BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi will
undertake a select number of signings in the U.K.
and New York
to promote his upcoming memoir, "Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven
And Hell With Black Sabbath". The book will be released in the United States on November 1 in hardback by Perseus
Books/DeCapo Press and in Europe on
October 13 through Simon & Schuster.
Da Capo reportedly paid a six-figure amount at auction for the rights to
the 352-page book, which was described as "'Angela's Ashes' meets 'The
Ground Beneath Her Feet' meets 'Spinal Tap'" by Foundry
Literary + Media co-founder Peter McGuigan, who completed the North
American rights deal for the memoir.
In a recent interview with Guitar World magazine, Iommi explained
how his autobiography came together. "I had a chap called TJ Lammers,
who I met many, many years ago when he used to work at Phonogram Records,"
he said. "He later became a journalist and he had his own magazine. He
lives in Holland
and we've stayed in touch over the years. I've had a few people say, 'Oh, I can
write a book for you,' but I wanted a different outlook to the normal music
journalist, and that's what happened. He came over to England and
stayed with me for a few days. Then he'd write it up, come back again and do
more. The whole thing took a couple years to finish."
When asked how his book will be different to the typical rock biography, Iommi said, "I don't know. I don't read rock biographies, so it could be the
same, it could be different. It's just my life, really. It's about what
happened and what I grew up from, and how I've gone through life to where I am
now. It's something I probably should have done a long time ago because there
are so many books out now. I've been meaning to do it for many, many years but
never got around to it."
The name "Tony Iommi" sends shivers down the spines of
guitarists around the world. As lead guitarist and songwriter of BLACK
SABBATH, Tony Iommi is considered to be one of the most influential
musicians of the past four decades and the inventor of heavy metal. From
working-class, Midlands roots, his unique playing style — a result of a
disfiguring hand injury he suffered working in a sheet metal factory — created
a dark and gothic sound unlike anything that had been heard before and which
captured the mood of its time. SABBATH went on to become a superband,
playing to massive audiences around the world and selling millions of records,
and Iommi led the life of a rock star to the fullest — with the scars
from all the drug-fuelled nights of excess and wildness to show for it.
"Iron Man" is the exclusive account of the life and adventures
of one of rock's greatest heroes. It chronicles the story of both pioneering
guitarist Tony Iommi and legendary band BLACK SABBATH, dubbed
"THE BEATLES of heavy metal" by Rolling Stone magazine. "Iron Man" reveals the man behind the icon yet still captures Iommi's
humor, intelligence, and warmth. He speaks honestly and unflinchingly about his
rough-and-tumble childhood, the accident that almost ended his career, his
failed marriages, personal tragedies, battles with addiction, bandmates, famous
friends, newfound daughter, and the ups and downs of his life as an artist.
Everything associated with hard rock happened to BLACK SABBATH first:
the drugs, the debauchery, the drinking, the dungeons, the pressure, the pain,
the conquests, the company men, the contracts, the combustible drummer, the
critics, the comebacks, the singers, the Stonehenge set, the music, the money,
the madness, the metal.
Brian May (QUEEN): "Tony Iommi is the true father of
heavy metal, a continuously creative genius riff-meister, and one of the
world's great human beings."
Eddie Van Halen (VAN HALEN): "Without Tony, heavy
metal wouldn't exist. He is the creator of heavy! Tony is a legend. He
took rock and roll and turned it into heavy metal."
James Hetfield (METALLICA): "Mr. Iommi, aka . . . The
Riffmaster. It's all his fault I am where I am."
Ozzy Osbourne (BLACK SABBATH): "Tony Iommi should be
up there with the greats. He can pick up a guitar and play a riff that'd knock
your fucking socks off."
For technical reasons, the release date of "Single
Cuts" — the new box set containing JUDAS PRIEST's complete U.K. CBS/Columbia singles — has been pushed back to October 10 from
the previously announced August 25. The band states, "We really appreciate
your support, and so to say thanks for your patience, we've added a free magnet
set of JUDAS PRIEST album covers (worth £15) to all box sets that are
pre-ordered on [JudasPriest.com]. All pre-orders will now ship on or
before October 10th."
"Single Cuts" is testament to PRIEST's enduring
influence and through the singles tells the story of one of the biggest metal
bands of all time. Presented in a deluxe, numbered box, "Single
Cuts" boasts a massive 52 tracks across 20 CDs, featuring original
singles artwork and labels plus booklet including sleeve notes and photos.
The track listing:
* 1977
"Diamonds and Rust"
"Dissident Aggressor"
* 1978
"Better By You, Better By Me"
"Invader"
* 1978
"Evening Star"
"Starbreaker"
* 1978
"Before The Dawn"
"Rock Forever"
* 1979
"Take On The World"
"Starbreaker (Live)"
"White Heat Red Hot (Live)"
* 1979
"Evening Star"
"Beyond The Realms Of Death"
"The Green Manalishi"
* 1980
"Living After Midnight"
"Delivering The Goods (Live)"
"Evil Fantasies (Live)"
* 1980
"Breaking The Law"
"Metal Gods"
* 1980
"United"
"Grinder"
* 1981
"Don"t Go"
"Solar Angels"
* 1981
"Hot Rockin'"
"Breaking The Law (Live)"
"Steeler"
"You Don't Have To Be Old To Be Wise"
* 1982
"You've Got Another Thing Comin'"
"Exciter (Live)"
* 1982 - "(Take These) Chains"
"Judas Priest Audio File"
* 1984
"Freewheel Burning"
"Breaking The Law (Live)"
"You've Got Another Thing Comin'"
* 1984
"Some Heads Are Gonna Roll"
"The Green Manalishi (With The Two-Pronged Crown)"
"Jawbreaker"
* 1986
"Turbo Lover"
"Hot For Love"
* 1986
"Locked In"
"Reckless"
"Desert Plains (Live)"
"Freewheel Burning (Live)"
* 1990
"Painkiller"
"United"
"Better By You, Better Than Me"
* 1991
"A Touch Of Evil"
"Between The Hammer And The Anvil"
"You've Got Another Thing Comin' (Live)"
* 1992
"Night Crawler"
"Breaking The Law"
"Living After Midnight"
According to ALICE COOPER fan site SickThingsUK, the
legendary rocker will talk about, and preview songs (including first single, "I'll
Bite Your Face Off") from his forthcoming album, "Welcome 2 My
Nightmare", on tomorrow's (Friday, August 19) edition of his radio
show, "Nights With Alice Cooper".
For more information, visit www.nightswithalicecooper.com.
"Welcome 2 My Nightmare" will be released on September 13 via Universal
Music Enterprises.
Recorded with longtime collaborator Bob Ezrin, who produced the original
multi-platinum "Welcome To My Nightmare" album in 1975, the
record picks up right where they left off, with Alice trapped in his own
warped mind.
