Brian Johnson's recollections of good times and bad aren't triggered by places or faces. It's what the AC/DC singer drove at the time that fuels the memories.
Brian Johnson of AC/DC wrote 'Rockers and Rollers' while the band recorded its most recent album.
Brian Johnson of AC/DC wrote 'Rockers and Rollers' while the band recorded its most recent album.
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"The only way I could figure it out was whenever I thought of a car I used to have," Johnson, 63, said Thursday while signing copies of his memoir Rockers and Rollers: A Full-Throttle Memoir (itbooks, 2011) at Bookends in Ridgewood, N.J.
"Let's say it's '74 and I had a VW Beetle, or something — then all of the sudden I'd remember where I went, who I took out, what the parties (were) or the friends we took out with us," Johnson, wearing his famous Gatsby cap, said in his gravelly English accent.
Friends prodded Johnson to write down his memories because of his sense of humor — clearly present and gregarious, sometimes a bit bawdy, in his 209-page tome.
"I've always loved comedians, and I've always loved storytellers," Johnson said before meeting the hundreds of fans lined up outside Bookends to get an autographed copy. "Storytelling's a dying art, though, because we've got computers and DVDs. And when I was a kid I used to love listening to stories — you know, they were tall tales, really, but it didn't matter because it was exciting. And I liked telling stories after dinner and all of that."
Johnson chronicles his childhood upbringing in government housing in a former mining town outside of Newcastle, England, to his early years as a rocker with Geordie, to fronting of one of the most successful rock 'n' roll bands on the planet at the age of 32.
Title: Rockers and Rollers: A full-throttle memoir (209 pgs.)
Author: Brian Johnson
As the book title suggests, the rocker is passionate about all things gears and wheels.
"I don't restore them, I haven't got the wherewithal or the time," he said. "My favorite car that I ordered is a 1928 Bentley. … I love to drive it because it's a challenge. … The gas pedal's in the middle, it's got no synchromesh, the hand brake's on the outside, and it's got two aero screens instead of a windshield. It's a bit of a do, but it's such a wonderful thing, because it's two-and-a-half tons and it has drums brakes. And you just respect it."
Johnson began writing when the band recorded its most recent studio album, Black Ice, in 2008.
"I just took a pencil and a legal pad and I just started writing and writing," he said, adding the book's all him — no ghostwriter.
"Oh, no, I wouldn't entrust a ghostwriter to write my story," he said. "Bollocks, this is me and a pencil and a piece of paper because I cannot type."
Johnson's big break came in the wake of tragedy in 1980. AC/DC's former singer, Bon Scott, died accidentally after a night of heavy drinking. Johnson said he met Scott when they were on the road in the western part of the British Isles in 1974. Johnson was then a member of Geordie, and Scott was in a supporting act.
"He was up on stage singing, and we met and had a couple of beers," Johnson said. "He watched us play, and God bless his cotton socks again, when he did join AC/DC he was talking to the boys and he did say something to the effect that the only rock singer that he'd seen that was worth a damn was me, which was really nice of him, and the boys never forgot that."
The boys are AC/DC's founding brothers, guitarists Malcolm and Angus Young. Drummer Phil Rudd and bassist Cliff Williams complete the lineup with Johnson.
Warner Home Video on June 7 will release a 30th anniversary edition Blu-ray/DVD of Let There Be Rock, the 1979 concert filmed in Paris a few months before Scott died.
The band premiered the film theatrically after Johnson joined AC/DC.
"They showed me this movie that they just finished, and I saw it and it's a wonderful insight into Bon Scott," Johnson said of the boys performing on a small stage stripped of the enormous concert props of today.
"If you want to understand the band, then you'll understand this when you see Bon Scott with the boys when they were young and just starting out, and (thinking) you never know what the future holds," Johnson said. "You can tell these guys just wanted to rock 'n' roll."
It's been 30 years since Scott's death, and he's still revered by fans — especially in Australia, AC/DC's homeland — and by the boys.
"I think he embodied everything that was fun, everything that was like 'never say die, live life to the full,'" Johnson said. "And he had a terrible thing happen to him when he passed on. He wasn't a wild, wild, wild man — he was just as wild as the other boys were. He was just unlucky. We've all done stupid, dumb things where we're young, but we got away with it. He didn't. It was just one of them stupid things that shouldn't have happened, and it was accidental and it was stupid. And I just won't have a bad word said against him. We still talk about him like he's a member of the band in the dressing room."
AC/DC's taking a break after grinding out such hits like Back in Black and Highway to Hell from late 2008 through mid 2010. Earlier this month it released Live at River Plate, a DVD/Blu-ray chronicling its three sold-out shows in Argentina in late 2009.
There's nothing album-wise on the immediate horizon, said Johnson, who indicated another tour could happen.
"It's not like we're unfit, but I can't see why we wouldn't tour again," he said. "I don't think we could do two years again. That was brutal — that was really brutal.
"We didn't set out to do two years," he said of the Black Ice tour picking up dates. "We just did it the same way. It just got bigger and bigger and we were just like 'what the hell's happening here?' and we enjoyed every minute of it."
