Judas Priest's final world tour comes to Winston-Salem this Sunday. (courtesy photo)
The Old Ones were, the Old Ones are, and the Old Ones shall be. Strange, but not all that surprising, that an aphorism straight from the quill of Lovecraft can so aptly be repurposed from the Elder Gods to the Metal Gods. With screaming twin lead guitars, jackhammer rhythm, songs glorifying reckless badassedness and a four-octave-range frontman clad in more leather than Ron Burgundy's book collection, Judas Priest have been objects of profane idolatry for nearly four decades. They consecrated metal culture for the post-disco era and the likeness of singer Rob Halford remains synonymous with the menace inherent in the once-misunderstood genre.
Yet, for all the hoopla surrounding the gargantuan final world tour by the Brit pioneers, Halford remains unwavering in his commitment to his craft. He insists the retirement of founding Priest guitarist KK Downing and a lawsuit against his former manager will not impede the band's output. To man Downing's vacated spot and infuse youth into Priest, they recruited guitarist Richie Faulkner, who was born only months before the release of British Steel. It's a statement that the band is by no means finished because, as Halford would put it, there's still a lot of heavy lifting to be done.
YES! Weekly: Since this isn't the end of touring for Priest altogether, but what will you do with the time off of the road that you will have?
Rob Halford: Knowing us we'll be slaving away making more metal. That's just one side of Judas Priest, that we all still get tremendous pleasure out of writing heavy metal music. It's not only a great source of joy, but it's still a challenge obviously because you can start the day with nothing and end the day with a piece of metal that will live longer than you will. That's always exciting to contemplate. So we're not really slowing down all that much, we're just doing things on a different timetable. This world tour is the last one, but that doesn't mean to say that we'll be in heavy metal rocking chairs for six months of the year.
Y!W: Where do the influences on the new music arrive from? Do you pay attention to new offshoots of metal?
RH: We've always acknowledged that it's very foolish if you're in a band and you don't turn your radar on. It's very easy to kind of get lost in your on world — and that's a great thing to do — but every generation that we've experienced has been very inspirational to Judas Priest.
We listen to all kinds of metal. You keep your eyes and ears open. The trail that we've left is very diverse. We've been all over the play with our metal, and a lot of that has to do with the fact that we've tried to be very aware of what's going on all around us in the metal world.
Y!W: What about your side projects? Any possibility of reviving 2wo or Fight?
RH: I don't really know. I never say never, like Justin Bieber. Where the hell did that come from? Shows you how connected I am. You can't say no. It's crazy to say know to things like that in life. You just have to accept the possibility and if it works it works. If it doesn't then it doesn't.
Y!W: The tour's setlist hits on every Priest album you were involved with, but were there any songs that you struggled to exclude?
RH: No, I think we pretty much nailed it on this one. I mean, you try and take your fans through as many different emotional twists and turns as you can, and that's what we're doing with this particular show. It's about two hours and 20 minutes, and by the end of it, we're all very tired. The fans walk away with a heart full of metal, and that's how it should be.
Y!W: In an ideal world, KK Downing would be finishing the final world tour with the band, but how was it to assimilate Richie Faulkner?
RH: Firstly, he's a consummate professional musician. He stepped up to the plate and just melted it. He's just a stellar performer and brought a new dimension to the band. That's not to say anything bad about KK, because these are the songs that him and myself brought together. But Richie has brought this tremendous energy and we're excited about where that is going to take us on the new record. We can't wait to get him in the studio.
Y!W: Will KK's playing be heard on the new record at all? RH: Of course, we had written the bulk of the material before we ever found Richie and we've got such a strong connection there that I think it would be foolish to ignore what Richie can bring. He's got this portable studio and he's already shared some of his ideas with us. We've always written from the heart, and having said that, we all agree that the next one needs to be a classic British heavy metal album because that's where we came from. The bulk of what we have now is very, very strong stuff in that regard.
Judas Priest's Epitaph tour comes to the LJVM with Black Label Society and Thin Lizzy on Sunday.
The GUNS N' ROSES biography "Reckless Road: Guns N' Roses And The Making Of Appetite For Destruction", in which author Marc Canter tells of the making of the band's multimillion-selling debut, "Appetite for Destruction", will be released in the U.K. on December 1 as a Classic Rock bookazine called "Classic Rock Presents Reckless Road: Guns N' Roses And The Making Of Appetite For Destruction".
Marc Canter is an amateur photographer and the owner and general manager of the legendary rock 'n' roll hangout Canter's Deli in Los Angeles, California. He has been friends with Slash for over 34 years and, has had unlimited access to the formative years of one of the greatest rock bands of all time, GUNS N' ROSES. An avid collector, Canter is proud and excited to share his memories with the public for the first time.
When teenager and amateur photographer Marc Canter set out to document his best friend Saul Hudson's rise as a rock guitarist in 1982, he never imagined he was documenting the genesis of the next great rock 'n' roll band. His friend became the legendary guitarist Slash, and Canter found himself witnessing the creation of GUNS N' ROSES front and center. The candid shots contained in "Reckless Road", taken as the band toured in 1985-1987 and made the legendary album "Appetite For Destruction", capture their raw, blood-sweat-and-tears performances as well as their intimate moments. Containing original gig memorabilia including show flyers, ticket stubs, set lists, press clippings, and handwritten lyrics as well as in-depth interviews with band members and the people closest to them, "Reckless Road" offers an explicit, first-person perspective readers won't find anywhere else.
Originally published in America in 2008, "Reckless Road" contains interviews with Slash, Duff McKagan and Steven Adler, as well as groupies, failed producers, and former managers and bandmates. Canter amassed a treasure trove of memorabilia, including:
* Lyrics to "My Michelle", written on the back of a water-stained flier
* A $37,500 advance check from Geffen that has Slash's name misspelled as "Stash"
* 1,000 never-before-seen photos
* Audio/video recordings for the bands first 50 shows
For more information, visit www.recklessroad.com.
Marc Canter is an amateur photographer and the owner and general manager of the legendary rock 'n' roll hangout Canter's Deli in Los Angeles, California. He has been friends with Slash for over 34 years and, has had unlimited access to the formative years of one of the greatest rock bands of all time, GUNS N' ROSES. An avid collector, Canter is proud and excited to share his memories with the public for the first time.
When teenager and amateur photographer Marc Canter set out to document his best friend Saul Hudson's rise as a rock guitarist in 1982, he never imagined he was documenting the genesis of the next great rock 'n' roll band. His friend became the legendary guitarist Slash, and Canter found himself witnessing the creation of GUNS N' ROSES front and center. The candid shots contained in "Reckless Road", taken as the band toured in 1985-1987 and made the legendary album "Appetite For Destruction", capture their raw, blood-sweat-and-tears performances as well as their intimate moments. Containing original gig memorabilia including show flyers, ticket stubs, set lists, press clippings, and handwritten lyrics as well as in-depth interviews with band members and the people closest to them, "Reckless Road" offers an explicit, first-person perspective readers won't find anywhere else.
Originally published in America in 2008, "Reckless Road" contains interviews with Slash, Duff McKagan and Steven Adler, as well as groupies, failed producers, and former managers and bandmates. Canter amassed a treasure trove of memorabilia, including:
* Lyrics to "My Michelle", written on the back of a water-stained flier
* A $37,500 advance check from Geffen that has Slash's name misspelled as "Stash"
* 1,000 never-before-seen photos
* Audio/video recordings for the bands first 50 shows
For more information, visit www.recklessroad.com.
