a band as Dream Theater." We pulled upon a lot of those influences and inspirations that earlier in our career really kinda formed and created who and what we were. So I think a lot of those elements are present on Black Clouds and Silver Linings. You know, I don't even like to say that [laughs]. Like, you know, "Was it a great last album with Mike Portnoy?" Yeah, sure, it was a great last album with Mike. Who knows what the future holds? At this point our focus is on getting a drummer that we feel connected to both in the chemistry and personality and absolutely he has to be more than capable of playing what Mike played, which is incredible drumming. But yeah, I think it is a
great testament for who and what he was. He was extremely passionate about everything that went into Black Clouds and Silver Linings, so it's a true testament as to what he was within Dream Theater.
Some of your earlier solo records like Winter Rose has been described as having a bit of that Bon Jovi thing.
Kill me now [laughs]. Just shoot me.
But for the day and time, the songs were really put together well. Was that the kind of band you saw yourself being in?
At the time, and obviously we're talking late '80s - that was done in '89 - the current mode of the industry musically was that. It was hard rock but very commercial sounding. Straight forward and very concise, but still great players on it. But to be honest with you, and I've said this several times in the past, my true love growing up was bands like Rush and Led Zeppelin and Deep Purple and stuff like that; even Genesis. So I always had this connection with progressive but heavy kind of progressive. I remember always saying when I was down in Toronto and I was trying to develop my career and try to get it to the point I would eventually and hopefully be signed, I was always saying, "If I could only find the players that were of the mindset that we could do something more progressive. More involved, more musical." And it's not that they didn't exist; it's just that we didn't happen to cross paths. And it just so happened when I was
out with Winter Rose and we were out touring with Lee Aaron. I don't know if you remember her, the Metal Queen from Canada?
Oh, right.
And we were out touring with her and she approached me and said, "You know, I'm watching you every night and you've really got something going on." It never went any further than that and I was thinking, "OK, that's nice; that's a great compliment." But where it did lead to is that she contacted a guy by the name of Pierre Paradis and he came to the show unbeknownst to me and saw my performance and then contacted me and asked me to do a solo album with Aquarius Records at the time. Which, you know, never materialized obviously. And then from our sitting down my initial conversation with Pierre and he was like, "Oh, yeah, so what other kind of music are you into?" and we started talking about all these bands. He's like, "Holy shit. This is really bizarre, and you're doing this stuff?" And I said, "Well, you know, I'm passionate about what I'm doing here but this is something that I'm doing and I wanted to develop who
and what I am as a musician and a singer." And then he actually contacted somebody down in New York who knew that Dream Theater at the time had been looking for a singer for quite some time. That's how that all came together. So it was just a matter of certain things orchestrating themselves behind my back.
The Fates Warning song, "Life in Stillwater" was cool.
Yeah, I love that; I love that whole album.
So Fates Warning was closer to your vision of what you saw yourself doing?
Well, that came about because Mike Portnoy was great friends with Jim Matheos, the guitar player, who writes all the material. And I guess through talking Mike had mentioned to Jim, "Oh yeah, we got this new singer," who at the time was Kevin LaBrie, my first name, and he's up in Toronto. Jim was like, "Wait a second, man. Your new singer lives up in Toronto? That's where we're recording our album at Metalworks up in Toronto, a studio." And he said, "You know, would he be willing to come in and sing something?" and Mike said, "Let's contact him and see if he's into it. " And I was totally into it, you know, so that's how that all came about. Me going in and just singing that tune and singing the background stuff. It was cool.
Then in 1999 you do the Mullmuzzler record with songs like "As a Man Thinks" and "Slow Burn." For anyone following your career, you could tell that you were branching out musically. You're kind of refining the vision a little more.
Well, I mean, there are songs like "His Voice" or "Shores of Avalon." I know what you're referring to; you're talking about "Guardian Angel," the more acoustic kind of tunes and stuff like that. To me it was more like I wanted to really approach a good hard rock, Zeppelin-esque kind of album with those dynamics being the forefront. It was stuff that I'd been hearing and the way that I go about writing is I literally walk around with a recorder. Nowadays I have my iPhone with me, so if I have any riff inspiration or any lyrical inspiration I just throw it down on the iPhone. But basically I used to carry a little recorder around with me and if I got a riff then that's how I go about it. That's how those albums started to come together along with Matt Guillory, who's my main collaborator and has been from the very beginning. So it was more of a telling of who and what I am and where I come from musically just because my involvement
with Dream Theater as far as the compositions of the actual songs is very limited. You know, aside from me writing melodies here and there and some lyrics here and there, that's about the extent of it. So the solo albums made even that much more sense to me so that everyone, all the fans and beyond the Dream Theater fan base, could hear who and what I am and what I find inspiring or how I like to express myself musically.
You bring up a really interesting point inasmuch as you typically only wrote one lyric and melody per album. But was it sometimes strange or unnatural to take some of John's melodies and lyrics and apply them to these pieces of music he had written? Your approach within Dream Theater wasn't that much different than, say, the way that Roger Daltrey interpreted the music that Pete Townshend gave to him.