Manochio reports for The Daily Record in Morris County, N.J.
PHIL Lynott's son watched Thin Lizzy return to the Slane stage for the first time in 30 years.
Sculptor Macdaragh Lambe enjoyed his father's reformed band from a grassy hill on front of Slane Castle with host Lord Henry Mount Charles by his side.
"I wasn't here the first time my dad played 30 years ago, but seeing Thin Lizzy tonight, in this setting, with Lord Henry -- it's something I am going to remember for the rest of my life," said Lambe (42).
Born in Dublin in 1968, as a result of a relationship between his mother and the then-struggling musician Lynott, he was given up for adoption and brought up by loving couple Oliver and Martina Lambe in Celbridge, Co Kildare.
It wasn't until he was 35 that he learnt he was the son of the million-selling Irish rock star who passed away in 1986.
However, Lambe found himself one of the VIP guests in Slane on Saturday being entertained by Lord Mount Charles and his wife Iona.
"The first time Henry met me, he laughed and said 'Oh my God -- the boy is back in town.' We met because I work in event management and have been involved in a few Slanes," said Lambe, who bears a striking resemblance to his father.
"It was marvellous seeing and hearing the crowd getting into my dad's songs. He's not around, but his music was rocking Slane again. I was very humbled and moved to be witnessing it," he added.
ANTHRAX drummer Charlie Benante spoke to Revolver magazine about the status of the recording sessions for the band's long-awaited new studio album, "Worship Music", tentatively due in September via Megaforce Records in the U.S. and Nuclear Blast Records in Europe.
"Worship Music", which was originally supposed to be released in 2009 and be the band's first CD with singer Dan Nelson, will mark the first new ANTHRAX recording to feature vocalist Joey Belladonna in 20 years.
"Some of the songs we tweaked, some of the songs we did more than tweak," said drummer Charlie Benante. "Some we started from scratch, and some were written just for this album."
"With Joey singing them, they sound like classic ANTHRAX. The hair on my arms stood up when he started singing them. It was ANTHRAX once again."
Guitarist Scott Ian agreed. "The songs like sound like metal. They sound like ANTHRAX circa 1987 through a 2011 filter."
"I think this record is more of a celebration for us," Benante added. "We haven't had a new record since 2003. The ups and downs in between really reflect the mood of this record. There is a lot of aggression, emotion and power. I feel like this is once again back to our New York style and attitude."
Songtitles set to appear on "Worship Music" include "Fight 'Em 'Til You Can't", "I'm Alive", "Crawl", "The Giant", "Earth On Hell" and "Down Goes The Sun".
During a chat with RockMusicStar.com, ANTHRAX singer Joey Belladonna was asked if working on the band's new songs was a challenge because of the fact that most of the material was written for previous vocalist, Dan Nelson. "I kind of hate that someone was already singing this stuff and now I have to kind of dance around it and do it all over," he said. "They [the rest of ANTHRAX] have in their mind already how they want it to sound, so it's kind of hard to shake it away. They are not going to say to me, 'Go on and do something totally different and we will just dig it.' [Laughs] It's hard, but I'm not worried about it."
CHICKENFOOT, the rock supergroup featuring former VAN HALEN singer Sammy Hagar and bassist Michael Anthony, guitarist Joe Satriani and RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS drummer Chad Smith, returned to the studio earlier this month to resume work on its sophomore album, which is expected to arrive before the end of the year. According to Satriani, the new CD "is heavier and better than the first one." He adds, "I can't wait to get it out there!"
CHICKENFOOT's new album is tentatively due to be mixed in June. The CD's initial recording sessions were overseen by Mike Fraser, a Canadian producer, engineer and mixer who has previously worked with AC/DC, METALLICA and AEROSMITH. Songtitles set to appear on the album include "No Change", "Who's Next", "Astral Years" and "I Ain't Got You, I Got The Two By Blues".
Hagar revealed in March that CHICKENFOOT's second album will be titled Chickenfoot IV" (Four). He said, "It's the working title but I guarantee it'll stick." He added, "We were all like, 'What are we going to call the second record? Well, 'Chickenfoot II' (Two). And we're going, 'We can't call it 'Chickenfoot II', that's too obvious.' And pretty soon [drummer] Chad Smith, I'm sure was the guy, he's going, 'Let's call it 'Chickenfoot IV'. And we all cracked up and said, 'Right on, that's it.' And we haven't talked about it since."
CHICKENFOOT drummer Chad Smith recently confirmed that he won't tour with CHICKENFOOT this year in support of the band's second album due to scheduling conflicts with his main group, the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS.
CHICKENFOOT's self-titled debut disc came out in June 2009 and was certified gold for sales of more than 500,000 copies.
HURTSMILE, the new band led by the third VAN HALEN frontman, Gary Cherone, who took over when Sammy Hagar left the group (or was fired, depending on whom you ask) in 1996, will open for SAMMY HAGAR AND THE WABORITAS this Saturday, June 4 at the AVA Amphitheater at Casino Del Sol in Tucson, Arizona. HURTSMILE will also perform on Friday, June 3 at Club Red in Tempe.
Cherone was the lead singer on VAN HALEN's last full album, "Van Halen III", which came out in 1998.