That original album is an all-time rock classic that spawned a worldwide theatrical
tour and pioneering U.S. TV special and cemented Alice Cooper as a
visionary trailblazer whose influence persists today in rock, metal, pop, punk,
theater, television, film and much more.
More than 35 years later, Alice and Ezrin have resurrected the
horror and humor for a new generation.
Co-writers on various songs include the aforementioned Bob Ezrin, Ke$ha, Neal, Dennis, Michael, plus BUCKCHERRY's Keith
Nelson, Desmond Child (who famously co-wrote and produced "Poison" with Alice), longtime collaborator Dick Wagner, current touring
band member Chuck Garric and film composer Jeremy Rubolino.
SPIN.com recently conducted an interview with Tommy
Stinson, founding member of the seminal Minneapolis-based rock group THE
REPLACEMENTS and current bass player for GUNS N' ROSES and SOUL
ASYLUM, who will release his second solo effort, "One Man
Mutiny", on his own Done To Death Music label on August 30. An
excerpt from the chat follow below.
SPIN.com: When you joined GUNS N' ROSES, was Axl [Rose]
aware of your background?
Stinson: He knew about THE REPLACEMENTS. He told me that he and [GN'R tour manager] Del James had come to see us in some club, and they were
not impressed. He and I both had a chuckle about the fact he wasn't a 'MATS fan and I wasn't a GUNS fan.
SPIN.com: You've worked closely with Axl for a long time now.
What's the secret?
Stinson: You figure out after a while what battles are worth fighting
for. That's the big thing. A lot of times, whether it's Axl or Paul [Westerberg, THE REPLACEMENTS mainman] or just about anyone,
they'll tell you they want to hear what you have to say, but they really don't.
So you've got to walk a fine line. You have to play the moment for what it is.
SPIN.com: Who has the wilder backstage scene: indie- or hard-rock bands?
Stinson: Back in the day we were all young and imbibing, getting our
cocktail on. Like with R.E.M. and X, we got hammered with those
guys pretty good. But with GUNS, I've played with METALLICA. Lars
Ulrich vomiting in your dressing room, that's pretty nasty. Him taking one
shot more than he should have, then having Sebastian Bach singing,
"Exit Lars! Exit Laaaaars!" as his assistant is carrying him out of
the building. But that's a whole other story.
According to Australia's
long-running rock station Triple M, DEF LEPPARD frontman Joe Elliott has slammed the British music press for allegedly not giving his band the
respect it deserves.
Elliott told Triple M: "I was having a little bit of a bitch
to the press because… there are certain glossy magazines in England that will
do nothing except put McCartney/Lennon, Springsteen, Michael
Stipe, Bono, blah blah blah… on the front cover and they think
people like us and Jon Bon Jovi and Lemmy and anybody that's not Michael
Stipe or Bruce Springsteen… they think that we're like morons and
stupid."
He continued, "We've sold more records than Morrissey and I think
I'm a better singer than Morrissey and we think we write better songs
than Morrissey yet they'll still think that Morrissey is really
cool because he was once in THE SMITHS.
"I've got nothing against Morrissey, I've got something against the
press that think that way."
DEF LEPPARD's "Pyromania" (1983) and "Hysteria" (1987) albums sold over ten million copies each in the U.S. alone.
TheWrap.com reports that the promoter for MÖTLEY CRÜE's
recent South American tour is being sued over a proposed CRÜE concert
that was to have taken place in Buenos Aires, Argentina
in May.
According to the suit, an agreement was made in December for Dallas-based
concert booker Gabe Reed to arrange a CRÜE concert for promoter Ariel
Vigo for a fee of $300,000. After Vigo paid a $150,000 deposit, the suit alleges, Reed changed his mind,
telling Vigo that he was shopping the band around to other promoters.
MÖTLEY CRÜE eventually had a two-night stand on May 19-20 in Buenos
Aires with another promoter, and now Vigo claims that he's out not just
the $150,000 deposit, but $2 million dollars that he stood to make from the
show.
After CRÜE completed its South American tour, Gabe Reed commented
that "the shows received great reviews and the response by the fans . . .
was amazing. There was a lot of craziness along the way but welcome to the
world of MÖTLEY CRÜE," he added in a May 22 press
release.
According to CDJapan.co.jp,
the 30th-anniversary box set version of MÖTLEY CRÜE's classic first
album, "Too Fast For Love", will be released in Japan on
November 30. The set will contain a cardboard sleeve jacket (Leathür Records version) and will include with a T-shirt created by Japanese clothing brand Neighborhood and the band. It will come packaged in a LP-sized box.
Track listing:
01. Live Wire
02. Public Enemy #1
03. Take Me To The Top
04. Merry - Go - Round
05. Piece Of Your Action
06. Starry Eyes
07. Stick To Your Guns
08. Come On And Dance
09. Too Fast For Love
10. On With The Show
11. Stick To Your Gun (single mix)
12. Toast Of The Town
13. Tonight
TMZ.com reported in January that MÖTLEY CRÜE and Live
Nation were being sued by Ron Toma who claimed that he owned the
copyright to the famous "belt buckle photo" taken by photographer Michael
Pinter back in 1981. CRÜE used the image on the cover of "Too
Fast For Love".
According to Toma's lawsuit, filed in Illinois Northern District Court, CRÜE and Live Nation used the image without permission on signature hooded
sweatshirts they are selling on their web sites.
Twenty years after its release, NIRVANA's "Nevermind" classic album will be performed live in its entirety — each song played by a
different Seattle group — on September 20 at the
Sky Church venue at the Experience Music
Project. Performers include NIRVANA bassist Krist Novoselic,
members of THE FASTBACKS, VAPORLAND, THE LONG WINTERS, VISQUEEN, CAMPFIRE OK, RAVENNA WOODS and VALIS.
The gig is a benefit for Seattle
music industry figure Susie Tennant, who was recently diagnosed with
cancer.
Due out on September 27, the 20th-anniversary deluxe edition of "Nevermind" will arrive as a remastered CD and digital release, a two-disc set featuring
B-sides and demo recordings, and a "super deluxe" four-CD/one-DVD
limited edition that will include an alternate mix of the album by producer Butch
Vig. This version will also come with a 90-page book and a CD/DVD of NIRVANA's
1991 Halloween gig in Seattle.
A vinyl edition of "Nevermind" will also be released, along
with separate Blu-ray and DVD versions of the Halloween 1991 show.
All but the standard CD will feature dozens of previously unreleased
recordings, obscure B-sides, alternate mixes, radio sessions, studio rarities
and live tracks.
The new mix by Vig will be substantially different from the final album
mix by Andy Wallace that was released commercially.