I hear what you're saying and ultimately it has to come down to my interpretation. It also comes down to the way that it hits me emotionally and it has to be expressed through my emotional spectrum, so to speak. And you're right about Roger Daltrey. Ultimately it becomes him and his experiences that really are able to convey what Pete Townshend was suggesting or intending. So with me it's always been, you know, when it's been a John lyric or a Mike lyric. When it's my lyric obviously I know exactly where I'm coming from and where I'm gonna go with it. But with their lyrics I would always take the song or the lyric and the melody and I would go away with it on my own for however long that might be. I need to internalize it and ingest it the way that I feel fit so that it becomes me. And at the very last moment I always sat down with the lyricist and said, "OK, so I want the literal explanation as to what you're saying here or where's
the inspiration come from?" And that's what I do, I take all that information, I go away with it, and essentially it needs to be my expressions. Because otherwise you'd sound very contrived. You'd sound like a machine, and who gives a shit at that point? It's not even worth it.
That's exactly right. When John or Mike would present these lyrics, or really mainly the melodies to you, and you heard the piece of music, as a vocalist who wrote his own songs didn't you hear your own melodies?
Oh, yeah, without a doubt. Absolutely, without a doubt.
So was the process of songwriting – you being presented completed songs by John Petrucci and/or John Myung – really a collaborative process?
To be honest with you, not so much. There were a couple of instances here and there throughout the years where I'd be saying, "Well, you know, what do you think of this?" Or unless I actually wrote the melody from beginning to end. With their melodies there might've been a slight bending or nuance or inflection here that I suggested and that we went along with. But for the most part it was just a matter of me just making it sound natural within the context and the parameters of their melodies that they wrote. But absolutely every one of the songs that I heard I already had a melody in my head. Absolutely, there was no doubt about it. And that's something that comes extremely fast to me. When Matt and I are writing, I literally have to have the recording, when I play a riff or even when I sing a riff, I need to go back and throw a melody over it immediately and I don't wanna forget it or I don't wanna miss out on that being something. But
that's the way it's always been and I'm very confident in that aspect. With lyrics, when I'm writing lyrics, that's a bit more of a lengthy process. There are instances where it's instantaneous and I can write a lyric as fast as my hands will move, but that's very rare. For the most part it's something that I will work on for a good three or four days before I feel confident enough to say, "OK, that's exactly how I want it to be said."
You've brought up Matt Guillory here a couple of times. Obviously he's a key figure in your solo work. The experience of working with Matt on songs is entirely different than what you've experienced with John and Mike in Dream Theater?
Well, absolutely, because it's a 50/50 situation. With Matt and I, everything comes from us and everything is balanced and everything is equal. Right down from the writing to the producing to the artistic impression; any visuals or imagery that's going on around our albums, it comes from both of us. So it's something that's a collaborative effort in every sense of the word. And from the very beginning it was a chemistry that we felt immediately. I was able to throw ideas at him and vice versa and it just felt very natural. It was a very easy process, which is how it has to be. If it feels forced, obviously, move on and go on to someone else. But it was like that, and I think over the years when I go back and listen to Keep it to Yourself, the first MullMuzzler album, and then I hear where we are today, to be honest with you some of those songs [laughs] I'm just not there anymore. I can't, yeah, I'm just like, "Shit, I would never write
like that right now." That's not a bad thing. If anything it just shows that I think that we've grown as a unit, Matt and I, and that we evolve and our music represents that evolution. You know, that we're progressing and that I think our songs are becoming better and there's more of an intensity to them. There's more of an impact from upon initial listening.
So by the time of Elements of Persuasion do you think it's getting a little closer to what we hear on Static Impulse today?
Yeah, absolutely. Elements of Persuasion, I think there's a lot of foreshadowing in there as to where we wanted to go. You open up with a song like "Crucify," or you hear a song like "Pretender," songs that definitely have that whole vibe that we wanted to become heavier as a band. One of the things that I liked in Elements is that there was a lot of diversity and dynamics. I mean, going from a song like "Alone," which had all these techno kind of influences in there but at the same time hard and heavy hitting. Or even "Undecided." But then you go into a song like "Smashed" which is very atmospheric.
"Smashed" had a great feel.
Thank you. And the whole lyric about oppression and how people are misunderstood, basically. Which I like to continue that theme even into Static Impulse. But as a whole you can definitely hear those influences that we wanted to obviously cultivate and bring them more to the forefront. We definitely did with Static Impulse.
Could any of the songs you wrote for the solo records have been presented to Dream Theater?
I mean, a song like "Crucify," sure, that could've been a song. I've never really even thought about that. It's crazy, you know. Like here I am five or six years from that album, Elements of Persuasion, or even any of the MullMuzzler albums, and I never even really looked at it under those terms. I always thought that it was a complete separate entity. Just like you said, granted it's the singer and there's the similarity. I think there are slight similarities with the progressive elements in some of the songs on MullMuzzler and obviously on Elements of Persuasion. I think that's where the similarities begin and end to be honest with you. And as far as any of these songs making it on to a Dream Theater album, I don't know. Even a song like "Slightly Out of Reach," I couldn't see that song being something on a Dream Theater album. Not in a million years. Even though we might write a song like "Forsaken" or something which is in
a similar pattern as "Slightly Out of Reach" but at the same time it still has that Dream Theater signature. I think "Slightly Out of Reach" had a different feel and a different style, you know, musically. There are similarities just in the elements that we might pull some of our inspiration from but I think there's still enough separation that they each are entities of their own.