In an interview with MTV.com, Sammy Hagar had the following to say about whether Gary Cherone should have been part of VAN HALEN's March 2007 Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame induction: "I got nothing against Gary, but I would've voted against him getting in. I think he was really just a moment in VAN HALEN. Dave [Lee Roth] and I were in the band for so long, and we sold so many records and I don't think you can deny that. As it stands, it seems a little goofy if you let Gary in. Because, there was questions about me getting in, because I've only been in the band 21 years."
John Corabi (MÖTLEY CRÜE, THE SCREAM, RATT, UNION, ESP) is putting the finishing touches on an acoustic album which he says will include "old songs, new songs and just a sample of things to come."
In other news, Corabi will hit the road acoustically this summer as the support act for CINDERELLA. Exact cities and dates will be announced soon.
Corabi sang on MÖTLEY CRÜE's sixth and self-titled album, which was released in 1994.
Great White is one of those bands that just won't go away. Emerging on the hard rock scene in 1978 and essentially getting signed after performing a gig at The Whiskey, in Hollywood, one night in 1982, Great White has been recording and touring for the last 30 years and have sold over 12 million records. Their road of triumph has not been without tragedy, as most remarkably, the Station nightclub fire, which occurred in February of 2003. While everyone was playing the blame game, regarding who was at fault for the fire, it is often overlooked that Great White lost guitarist Ty Longley in the incident. Bad luck struck again, as On August 11, 2010, front man Jack Russell underwent emergency surgery for a perforated bowel. After being rushed to the hospital, he nearly died, and doctors implanted a colostomy bag. After being ordered to take a year off of touring, first, ex-Warrant front man Jani Lane stepped in to help the band finish the 2010 tour, and in
2011, Terry Ilous, former XYZ lead singer, has taken on the role of leading Great White. Ilous brings a dynamic and fresh approach to the Great White sound.
However, Jack Russell is not done and neither is Great White. During our interview with guitarist Mark Kendall, he made it very clear that Ilous' position in the band is only temporary, as Jack Russell is currently going through physical therapy, in order to be able to perform with the band, once again. The next step will be recording a brand new Great White album. Mark was very candid about the band's current situation and is very content and happy with the success they have attained thus far. He is equally as excited for the future. Read on for our exclusive, RockMusicStar.com interview.
RockMusicStar: Mark, you have a show coming up, here in Buffalo - on June 4th at Club Infinity. It's been a little while since you guys have been up this way.
Mark Kendall: Yeah, I dunno why? The east coast, I've always loved it. People lately, having been sending me these old videos of us playing the Ritz (in New York City) years ago. It just reminded me of how much I loved it. I got great memories from the east.
RMS: I'm sure one of the first questions you get asked in interviews these days, is the one I'm about to ask. For all of the Great White fans out there following along, can you please clarify what is going on with the lead singer situation?
MK: What's happened is Jack (Russell) has had a ton of health issues, that have literally made it impossible for him to perform. He was doing it (performing) with (the aid of) stools and we were getting ridiculed. People were saying, "Why are you taking that man out there (on stage) in that condition?" He's getting a lot better, he just had another surgery, so hopefully he pulls it out. In the meantime, we've been using a guy called, Terry Ilous, who used to be from XYZ. He's just filling in until Jack gets well, and the shows are going great. He does a real good job, so that's going great.
RMS: That's good to hear. While some people may be aware that Jack is not out on the road with you guys right now, many people want to know whether or not he will be back with the band at some point.
MK: He wants to. In fact, he's working out with a trainer and wants to come back. His voice is fine, but he just has to get himself a little more mobile before we take him out. We don't want to do like, wheelchairs in the airport, if you know what I mean.
RMS: I understand. I know that no matter how old you guys get, playing Rock and Roll, you still want to bring a certain level of entertainment with your live shows.
MK: Absolutely. We still want to have energy on stage. I don't think he wants to go out, and have to sit down when we play. It's just not good for our style of music.
RMS: Before Terry, you had Jani Lane (formerly of Warrant) filling in for Jack. What happened with that?
MK: You're correct. He did a great, great job, it's just - he's got his own solo career and stuff. He did it as a favor for awhile, and then he became unavailable. He did a really good job. I was actually surprised.
RMS: Now that you've been playing with a couple different singers since Jack has been unable to perform, have you adjusted the set list at all, to accommodate their range, or vocal personality?
MK: Terry seems to have all of his range still, while Jack has a few notes missing from the past. So he (Jack) doesn't like to do certain songs, to where we've been able to kind of pull them out with Terry, because he can hit every note. Jack has always been kind of a perfectionist, and always tries to sing the songs pretty close to the record. He doesn't want to go out, and do like a Freddie Mercury, and singing the songs an octave lower. He hates the idea of using a (pre-recorded background) tape, so there's certain songs that he didn't like to do, that we brought back to the set. So we can play more of the hits, and every song we've done videos for in the past - the MTV songs and stuff. It's just a handful of songs. Just a few that we haven't played in awhile.