The Halloween 1991 show is the only known NIRVANA concert shot on film
and has been transferred to a high-definition picture with Surround Sound.
According to The Pulse Of Radio, PEARL JAM has
released the first cut from the soundtrack to the upcoming band documentary "Pearl
Jam Twenty", a rare live version of the song "Crown Of
Thorns". The tune was originally written and performed by MOTHER
LOVE BONE, the late '80s Seattle
band that included future PEARL JAM bassist Jeff Ament and guitarist Stone Gossard. MOTHER LOVE BONE collapsed when singer Andrew
Wood died in 1990 from a heroin overdose, but Ament and Gossard regrouped and put together PEARL JAM.
This version of "Crown Of Thorns" was recorded at the MGM
Grand in Las Vegas
on October 22, 2000, as part of a lengthy tribute to Wood.
"Pearl Jam Twenty" director Cameron Crowe says in his
soundtrack liner notes that PEARL JAM frontman Eddie Vedder once
told him that "Crown Of Thorns" was the one MOTHER LOVE
BONE song he would be "honored to sing one day."
Even though MOTHER LOVE BONE was poised for success before Wood's
death, Ament told The Pulse Of Radio that PEARL JAM's
goals when they started out were modest. "You know, I think we all
thought, like, if we sold 50, 60,000 records, that would allow us to make a new
record and, you know, I think mostly we wanted to get out and play," he
said. "You know, I think we wanted to be a touring band and we wanted to
be better musicians and we wanted to be more powerful and tighter. And we knew
in that process we'd be better songwriters, and so I think for us, you know, at
the time the focus was just to be a better band."
"Pearl Jam Twenty", which chronicles the group's 20-year
history, will make its world premiere at at the prestigious 2011 Toronto
International Film Festival on Saturday, September 10. Following the
premiere, the movie will begin screening in cities around the country for one
night only on September 20, with weeklong runs in selected markets starting on
Friday, September 23.
The film will have its television premiere on Friday, October 21 at 9:00 p.m.
ET, as part of the PBS American Masters series.
It will also be available on demand with a DVD edition of the film to be
released worldwide on October 25. A companion book, also called "Pearl Jam Twenty", will be published on
September 13, while the soundtrack is due out on September 20.
PEARL JAM is currently at work on its tenth studio album.
Confirmed
Metal Pounders Union member and lifelong fan of Anvil, Jim Rowland was the
happiest man on the Uber Rock planet recently when he got the opportunity to
meet up with the band before their show at London's O2 Academy in the
cosmopolitan borough of Islington.
The
band may have been to hell and back in the years since Jim first discovered
their music through albums such as 'Metal On Metal' and 'Forged In Fire', but
thanks largely to their foray into the world of cinema back in 2008, Anvil in
2011 are a band on the up.
So,
for now at least let's erase those images of founding members Steve 'Lips'
Kudlow (vocals and guitar) and Robb Reiner (drums) struggling to hold their
life's work together on a shoestring budget with the help of long time friend
and bass player Glenn Five, and let's celebrate with the guys as they tell us
all about studio album number fourteen and how they got to become best buddies
with the likes of Dave Grohl.
Okay
Lips, Robb, thank you for taking the time to talk with me today. Guys let's
start with the new album ' Juggernaut Of Justice'. It's a great album,
congratulations!
Lips:
Thank you very much
It's
the first post film album, and your profile has gone through the roof. Did you
feel pressure to deliver the goods?
L:
That's a very common question, and we'd probably say yes. But the reality was
that even before the movie came out in the theatres, my overall feeling was
that it was going to be successful. A lot of people asked about what we'd
expect from the film. Well it wasn't some guy with a video camera, it was
Stephen Spielberg's screenwriter that had got Hollywood to come and make a film about
Anvil. What would you think is going to happen? I'm gonna become fuckin' famous
dude! That was the first thing that came to mind. OK so they'd finished the
movie and I'm seeing how the fucker's coming together.... this is going to be
incredible! We're not gonna have a minute once this thing hits, we'll have no
time to write fuck all.... so they're in editing, we'd just finished 'This Is
Thirteen' and I go into the rehearsal studio to start writing, but it was
writing with a different environment, with hope, pure unadulterated hope and
completely unfettered by the peripheral bullshit. No record company to stress
out on, no manager, nobody to worry about but me and my songs.
That's
a completely new thing, that's a great place to be, so all I had to worry about
was writing the best songs that I could without any other complication, and
environment is everything because you write either consciously, or
subconsciously, and some us even unconsciously, about our environment. Such
examples, in 1989 we put out the album 'Worth The Weight'. What was in my
environment? Well, my first marriage fell apart, Rob's Dad died...it was total
loss. What were the song titles on the album? 'Love Me When I'm Dead', 'The
Sadness will last Forever', 'On The Way To Hell' - oh this is a very bright
happy album isn't it? But that's it, you're environment dictates what you do!
So in this particular case with 'Juggernaut of Justice' we had nothing but
glorious sunshine and hope in our entire environment, so what are your
songs? Happiness and hopeful songs about having a future, about winning
not losing. And that's really the theme of 'Juggernaut Of Justice'. The whole
album is about winning. I wanna win the cup! Like it says in 'Fucken Eh' or
'Running'. It's about winning! I don't wanna be lame, I wanna win the game!
It's not about loss. The environment of the movie got reflected in what we
wrote. So was there a pressure? No, there was just a glorious wonderful warmth
and feeling of hope all around us that just permeated the whole thing, so what
kind of record did we create? The best fuckin' record we ever had. That's how
you make the best record of your entire career - not at 25, but at 55! We break
the fuckin' rules, man. You know people have said, "it's too fuckin'
late". Well perception is projection, so when somebody says it's too late,
what they're saying is it's too late for them. But it's never too late to become
successful. Better late than never! And metal music, most importantly that
everybody must realise, is fucking timeless! When Toni Iommi plays 'Iron Man',
it does the same thing to me today as it did when I was fifteen. And kids that
are fifteen years old when they hear that song for the first time, it's doing
it to them too. So metal music is timeless and I am bent on that kind of metal,
the timeless shit, not stuff that's necessarily trend. Trend metal, when you
put a mask on and you sing like cookie monster, I don't know how long that's
gonna last.
Can
I ask you about the UK, what
do you think about the UK,
do you like coming here especially or is it just another country on a European
tour?
L:
No, I love coming here. Come on, man - you guys speak English. From the get go,
that's got to be better. At least you can understand what the fuck I'm saying
to you! (laughing)
Apart
from 'Juggernaut Of Justice', what is your favourite Anvil album?
L:
'Metal On Metal'. I would say 'Forged In Fire' but there are reasons that I
don't. 'Forged In Fire' to me was a let down production wise. It's got great
songs but it fell short on production. There are lots of reasons, and we could
sit here and talk about it for six hours. You could go on for ever talking
about shoulda, woulda, coulda...