The new band are really remarkable. Marco [Sfogli] is a pretty astonishing guitar player. Peter [Wildoer] and Ray [Riendeau] as your rhythm section are incredible musicians. Matt [Guillory] is an amazing keyboard player and writer. Were you looking for a certain kind of a guitar player? Someone that could play like John Petrucci? Or somebody who didn't play anything like John Petrucci?
Someone who could encapsulate anything and anywhere we wanted to go. He had to be diverse enough and musically enlightened enough to be able to understand where and what we're trying to do with any given song or with any given direction that we're going. We needed a guy that was really extremely versatile and extremely proficient on his instrument. But I think one of the things with Marco is that he is extremely musical. He has an uncanny ability to be able to sink into whatever it is that we're writing or wherever we're going with a particular song and feel that he's been a part of it since the very beginning. I mean, rhythmically the guy has an incredible rhythmic sense. Then he can just dive into what you're doing and really bring more to the forefront. What the tempo needs to be or what the feel, the rhythmic feel, needs to be. One of the most incredible things he ever did for me, not that everything he does isn't incredible, was when
we were doing the song "Slightly Out of Reach." Originally we had another guitar player in mind to just come in and do the solo. For various reasons that just never came to fruition. What happened was I was sitting there going, "Well, Marco," 'cause he was there in the studio with us, "I hate really springing this on ya at the last minute but do you have anything for this song?" He goes, "Oh, yeah. I already wrote something." I go, "What, you already wrote something? But you didn't even think you were gonna be doing it?" He goes, "No, but you know, I play around with all the songs that are a part of this album." So I said, "Do you mind sitting down and letting us hear it?" He goes, "Yeah, why don't you push record. I think you're really gonna like it." I swear to god what you hear on the album is the first take.
That was one of the best solos on the record.
Yeah, that's what he played, and we all looked at each other with our jaws on the floor going, "What the fuck just happened?" [laughs]. But that's the kind of guy he is. He's just an amazing player. And stylistically are there a lot of similarities between him and John Petrucci? Well, of course there are, because John Petrucci is one of his biggest influences ever, and rightfully so. John is one of the most unique and incredible guitar players around today. And at the same time Marco is also very much into Steve Lukather. He just absolutely loves him. So as a musician he's just so well rounded and so intuitive. He just understands things and is really able to take so many different approaches to a song if you want him to. And he's capable of doing it instantaneously. He's just a phenomenal talent, and he's always listening to music. He's always jamming. You know, I've been around a player of the caliber of John Petrucci. But John
will go backstage and he'll warm up. Whether it's an hour or 45 minutes before the show. Marco picks up his guitar two minutes before the show, walks onstage, and plays like he has been playing all day, you know? And I'm like, "How the hell do you do that, man?" He goes, "I dunno, it's just always been this way." It's just like, "Holy shit, dude."
That really tells you a lot about the differences in the mental makeup of John and Marco.
Yeah. It's just, you know, John is just so focused and so deep when it comes to playing the guitar. Marco is just somebody, like, it's an extension. Like, "Oh, yeah, that's right. I need that to be able to say what's going on inside." It's just there. It's really crazy.
Does playing with these guys bring you to a different place, emotionally, as a singer?
I'm always doing that. Like I said, Matt and I were writing all the music so the music's kind of formed. Then to bring the other players in and say, "We need your personality. We need your approach stylistically to really bring these songs to another level." Each and every one of them did that. With me, definitely, when I'm doing a solo disc, for all those intents and purposes as far as a solo disc, it really is James LaBrie and Matt Guillory and Ray and Peter and Marco [laughs]. Because it's all of us who really make it happen. But I'm always looking for ways to express myself and give my voice something different. I always wanna offer something different and feel that I've gone into uncharted waters as far as what I'm expressing vocally. As well as where I wanna bring it melodically and where I wanna bring it lyrically. It's a way of people understanding me more as a person and as a musician.
Can you talk a little bit about what the recording process is like and recording a vocal?
The way that we did this one was the other four guys, they actually flew to Sweden and recorded their tracks with Johan Ornborg, an engineer in Varberg, Sweden. They recorded all their tracks there because basically by that point Matt and I had all the songs fully written. It was just a matter of them getting in there and jamming as a band and then actually laying down the tracks. Individually and collectively in some instances. And so all that was kind of done with me. I was actually on the road in South America, touring, while they were in the studio and then there was, like, daily audio files being thrown my way so that I can hear exactly where everything is going and if anything didn't feel right.
It always felt right even though you weren't actually there in person?