RMS: For the people reading this (who are obviously not hearing your voice), I have to say, you sound really upbeat and positive. With everything you've gone through with the band, with the Station nightclub fire in 03 and losing Jack - not knowing when or if he could come back - what do you do to stay positive and keep the "fun" in what you're doing?
MK: Well Jack totally supports us not canceling all of the shows. He totally supports someone filling in for him. That it makes it easier. He wants to come back as soon as possible, so that makes it easier as well. We just love to play and this is what we do. If it means having a singer sit in for awhile, we still have fun on stage. That's what we're in this for - to make music and make people happy.
RMS: I was told that in late 80's/early 90's that Great White was exceptionally huge in the high desert region of California, more so than the surrounding areas for some reason. Do you find it that the band has a bigger following in certain cities/states, or countries for that matter?
MK: I know that up north (in California) for some reason...maybe it's because of radio, but I'm not really sure. It seems like we've never been big in like, San Francisco for instance, up that way. Although we have done this casino circuit up north and we've never had an attendance problem or anything. (Laughs) As far as LA and stuff, of course this is where we're from. So people kind of saw us grow from the club thing, and all of a sudden, we're playing the Forum - where the Lakers play. It's kind of like your 'hometown heroes' kind of vibe. Maybe we got a little of that from our fans in the high desert.
RMS: Although Great White reached it's peak of popularity in the 80's, I don't really consider you guys as a 80's (hair) band. You guys were more like a bluesy rock band from the 70's.
MK: People that put us into that category (hair metal), I understand it and everything. Really, it was just the fashion. I can't say we didn't have long hair, because we all had long hair. To me, hair metal was more like Poison, where it seemed the hair and fashion dictated the music. We definitely had a lot of blues influence in our band. Everybody had their different influences. Jack was heavily influenced by Zeppelin, and he liked bands like Aerosmith and what not. Michael Lardie liked more contemporary stuff, like Billy Joel. So when we would write our songs, you would hear the blues element, you hear the high voice - so you get the Zeppelin influence, and then you got the keyboards, and that's what makes our band, I guess. I think it's just an easy out for the media, just to write us up as hair metal, ya know? "NEXT"...It's just an easy way, they're not gonna research our music that heavy and go, "Maybe this really isn't hair metal."
RMS: I would like you to clarify something. I read that at the time of the 2003 tour, you were not playing with Great White, but you had rejoined the band just prior to the Station gig. Could you tell me what happened?
MK: What happened was, Jack Russell was out on a solo tour. He played like one Great White song in his set. So he was out promoting his solo album. I had left the band at that point. I wanted to get away from it, and do some of my own stuff for awhile. I think people had a hard time accepting Jack's (solo) thing. He likes to sing mellower stuff for the heck of it, but it was hard for people to deal with, when you got this sleeved tattoo, bad boy rock and roller, all of sudden singing like Genesis. His attendance was so bad, that he called me, and literally begged me to come out, so we could play some more Great White material, and have me in the band. Really, I was just almost like a sideman in his solo band. He called it "Jack Russell's Great White" or whatever. It was weird. I thought it was just gonna be Great White, with me and him, with hired guys. I guess it was something to do with his management or something. I didn't really care. I figured, down
the road, we were just gonna get the original guys back together. Especially, if we were gonna do another record. We would never do it with hired people.
The tour manager told me that they use this sparkler thing at the beginning of the show, but some nights we don't use it when we don't get permission. I noticed when it went off, Jack would be standing right in the middle of the sparks. I was scared to death of it. I would be like, "Tell me when that stuff goes off, so I can be a million miles away from it." I was thinking it was dangerous or something. Then I told Jack, "You're standing right in this stuff! Doesn't it hurt?" He was like, "No dude. It's cold sparks. It doesn't do anything. It won't even singe your clothes." I guess what happened was that this place had all this sound proofing foam, because the neighbors complained about the sound. They had this sound proofing foam, but it wasn't the stuff like you see in rehearsal studios. It wasn't the standard blue, flame retardant stuff. This stuff was black. It looked like packing foam or something. To save money, they didn't get the right stuff. I
guess it was SO flammable, that I heard later, it was equal to 13 gallons of gasoline on the wall or something. And they allowed smoking in that place. A cigarette could have done the same damage. We were just unfortunate.
RMS: You touched on Great White recording new material. Are there any plans for a new CD?
MK: Absolutely. We'll probably finish out these shows this year and then go right into the studio. I just have a ton of music and I'm dying to record. That's what keeps it fresh for us. If we were an 'oldies' band and just went out and played only our back catalog, I'd probably go crazy. I need to be constantly coming up with new music, that's what keeps me going.
RMS: Could you leave a closing message to all of the Great White fans reading this at RockMusicStar.com?
MK: I'd just like to thank all of the fans out there for supporting the band. Being with us, all these years,through thick and thin. I really look forward to getting out there and seeing everybody.
Swedish metallers IN FLAMES will take part in two signing sessions in Sweden in June:
June 14 at 9:00 p.m.
Bengans
Stigbergstorget 1
Gothenburg, Sweden
June 15 at 4:30 p.m.