Tommy Stinson released a terrific new solo album, "One Man Mutiny,'' earlier this year full of loose-limbed, Stones-y rave-ups (with a portion of its proceeds benefiting the Timkatec Schools in Haiti). But the former bassist for the seminal Minneapolis alt-rock band the Replacements hasn't had much time to promote it. Stinson has been busy touring with the current lineup of Guns N' Roses, in which he is now one of the longest-serving members, and with whom he finally made his recorded debut on the long-awaited 2008 album, "Chinese Democracy.'' (Stinson also plays with fellow Twin Cities rockers Soul Asylum when he's got time.)
This past Sunday night we saw Stinson roar through two-and-a-half hours with GNR in Pennsylvania, and even with only frontman Axl Rose as the sole surviving original member and a typically tedious between set wait, the band gave its all - see for yourself when the band plays the DCU Center tonight. We caught up with Stinson by phone from a Houston tour stop to talk Guns, 'Mats, and what's up with those late start times.
Q. GNR is playing for nearly three hours. Are you just exhausted at the end of the night?
A. I'm still burnt from last night's show. (Laughs.) It's a marathon. But there's a lot of music that the people want to hear from the old stuff, and there's a lot of stuff we want to promote from "Chinese Democracy.'' We never really promoted that record and neither did the record company.
Q. I'm sure I'm not the first to say this, but I was doing the math and I just realized you've been a replacement longer than you were a Replacement. How does that feel?
A. And longer than [original GNR members] were in the [expletive] band. (Laughs.) That's [expletive] funny.
Q. It's your life, so I'm sure it seems normal to you.
A. Well, it doesn't seem normal to me but it's what I do. (Laughs.) There ain't nothing about this that seems normal. I've lived a pretty kooky existence.
Q. And speaking of kooky, is there any way to sit down with Axl and say there's no reason that fans should have to wait up to three hours between the opening act and GNR?
A. There is no reason ever for that to be.
Q. So why does it happen? What is happening during the time that people are waiting?
A. You know what? I don't even know. I just know that some days my boy gets [expletive] derailed. I know he does his best to get out there on time. He doesn't want to make people wait and bum out on him but, again, he can't play before he's ready either.
Q. Maybe he should start getting ready earlier then, because he must be paying all kinds of overtime and fines at these arenas which must be eating into the tour profits.
A. You've got a good point there. You know, that's never been something he's ever given a [expletive] about. When he's ready to put on his best show that's when he's going to put it on, and if it's on the late side so be it. He'll gladly pay the extra money.
Q. What's happening during the breaks for you? Napping? Warming up?
RAMON ESPINOSA/AP/FILE 2010
"I've lived a pretty kooky existence,'' says Stinson.
A. I'm usually sitting on the bus playing my guitar trying to remember my own songs. (Laughs).
Q. Speaking of your songs, I heard the title track to "One Man Mutiny'' came out of a GNR bus dispute, is that right?
A. Yeah. I was inadvertently dragged into an inner-bus dispute about some travel plans that someone was going to make a big stink about and include me. And I came out and said, "Hey man, you have your own mutiny, I'm a one man mutiny,'' and from there we had a laugh about it and by the time we'd gone from Ireland to Belgium, I had the whole song written. I included [GNR keyboardist] Dizzy [Reed] and [guitarist] Richard Fortus on it because it was our dispute. (Laughs.)
Q. It's been three years since "Chinese Democracy''; is GNR working on a new record?
A. I've been hearing about us going into "writing mode'' after this run, so if that's the case, I look forward to it.
Q. After all this time, do you feel insulated from the whole "It's not Guns N' Roses'' complaint? Does it bother you that some fans don't consider it a "real'' band?
A. I couldn't really give a [expletive]. I've always just played and done my bit, whatever that is, playing in the 'Mats or Guns or Soul Asylum. I just show up and have a good time, that's my role. . . . The whole idea of joining this band was a [expletive] crapshoot to begin with. And you know what? It was a good idea then, it's a good idea now. I have fun with him. We have a blast playing together.
Q. Since Axl does press so infrequently people must ask you all the time how he is. Sometimes when people are reclusive, their fans assume they're unhappy or worse.
A. I think his silence has worked for him. I think that over all the years you've had [former band members] going on about Axl this and Axl that, and he's kept his mouth shut and is waiting for when he's ready to spill the beans, according to him. That day is coming I think. I think he's feeling more comfortable with the idea of talking publicly about some of this [stuff] and setting the record straight from his point of view.
Q. As someone who writes about music I am contractually obligated to ask if there is ever going to be a Replacements reunion.
A. That's probably about as likely as a Guns reunion, I suppose. No possibility. (Laughs.)
Interview was edited and condensed. Sarah Rodman can be reached at srodman@globe.com.
MÖTLEY CRÜE will make a "big announcement" during an appearance on this Thursday's (December 1) and Friday's (December 2) editions of "Piers Morgan Tonight", the nightly hourlong show that replaced "Larry King Live" on CNN in January. Tune in at 9 p.m. Eastern/6 p.m. Pacific to see it. Until then, the band is revealing some clues. The first one can be seen below. Check back tomorrow for the next one.
According to Robin Leach of the Las Vegas Sun, MÖTLEY CRÜE will become the first hard rock band to sign a short-term residency at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. The CRÜE is rumored to be playing a nearly monthlong series of three-and four-night concerts a week at the off-Strip casino starting at the end of February.
MÖTLEY CRÜE wrapped one of summer's biggest rock tours as headliners and honorees for the Sunset Strip Music Festival (SSMF) live on Sunset Boulevard on August 20. The show, a combination of classic hit songs, massive pyro and fireworks displays, state-of-the-art sound and visual effects — including "The 360" drum coaster, with electronic music sensation deadmau5 joining Tommy Lee for a ride — rocked over 15,000 fans. It marked the largest crowd ever for the SSMF.
MÖTLEY CRÜE's summer trek landed the group on the Billboard "Hot Tours" chart six times since the tour launch, marking it as one of the legendary rock group's most successful tours to date. The 48-city trek tour — which kicked off on June 24 and wrapped in August — was one of the summer's highest grossing, packing amphitheaters and arenas all summer long, drawing half a million fans.
Ten years ago, MÖTLEY CRÜE's biography, "The Dirt: Confessions Of The World's Most Notorious Rock Band" — penned with collaborator extraordinaire Neil Strauss — set a new bar for rock 'n' roll memoirs. A runaway bestseller and genuine cultural phenomenon, this turbocharged blockbuster is still flying off shelves a decade after its initial publication.
The book takes readers along for the whole wild ride of MÖTLEY CRÜE — the voice of a barely pubescent Generation X, the anointed high priests of backward-masking pentagram rock, pioneers of Hollywood glam, and the creators of MTV's first "power ballad." Their sex lives claimed celebrities from Heather Locklear to Pamela Anderson to Donna D'Errico. Their scuffles involved everyone from Axl Rose to 2LiveCrew. Their hobbies include collecting automatic weapons, cultivating long arrest records, pushing the envelope of conceivable drug abuse, and dreaming up backstage antics that would make Ozzy Osbourne blanch with modesty.
Now, in time for MÖTLEY's 30th anniversary — and a new tour! — comes a deluxe collector's hardcover edition of the book, complete with a dazzling new effects-laden cover and all-new extra material from the band inside.
The deluxe collector's hardcover edition of "The Dirt: Confessions Of The World's Most Notorious Rock Band" was made available on December 6 via It Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
It was reported in 2008 that MÖTLEY CRÜE was trying to extricate itself from a deal with MTV Films, a division of Paramount Pictures, to make the "The Dirt" movie.