Robb,
I'm going to ask you the same question
Robb:
It would be between 'Forged In Fire' and 'Metal On Metal' I guess, but I like
something off of all the records
L:
With 'Forged In Fire' there were a lot of problems especially after we finished
the record. It was a disappointment to all the record companies and everyone we
were involved with at the time. They wanted hit singles and all the shit most
record companies want, and it was barren of that. It was pure influence style
metal.
R:
I wasn't disappointed with that record - I knew what it was.
L:
Kerrang! magazine said it sounded better when they were sitting in the bog
having a dump. That derailed everything. That's why we went into obscurity
because of the 'Forged In Fire' album at that moment. It was 20 fuckin' years
ahead of its time. No way of it getting marketed, no way of it getting the
proper record deals it needed, and we fell off the fuckin' train, only to have
to do everything on our own from then on in, till the movie. We knew internally
we have something special, and we're not going to give up.
R:
It didn't discourage me, because people gave us the love anyway, where it
mattered. The musicians, and the diehard fans.
L:
We're playing in Europe 25 years later on the
back of 'Forged In Fire'. All the people in the business at the time were
wrong.
This
new album was recorded in Dave Grohl's studio with Bob Marlette producing. Who
funded it?
R:
We did.
L:
It's amazing how well we did with that movie.
And
Dave Grohl?
L:
Dave threw it in
For
free?
R:
virtually
Because
he's an old fan?
R:
Yes, he loves the band and he wanted us to make a real record. Motorhead makes
records there.
L:
This was from the Independent Spirit Awards, the Academy awards for
independently released films. VH1 invited Dave Grohl to come and introduce
Anvil, as we were going to play at the Independent Spirit Awards to a celebrity
audience. He said "there isn't a thing I'd love to do more, I love that
band. I'd love to." We had no idea.
R:
I did, because you know that Probot record? That's Anvil. Half that record
sounds like Anvil stuff. (laughing)
L:
So Dave pulls up in his limousine, gets out with his wife or whatever, and he's
holding a guitar case. It's a 335 Gibson guitar case and I'm thinking fucking
cool man, he's gonna play 'Metal On Metal' with us. He comes over, hugs me,
says "I love you brother, this is a present for you" and he gives me
the Dave Grohl Gibson signature guitar. So I'm freaking out and the first thing
Robbo says is "Hey man, Probot". And he says, "yeah, yeah, you
got it eh?"
R:
I confronted him right there and said "Hey Dave, you gotta tell me
straight up". He says 'of course I ripped you guys off," and I said,
"right on, brother!" It was fuckin great.
L:
So he introduces us and says that he's had a couple of lucky days in his life
and nothing could be more lucky than introducing Anvil, one of his all time
favourite bands. So after the evening, he says, "you guys are going to
come and record in my studio, and if you don't, I will never talk to you
again".
And
how did Bob Marlette come in? Was it because he is a fan, or because he is a
very good producer?
R:
Our manager brought him in
L:
What's fascinating about that is everybody that we let in, it has to do with
passion. If you have a passion for it, then you're my man. What happened is
that Rick Sayles called his friend Bob, and said 'do you want to do this band?'
His wife overhears him on the phone, and says "Anvil? You're going to have
an opportunity to produce Anvil? Have you seen the movie? You've got to watch
the movie!" So he watches the movie. I go pick him up at the airport, he
gets into the car and says "I wanna do this album so bad, I'm gonna give
you the best fuckin' record you guys have ever recorded. This is your moment
dude." And everything he said, he delivered.
R:
And fuck did he deliver?
Rob
before we finish here tell me about 'Swing Thing' on the new album.
R:
Well we're both jazz guys, I consider myself a jazz drummer in the traditional
sense. Lips listens to big band shit, so for years we've been saying we should
do a jazz/metal type track, and we finally did.
A
little later on I also caught up with bassist Glenn Five, who rarely does
interviews and got the chance to pose a few questions to him.
Glenn,
to the older fans, you're still the new boy, even though you've been in Anvil
for sixteen years now. What were you doing before that?
Glenn:
I was playing bass in another band just trying to make it. I had the dream,
just trying to get out of the basement. We were in the band for nine years, and
I had that desire to just do it, but they became kind of like this drinking
team and it was more about the party than the music, and I was like well you've
got to get to the party before you can act like you're at the party, right? It
kind of fizzled out and I was 25 years old and at a crossroads in my life. Just
as I was thinking about that a flatmate of mine came home with a number of a
band that needed a bass player. It happened to be Robert's number from a band
called Sacrifice. They were old mates of mine so I figured they needed a bass
player and I phoned them up and they said, "no it's not for us, it's for
Anvil". He hooked me up with their number and we talked and we jammed and
I'm sitting here fifteen years later. I've had the dream, some people call it a
struggle, I call it a life.
Were
you a fan of Anvil at the time of the early albums like 'Hard 'N' Heavy' and
'Metal On Metal'?
G:
No. When 'Metal On Metal' came out, the name started getting around. I knew the
big songs like 'Metal On Metal' and 'Forged In Fire'. When I joined the band,
of course I started to jam all the songs that I knew and I started listening to
tapes and CD's of the stuff I hadn't heard yet and I started going mad - how can
this stuff not have got into my circle of friends? I was slightly a generation
after that; I was part of Metallica and Slayer, that generation. I liked Maiden
and Priest and some classic rock like Yes and Jethro Tull and Allman Brothers
stuff. I started getting educated more on the older stuff and these guys were
like my teachers, and they accepted me into their family quite soon, and album
by album I contributed more, and now I consider myself a pretty vital part of
the threesome.
I
wanted to ask you about 'This Ride' on the new album. You handle the lead
vocals on that track and you wrote the lyrics.
G:
Yeah, well we had this idea on the last album on 'Bombs Away', I also wrote
those lyrics. We had the idea that maybe I should sing it. We were in the
studio with Chris Tsangarides, before I went to sing it I said "what do
you really think?" Is it gonna be strange to have another voice on the
album all of a sudden as it's been many many years since they used another
voice, when Dave Allison used to sing a couple of songs. CT said maybe it would
be a bit strange, so Lips did it and it sounded great. With this one, we were
in the studio with Bob Marlette and Lips was sticking around to finish up and I
was leaving the next day. I said maybe you should sing 'This Ride' before I go
to help with the phrasing. He said "why don't you sing it?" so I
thought 'here we go again'. Bob said 'great idea' so we did it and we're all
happy with it.
Glen
just to finish off what is your favourite Anvil album?
G:
I love 'Still Going Strong' - it's got an edge to it. I love 'Worth The Weight'
for the thrash aspect, 'Strength Of Steel' for the production. They're all
amazing for their own reasons.