Bengans
Drottninggatan 20
Stockholm, Sweden
IN FLAMES' new album, "Sounds Of A Playground Fading", will be released via Century Media Records on the following dates:
Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Norway: Friday, June 17
Finland, Hungary: Wednesday, June 22
Spain, Italy: Tuesday, June 21
Rest Of Europe: Monday, June 20
North America: Tuesday, June 21
Australia, New Zealand: Friday, June 24
The album will be made available in the following formats in Europe:
* CD Jewelcase
* Special-edition CD+DVD (eight-panel digipak with pop-up feature + recording "Sounds Of A Playground Fading" DVD)
* Limited deluxe box set CD+DVD (eight-panel pop-up digipak and 32-page deluxe booklet + recording "Sounds Of A Playground Fading" DVD, black textile belt with white print and silver buckle with black IN FLAMES logo, set of 3 buttons, 1 jigsaw puzzle, 6 postcards) * 2-LP gatefold, 180gr vinyl
* Digital download
13 songs were laid down for the CD, which was recorded at the band's IF Studios in Gothenburg with engineer Roberto Laghi (HARDCORE SUPERSTAR, LOK, SONIC SYNDICATE).
"Sounds Of A Playground Fading" track listing:
01. Sounds Of A Playground Fading
02. Deliver Us
03. All For Me
04. The Puzzle
05. Fear Is The Weakness
06. Where The Dead Ships Dwell
07. The Attic
08. Darker Times
09. Ropes
10. Enter Tragedy
11. Jester's Door
12. A New Dawn
13. Liberation
The cover artwork was created by Dave Correia and can be viewed below.
IN FLAMES recently recruited Niclas Engelin from fellow Swedes ENGEL as the band's new second guitarist.
Saturday, July 2 will see the premiere of heavy metal at Societetshuset in the summer resort town Marstrand (north of Gothenburg), Sweden. This venue is now run by vocalist Joacim Cans of HAMMERFALL. On this particular night, Joacim will share the stage with Jeff Scott Soto (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, JOURNEY, TALISMAN). This will mark the first time since 1994 that these two vocalists will perform together.
In the early 1990s, Jeff Scott Soto was Joacim's vocal coach in Los Angeles.
"Infected", the new album from HAMMERFALL, entered the official chart in the band's home country at position No. 2 (right behind LADY GAGA!). The CD was released in Europe on May 20 and will be made available in North America on June 7 via Nuclear Blast Records. Laying down the foundation themselves in their own studio in Sweden, the members of HAMMERFALL then traveled to Nashville, Tennessee to finish it up with acclaimed producer James Michael (MÖTLEY CRÜE, SCORPIONS, MEAT LOAF). He also mixed the album, giving it a decisive updated edge without losing any of the essence of the band's sound. "James helped us create something that was new and exciting while still in the line of our heritage", Oscar Dronjak, guitar player and founder of the band, explains.
The album consists of eleven songs, and the limited first edition also includes a bonus DVD with unreleased video material of five of the "Infected" tracks.
10 MINUTES WITH THE HAUNTED'S JONAS BJÖRLER
This week Swedish metallers The Haunted blasted their way around Australia playing to sold-out crowds on their fifth and most successful visit to date.
The band has certainly come a long way from their humbled beginnings fifteen years ago and recently released their seventh and most diverse album to date 'Unseen'.
Having started penning ideas for 'Unseen' back in 2009, the album may have been met with mixed reviews from critics, but fans around the world love it! I had the pleasure of catching up with The Haunted's bassist Jonas Bjorler to discuss the latest album and current Australian tour.
Here is what Jonas had to say…
Hi Jonas, thanks so much for putting some time aside for our readers; it's great to see you back here this week on your fifth Australian tour, what fond memories come to mind when you look back on previous visits?
I always remember the twins Andrew and Paul Haug and that I'm always very tired after coming from Japan. You're always so jet lagged when you're in Australia; you need three or four days to recuperate.
You're currently touring around Australia, with album number seven released back in March, I would imagine its becoming harder to put together the set list. One that you're happy doing night after night as well as a set for fans of all eras of the band, how do you tackle that issue?
It's really hard as you say; we have to accommodate both ourselves and the audience. We try to mix the old and new stuff together, try to mix the fast and heavy stuff with the slow. The set we've been using for the past month is really good.
You've had the pleasure of touring across the globe, how do the Australian fans stack up when compared to those in Europe and the United States?
It's up there in our top five audiences together with the U.K., U.S.A., Japan and Sweden.
Whilst we're on the subject of touring Jonas; over the years you've shared the stage with so many great bands. Who's given you the best advice and what was it?
I'm not too sure, that's a really good question but I can't think of anything… I think somebody gave us advice not to drink? It was a vocalist that gave this advice to Peter saying never to drink before you perform and things like that, and about an hour later we seen him falling down some stairs totally drunk [laughs] it wasn't good advice [laughs].
In the past I have seen you perform and and it's clear that the crowd connects with the band from the moment the house lights go down. and you appear onstage! Being onstage you have the best seat in the house to witness the craziness and bizarre things that happen in the crowd during your performances. What comes to mind as the most outrageous thing you've seen happening whilst you've been onstage?