A deal was first announced for the film version in 2006 but has since gone nowhere. Bassist Nikki Sixx told Reuters that MTV was "a channel that used to be hip and has now actually become unhip...They are not the right partner."
According to Robin Leach of the Las Vegas Sun, MÖTLEY CRÜE will become the first hard rock band to sign a short-term residency at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. The CRÜE is rumored to be playing a nearly monthlong series of three-and four-night concerts a week at the off-Strip casino starting at the end of February.
MÖTLEY CRÜE wrapped one of summer's biggest rock tours as headliners and honorees for the Sunset Strip Music Festival (SSMF) live on Sunset Boulevard on August 20. The show, a combination of classic hit songs, massive pyro and fireworks displays, state-of-the-art sound and visual effects — including "The 360" drum coaster, with electronic music sensation deadmau5 joining Tommy Lee for a ride — rocked over 15,000 fans. It marked the largest crowd ever for the SSMF.
MÖTLEY CRÜE's summer trek landed the group on the Billboard "Hot Tours" chart six times since the tour launch, marking it as one of the legendary rock group's most successful tours to date. The 48-city trek tour — which kicked off on June 24 and wrapped in August — was one of the summer's highest grossing, packing amphitheaters and arenas all summer long, drawing half a million fans.
Ten years ago, MÖTLEY CRÜE's biography, "The Dirt: Confessions Of The World's Most Notorious Rock Band" — penned with collaborator extraordinaire Neil Strauss — set a new bar for rock 'n' roll memoirs. A runaway bestseller and genuine cultural phenomenon, this turbocharged blockbuster is still flying off shelves a decade after its initial publication.
The book takes readers along for the whole wild ride of MÖTLEY CRÜE — the voice of a barely pubescent Generation X, the anointed high priests of backward-masking pentagram rock, pioneers of Hollywood glam, and the creators of MTV's first "power ballad." Their sex lives claimed celebrities from Heather Locklear to Pamela Anderson to Donna D'Errico. Their scuffles involved everyone from Axl Rose to 2LiveCrew. Their hobbies include collecting automatic weapons, cultivating long arrest records, pushing the envelope of conceivable drug abuse, and dreaming up backstage antics that would make Ozzy Osbourne blanch with modesty.
Now, in time for MÖTLEY's 30th anniversary — and a new tour! — comes a deluxe collector's hardcover edition of the book, complete with a dazzling new effects-laden cover and all-new extra material from the band inside.
The deluxe collector's hardcover edition of "The Dirt: Confessions Of The World's Most Notorious Rock Band" was made available on December 6 via It Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
It was reported in 2008 that MÖTLEY CRÜE was trying to extricate itself from a deal with MTV Films, a division of Paramount Pictures, to make the "The Dirt" movie.
A deal was first announced for the film version in 2006 but has since gone nowhere. Bassist Nikki Sixx told Reuters that MTV was "a channel that used to be hip and has now actually become unhip...They are not the right partner."
MÖTLEY CRÜE will make a "big announcement" during an appearance on this Thursday's (December 1) and Friday's (December 2) editions of "Piers Morgan Tonight", the nightly hourlong show that replaced "Larry King Live" on CNN in January. Tune in at 9 p.m. Eastern/6 p.m. Pacific to see it. Until then, the band is revealing some clues. The latest hint comes from MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx, who writes on his Facebook page, "Your guesses [based on the first clue] were good for something else, but not for this... If we went back in 'history' and it was a rattlesnake it would of [sic] bit you in the ass. The hint couldn't be any clearer if it was the nose on your face… Let me make this clearer for you...:) ...Any ideas now?"
According to Robin Leach of the Las Vegas Sun, MÖTLEY CRÜE will become the first hard rock band to sign a short-term residency at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. The CRÜE is rumored to be playing a nearly monthlong series of three-and four-night concerts a week at the off-Strip casino starting at the end of February.
Ten years ago, MÖTLEY CRÜE's biography, "The Dirt: Confessions Of The World's Most Notorious Rock Band" — penned with collaborator extraordinaire Neil Strauss — set a new bar for rock 'n' roll memoirs. A runaway bestseller and genuine cultural phenomenon, this turbocharged blockbuster is still flying off shelves a decade after its initial publication.
The book takes readers along for the whole wild ride of MÖTLEY CRÜE — the voice of a barely pubescent Generation X, the anointed high priests of backward-masking pentagram rock, pioneers of Hollywood glam, and the creators of MTV's first "power ballad." Their sex lives claimed celebrities from Heather Locklear to Pamela Anderson to Donna D'Errico. Their scuffles involved everyone from Axl Rose to 2LiveCrew. Their hobbies include collecting automatic weapons, cultivating long arrest records, pushing the envelope of conceivable drug abuse, and dreaming up backstage antics that would make Ozzy Osbourne blanch with modesty.
Now, in time for MÖTLEY's 30th anniversary — and a new tour! — comes a deluxe collector's hardcover edition of the book, complete with a dazzling new effects-laden cover and all-new extra material from the band inside.
The deluxe collector's hardcover edition of "The Dirt: Confessions Of The World's Most Notorious Rock Band" was made available on December 6 via It Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
According to Robin Leach of the Las Vegas Sun, MÖTLEY CRÜE will become the first hard rock band to sign a short-term residency at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. The CRÜE is rumored to be playing a nearly monthlong series of three-and four-night concerts a week at the off-Strip casino starting at the end of February.
Ten years ago, MÖTLEY CRÜE's biography, "The Dirt: Confessions Of The World's Most Notorious Rock Band" — penned with collaborator extraordinaire Neil Strauss — set a new bar for rock 'n' roll memoirs. A runaway bestseller and genuine cultural phenomenon, this turbocharged blockbuster is still flying off shelves a decade after its initial publication.
The book takes readers along for the whole wild ride of MÖTLEY CRÜE — the voice of a barely pubescent Generation X, the anointed high priests of backward-masking pentagram rock, pioneers of Hollywood glam, and the creators of MTV's first "power ballad." Their sex lives claimed celebrities from Heather Locklear to Pamela Anderson to Donna D'Errico. Their scuffles involved everyone from Axl Rose to 2LiveCrew. Their hobbies include collecting automatic weapons, cultivating long arrest records, pushing the envelope of conceivable drug abuse, and dreaming up backstage antics that would make Ozzy Osbourne blanch with modesty.
Now, in time for MÖTLEY's 30th anniversary — and a new tour! — comes a deluxe collector's hardcover edition of the book, complete with a dazzling new effects-laden cover and all-new extra material from the band inside.
The deluxe collector's hardcover edition of "The Dirt: Confessions Of The World's Most Notorious Rock Band" was made available on December 6 via It Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
MÖTLEY CRÜE will make a "big announcement" during an appearance on this Thursday's (December 1) and Friday's (December 2) editions of "Piers Morgan Tonight", the nightly hourlong show that replaced "Larry King Live" on CNN in January. Tune in at 9 p.m. Eastern/6 p.m. Pacific to see it. Until then, the band is revealing some clues. The second one can be seen below. The third clue, which will to be revealed tomorrow, is expected to be the word "band," with the letter "N" in red. Then the three red letters will spell out "sin," alluding to Las Vegas, Nevada, which is commonly known as "Sin City" due to the popularity of legalized gambling, availability of alcoholic beverages at any time, and its tolerance of various forms of "adult entertainment", mainly prostitution and strip clubs.