I'd
like to take this opportunity to thank the guys in Anvil for being so open and
honest with their answers during this interview, they certainly were an
interviewers dream and as a lifelong fan I could have chatted all night with
them if they had not been quite so busy. But in saying that it's a
pleasure to see them so busy and so obviously enjoying the attention that is
once again being afforded them.
You
can read my review of the show that followed here, and before I finish I'd also just like to thank
Roland Hyams at Work Hard PR for making all of this possible for me.
http://www.anvilmetal.com/
Las Vegas' favorite band SIN CITY SINNERS — which
features Todd Kerns (SLASH, AGE OF ELECTRIC), Brent
Muscat (FASTER PUSSYCAT), Rob Cournoyer (RAGING SLAB)
and Michael Ellis — will celebrate its four-year anniversary on Monday,
August 22 at the Crown Theater (inside the Rio hotel) in Las Vegas
Joining them will be the following special guests:
* Lemmy Kilmister (MOTÖRHEAD)
* Gilby Clarke (GUNS N ROSES)
* Slim Jim Phantom (THE STRAY CATS)
* Jeff Young (MEGADETH)
* Jimmy Crespo (AEROSMITH)
* Louie Merlino (BEGGARS & THIEVES)
The night will also be hosted by adult film legend Ron Jeremy.
Christian rockers LIBERTY N' JUSTICE have postponed
the release of their collaboration with Jani Lane after they were accused
of exploiting the late WARRANT singer's death.
Lane, 47, was found dead in a California
hotel room last week after a long battle with alcoholism. One of his final
recordings was a song called "Sin", which was originally
supposed to be made available in early 2012 as part of a double CD from LIBERTY
N' JUSTICE entitled "The Cigar Chronicles".
The track, which features additional appearances by JK Northrup of KING
KOBRA (who recorded and mixed the track), Keri Kelli of ALICE
COOPER, and Bill Leverty of FIREHOUSE, had its release date
moved forward to this week because the people involved with the project felt
"obligated to [Lane's] family, friends, and fans to share one of
his last artistic endeavors."
However, the announcement that the song was being made available so soon after Lane's
death ignited a fan backlash and LIBERTY N' JUSTICE has now decided to
wait until after Jani's funeral to release the cut.
Commented LIBERTY N' JUSTICE leader Justin Murr: "When I
woke Tuesday morning, I had 322 e-mails in my inbox, some stating they couldn't
wait to hear [the song] or they couldn't find it and others condemning me for
exploiting Jani. Included in these e-mails were over 30 requests from
radio stations wanting the song to play as soon as I serviced them with the
single. The last (for me) were the most convincing and that was from people
very close to Jani asking me to wait 'till at least after the funeral.
"The one thing that I got from all these emails was love, you — his fans —
loved the artist Jani Lane and the music he created with WARRANT and by himself.
"I, with good conscience, need to allow his family, friends, and his fans
to grieve. Once we get past this, we then can celebrate the new music he helped
create with LIBERTY N' JUSTICE.
"He helped craft the lyrics with Scott Bolan and myself and I do
believe it shows where he was at spiritually at the time and should help ease some
of the pain of his loss.
"If you decide to purchase the song, please know a portion of the proceeds
WILL go to Jani Lane,
because he helped co-write the song.
"I am sorry again for not showing more compassion to his family, friends,
and fans. Anyone who knows me (really knows me) knows me wanting to release
this at this time was not a money motivation but more of a 'message'
motivation.
"Soon we will have the official release date so you, his fans, can hear
this amazing song.
"In closing, I think the chorus of the song suits better than anything I
can say... 'Let me be the man I could have been / the one you first breathed
your life into / my soul in your embrace / deliver me....deliver me from my
sins.'"
A short audio sample of "Sin" can be streamed at this location.
Here is what people associated with the LIBERTY N' JUSTICE project had
to say regarding the "Sin" single:
CJ Snare (FIREHOUSE): "Jani Lane was the Vincent Van Gogh of 'hair band melodic hard rock.' A brilliant artist wrestling with his inner
self. I came to know him through years of touring together and through many
conversations. It was difficult to see him fight with his demons. He was my
friend, my contemporary, and he will be truly missed.
"This may be one of, if not his last recording. The performance has a
poignant message in relation to his life story. I know that for him, rock and
roll heaven is indeed, not too far away!!!
"Nothing but love to you, my brother Jani."
Bill Leverty (FIREHOUSE): "In March of 2011, I was asked by Justin
Murr to play on a song called 'Sin'. I gladly accepted the offer
because LIBERTY N' JUSTICE always puts out great music. The demo had a
scratch vocal by the co-writer JK Northrup that sounded really good, but
I did not know who was going to be chosen to sing the real vocal. I've just
learned that I was matched up with Jani Lane.
"I will tell you that Jani did an amazing job with his vocals.
"I am truly honored to be playing on this recording, which is quite
possibly the last recording Jani ever made. I have extremely fond
memories of touring with him since 1991 when we all became good friends on WARRANT's 'Blood, Sweat, & Beers Tours'. FIREHOUSE has played well over a 100 shows since then with WARRANT and with Jani's solo gig. Our friendship has never faded.
"This song's lyrical content is very timely, and shows Jani in an
extremely vulnerable and honest light, where he bares his soul in an uncanny
way.
"Rest in peace, my brother, your music will always be with me..."
JK Northrup: "Like everyone, I was shocked to hear about the
passing of Jani.
"I was privileged to have opened a show with WARRANT in Los Angeles at a large
venue called the Country Club. It was a sold-out show, and just before they got
signed! It was easy to see why Jani and WARRANT would make such
an impact on the music world with his stage presence and songwriting abilities.
Now some 24 years later, I found myself working with Jani on a song
called 'Sin' for the upcoming album with Justin Murr's LIBERTY
N' JUSTICE called 'The Cigar Chronicles'.
"Jani's vocals and input on this song are very powerful!
"Although it was not intended for release until 2012, all involved felt
the importance to get this song out to all of his fans to hear this amazing
song. I know he will be smiling when this song is heard by all.
"My sincere condolences to all of his family and friends. He will be
missed, but not forgotten!
"R.I.P., Jani Lane!"
Style Goes Strong recently conducted an interview with '80s
hard rock queen Lita Ford. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow
below.
On being in the public eye:
Lita: "On stage, every roll in your pants and every crease and
crack in your face shows. Honestly, I'm not one for plastic surgery. I don't
even like makeovers. Every single line on my face has a story. That's why I
don't want to get rid of the lines. They're there and I'm proud of them."
On how she keeps fit at age 51:
Lita: "I have to say that I hate working out. I can't stand it. I
used to work out a lot. But I've found that just staying active is as good. I'm
touring and traveling and doing shows. That keeps me fit. I say to find
something you love when it comes to sweating your butt off. For me, it's
singing. For you, it might be something else. When you do something that you
love, it keeps you fit, because you can't stop doing it."