Yeah, because Matt for the most part, he's like a musical director. So I didn't even have to worry about it. He was in the studio and he knew exactly where him and I had to go. We wrote this stuff for 14 months, you know? We both knew. We had the blueprint, or he had the blueprint going into the studio. The other guys had already been sitting with the music for a while before entering the studio, so they were extremely close to the material. So it was just a matter of executing it and really feeling as if the guys were embellishing on the parts and making it their own, so to speak. So with me down in South America, I was given the audio files and so I was able to monitor it from there. There might've been a few instances where something had to be altered very, very slightly, but nothing to write home about. Once that was done, then it was just a matter of myself going into Iguana Studios in Toronto and recording my parts. I worked with an engineer;
it was just myself and the engineer in the studio. No one else 'cause that's the way I wanted it. It would be me going in and doing a track a day, a song a day. Then forwarding those files at the end of the session to Matt so that he could hear them, just in case he was thinking, "Oh, well, you know what? What about this inflection?" Which never came up, 'cause like I said, we were really decided on where this had to go and how it had to feel. So that's how that process went. It was just a matter of me recording all the tracks and getting down the vocals part. I'm not sure if you're aware of this, I'm sure maybe you are, but then Matt, originally I was going to do most of the background if not all of the background vocals. I kind of threw it at Matt, I said, "You know what?" 'cause he has a great voice, I said, "I think you should be doing all the background vocals."
So Matt is doing all the vocal backups?
Yeah. I said, "I think you have a great voice and it'll just thicken and add more dimension to the voice and the vocal tracks." And we knew that we had a really good blend just from doing demos and stuff like that. I said, "You know, let's bring this out on the album. There's no reason, if it works amazing on the demos why wouldn't it work amazing on the album?" And at first he was like, "You sure you wanna do this?" I said, "Absolutely," and he did a fantastic job. He's got a great voice. Originally I was gonna do all the parts that Peter [screamo vocals] had done, just me singing more with a rasp.
You were?
Yeah, and then it was Matt who brought up, "Hey, you know, we're doing these songs and we're bringing this to such an extreme metal kind of direction, why don't we bring it all the way?" And I was like, for a split second, I went, "Hmm, I dunno. Ah, OK, sure, let's entertain that and let's see if that's even a possibility that we can do." Surprisingly we were fortunate enough to have Peter, who does a brilliant job of singing in that style. I think it just added more dimension to the vocal department and I think it added an amazing contrast between my voice and Peter's voice and it just brings an unexpected feel and expression to the songs. The way I look at it is, when there's vocals of that type, I look at it more like an instrument than I do as the conventional or the traditional sense of singing, you know? And that's what we wanted to do, we wanted to really add something that really brought out the expression a bit further;
just made it a bit more extreme as to the direction.
You worked with Opeth's producer Jens Bogren? Obviously you're a fan of that band and his work with them?
You know, it took me a while to kinda come around and listen to those guys, but once I did I could really appreciate where they're coming from. Mikael Akerfeldt, he's got a great musical sense to him and I think they're music is so dynamic; it's so powerful. You know there's other Swedish bands like Soilwork and there's Darkane, which Peter is from. Then there was Dark Tranquility and In Flames, you know, other great bands. Messhugah, another great band. Then there was Therion and Catatonia. There's a lot of great bands. I even like Killswitch Engage, which is an American band obviously. I like that kind of stuff where you're bringing in these [different kinds of vocals], which is difficult for a lot of people to wrap themselves around. I have to be in the mood to have to want to sit down and listen to that stuff, but I have an extreme appreciation for where these bands and these musicians are coming from. And I think if you really sit
down and listen to this music, for the most part, these are great musicians. These guys can play and they're writing great pieces of music. Unfortunately a lot of people can't get past that throaty wall or that screaming metal wall. It's really unfortunate because the music itself is absolutely incredible.
Let's talk about some of the music on the new record. "Euphoric" was really interesting; it contained many different elements and kind of has it all.
The way that came about was Matt came to me and he had this kind of groove, which was a little part of the verse and then a little part of the chorus. Like I told you earlier in the interview, immediately the melody came to me. I started singing this melody to him and it was like, "Hey, if you're looking at this as a verse, this is a melody I've got. Hey if you're looking at this, and I know you are, as a chorus, this is the melody I've got." And he's like, "Holy shit, hang on a second." So it was really something that we both immediately vibed on and put together, and while we were putting it together that lyric came to mind that I wanted to write about. Just somebody meeting their soul mate; just really being over the moon so to speak on them. Completely absorbed by them and thinking that everything was contingent on how they felt about them and that was their foundation. So that's basically how the whole process came with that. It
was a matter of me throwing a melody back to Matt and Matt going, "I know exactly where I wanna go musically." Him throwing me something more and then just building it from there and then putting all the other sonics around it so that the instruments really brought to the front that whole purpose, or that whole emotion that needed to be that tune.
That's such an unexpected melody you created. It's so hard to be surprised in this world when you've heard everything, but that's what struck me.
Thank you, that's great. To be honest with you, when I'm writing melodies, I'm not even thinking of that initially that, you know, is this something that's been done? Which you're right, you know, most of it has been done. How much further can we go with this? [laughs]. But I think it has to ultimately come down to "How does it feel?" Right? Are you moved by it? No matter what that emotion might be. If it's a heavy metal or an aggressive song, is that what you're feeling? Are you feeling like you can take on the world or that you're feeling like you're getting all caught up in an emotion that is really heated and hot blooded? Or are you feeling like you should be more melancholy or whatever that particular moment is dictating. I think it needs to feel true; it needs to feel real. I think you need to go with that and more than likely it's gonna be the right move.