When we played Ozzfest in 2005 when we saw a guy in a wheelchair, in the pit with people picking him up and throwing him down to the crowd. He was totally into it, he was enjoying it, it was the most bizarre thing I've seen.
Jonas, let's talk about the latest album 'Unseen' for a moment. You started writing songs for this album back in 2009 and more than forty songs had been written once it was time to begin recording. Did you find it difficult to cut the list down from forty to twelve tracks?
Yeah, it's always hard to get from forty down to twelve but we had a lot of time to listen to all of the tracks. We had a year to listen to them all and decide and you really get a certain feeling for each song. In the end it was quite obvious to us which songs we should use.
When it came to the writing process for 'Unseen', where did you draw inspiration from this time around?
We've always been influenced by a lot of progressive rock from the seventies so this time we didn't copout; we went all the way with our influences musically. Peter had some other ideas for vocal harmonies, the major change is probably the vocals, more melodic, more singing, but musically we took it one step closer towards progressive rock.
Looking back over the whole process now, is there anything you would have changed or wish you'd done differently?
You always have some regrets after it's made but that's only natural, it gives you motivation to improve on the next one. There are no major changes but just some smaller details in the songs.
Jonas just before we wrap it up I want to ask you a couple of quick questions for our readers to get to know more about the real you… growing up what was the first concert you ever attended and how much of an impact did that have on you musically?
First show was Motley Crüe in 1986, and that was the first heavy metal show I ever attended. Naturally I was blown away by that, and after that I got more and more involved in the heavy metal scene. I went to more concerts and that led to even more extreme music like Metallica and Slayer later on.
Musically is there anything else you would like to achieve? Could we see you putting out something totally different to what we best know you for?
I think we've reached a certain point that corresponds with my goals in the beginning, I am quite happy with where I am right now!
Lastly, when you look back over your entire career what's the one most important lesson you feel you've learnt?
To be humble regarding touring and meeting other people, to have a humble approach to everything.
Jonas thanks again for your time, I really appreciate it. Do you have any last words for our readers?
Check us out, come out to the shows and have a good time!
Jacksonville, Florida's SHINEDOWN is continuing work on the material for its fourth album in Los Angeles, with plans to begin recording the effort late summer. More than 14 songs have reportedly been written for the CD, which is not expected to arrive until 2012.
Speaking to the Artisan News Service on the red carpet of the 59th annual BMI Pop Awards which was held on May 17 at the Beverly Wilshire Four Seasons Hotel in Beverly Hills, California (see video below), SHINEDOWN vocalist Brent Smith was asked if the band's new material was similar to that on 2008's platinum-certified album "The Sound Of Madness". "Not really, because we can't compare any of the other records to this one — just like we can't compare the first one to the second one or the third one to the first one," he said. "We pride ourselves on being a band that each record sounds completely different than the last. The beautiful thing is the journey and finding out where you are in your life, not only as a person, but where you are as an artist and as a musician and how far you've come and how far you've grown. So, for us, we tour a lot — our last record, we toured for almost three years — so it's very, very crucial and very, very important
for us for this fourth record [to be as strong as possible], so we take our time."
SHINEDOWN guitarist Zach Myers recently told Gibson.com about the band's songwriting process, "We aren't a band that goes into the studio and makes a record in six weeks. 'The Sound Of Madness' took 24 months to write. Brent has this weird thing when we're writing, we go into the studio, and there are no clocks around; there are no calendars on the wall. He doesn't like to have a time limit on being creative."
SHINEDOWN's live, multi-disc CD/DVD collection, "Somewhere In The Stratosphere", was released on May 3. The collection — which received its title from a member of the "Shinedown Nation" fan community — includes material filmed and recorded on SHINEDOWN's two epic 2010 headline tours: the inaugural "Carnival Of Madness" tour, in which they topped a stellar lineup of today's biggest rock acts including CHEVELLE, PUDDLE OF MUDD, SEVENDUST, and 10 YEARS; and the highly praised "Anything & Everything" acoustic tour, which featured stripped-down versions of both chart-topping hits and fan favorites alongside intimate conversations with the audience about the stories behind the songs.
Canadian thrash metal legends SACRIFICE have been confirmed for the 11th edition of the Trois-Rivières Metalfest, set to take place Friday, October 14 and Saturday, October 15, 2011 at the Bâtisse Industrielle (1760 av. Gilles-Villeneuve) in Trois-Rivières, Quebec, Canada. Also scheduled to appear are CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, NAPALM DEATH BENEATH THE MASSACRE (Montreal), L'ESPRIT DU CLAN (France), KALTER (Quebec) and INSURRECTION (Gatineau).
The remaining seven bands that will perform at this year's Trois-Rivières Metalfest will be announced in the coming weeks.
For more information, visit www.troisrivieresmetal.com.
War On Music Records released "The Ones I Condemn", the latest album from SACRIFICE, on vinyl for the first time on March 26, 2010. It was made available as a limited pressing gatefold LP. The first three albums from SACRIFICE — "Torment in Fire" (1986), "Forward to Termination" (1987) and "Soldiers Of Misfortune" (1990) — were also re-released on vinyl via War On Music Records (on February 26, 2010).