On aging:
Lita: "I do feel like I'm 20. I still act like I'm 20. It's fun to
keep your old mindset because you never feel old when you're young in your
mind."
On her trademark long blonde locks:
Lita: "I have long, blonde rocker chick hair. If you love your long
hair, don't cut it no matter what age you are. Let it even grow longer. I think
it's sexy to have long hair. Basically, whatever fits your face. Short hair is
cool on some people, but I just prefer it long."
On her involvement with Rock 'N' Roll Fantasy Camp, the reality TV show
based on the camp, which will start airing on VH1 Classic on August 20:
Lita: "It's the coolest thing. Everyone of all ages asks me when I
can go. I'm always asked, 'Can I be your guitar tech? Can I be your roadie?'
I'm like, 'You don't know how to be a roadie.' But now you can learn."
On working on new music and touring:
Lita: "I'm in the process of writing a wonderful new CD. I fall
asleep every single night with my cell phone on my chest playing the new songs.
I just hit play and then drift off."
On her rocker status:
Lita: "I've got every little kid in the neighborhood knocking on my
door because I'm a rock singer. Everyone wants to see Lita. I'll have a
little kid knock on my door and then shyly say, "My mom says a rock singer
lives here. Can she come out and play?'"
JukeboxMetal.com recently conducted an interview with FOZZY frontman and WWE wrestling superstar Chris Jericho. A few
excerpts from the chat follow below.
On FOZZY fans who are also wrestling fans:
Jericho:
"There's always people who come to see the show who are wrestling fans or Chris
Jericho fans or whatever, and that's not necessarily a bad thing, because
whatever it is that gets them in there they will always leave FOZZY fans. It's evidenced by the fact that we're able to continue to keep coming
over [to the U.K.],
and continue to expand. I mean, the shows we've done on this tour have been
amazing and we're coming back again in November, and it's just one of those
things where I think people just dig the music that we play. Like I always say, Bruce Dickinson is a pilot, but it's not like IRON MAIDEN are
always singing songs about lavatories and sitting in seat 3D, it's just
something that he does when he's not in IRON MAIDEN, and that's what
wrestling was like for me, and now I don't even do that anymore, so it's just
about the band."
On FOZZY's self-titled debut, which included two original songs alongside
eight covers, and the band's eventual decision drop playing covers and to
pursue playing original material full-time:
Jericho: "When you start a band you want to play your own stuff,
and the gimmick was fun while it lasted and then it was time to move forward
and do our own thing and that's when we decided to just go with our own stuff.
And 'Fozzy' came from 'Fozzy Osbourne,' and we were like, 'Do we change the
name of the band?' I was like, 'You know what?! Some of the biggest bands of
all time have some of the weirdest names. PINK FLOYD, LYNYRD SKYNYRD, KISS, HELLOWEEN, METALLICA, RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS. DEF
LEPPARD! Gotta be the worst one! When you think about it just on its own
it's a deaf — can't hear — leopard. But you hear it so many times it becomes
part of pop culture and it doesn't matter anymore and I think that's kind of
where we're at, too."
On finding his way as a singer:
Jericho:
"After we recorded the 'All That Remains' record, I went to a vocal
coach. And we did a lot of touring on 'All That Remains', which helped a
lot, too. What that did was help me find who I was as a singer, where I felt
comfortable. And Rich [Ward, guitar] writes great melodies, very
challenging melodies. They're not easy. Especially when you're recording,
they're very intricate, lots of details. And so to take the vocal lessons,
doing all the touring that we did, and then to have Rich knowing that
there was more there in my voice to write really cool melody lines, it really
made a difference. The other big thing is that we took our time recording. The
other albums it was like, 'You've got ten days to get all your vocals done.'
With this one ['Chasing The Grail'], it was like, 'You come to Florida for a day or
two,' we do two songs, three songs. I go to Atlanta for maybe a week or two, we do a
song. So it was a long drawn-out process of maybe two or three months where we
didn't have to rush and that's really made a difference. Because you've got two
or three good hours of singing a day. That's it. You can't sing seven, eight,
nine hours a day because by the end of that time you're done. Or you might
still be hitting the notes, but it doesn't have the same power or quality. I
really found that out on this album."
On FOZZY's songwriting approach:
Jericho:
"When I give Rich the lyrics, he has feelings about the songs. He
gets inspired in different ways. It's funny, because on the last album when I
gave him a song like 'Broken Soul', for example, it was a heavy, dark
kind of thing. I don't even remember what I wrote about, something evil and
murderous. But he came back with this beautiful piece of music for it and I
thought, 'Well, I guess I need to kind of rewrite the lyrics to fit the style
of the song now.' It's not just, 'Here it is, it's done.' He'll chop off some
stuff, like … 'Friday The 13th', there was something like eight
different verses for that that he cut down to four, and I was like, 'Oh, fuck,
those other four verses were so cool.' But you write what's best for the song.
There might be like a couple of different parts he's added where he's written
lyrics for it or added another verse. So we just kind of throw back and forth.
And the way that modern technology is, he can write a snippet, e-mail it to me,
and I check it out, call him five minutes later and say, 'Well, that was cool,'
and even though he's in Atlanta and I'm in Tampa, you can write your whole
album that way. But it does start with him getting the lyrics and going, 'Well,
I feel this one should be this.' Unless it's something like [new FOZZY track] 'Storm The Beaches' where I'll say, 'This is a long song.'"
At least three people were killed when stage equipment,
towers, a tent and a tree collapsed earlier today after a wind and hail storm
hit the Pukkelpop festival in Hasselt, Belgium. More
than 70 people were injured and the festival was halted, with as many as 60,000
attendees having left the mud-filled grounds, according to the Associated
Press.
Chokri Mahassine, the organizer of the festival, told reporters "we
have for now put the festival on hold until we understand the situation
completely."
DEFTONES, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, BRING ME THE HORIZON, SUICIDIAL
TENDENCIES, APOCALYPTICA and WITHIN TEMPTATION are among the
artists who were scheduled to perform at this year's edition of Pukkelpop,
an annual festival which was launched in 1985.
Last weekend, a stage collapsed at the Indiana State Fair and sent steel
scaffolding into the crowd below, killing five people and injuring dozens more.
On July 17, CHEAP TRICK barely avoided being crushed when the stage at
the Ottawa Bluesfest collapsed during a storm. A few were injured, but
no one was killed.
German thrashers EXUMER are "in the final stages
of mixing" their new album their first album in 24 years. The CD was
recorded at a studio in Dortmund, Germany with producer Waldemar Sorychta (GRIP
INC., ENEMY OF THE SUN, VOODOOCULT, THERION, TIAMAT, MOONSPELL) and will feature artwork by Baptiste Treton, a
French-born artist who resides in Vietnam.