This is not meant to be derogatory in any way but it always seemed like, "Man, it would be really cool to hear what James could bring to this Dream Theater song rather than singing one of the other guy's melodies or lyrics." In some respects it seems like you were even held back a little bit.
I know exactly what you're saying. The thing is that in any given circumstance you have, you know, with Dream Theater you have five people in the band. It becomes something and it became something that, "Well, this is the way that we've done it from the beginning and this is the way it should continue." And, sure, does that mean it's kinda dissing and not allowing my involvement or some of my recipe or ingredients coming into the compositions? Yeah, absolutely. It wasn't so much a diss, but it was like me thinking, "Well, what can I tell ya? If you guys are all gung-ho on continuing to write like this, then I have to respect that." To me, ultimately at the end of the day I was happy where it went. It wasn't like I was saying, "Oh my god, I'm really compromising here. This is bullshit. I could've written so much better." I would've written different, but it might not necessarily have been better.
Which is precisely why you do solo albums. To get your own creative ya-yas out.
That is why I do my solo stuff. I need to get this outta me. I think that I would probably go mental if I hadn't started when I did, in '99, start coming out with MullMuzzler albums and then eventually Elements and this one. It's just a way of me kinda keeping things balanced and keeping things sane, as a musician. I think any musician would say the same thing. You can only be what you are within one band to a certain extent where you feel that there has to be other avenues that can really allow you to be truthfully who you are and at least, if anything, satisfy your own curiosity and your own artistic impressions.
"Coming Home" is a beautiful ballad. Does a song like that have any connections to, say, "Sacrificed Sons" which I think was sort of the last piece of music you brought into Dream Theater. They are both kind of piano-driven ballads and you sing in that very clear resonating voice you sometimes use.
Actually, no, I didn't feel any connection with that. If you're meaning musically, it does have that atmospheric, kind of cold, solemn kind of feel to it. Definitely in that sense, I gravitate immediately to songs like that. I always have. So in that sense you are correct; there are similarities. Lyrically actually, that song "Coming Home" was loosely based on a show that I love, Dexter. Yeah, about this vigilante serial killer, but the way that I'm writing it is him actually coming to terms with his emotions and becoming more human. Then putting a little twist: writing my own episode that he is caught and that he is asking for forgiveness for all that he's done, because at the end of the day he has become a human being and he has learned how to love and he's just asking for forgiveness. So basically that's what that lyric is about.
On the other side of this is "Jekyll or Hyde." That's the heavy guitar riff song. Do you even think in the back of your mind, when Matt or Marco hear it, "God, I wonder what kind of riff John Petrucci would've come up with?"
No, actually I don't, just 'cause I'm focused on who I'm associating with this music. When we did "Over the Edge," there was a bit of involvement with Marco. He was coming in going, "Oh, you know, I hear where you guys are coming from with that and I know you're pretty much done, but I'm also hearing this. What do you guys think?" And we're like, "Oh, shit. Yeah man, if anything that's enhancing the whole feel and that's enhancing the power that we want behind the song." When we are writing the music it's either Matt's interpretation is the first thing that's coming to mind when I'm riffing something or when I'm singing something melodically. It's him that I'm associating everything with.
Do you play an instrument?
No, I don't play guitar or piano or anything like that. It's crazy, it's very old school but the way that I get all my ideas across is either I'm going [sings "da-da-da, da-da-da"] into a tape or I'm actually singing a melody barebones, you know, and throwing Matt my ideas like that, and it's always worked for me. I mean, my son's playing guitar now and he's like, "Dad, can I start teaching ya," and I'm like, "Yeah, you know what? You better." I gotta get down to where I can play rhythm guitar very comfortably and sit around the camp fire and sing [laughs].
Or what happens is you learn guitar and then you never write another song again.
Yeah, right? [laughs]. "Hey, wait a minute, this is a great writing tool. Why didn't I think of this earlier?"
So you guys go out on the road for a solo tour in November. That must feel pretty cool.
Yeah, we're all extremely excited about this. We threw this together really quick because the label was approaching going, "We feel strongly that you should get out there. You should really get behind this thing and really make it something. " And we were like, "Well, OK, you know." I was really thinking that. I thought I'd just sit back on my laurels and wait until Dream Theater goes into the studio again. But it started to make more sense with me so we got in touch with a great booking agent and we put it together. We're looking forward to it. We're working on the set list right now. It's gonna be good. They're clubs that we're playing. It's all clubs so it's gonna be small and intimate, but I love that environment as well. I think it's really cool to connect and be that close and in the face of your fans. So it should be cool.
Would it be ridiculous to do Dream Theater songs?
It would be. Well, I did a little bit of a tour behind Elements and I didn't play any Dream Theater then. I know that other artists have done it when they go out on a solo tour and they go, "Well, yeah, we're gonna play a couple of songs from my main band," but to me I just wanna keep it separate. I have a lot of songs in the solo catalog that can make for a very exciting and musically fulfilling evening.