According to Robin Leach of the Las Vegas Sun, MÖTLEY CRÜE will become the first hard rock band to sign a short-term residency at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. The CRÜE is rumored to be playing a nearly monthlong series of three-and four-night concerts a week at the off-Strip casino starting at the end of February.
Ten years ago, MÖTLEY CRÜE's biography, "The Dirt: Confessions Of The World's Most Notorious Rock Band" — penned with collaborator extraordinaire Neil Strauss — set a new bar for rock 'n' roll memoirs. A runaway bestseller and genuine cultural phenomenon, this turbocharged blockbuster is still flying off shelves a decade after its initial publication.
The book takes readers along for the whole wild ride of MÖTLEY CRÜE — the voice of a barely pubescent Generation X, the anointed high priests of backward-masking pentagram rock, pioneers of Hollywood glam, and the creators of MTV's first "power ballad." Their sex lives claimed celebrities from Heather Locklear to Pamela Anderson to Donna D'Errico. Their scuffles involved everyone from Axl Rose to 2LiveCrew. Their hobbies include collecting automatic weapons, cultivating long arrest records, pushing the envelope of conceivable drug abuse, and dreaming up backstage antics that would make Ozzy Osbourne blanch with modesty.
Now, in time for MÖTLEY's 30th anniversary — and a new tour! — comes a deluxe collector's hardcover edition of the book, complete with a dazzling new effects-laden cover and all-new extra material from the band inside.
The deluxe collector's hardcover edition of "The Dirt: Confessions Of The World's Most Notorious Rock Band" was made available on December 6 via It Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
According to Robin Leach of the Las Vegas Sun, MÖTLEY CRÜE will become the first hard rock band to sign a short-term residency at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas. The CRÜE is rumored to be playing a nearly monthlong series of three-and four-night concerts a week at the off-Strip casino starting at the end of February.
Ten years ago, MÖTLEY CRÜE's biography, "The Dirt: Confessions Of The World's Most Notorious Rock Band" — penned with collaborator extraordinaire Neil Strauss — set a new bar for rock 'n' roll memoirs. A runaway bestseller and genuine cultural phenomenon, this turbocharged blockbuster is still flying off shelves a decade after its initial publication.
The book takes readers along for the whole wild ride of MÖTLEY CRÜE — the voice of a barely pubescent Generation X, the anointed high priests of backward-masking pentagram rock, pioneers of Hollywood glam, and the creators of MTV's first "power ballad." Their sex lives claimed celebrities from Heather Locklear to Pamela Anderson to Donna D'Errico. Their scuffles involved everyone from Axl Rose to 2LiveCrew. Their hobbies include collecting automatic weapons, cultivating long arrest records, pushing the envelope of conceivable drug abuse, and dreaming up backstage antics that would make Ozzy Osbourne blanch with modesty.
Now, in time for MÖTLEY's 30th anniversary — and a new tour! — comes a deluxe collector's hardcover edition of the book, complete with a dazzling new effects-laden cover and all-new extra material from the band inside.
The deluxe collector's hardcover edition of "The Dirt: Confessions Of The World's Most Notorious Rock Band" was made available on December 6 via It Books, an imprint of HarperCollins Publishers.
http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/soulflypremiere/motleysecond.jpg
Legendary rock band THE CULT has re-teamed with producer Bob Rock for the recording sessions for the group's long-awaited ninth album, tentatively due in early 2012 via Cooking Vinyl Records.
A photo of THE CULT guitarist Billy Duffy in the studio with Rock putting the "the finishing touches" on the band's new CD can be seen below.
Bob Rock previously worked with THE CULT on 1989's "Sonic Temple", 1994's "The Cult" and the 2001 comeback album "Beyond Good And Evil".
In a recent interview with ViperRoom.com, THE CULT bassist Chris Wyse stated about the status of the band's new CD, "The new THE CULT deal is with [the] Cooking Vinyl [label]. We're in good company with THE PRODIGY and MARILYN MANSON. The record is nearly done; Ian [Astbury] is probably doing vocals right now. It is due out April 2012!! This record is kind of a ZEP/STOOGES mix of energy, and I believe showcases a new level of depth for THE CULT."
THE CULT's most recent release. "Capsule 2: New Blood Deep Cuts", featured new songs "Embers" and "Until The Light Takes Us", live recordings of some of the band's huge hits and an intimate look into THE CULT's rehearsal space, with a never-before-seen warm-up performance of "Black Angel".
Rather than revisit the traditional method of releasing a long form CD, the band pioneered a new way of providing material. Capsules span multiple media formats including vinyl, digital, USB, CD and DVD formats, and can be purchased at CultCapsuleStore.com.
THE CULT is Ian Astbury (vocals), Billy Duffy (guitar), Chris Wyse (bass), John Tempesta (drums) and Mike Dimkich (rhythm guitar).
A photo of THE CULT guitarist Billy Duffy in the studio with Rock putting the "the finishing touches" on the band's new CD can be seen below.
Bob Rock previously worked with THE CULT on 1989's "Sonic Temple", 1994's "The Cult" and the 2001 comeback album "Beyond Good And Evil".
In a recent interview with ViperRoom.com, THE CULT bassist Chris Wyse stated about the status of the band's new CD, "The new THE CULT deal is with [the] Cooking Vinyl [label]. We're in good company with THE PRODIGY and MARILYN MANSON. The record is nearly done; Ian [Astbury] is probably doing vocals right now. It is due out April 2012!! This record is kind of a ZEP/STOOGES mix of energy, and I believe showcases a new level of depth for THE CULT."
THE CULT's most recent release. "Capsule 2: New Blood Deep Cuts", featured new songs "Embers" and "Until The Light Takes Us", live recordings of some of the band's huge hits and an intimate look into THE CULT's rehearsal space, with a never-before-seen warm-up performance of "Black Angel".
Rather than revisit the traditional method of releasing a long form CD, the band pioneered a new way of providing material. Capsules span multiple media formats including vinyl, digital, USB, CD and DVD formats, and can be purchased at CultCapsuleStore.com.
THE CULT is Ian Astbury (vocals), Billy Duffy (guitar), Chris Wyse (bass), John Tempesta (drums) and Mike Dimkich (rhythm guitar).
According to Tempo.co, ANTHRAX has been forced to postpone its previously announced dates in Indonesia and Japan.
"The [December 10 concert at Pantai Carnaval in Ancol, North Jakarta, Indonesia] is not canceled but is being rescheduled for March 31," Jimmy Reagan Fernandes, Blade Indonesia's head of marketing, told Tempo.co. "[ANTHRAX's] drummer, Charlie Benante, can't play the gig because a member of his family is sick." ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian also tweeted "not canceled, postponed," in response to a question from a fan regarding the status of the Indonesian and Japanese shows.
This is the second time this year that ANTHRAX has postponed its Japanese tour. The group previously called off its spring 2011 Japanese trek with HELLYEAH, which was slated to kick off on May 5 in Tokyo.
ANTHRAX has just completed a U.S. tour with TESTAMENT and DEATH ANGEL. The trek kicked off on October 14 in Grand Rapids, Michigan and concluded on November 19 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
ANTHRAX's new album, "Worship Music", sold 28,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 12 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's previous studio CD, 2003's "We've Come For You All", opened with just under 10,000 units to debut at No. 122.