Commented EXUMER vocalist Mem V. Stein: "We basically took
off from playing live for this entire year in order to concentrate solely on
writing, recording and mixing this record.
"Waldemar was the most logical choice for us in regards to
producing this very important album. We heard what he had done with the last SODOM album and we all agreed that he is capable of preserving the spirit of a 1980s
thrash band but still make them sound relevant today. That is exactly what we
envision for EXUMER. We became quite confident that we will achieve this
objective after meeting Waldemar earlier this year and trust his
intuition as a producer, songwriter and musician, as well as his ability to
push EXUMER's envelope when it is necessary."
EXUMER began negotiating with several labels to release the upcoming CD
and will announce the album's title once a record deal has been secured.
THE ERA OF, the Montreal, Quebec, Canada-based
progressive rock quartet featuring CRYPTOPSY frontman Matt McGachy,
has completed work on its debut album, "Pelican Beach".
Independently produced, the effort will be available for free download via the
group's official web site, TheEraOf.com,
in September.
Comprised of members of established bands — including CRYPTOPSY, A
TEXAS FUNERAL and DOWNLINE — THE ERA OF has been described as
a combination of 30 SECONDS TO MARS, A PERFECT CIRCLE and RUSH. Matt states, "We have blended epic build-ups, soaring choruses and
uplifting rock outs into our own eclectic style. From a lyrical standpoint, our
album explores the impact of an apocalyptic disaster through the eyes of
different inhabitants of the city of Pelican
Beach.
"Although music is the driving force behind our creative process, THE
ERA OF has expanded upon our narrative concept by writing a compilation of
short stories to be released alongside the album. These stories were conceived
in fonction of the length of the songs to enhance the listener's
experience."
Regarding how the launch of THE ERA OF affects his standing with CRYPTOPSY, McGachy states, "CRYPTOPSY fans need not worry: With the
return of Jon Levasseur [guitar], we have been writing some of the most
brutal material I have ever heard. Jon has been a pleasure to play with,
and the connection between him and Flo [Mounier, drums] is undeniable.
We are now hard at work preparing a new CRYPTOPSY album, to be released
in 2012."
THE ERA OF will perform at the "Pelican
Beach" CD-release party on
September 9 at L'Alizé in Montreal.
THE ERA OF is:
Matt McGachy - Vocals
Pavlo Haikalis - Guitar
Chris Brandel - Bass
MOS Mark-Olivier Spenard – Drums
THE WHITE SOX BAND, an all-star band featuring Alan
White (YES), Spike Edney (QUEEN) and Jeff Scott
Soto (TALISMAM, JOURNEY, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN) will
perform an exclusive show at the "Culture Night" event on Saturday,
August 20 in in Reykjavik, Iceland. It is an open-air festival
featuring acts from Seattle and Iceland sponsored by both cities and the U.S. embassy.
Between 15,000 and 20,000 people are expected to attend the concert.
Jeff Scott Soto's double live album, "Live at Firefest
2008", came out last December via Frontiers Records.
Firefest has become a pivotal event in the melodic rock season in Europe. Born from the ashes of the Gods of AOR festival, Firefest started in 2004 and not only did it continue the
tradition of Europe's finest melodic rock/AOR festivals, but exceeded all
previous expectations.
Jeff Scott Soto performed at the Gods festival in 2002, putting
on an amazing show that was captured on a live CD/DVD. So when the call came to Jeff about the new and continued version of this proven festival, he
wasted no time in answering, "Of course!"
Frontiers Records released a live DVD and CD by Jeff Scott Soto on December 4, 2009 in Europe and January 12, 2010 in the U.S. Entitled "One
Night in Madrid", the set was filmed
at Sala Heineken in Madrid
on April 18, 2009 in front of an intimate and enthusiastic audience. Jeff pulled no punches and performed an exhilarating show featuring tracks from many
of his albums as well as showcasing new songs from "Beautiful
Mess", including "Mountain", "Testify", "Our Song", "Hey", "Broken Man" and the wonderful "Gin & Tonic Sky". This is the complete
show, with a DVD packed full of extras, including all of Jeff's solo
videos, a special tribute to his dear friend Marcel Jacob (TALISMAN)
and loads of tour footage in the form of "Goofballs!". In
addition to the DVD, a double CD is also available.
MINISTRY mainman Al Jourgensen spoke to U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine about his band's decision to reform
for a new album and tour, including an appearance at next year's Wacken Open
Air festival in Wacken, Germany.
When asked how the resurrection of MINISTRY came about, Jourgensen said, "While I was working on [the BUCK SATAN record], me and Mike
Scaccia from RIGOR MORTIS fucked around to pass the time and we had
like, 5,6,7 songs and I didn't really want to do anything with them but Mikey was like, 'Dude, these songs are awesome.' They weren't country, they were more
like MINISTRY. So he's coming by in September and Tommy Victor's
[PRONG; guitar] coming by in October with Tony Campos [SOULFLY,
ex-STATIC-X; bass] and we're gonna finish up and put out another MINISTRY album by Christmas called 'Relapse'."
Regarding the sound of the new MINISTRY material, Al said,
"We've only got five songs to go. I've been listening to it the last
couple of weeks and I wasn't really in the mood, I was just taking it as a
joke. Just to pass the time at first but [Mikey's] raving about it. It's
like, dude c'mon, this is not about Bush, so… that parts over. The ulcers are
gone and Bush is gone so it's time for something new. I think this is actually
gonna wind up being the fastest and heaviest record I've ever done. Just
because we did it as anti-therapy therapy against the country music we would
just take days off and thrash faster than I've done in a long time, faster than Mikey's done in a long time. He just did a RIGOR MORTIS tour and
said it was easy compared to this MINISTRY stuff so it's gonna be brutal
and it's gonna freak a lot of people out."
On the topic of MINISTRY's upcoming tour activities — which will feature
the lineup of Al Jourgensen, Mike Scaccia and Tommy Victor on guitar, Tony Campos on bass, Aaron Rossi on drums, and John
Bechdel on keyboards — Jourgensen said, "The doctors told me to
keep it light [following Al's recent health scare], so we're doing four shows in the
States next June. The Nokia Theatre in L.A., the
Vic theatre in Chicago — we'll add second shows
if those sell out — Denver at the Ogden Theatre,
and one night at the Nokia Theatre in New York and that's our whole American tour. That's it.
And then we go to Europe and I'm gonna do a
couple of festivals and club shows. We're gona do a limited tour, it'll be like
5-6 weeks. Maybe 20, 21 shows and just see how it works."
MINISTRY's "farewell" tour, the "C-U-LaTour",
started its North American leg on March 26, 2008 and concluded in Chicago on May 12, 2008.