At some point we can expect another Dream Theater record?
Absolutely. At this point we're planning on going in the beginning of January and hope to be out touring next June. We'll probably start over in Europe doing all the big festivals throughout the summer. Then as far as an album, we might be out touring before the album comes out. Which isn't a bad thing. I mean, Maiden just ended up doing that on their last album. They were out touring it and promoting it before it even came out. I think in today's world it doesn't really matter anymore. If anything it's just great promotion and it gets everyone excited because we can start sneaking in some of the new music. And for obvious reasons everyone is gonna be extremely curious as to what that new music is.
Do you think with Mike Portnoy now gone and a new drummer joining that the writing process might change?
There's definitely that potential, no doubt about it. I think we won't know until we're actually in the studio and seeing how this flows and how it works with the new drummer. But I definitely think that there's gonna be more verbal communication going on. More so than it was in the past as far as with me going, "Well, you know what, if we're doing something new here with another drummer, we better start doing something new in other areas." Which means being more accessible as to the ideas and the energies that are coming from other ones in the band. So yeah, definitely, I think there's a lot that could be happening.
International best-selling true crime author Corey Mitchell has announced the esteemed speakers for his "Reel Murder: From Crime Scene to Big Screen" panel for the 2011 SXSW (South By Southwest) Film Festival, scheduled for March 15, 2011.
Mitchell has gathered together some of the biggest, brightest, and most controversial names in true crime filmmaking including (in alphabetical order):
* Philip H. Anselmo - former lead singer of PANTERA/current frontman for DOWN. Anselmo is a huge supporter of true crime-based films and composer of the underground cult classic "The Manson Family";
* Hart D. Fisher - the "most dangerous man in America" and notorious director of the indie serial killer feature "The Garbage Man". Fisher is the publisher of Boneyard Press comics and creator of the infamous Jeffrey Dahmer comic book;
* Ami Canaan Mann - daughter of "Manhunt" director Michael Mann and a rising new director with her upcoming true crime-based film "The Fields" about several unsolved serial killings along I-45 in Texas, featuring Sam Worthington, Chloe Moretz, and Jeffrey Dean Morgan;
* John McNaughton - acclaimed director of "Mad Dog" and "Glory and Wild Things". Creator of one of the most revered true crime-based films of all time, "Henry: Portrait of a Serial Killer";
* Corey Mitchell, moderator - Los Angeles Times best-selling true crime author of several books, including "Pure Murder" and "Savage Son". Founder of Reel Crime and In Cold Blog, and former Hollywood crime blogger for the Discovery Channel.
Where:
SXSW 2011 Film Festival
Austin Convention Center
Room to be announced
When:
Tuesday, March 15, 2011
Time to be announced
The reactivated MURDERDOLLS — the band consisting of Joey Jordison (SLIPKNOT, ROB ZOMBIE) and Wednesday 13 — have been forced to cancel their previously announced "Violent Night, Deadly Night" tour. The band's official statement on the matter reads as follows:
"Due to an unforeseeable family emergency, MURDERDOLLS have been forced to cancel the upcoming 'Violent Night, Deadly Night' tour. These decisions are never easy to make and we did everything we could to keep from having to cancel, but this was unavoidable. We'll do our best to make up the dates in 2011. For those who bought tickets, refunds are available from point of purchase. Sorry, ghoulscouts, but we'll see you all soon!"
MURDERDOLLS' sophomore album, "Women And Children Last", sold 8,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 43 on The Billboard 200 chart. Released on August 31 via Roadrunner Records, the CD was recorded at a studio in Hollywood Hills, California with producer Chris "Zeuss" Harris (HATEBREED, SHADOWS FALL, 3 INCHES OF BLOOD).
MURDERDOLLS performed "Nowhere" on the November 2 edition of Fuel TV's hit show "The Daily Habit". You can now watch video footage of their appearance below.
The limited-edition version of "Women And Children Last" is packaged in a unique first-aid kit. It's not your usual first-aid kit — this frightening set includes the CD/DVD edition of "Women And Children Last", an exclusive t-shirt (size L), digital download, autographed booklet, patch, sticker, pill case, plus other gruesome extras.
MURDERDOLLS's current touring lineup is as follows:
* Wednesday 13 (WEDNESDAY 13, GUNFIRE 76, BOURBON CROW) - Lead Vocals
* Joey Jordison (SLIPKNOT, ROB ZOMBIE) - Guitar, Backing Vocals
* Roman Surman (GUNFIRE 76, BOURBON CROW) - Guitar
* Racci Shay Hart (WEDNESDAY 13, DOPE, GENITORTURERS) - Drums
* Jack Tankersley (BULLETS AND OCTANE) - Bass
Orange County, California's AVENGED SEVENFOLD has been confirmed for next year's edition of the Download festival, set to take place June 10-12, 2011 at Donington Park in Leicestershire, United Kingdom. Also scheduled to appear is the reunited SYSTEM OF A DOWN.
"We had such an amazing time on our recent U.K. tour we couldn't wait to come back!" AVENGED SEVENFOLD frontman M. Shadows tells Kerrang! magazine. "It will be a weekend that will go down in the history books. We couldn't be more thrilled to be playing the festival of festivals!"