The CD cover artwork for "Worship Music" was handled by renowned comic book artist Alex Ross, who has worked with Marvel Comics and DC Comics and is known for his "Marvels", "Kingdom Come", and "Astro City" illustrations. Ross also did the original artwork for ANTHRAX's "We've Come For You All" and "Music Of Mass Destruction" albums.
"Worship Music" was produced by ANTHRAX, Rob Caggiano and Jay Ruston and recorded over a four-year period at studios in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Singer Joey Belladonna's return to the band prompted some of the songs originally recorded with previous singer Dan Nelson to be re-crafted with fresh lyrics or tweaked to better suit his overall vibe and energy. Some of the songs were completely replaced with brand-new songs and, of course, all have Belladonna's inimitable vocal stamp on them.
"The [December 10 concert at Pantai Carnaval in Ancol, North Jakarta, Indonesia] is not canceled but is being rescheduled for March 31," Jimmy Reagan Fernandes, Blade Indonesia's head of marketing, told Tempo.co. "[ANTHRAX's] drummer, Charlie Benante, can't play the gig because a member of his family is sick." ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian also tweeted "not canceled, postponed," in response to a question from a fan regarding the status of the Indonesian and Japanese shows.
This is the second time this year that ANTHRAX has postponed its Japanese tour. The group previously called off its spring 2011 Japanese trek with HELLYEAH, which was slated to kick off on May 5 in Tokyo.
ANTHRAX has just completed a U.S. tour with TESTAMENT and DEATH ANGEL. The trek kicked off on October 14 in Grand Rapids, Michigan and concluded on November 19 in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
ANTHRAX's new album, "Worship Music", sold 28,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 12 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's previous studio CD, 2003's "We've Come For You All", opened with just under 10,000 units to debut at No. 122.
The CD cover artwork for "Worship Music" was handled by renowned comic book artist Alex Ross, who has worked with Marvel Comics and DC Comics and is known for his "Marvels", "Kingdom Come", and "Astro City" illustrations. Ross also did the original artwork for ANTHRAX's "We've Come For You All" and "Music Of Mass Destruction" albums.
"Worship Music" was produced by ANTHRAX, Rob Caggiano and Jay Ruston and recorded over a four-year period at studios in New York, Los Angeles and Chicago. Singer Joey Belladonna's return to the band prompted some of the songs originally recorded with previous singer Dan Nelson to be re-crafted with fresh lyrics or tweaked to better suit his overall vibe and energy. Some of the songs were completely replaced with brand-new songs and, of course, all have Belladonna's inimitable vocal stamp on them.
There are some musicians who wear their rock star status like a golden crown twenty-four/seven. And then there are musicians who walk down the street and you'd never know they were in a superstar band. They chat with you while in line at the supermarket and wear the same old ripped-up jeans they've had for years. Being a rock star just never crossed their minds. Frank Bello of Anthrax is that kind of rock star.
"It's just me," he laughed when I told him I was honored to be interviewing him. Just a regular guy at the vet with his wife and son because his beloved dog was having some eye problems, his everyday job just happens to be playing bass in front of thousands of people on a pretty regular basis. But if you met him on the street, I bet you'd never know he was THE Frank Bello.
The first thing I want to ask you, Frank, is if you can believe you have been in Anthrax over twenty years? Actually it's closer to thirty years, right?
Closer to thirty years, absolutely. We had this whole experience at Yankee Stadium (Clash of Titans with Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth) and that's where it came to this culmination of it all. It's like, Oh my God. Not only was it an oh-my-God statement playing Yankee Stadium, which nobody usually does and nor did we did think we would, but it's been a good run. We've had our ups and downs, obviously, like life takes you but it's been a good run for the most part and now there's this whole big resurgence going on and Anthrax comes out with a record, Worship Music, and it debuted at number twelve, which we completely did not expect. There is a lot going on and I didn't expect it to debut at number twelve. A lot of people are digging what we're doing and I couldn't be more psyched right now.
I've been listening to the new CD and I am agreeing with what everyone is saying in that this could be your best CD ever. It's just amazing.
Wow, thank you. You know what, hearing that couldn't be a bigger thank you from anybody, the reviewers, fans in general, musicians, Eddie Trunk, who is a good friend of ours from years ago, saying it's the best album of our career. I can't say thank you anymore than I have cause it's all the hard work and the pain. There's been a lot of stuff going on with this band for the last year as everybody knows. Eight years ago was the last record. This one, there was a lot of ups and downs where nobody knew what the hell was going to go on next and to come out and have the kind of reaction we're getting from people is just the ultimate thank you. We have to say that to people, thank you for understanding, and I think people are hearing all the songs and hearing what we went through in the songs, which is really important.
Well, I think it is amazing and my favorite songs are "I'm Alive" and "The Constant".
(laughs) You know what is amazing? And I thank you for that of course. Hearing different people's takes on the record. And you picked two completely different songs that a lot of the people haven't been picking, which is great, I love it. There are songs on the record that you can go to that are your songs and got to be your favorite songs that aren't the average everybody's. I think everybody's got their pick which is a testament to, thank God, I think we did something right here.
You have a tour coming up with Testament.
Oh yeah, we're stoked. I'm getting my liver ready (laughs). Testament are some good friends of ours and we haven't seen each other in awhile, touring wise, so Testament and Death Angel. A good friend of mine who I grew up with, Johnny Tempesta is playing drums in Testament and we couldn't be more excited cause of the fan base and the shows are selling really well, from what I'm hearing, and there's a good buzz on the tour and I can't wait to play these songs live.
I'd like to know where you grew up and what kind of kid you were.
I grew up in the Bronx, New York, and really it was all about music and sports for me when I was growing up. That was it, that was my religion, my everyday thing. My thing was to get the new Iron Maiden record, Judas Priest record, and then go watch the Yankees game later on or maybe go to a game or go play ball outside. And that was truly my upbringing. I was very fortunate to have that kind of upbringing. I grew up without a dad. I grew up living in my Grandmother's house with my Aunt. So it was just a perfect thing to have with my heroes being musicians and they turned out to be bass players.
Did your family support your love of music?
Absolutely, still to this day. They all came to Yankee Stadium and it was like a big thank you for all the support. From day one they knew it was a love, that it was a passion, and they said, "Go for it", and I love them for that. And I have learned through that having a five year old myself so it'll be all about music and whatever you want to do in life because I was lucky enough to have that freedom and I intend to do the same.
What the first band that you totally worshiped?
That's easy, KISS. Just because it was the songs, they had the full package and that Oh-my-God vibe. I mean, obviously, when you say the full package, that was it. They had the show, they had the songs that I loved, just everything about them. Then you go to the Beatles. I mean, there's a lot of bands around that genre, that time for me, but I've always loved the Beatles, always loved Zeppelin and Black Sabbath all go into my upbringing. But KISS made me want to play on stage.
Did you ever dress up as KISS when you were a kid?
Oh yeah, there's some good shots out there somewhere (laughs). We dressed up a lot and had some good times with it. It was a big deal and we had a lot of fun with it.
What was it like going to school with John Tempesta?
We got into trouble just about every day. We were just talking about this and I talk about this at some of my bass clinics. John and I were in the same grade so we had the same Jazz class and we used to go to Jazz class early where we used to jam together. But we'd be jamming Iron Maiden and KISS, well, not KISS, but Led Zeppelin and just like very heavy like Black Sabbath. We were just jamming that kind of stuff and the teacher would come in and send us to the principal pretty much everyday. But it was a good time. We had fun and out of nowhere we'd have a group, a circle around us of kids headbanging. So it'd be like twenty kids surrounding us and headbanging. It was just the best time in the world. Then of course we'd show up at the principal's office and our principal, thank God, loved us so he'd say, "Just don't do it again". And we'd get away with it.