The final date on the trek took place on July 18, 2008 at the Tripod in Dublin, Ireland.
During the performance, Jourgensen repeatedly reaffirmed that it would
indeed be the last-ever MINISTRY show. Due to a large demand for
tickets, an extra gig was added at the Tripod on July 19, 2008. "Adios...
Puta Madres", a live album featuring material culled from MINISTRY's
"final" tour, was released in 2009 on CD and DVD.
When asked in a 2007 interview prior to "C U LaTouR 2008" if
there would ever be a big MINISTRY reunion in 15 years, Jourgensen said, "I don't think so, my friend. First of all, who am I gonna get to
reunionize with? I'm the fucking band. So unless I make a reunion with myself…
Whatever, no. I've got a lot of other stuff going on. Literally, I'm booked
solid for the next 15 months. I know exactly what I'm doing for the next 15
months, plus I've got a record label [Thirteenth Planet Records], I've got
a lot of other bands I need to baby-sit for. There would be no time, need, or
inclination to every get some kind of redundancy going on."
Guitarist David T. Chastain's 2011 new
all-instrumental release, "Civilized Warfare", has just been
made available on Diginet Music. The effort, which is described as
"heavy [while] still full of emotional intensity and terrifying
technique" — showcases David's varying influences and styles. Mike
Haid once again provides a strong foundation with his drumming and bassist
Steven Taylor contributes the consistent bass playing that allows David to go to places he might not otherwise venture.
In last five years, David's music has been used in literally hundreds,
if not thousands, of TV shows and films, and this work is geared towards his
"metal in TV" campaign. David states: "I never sat out to
provide music for TV and films, [but] I have found that they can take my music
as is and use it very easily in a wide range of shows, from 'Oprah' to the NFL network and everything in between.
"While no one is necessarily getting rich from it, there is gratification
in hearing your music on TV!"
According to a press release, "Civilized Warfare" does not
consist of instrumental "noodlings," but is based around actual song
frameworks.
"I would classify this release as more of a hard rock release than a
straight-ahead metal recording," David said. "I hear some '80s
in this one!"
Norwegian record label Indie Recordings, home to such acts
as KVELERTAK, ENSLAVED, 1349 and GOD SEED, has joined
forces with Prosthetic Records (SKELETONWITCH, ANIMALS AS
LEADERS) to create Indie Recordings North America. As of September
1, the day-to-day operations of Indie Recordings North America will be
handled by Prosthetic Records' Los Angeles office.
"After evaluating several opportunities of how to structure our new
efforts in North America, it became very
obvious that Prosthetic Records were the by far best partner for
us," says Indie Recordings general manager Erlend Gjerde.
"As a label that shares the same philosophy of building bands, we felt
very at home with them, and having been friends for years and working together
on artists like 1349 and OV HELL in the past, the foundation was
already there. We are very excited about this and look forward to bringing the
forces of Satan and Indie Recordings to North America."
The first release by Indie Recordings North America will be legendary
Viking metal act EINJERHER's new album, "Norrøn", due
out on September 13. The group's first release in eight years, the CD was
produced by EINHERJER's Frode Glesnes and mixed and mastered by Matt
Hyde (SLAYER, CHILDREN OF BODOM).
From there, September 27 will see the release of a limited-edition, deluxe
CD/DVD reissue of KVELERTAK's genre-defying self-titled debut, which
will feature four live audio tracks, two demos, three music videos, five live
videos, documentaries, extended artwork, a poster and more. Certified gold in Norway, "Kvelertak" was one of 2010's most acclaimed underground releases. The new deluxe version
is limited to 5,000 copies worldwide.
Later this year, Indie Recordings North America will release a
limited-edition box set of 1349's 2010 album "Demonoir" — hailed by Metal Hammer as "a massive and undeniable return to
form" — that will be available exclusively at FYE, as well as GOD
SEED's "Live at Wacken" CD/DVD. More details about these
releases will be revealed in the coming weeks.
Additionally, "Goddamnit", the 2010 DVD by Norwegian black n'
roll band VREID — which kicks off a North American tour later this month
— is now available officially for the first time in the U.S. and Canada via Indie's
new North American webshop.
For more information, visit www.indierecordings.us.
According to The
Associated Press, vocalist/guitarist Adam "Nergal" Darski of Polish extreme metallers BEHEMOTH was found innocent of offending
religious feelings in connection with a September 2007 incident when he
reportedly called the Catholic Church "the most murderous cult on the
planet" during the band's performance in Gdynia and tore up a copy of the
Bible, calling it "a book of lies" (see video below).
A Polish judge ruled earlier today (Thursday, August 18) that Darski's
ripping up of a Bible during a show was a form of artistic expression
consistent with the style of his band.
Judge Krzysztof Wieckowski said he considered Darski's actions
"a form of art." He added that the court had no intention of limiting
freedom of expression or the right to criticize religion.
The court said audience members who testified said their religious feelings had
not been hurt despite the fact they were Christians.
Commented Nergal: "I'm so glad to see that intelligence won over
religious fanatics in my home country. Though there's still so much work to be
done to make things right… But I'm sure that I'm on the right path to ultimate
freedom! The battle is won, but the war ain't over."
Darski's case had already been considered by the District Court in Gdynia. At the end of
June last year, that court dismissed the case after determining that no crime
had occurred. The prosecution subsequently filed an appeal and in September
last year, the Gdansk Regional Court ordered the case to be reheard.
After the September 2007 incident, Ryszard Nowak, head of the All-Polish
Committee for Defense Against Sects sued BEHEMOTH for promoting
Satanism. Although a court expert witness on religious matters said that the
act of destroying the Holy Bible could offend somebody's religious feelings,
the case was discontinued because no one except Nowak accused BEHEMOTH of insulting their religious beliefs. (Under Polish law, there must be at least
two formal complaints before a charge is laid. The previous complaint was made
in 2008, and recently an unspecified number of other complaints had been
filed.)
In a 2009 interview with Decibel magazine, BEHEMOTH bassist Tomasz
"Orion" Wróblewski explained that the Bible-tearing incident was
by no means a spontaneous outburst. "We'd been doing that for two years on
tour before it happened in Poland,"
he said. "So, we had discussed it many times before. A BEHEMOTH show is a BEHEMOTH show, and BEHEMOTH fans are coming to a BEHEMOTH show. BEHEMOTH fans know what BEHEMOTH is about, know what the
lyrics are about, and know at least a little of the philosophy behind the band.
So, it's kind of surprising that there are people coming to the shows and
feeling offended with what we do onstage. If such a person comes to a show, he
comes with the purpose of being offended, I guess, and it shouldn't be like
that. We're not offending any particular person. We're just offending the
religion that we've been raised in."
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