"The Ones I Condemn" was made available in July 2009 via Brazil's Marquee Records. The CD was recorded at Rouge Valley Studio in Toronto, Ontario with engineer Darius Szczepaniak, who has previously worked with I MOTHER EARTH, SUM 41 and EDWIN, among many others. Guest musicians on the album include Jed Simon (ZIMMERS HOLE, TENET, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, ARMOROS), who "[laid] down a total whammy-bar barrage," and the band's old Scarborough metal comrade Dave Hewson (SLAUGHTER, STRAPPADO), who lent some guest vocals to "The Devil's Martyr".
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Seminal grindcore/extreme metal outfit BRUTAL TRUTH (Kevin Sharp: vocals, Dan Lilker: bass, Richard Hoak: drums, Erik Burke: guitar) will release its new full-length album, "End Time", on September 27 in North America via Relapse Records. The CD was recorded with Doug White at Watchmen Studios in Lockport, New York and was mixed by Jason P.C. at Goatsound Studios. Mastering duties were handled by Scott Hull at Visceral Sound.
In the current issue of Terrorizer magazine, BRUTAL TRUTH vocalist Kevin Sharp states that "End Time" lyrically "follows the world's environmental shake that seems to be going on… obvious changes in our world could shed a bit of light on how everything will unravel…our expansion of population meets environmental issues."
"End Time" track listing:
01. Malice
02. Simple Math
03. End Time
04. Fuck Cancer
05. Celebratory Gunfire
06. Small Talk
07. .58 Caliber
08. Swift And Violent (Swift Version)
09. Crawling Man Blues
10. Lottery
11. Warm Embrace Of Poverty
12. Old World Order
13. Butcher
14. Killing Planet Earth
15. Gut-Check
16. All Work And No Play
17. Addicted
18. Sweet Dreams
19. Echo Friendly Discharge
20. Twenty Bag
21. Trash
22. Drink Up
23. Control Room
Check out the cover artwork below.
The "End Time" title track is available for streaming on the band's Facebook page.
"Evolution Through Revolution", the first full-length album in 10 years from BRUTAL TRUTH, sold around 1,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The CD debuted at No. 65 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.
BRUTAL TRUTH released the "Evolution In One Take: For Grindfreaks Only! Volume 2" CD on December 22, 2009 via Relapse Records.
"Evolution In One Take…" is an audio recording of the band playing the "Evolution Through Revolution" album from beginning to end in one live take at Mark It Zero studios with engineer Dan O'Hare.
BRUTAL TRUTH released its first-ever DVD, "For the Ugly and Unwanted - This is Grindcore", in Europe on June 22, 2009 via Season of Mist (June 2 in the U.S.). The disc contains a full show shot with five cameras at the Obscene Extreme Festival 2007 in Czech Republic and four more full shows from the "Sounds of the Animal Kindgom" tour as extras.
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Norway's TRISTANIA has issued the following update:
"For the first time in the band's history, TRISTANIA is going touring in Asia. The historic events will happen in the end of July 2011, starting off in Beijing on July 22nd and including all in all five shows in China and Taiwan.
"The band is extremely thankful for being given the chance to tour in Asia for the very first time. It is going to be something to remember for the rest of our lives, and we cannot wait to meet up with our Asian fans."
"2011 is promising to be a very active year for the band, with shows in Tel Aviv and Istanbul during the first few months, Mexico and Wave Gotik Treffen in June, Asia in July, and the Out Of The Darkness European Tour in September/October."
Commented singer Kjetil Nordhus: "We have put in an extreme amount of hard work the last few years, and we're now seeing the effects. The atmosphere in the TRISTANIA camp anno 2011 is very, very good."
TRISTANIA's Asian tour dates:
July 22 - Beijing, China - MAO Live House
July 23 - Shanghai, China - MAO Live House
July 24 - Guangzhou, China - 191 Space
July 27 - Hong Kong, China - Hidden Agenda
July 29 - Taipei, Taiwan - The Wall
"Year Of The Rat", the new video from TRISTANIA, can be viewed below. The song comes off the band's sixth album, "Rubicon", which was released in August 2010 via Austria's Napalm Records.
TRISTANIA in 2007 announced the addition of Italian singer Mariangela "Mary" Demurtas to the group's ranks. Guitarist Gyri Losnegård was added to the lineup in 2008.
The band's previous album, "Illumination", was released in January 2007 via SPV. The CD was recorded at Woodhouse Studios in Hagen, Germany with producer Waldemar Sorychta (LACUNA COIL, TIAMAT, GRIP INC.).
Maldives-based death/black metallers NOTHNEGAL have issued the following update:
"We regret to inform that the release our debut album, which was originally intended to come out this spring, has been delayed. This was mostly due to some unforeseen problems and changes in the band's lineup.
"Fufu, who has been doing the backing vocals and [playing] guitar, has taken over the [lead] vocals and Avo is no longer part of NOTHNEGAL as he decided to leave the band after our European tour with FINNTROLL.
"We have finished recording eight songs our upcoming album and the album's sound does shift away from the sound we had on our previous release by having a more heavier thrashier sound.