What was the first album that you bought?
It would have to be, probably a Beatles record. A Hard Day's Night maybe.
When did you pick up the bass and why the bass? Or did you start off younger with a different instrument?
I started with guitar because I was fascinated with guitar. But the fact was, I was playing all the bass parts on the guitar. So the drummer that's in the band, in Anthrax now, Charlie Benante, I grew up with him. So he was the one that told me, "You need to just switch to bass cause you're playing the bass parts, every bass part you're playing on guitar". But that's just what I heard. I heard the bass first and it was the obvious choice. And then when I actually got the bass it was love at first sight. It was, oh my God.
How old were you?
Twelve or thirteen.
Do you remember your first bass?
Yeah, it was a Fender 72, I believe. It was a bass Fender Jazz 72. I think I got it stolen. Yeah, I've had a lot of good basses stolen in my life.
I've been hearing that a lot. Myles Kennedy had his first guitar stolen and he would love to have it back.
It's a horrible feeling, it really is.
What was the first concert you went to?
I think it was KISS Destroyer, 1976. I was young but it was great. I still remember Gene Simmons throwing his make-up towel to this girl and this guy took it from her and beat her and they were going at it, beating each other up for this towel. It was amazing (laughs). It was pretty funny.
Do you do anything like that? Do you throw fans stuff from the stage?
I give people picks and stuff like that. I'm still a fan so I know what it's like. So I'll make sure to do whatever I can. I'll throw the picks right to the person and stuff like that.
Tell me about the first band you were in.
Anthrax is my first band ever. This is it. It's been a good run (laughs)
And you came in because of Charlie, right?
Yeah, they were auditioning bass players and I was already teching for them. I was originally a guitar tech in Anthrax. We were playing little local shows and I teched for them and they were auditioning bass players and I auditioned and it all worked out nicely, obviously (laughs)
What about your first time getting up in front of an audience playing? How did that feel?
It was at L'amours in 1985, I believe it was. It was very scary and it was all adrenalin. And I just said, you got to go for it, and that's kind of what I still do (laughs)
You're always happy, you're always singing, when you're up there playing.
Yeah, why wouldn't I be happy? (laughs) Think about it, I'm playing on stage, I'm making a living, thank God, by playing music so I'm pretty lucky, I know that. There is nothing like being on stage. That's what I love, so I'm happy with it.
So what would you say has been your most memorable moment on stage so far?
Yankee Stadium (laughs). That's pretty easy. It all came into one there.
Do you remember the first rock star you ever met?
Oh God, I think it was Chubby Checker in the Bronx (laughs). I was really young, like eleven years old, in the Bronx. Chubby Checker, and not a lot of people know that, was going into a little deli and my Grandmother said, "It's Chubby Checker". I didn't even know. I shook his hand and he was really nice.
Who has been your biggest influence as a musician and why them?
Hmm, that's a good question. There's two people. Well, it's actually three people who I grew up on that still inspire me to this day. There's Geddy Lee, Steve Harris and Geezer Butler. They're still at the top of their games as bass players. I am still inspired by them and I look forward to when they come out with new stuff.
I saw Rush earlier this year.
Yeah, Geddy is just amazing. He's timeless and ageless to me.
Tell me about the upcoming tour and what will happen after that.
This tour is for five weeks, with Testament and Death Angel. Then I believe we're going to Japan and Jakarta in December. Then next year I think it's the whole cycle we have going. We're playing festivals, a lot of support for the record and we know the only way to do it is the way we've always done it, to tour. So we'll be doing a lot of touring for this record.
Last question: You have a tattoo on your arm of somebody. I was just wondering who that was?
The tattoo on my right arm is a tribute to my brother Anthony who passed away. I have another one on my other side that Paul Booth did. I got it a few months ago and it's supposed to signify my inner rage that I have and he's looking at something glowing in his hand and it's supposed to signify, the glowing is the thing that calms me down, which is my son. Paul Booth did an amazing job. He really got it right on. He designed it and he's amazing.
Anything you want to say to your fans?
Just thank you for taking this album and listening deep to it. It makes us feel great that you actually worship music (laughs) to coin a phrase. We're really right on, really stoked about coming out there.
Next week we finally have a drummer in the spotlight. Poison's Rikki Rockett takes us on a tour through his youth, his glory days and how helping protect animal rights is a cause close to his heart.
"It's just me," he laughed when I told him I was honored to be interviewing him. Just a regular guy at the vet with his wife and son because his beloved dog was having some eye problems, his everyday job just happens to be playing bass in front of thousands of people on a pretty regular basis. But if you met him on the street, I bet you'd never know he was THE Frank Bello.
The first thing I want to ask you, Frank, is if you can believe you have been in Anthrax over twenty years? Actually it's closer to thirty years, right?
Closer to thirty years, absolutely. We had this whole experience at Yankee Stadium (Clash of Titans with Metallica, Slayer and Megadeth) and that's where it came to this culmination of it all. It's like, Oh my God. Not only was it an oh-my-God statement playing Yankee Stadium, which nobody usually does and nor did we did think we would, but it's been a good run. We've had our ups and downs, obviously, like life takes you but it's been a good run for the most part and now there's this whole big resurgence going on and Anthrax comes out with a record, Worship Music, and it debuted at number twelve, which we completely did not expect. There is a lot going on and I didn't expect it to debut at number twelve. A lot of people are digging what we're doing and I couldn't be more psyched right now.
I've been listening to the new CD and I am agreeing with what everyone is saying in that this could be your best CD ever. It's just amazing.
Wow, thank you. You know what, hearing that couldn't be a bigger thank you from anybody, the reviewers, fans in general, musicians, Eddie Trunk, who is a good friend of ours from years ago, saying it's the best album of our career. I can't say thank you anymore than I have cause it's all the hard work and the pain. There's been a lot of stuff going on with this band for the last year as everybody knows. Eight years ago was the last record. This one, there was a lot of ups and downs where nobody knew what the hell was going to go on next and to come out and have the kind of reaction we're getting from people is just the ultimate thank you. We have to say that to people, thank you for understanding, and I think people are hearing all the songs and hearing what we went through in the songs, which is really important.
Well, I think it is amazing and my favorite songs are "I'm Alive" and "The Constant".
(laughs) You know what is amazing? And I thank you for that of course. Hearing different people's takes on the record. And you picked two completely different songs that a lot of the people haven't been picking, which is great, I love it. There are songs on the record that you can go to that are your songs and got to be your favorite songs that aren't the average everybody's. I think everybody's got their pick which is a testament to, thank God, I think we did something right here.
You have a tour coming up with Testament.
Oh yeah, we're stoked. I'm getting my liver ready (laughs). Testament are some good friends of ours and we haven't seen each other in awhile, touring wise, so Testament and Death Angel. A good friend of mine who I grew up with, Johnny Tempesta is playing drums in Testament and we couldn't be more excited cause of the fan base and the shows are selling really well, from what I'm hearing, and there's a good buzz on the tour and I can't wait to play these songs live.
I'd like to know where you grew up and what kind of kid you were.
I grew up in the Bronx, New York, and really it was all about music and sports for me when I was growing up. That was it, that was my religion, my everyday thing. My thing was to get the new Iron Maiden record, Judas Priest record, and then go watch the Yankees game later on or maybe go to a game or go play ball outside. And that was truly my upbringing. I was very fortunate to have that kind of upbringing. I grew up without a dad. I grew up living in my Grandmother's house with my Aunt. So it was just a perfect thing to have with my heroes being musicians and they turned out to be bass players.