A limited number of weekend with camping tickets for Download 2011 will go on sale at 9 a.m. on Friday, December 3 at www.downloadfestival.co.uk. This "early-bird" offer ends at 5 p.m. on Monday, December 20, and will include three-day and five-day camping options. The popular Download RIP packages will also go on sale on December 3, and will include yurtels, pod pads, tipis, kip and kits, yurtys, gypsy caravans, kabin kreek, camping caravans and even a luxury bus.
LACUNA COIL, SICK OF IT ALL and PARKWAY DRIVE have been confirmed for next year's edition of the Greenfield Festival, set to take place June 9-11, 2011 in Interlaken, Switzerland.
The festival billing is shaping up as follows:
SYSTEM OF A DOWN
LACUNA COIL
SICK OF IT ALL
PARKWAY DRIVE
COMEBACK KID
KVELERTAK
For more information, visit www.greenfieldfestival.ch.
Swedish metallers SABATON 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
EVILE
GAMA BOMB
MUNICIPAL WASTE
MY RUIN
ONSLAUGHT
REVOKER
SABATON
SATYRICON
WOLF
Commented Hammerfest promoter John Davis: "We are really pleased with the lineup for this year's event and have seen a massive increase in tickets sales, which I think is partly down to the strength of last year's event and the fact that all of our headliners are playing exclusive sets for us. We are expecting to sell out quicker than last year which sold out two months prior to the event."
Many more bands will be announced during the coming months.
For more information, visit www.hammerfest.co.uk.
Multinational metalheads POWERWOLF will enter the studio in December to begin recording their new album for a 2011 release via Metal Blade Records.
Commented POWERWOLF comments organist Falk Maria Schlegel: "We spent the last three months in the rehearsal room working out stuff for the new album. Even though it's still in the making, we can already promise the songs are 100% POWERWOLF, taking off where 'Bible Of The Beast' ended. There's furious stuff, there's epic stuff — and all of it is catchy as hell."
He added, "For the production we're going to team up with exactly the same crew as for 'Bible Of The Beast' — Kohlekeller Studios for the recordings, any chapel we can haunt for organ and choir celebrations — and, of course, Studio Fredman and Fredrik Nordström for mix."
POWERWOLF earlier in the year parted ways with drummer Stefane Funebre and replaced him with Tom Diener.
"Bible Of The Beast", the latest album from POWERWOLF, entered the German Media Control chart at position No. 76. The CD was released on April 27, 2009 in Europe via Metal Blade Records. Mixed by legendary producer Fredrik Nordström (IN FLAMES, HAMMERFALL, ARCH ENEMY) the opus was said to be POWERWOLF's heaviest album to date.
THE JELLY JAM, the three-piece progressive rock band featuring KING'S X guitarist/vocalist Ty Tabor, DREAM THEATER bassist John Myung and DIXIE DREGS drummer Rod Morgenstein, will release a new album, entitled "Shall We Descend?" , in early 2011 via Molken Music. The same label will also re-release the first two THE JELLY JAM LPs — "The Jelly Jam" (2002) and "The Jelly Jam 2" (2004) — as high-quality MP3s. Bonus material from the first two albums will be available soon.
Along with keyboardist Derek Sherinian (DREAM THEATER, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION), Tabor, Morgenstein and Myung previously collaborated under the name PLATYPUS.
As BLABBERMOUTH.NET exclusively predicted on November 18 and again on November 24, SYSTEM OF A DOWN has finally made its reunion/comeback tour plans official. The band's statement reads as follows:
"We are excited to announce that SYSTEM will be playing some dates together in 2011. We also want to thank you for your loyalty and support, not only to SYSTEM OF A DOWN, but to all of our solo efforts as well.
"We have no master plan of sorts — we are playing these shows simply because we want to play together again as a band and for you, our amazing fans.
"We look forward to seeing all of you!"
Confirmed SYSTEM OF A DOWN tour dates:
Jun. 02 - Milan, Italy - Milan Fiera Arena
Jun. 04 - Nürnberg, Germany - Rock im Park
Jun. 05 - Nürburgring, Germany - Rock am Ring
Jun. 06 - Paris, France - Omnisports de Bercy
Jun. 09 - Interlaken, Switzerland - Greenfield
Jun. 11 - Castle Donington, UK - Download
Jun. 13 - Nickelsdorf, Austria - Novarock
Jun. 15 - Berlin, Germany - Wuhlheide
Jun. 17 - Gothenburg, Sweden - Metaltown
Jun. 19 - Seinäjoki, Finland - Provinssirock
More shows will be announced soon.
When asked about the possibility of a full-blown SYSTEM reunion during an August 2010 interview with The Pulse of Radio, singer Serj Tankian replied, "Shavo [Odadjian; bass] got married like two months ago, we were all at his wedding, and you know, we all talk, we're friends, nothing's changed, and we get offers to play shows, tours, whatever, and we discuss them once in a while. We have not made any decisions as of yet as to what we're gonna do. But when we do, it'll be quite obvious."