"Most of the instrument tracks were laid down at our home studio, the vocals were recorded at OneManArmy Studios in Finland. The songs are currently being mixed in Canada by Greg Reely (MACHINE HEAD, FEAR FACTORY, DEVIN TOWNSEND) who [will] also be doing the mastering.
"The album would be released worldwide through Season Of Mist later this year, making it our first release through Season Of Mist and also our debut album.
"More details on the album, the release schedule and our touring plans to follow soon."
NOTHNEGAL's current lineup is as follows:
Fufu - Vocals, Guitar
Hilarl - Guitar
Marco Sneck - Keyboards/Samples
Kevin Talley – Drums
Swedish death metallers SOULDRAINER have inked a deal with ViciSolum Productions. The band's second full-length album will be released in the fall.
Commented the group in a statement: "We are very excited to work with ViciSolum Productions, which is a Swedish label. We've had contact with them for a couple of months now and we finally got to sign the deal. We met up with Thomas from ViciSolum Productions last night at the venue we were playing and signed the contract right before we entered the stage. Thomas is a great guy with sound values and has a great vision and we believe that together we can make a great job making sure all our fans will get the opportunity to enjoy our music. We have great expectations about our upcoming album and we can't wait for you to hear it!"
SOULDRAINER's new CD was recorded at Empire Studio. According to the band, 13 songs were laid down for the as-yet-untitled follow-up to 2007's "Reborn".
SOULDRAINER previously decribed the new material as "beautiful, evil, slightly more aggressive and heavier" than that on "Reborn". The band added, "Prepare for an epic death/doom album so heavy it will blow your face off."
In May 2008, SOULDRAINER announced its split with Mascot Records, the label which released "Reborn".
"Reborn" was recorded by SOULDRAINER and Marcus Edvardsson at Manic Motion Studio and was mixed and mastered by Marcus Edvardsson. The layout and artwork was handled by Daniel Dlimi.
Having wowed audiences worldwide through his work with metal titans NILE, blast beat metal extremist George Kollias is touring Down Under exclusively for Allans Music + Billy Hyde, with support from Australian metal drumming king Dave Haley from the band PSYCROPTIC. See, hear and experience the blistering speed and pinpoint accuracy of George's hands and feet as his quick fills and frenetic footwork will astound and inspire. This will undoubtedly be the drumming event of the year! An engaging clinician, Kollias demonstrates to the aspiring metal drummer all the tricks and tips to help push forth the brutality that is modern metal music.
Melbourne
Sunday, June 26 at 7 p.m.
Kaleide Theatre RMIT, 360 Swanston Street, Melbourne
Sydney
Monday, June 27 at 7 p.m.
The Basement, 7 Macquarie Place, Circular Quay
Brisbane
Tuesday. June 28 at 7 p.m.
The Globe, 220 Brunswick Street, Fortitude Valley
Adelaide
Wednesday, June 29 at 7 p.m.
Fowlers Live, 68 North Terrace
Perth
Thursday, June 30 at 7 p.m.
Geoff Gibbs Theatre WAAPA ECU Mt Lawley Campus,
2 Bradford Street, Mt Lawley
Tickets are $20 from allansbillyhyde.com.au or in store.
George Kollias is writing and recording a solo album in between drum clinics and touring cycles. Due in September, the CD, which is primarily set to show off some of George's craziest metal drumming to date, is being completely written and recorded by George, including the guitars, bass, keys, vocals, and percussion, and it will also feature a DVD of the recording process.
Kollias' latest YouTube video, which can be viewed below, shows off the blistering speed of George's hands and feet around the kit, through his quick fills and fast footwork, as well as showing his multi-talented musical ability through his guitar work and other instrumentation.
Commented Kollias: "The drumming will be crazy on this album; I will push it like never before, since the whole idea is to write something based on drums anyways. Although I will pay attention a lot to the music in general, and I arranged to have some of the best guitarists in the world playing some guest solos for the songs, which is great! The mixing will be done in Florida, at Mana Studios, [by] Erik Rutan, one of the best producers today. He worked on the last NILE album, next to Neil Kernon, our main producer. This is just a first demo…. nothing final yet… but the final thing will be crazy and will sound incredible!!"
BLOOD STAIN CHILD, Japanese cyber-melodeath band with contemporary Japanese music culture influences, will release its fifth album, "Epsilon", on June 30 (July 1 in the U.K.) via Coroner Records in digipak format (with an exclusive bonus track) and digital download. The CD was produced, mixed and mastered by Ettore Rigotti (DISARMONIA MUNDI, DESTRAGE, SLOWMOTION APOCALYPSE, STIGMA) at The Metal House Studio and it features guest appearances by Claudio Ravinale and Ettore Rigotti (DISARMONIA MUNDI).
"Epsilon" track lisitng:
01. Sirius VI
02. Forever Free
03. Stargazer
04. S.O.P.H.I.A.
05. Unlimited Alchemist
06. Electricity
07. Eternal
08. Moon Light Wave
09. Dedicated To Violator
10. Merry-Go-Round
11. LA+
12. Sai-Ka-No
13. Royal Sky (exclusive digipak bonus track)
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