Did your family support your love of music?
Absolutely, still to this day. They all came to Yankee Stadium and it was like a big thank you for all the support. From day one they knew it was a love, that it was a passion, and they said, "Go for it", and I love them for that. And I have learned through that having a five year old myself so it'll be all about music and whatever you want to do in life because I was lucky enough to have that freedom and I intend to do the same.
What the first band that you totally worshiped?
That's easy, KISS. Just because it was the songs, they had the full package and that Oh-my-God vibe. I mean, obviously, when you say the full package, that was it. They had the show, they had the songs that I loved, just everything about them. Then you go to the Beatles. I mean, there's a lot of bands around that genre, that time for me, but I've always loved the Beatles, always loved Zeppelin and Black Sabbath all go into my upbringing. But KISS made me want to play on stage.
Did you ever dress up as KISS when you were a kid?
Oh yeah, there's some good shots out there somewhere (laughs). We dressed up a lot and had some good times with it. It was a big deal and we had a lot of fun with it.
What was it like going to school with John Tempesta?
We got into trouble just about every day. We were just talking about this and I talk about this at some of my bass clinics. John and I were in the same grade so we had the same Jazz class and we used to go to Jazz class early where we used to jam together. But we'd be jamming Iron Maiden and KISS, well, not KISS, but Led Zeppelin and just like very heavy like Black Sabbath. We were just jamming that kind of stuff and the teacher would come in and send us to the principal pretty much everyday. But it was a good time. We had fun and out of nowhere we'd have a group, a circle around us of kids headbanging. So it'd be like twenty kids surrounding us and headbanging. It was just the best time in the world. Then of course we'd show up at the principal's office and our principal, thank God, loved us so he'd say, "Just don't do it again". And we'd get away with it.
What was the first album that you bought?
It would have to be, probably a Beatles record. A Hard Day's Night maybe.
When did you pick up the bass and why the bass? Or did you start off younger with a different instrument?
I started with guitar because I was fascinated with guitar. But the fact was, I was playing all the bass parts on the guitar. So the drummer that's in the band, in Anthrax now, Charlie Benante, I grew up with him. So he was the one that told me, "You need to just switch to bass cause you're playing the bass parts, every bass part you're playing on guitar". But that's just what I heard. I heard the bass first and it was the obvious choice. And then when I actually got the bass it was love at first sight. It was, oh my God.
How old were you?
Twelve or thirteen.
Do you remember your first bass?
Yeah, it was a Fender 72, I believe. It was a bass Fender Jazz 72. I think I got it stolen. Yeah, I've had a lot of good basses stolen in my life.
I've been hearing that a lot. Myles Kennedy had his first guitar stolen and he would love to have it back.
It's a horrible feeling, it really is.
What was the first concert you went to?
I think it was KISS Destroyer, 1976. I was young but it was great. I still remember Gene Simmons throwing his make-up towel to this girl and this guy took it from her and beat her and they were going at it, beating each other up for this towel. It was amazing (laughs). It was pretty funny.
Do you do anything like that? Do you throw fans stuff from the stage?
I give people picks and stuff like that. I'm still a fan so I know what it's like. So I'll make sure to do whatever I can. I'll throw the picks right to the person and stuff like that.
Tell me about the first band you were in.
Anthrax is my first band ever. This is it. It's been a good run (laughs)
And you came in because of Charlie, right?
Yeah, they were auditioning bass players and I was already teching for them. I was originally a guitar tech in Anthrax. We were playing little local shows and I teched for them and they were auditioning bass players and I auditioned and it all worked out nicely, obviously (laughs)
What about your first time getting up in front of an audience playing? How did that feel?
It was at L'amours in 1985, I believe it was. It was very scary and it was all adrenalin. And I just said, you got to go for it, and that's kind of what I still do (laughs)
You're always happy, you're always singing, when you're up there playing.
Yeah, why wouldn't I be happy? (laughs) Think about it, I'm playing on stage, I'm making a living, thank God, by playing music so I'm pretty lucky, I know that. There is nothing like being on stage. That's what I love, so I'm happy with it.
So what would you say has been your most memorable moment on stage so far?
Yankee Stadium (laughs). That's pretty easy. It all came into one there.
Do you remember the first rock star you ever met?
Oh God, I think it was Chubby Checker in the Bronx (laughs). I was really young, like eleven years old, in the Bronx. Chubby Checker, and not a lot of people know that, was going into a little deli and my Grandmother said, "It's Chubby Checker". I didn't even know. I shook his hand and he was really nice.
Who has been your biggest influence as a musician and why them?
Hmm, that's a good question. There's two people. Well, it's actually three people who I grew up on that still inspire me to this day. There's Geddy Lee, Steve Harris and Geezer Butler. They're still at the top of their games as bass players. I am still inspired by them and I look forward to when they come out with new stuff.
I saw Rush earlier this year.
Yeah, Geddy is just amazing. He's timeless and ageless to me.
Tell me about the upcoming tour and what will happen after that.
This tour is for five weeks, with Testament and Death Angel. Then I believe we're going to Japan and Jakarta in December. Then next year I think it's the whole cycle we have going. We're playing festivals, a lot of support for the record and we know the only way to do it is the way we've always done it, to tour. So we'll be doing a lot of touring for this record.
Last question: You have a tattoo on your arm of somebody. I was just wondering who that was?
The tattoo on my right arm is a tribute to my brother Anthony who passed away. I have another one on my other side that Paul Booth did. I got it a few months ago and it's supposed to signify my inner rage that I have and he's looking at something glowing in his hand and it's supposed to signify, the glowing is the thing that calms me down, which is my son. Paul Booth did an amazing job. He really got it right on. He designed it and he's amazing.
Anything you want to say to your fans?
Just thank you for taking this album and listening deep to it. It makes us feel great that you actually worship music (laughs) to coin a phrase. We're really right on, really stoked about coming out there.
Next week we finally have a drummer in the spotlight. Poison's Rikki Rockett takes us on a tour through his youth, his glory days and how helping protect animal rights is a cause close to his heart.
Charlie Benante (ANTHRAX), Dave Lombardo (SLAYER), Mike Portnoy (ADRENALINE MOB, ex-DREAM THEATER) and Jason Bittner (SHADOWS FALL) will take part in meet-and-greet sessions and performances during Vic's Drum Shop's Holiday Metal Bash on Sunday, December 18 from 12:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.
For more information, see the poster below.
Vic's Drum Shop offers the most comprehensive selection of gear anywhere. It is dedicated to bringing people together to build, support, and promote the drum community by providing excellence in customer service, product offerings, and education.
For more information, see the poster below.
Vic's Drum Shop offers the most comprehensive selection of gear anywhere. It is dedicated to bringing people together to build, support, and promote the drum community by providing excellence in customer service, product offerings, and education.
Doom legends SAINT VITUShave set "Lilly F65" as the title of their eighth studio album — their first since 1995 — which will be released in early 2012 via Season Of Mist.
Speaking to Terrorizer magazine, SAINT VITUS frontman Scott "Wino" Weinrich stated about the title, "Y'know the reason we called it 'Lilly F65'? It was a powerful downer back in our day and well, Dave [Chandler, guitar] really had a thing for his downers."
SAINT VITUS' current lineup features Chandler, drummer Henry Vasquez, bassist Mark Adams and Weinrich.