Amsterdam, Holland-based progressive math metal band CILICE has issued the following update:
"We are excited to announce that CILICE has a complete lineup again!
After singer Daniël de Jongh had left the band to join TEXTURES earlier this year, we are now even more excited to announce that Bryan Ramage will be the new frontman of CILICE. The rehearsals and tryouts we had together sounded truly convincing. It feels great to play old songs in a refreshing way and to explore new directions working on new songs. With great confidence we are going to make another killer record!
"Coming Thursday, a video clip will be launched on YouTube to introduce Ramage to you guys. It will be a new version of the song 'Left / Right Hemisphere' — let's call it a revox! The (audio) track will be available on our MySpace/Facebook from Tuesday on."
A photo of CILICE's new lineup can be viewed below.
CILICE's debut album, "Deranged Headtrip", came out last year via PMM Records.
For more information, visit www.myspace.com/cilicemusic.
SYSTEM OF A DOWN, ASKING ALEXANDRIA, SICK OF IT ALL and VOLBEAT are the first four confirmed bands for next year's Nova Rock festival, set to take place June 11-13, 2011 on the Pannonia Fields in Burgenland, the easternmost federal state of Austria (near Nickelsdorf and the Hungarian and Slovak borders). More acts will be announced soon.
For more information, visit www.novarock.at.
Tommy Rogers, lead vocalist, keyboardist and founding member of the award-winning North Carolina progressive rock band BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME, will release his debut solo album, "Pulse", on February 1, 2011 via Metal Blade Records. The versatile front man and multi-instrumentalist, who not only self-produced the record, but also arranged, composed and played all instruments on the recording, will use the pseudonym THOMAS GILES (his given middle name) as his moniker for the project.
Recorded with Jamie King at The Basement Studios in Winston-Salem, North Carolina, THOMAS GILES' "Pulse" is a challenging rock record designed so that the parts build up to a larger, cinematic-like structure where everything from production to arrangements to lyrics to album art is carefully crafted towards a unified purpose. Testing the limits of what he can do naturally with his voice, Rogers' strikingly beautiful falsetto and dynamic range conjures tales of anxiety, collapse, end-times and strength against swelling, heart-lifting arrangements and pristine backdrops of ambient loops, digital burbles, analog hiss and woozy drones. Exploring combinations of the outré genres of both post-rock and glitch, the music's emotionally resonant yet textural sounds draw reference to artists such as RADIOHEAD, BJÖRK, THE VERVE, BECK, STEREOLAB and SPIRITUALIZED, balancing both rock and electronic impulses.
"Creating this album was a very unique experience for me," comments Rogers. "I honestly never thought I would get a lot of this music recorded. This record was a way for me to step back, focus on simplified song structures and really build off of melodies. Even though I love fucking my throat up by screaming, it was very nice to sit back and chill out a bit.
"I named the record 'Pulse' because it is a collection of thoughts and experiences I've had through the years. It's a very personal record and I hope the songs help people evaluate their lives and make the best of their time here. Find your pulse."
The first single from the record is the introspective album opener, "Sleep Shake". In keeping with the record's single-handed motif, Tommy Rogers filmed, edited and stars in the song's colorful in-studio music video, which is expected to make its premiere imminently.
"I hope everyone enjoys this record, as I feel there is something for everyone on it," said Rogers. "And don't you all worry; BETWEEN THE BURIED AND ME is writing new material as I type. We have a very busy year 2011 planned which includes lots of new music and touring. Stay tuned."
For more information, visit www.myspace.com/thomasgilesmusic.
Swedish death metallers AS YOU DROWN have commenced writing material for their as-yet-untitled sophomore album, to be released next year via Metal Blade Records worldwide. The follow-up to 2009's "Reflection" will be recorded at the band's own AYD Studio in Borås, Sweden.
Commented AS YOU DROWN: "Since coming home from our tour with VADER and DIVINE CHAOS earlier this year, we've been working hard on some new material. Right now we've got our sights set on recording sometime in the spring, which means the record will hopefully be out in the early fall.
"The material is sounding very promising/menacing so far, so prepare yourselves for a tidal wave of death metal insanity coming your way… Also, we're obviously looking to do some serious touring in 2011, stay tuned for dates. We pretty much can't wait to get this beast back on the road and we expect to see all of you crazy fuckers out there!"
AS YOU DROWN's debut album, "Reflection", was released in July 2009 via Metal Blade Records. The CD was recorded at the band's own studio, the AYD Studio, and was mixed and mastered at Studio Mega by Christian Silver (THE CROWN, SONIC SYNDICATE, IMPIOUS).
Formed in the winter of 2003/2004 under the name of ETHEREAL when the average age of the band was only 17 years, AS YOU DROWN "was born to combine the speed and brutality of the modern death metal scene with the atmosphere and catchy songwriting of its old-school predecessor," according to a press release. "Adding a number of outside influences, the result is an always raging — yet always changing, storm of anger, brutality and finesse.
AS YOU DROWN is:
Henrik Blomqvist - Vocals
Mikael Åkerström - Guitar
Simon Exner - Guitar
Martin Latvala - Drums
Robert Karlsson - Bass
For more information, visit the band's MySpace page.
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