"Making this album was really a blast," said Chandler. "Being able to live in an environment where all we had to concentrate on was the new material, became very inspiring. And along with our new drummer, Henry Vasquez, and label, Season Of Mist, this record has given us a new opportunity to show everyone that we still have more to shove in your face."
When asked why he thinks SAINT VITUS' music continues to resonate, Wino said in an interview, "Because it comes from the gut. The music has that low tone and it hits you in those emotional places. I've always tried to make the lyrics just as interesting as the music. It's always been a little bit dark but I'm not drawn to the happy stuff. I like music that grabs you by the balls."
"Superskum" (web site) has uploaded quality video footage of SAINT VITUS performing a brand new song, "Blessed Night" on March 29, 2011 in Denver, Colorado. Check out the clip below.
Speaking to Terrorizer magazine, SAINT VITUS frontman Scott "Wino" Weinrich stated about the title, "Y'know the reason we called it 'Lilly F65'? It was a powerful downer back in our day and well, Dave [Chandler, guitar] really had a thing for his downers."
SAINT VITUS' current lineup features Chandler, drummer Henry Vasquez, bassist Mark Adams and Weinrich.
"Making this album was really a blast," said Chandler. "Being able to live in an environment where all we had to concentrate on was the new material, became very inspiring. And along with our new drummer, Henry Vasquez, and label, Season Of Mist, this record has given us a new opportunity to show everyone that we still have more to shove in your face."
When asked why he thinks SAINT VITUS' music continues to resonate, Wino said in an interview, "Because it comes from the gut. The music has that low tone and it hits you in those emotional places. I've always tried to make the lyrics just as interesting as the music. It's always been a little bit dark but I'm not drawn to the happy stuff. I like music that grabs you by the balls."
"Superskum" (web site) has uploaded quality video footage of SAINT VITUS performing a brand new song, "Blessed Night" on March 29, 2011 in Denver, Colorado. Check out the clip below.
The second annual Dimebash event — which is being held in honor of the late, great "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott (PANTERA, DAMAGEPLAN) at the world-famous Key Club on the Sunset Strip in West Hollywood, California — will take place on Wednesday, December 14.
Fellow musicians will pay homage to one of metal's beloved fallen heroes by performing songs either written by or that were an inspiration to Dimebag.
All proceeds from the event will benefit the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up & Shout Cancer Fund.
Key Club
9039 Sunset Boulevard
West Hollywood, CA 90069
(310) 274-5800
Thursday, December 14, 2011
Doors Open: 7:00 p.m.
Performances Begin: 8:00 p.m.
Ticket prices are $20 and are on sale now at KeyClub.com.
When asked about the success of last year's Dimebash, "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott's longtime girlfriend Rita Haney said in a 2010 interview, "It was amazing — I mean, overwhelmingly amazing. It sold out in ten days. When we put the tickets up [for sale], we didn't even have a lineup, so it was kind of scary putting it together. But just knowing that everybody would come together in [Dimebag's] honor was enough... I think people want it, people wanna remember . . . I mean, it was a day and a half, or two days before [this year's Dimebash] that [some of the musicians taking part in the event] didn't even know what songs [they would be] playing yet. We were scrambling to get everything together. I was just amazed that within the first two days how many people committed and said, 'Yeah, I'm in.' It was amazing."
On November 5, 2010, Haney presented a donation of over ten thousand dollars raised from Dimebash 2010 to Wendy Dio in Studio City, California for the Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund, a charity in memory of Ronnie James Dio to help find a cure for stomach cancer, which took his life in May of 2010. In addition, a DVD of the event was shot and recorded for near-future release with proceeds from the disc's sales also going towards the fund.
Dimebash 2010 was held on October 29, 2010. The all-star lineup that shared the stage included hard rock and heavy metal titans: Lemmy of MOTÖRHEAD; Dave Grohl of FOO FIGHTERS; Joey Jordison of SLIPKNOT and ROB ZOMBIE; Simon Wright from DIO; Brent Smith, Zach Myers and Eric Bass of SHINEDOWN; Kerry King and Dave Lombardo of SLAYER; Robb Flynn and Phil Demmel of MACHINE HEAD; Chuck Billy from TESTAMENT; Chris Howorth and Maria Brink of IN THIS MOMENT; Joey Vera of ARMORED SAINT; Tony Campos of STATIC-X; Gerry Nestler of PHILM; John Boecklin of DEVILDRIVER. This sold-out night was hosted by radio/television personality Jose Mangin, a veteran of several Dimebag events.
Photo galleries from Dimebash 2010 event can be found by following the links below:
* RockConcertFotos (Rehearsals)
* RockConcertFotos (Concert + Backstage)
* JensJudas
* DirtJunior.com
Fellow musicians will pay homage to one of metal's beloved fallen heroes by performing songs either written by or that were an inspiration to Dimebag.
All proceeds from the event will benefit the Ronnie James Dio Stand Up & Shout Cancer Fund.
Key Club
9039 Sunset Boulevard
West Hollywood, CA 90069
(310) 274-5800
Thursday, December 14, 2011
Doors Open: 7:00 p.m.
Performances Begin: 8:00 p.m.
Ticket prices are $20 and are on sale now at KeyClub.com.
When asked about the success of last year's Dimebash, "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott's longtime girlfriend Rita Haney said in a 2010 interview, "It was amazing — I mean, overwhelmingly amazing. It sold out in ten days. When we put the tickets up [for sale], we didn't even have a lineup, so it was kind of scary putting it together. But just knowing that everybody would come together in [Dimebag's] honor was enough... I think people want it, people wanna remember . . . I mean, it was a day and a half, or two days before [this year's Dimebash] that [some of the musicians taking part in the event] didn't even know what songs [they would be] playing yet. We were scrambling to get everything together. I was just amazed that within the first two days how many people committed and said, 'Yeah, I'm in.' It was amazing."
On November 5, 2010, Haney presented a donation of over ten thousand dollars raised from Dimebash 2010 to Wendy Dio in Studio City, California for the Stand Up And Shout Cancer Fund, a charity in memory of Ronnie James Dio to help find a cure for stomach cancer, which took his life in May of 2010. In addition, a DVD of the event was shot and recorded for near-future release with proceeds from the disc's sales also going towards the fund.
Dimebash 2010 was held on October 29, 2010. The all-star lineup that shared the stage included hard rock and heavy metal titans: Lemmy of MOTÖRHEAD; Dave Grohl of FOO FIGHTERS; Joey Jordison of SLIPKNOT and ROB ZOMBIE; Simon Wright from DIO; Brent Smith, Zach Myers and Eric Bass of SHINEDOWN; Kerry King and Dave Lombardo of SLAYER; Robb Flynn and Phil Demmel of MACHINE HEAD; Chuck Billy from TESTAMENT; Chris Howorth and Maria Brink of IN THIS MOMENT; Joey Vera of ARMORED SAINT; Tony Campos of STATIC-X; Gerry Nestler of PHILM; John Boecklin of DEVILDRIVER. This sold-out night was hosted by radio/television personality Jose Mangin, a veteran of several Dimebag events.
Photo galleries from Dimebash 2010 event can be found by following the links below:
* RockConcertFotos (Rehearsals)
* RockConcertFotos (Concert + Backstage)
* JensJudas
* DirtJunior.com
SIXX: A.M. — the band consisting of Nikki Sixx (also of MÖTLEY CRÜE), DJ Ashba (also of GUNS N' ROSES) and James Michael — has posted a teaser image for an upcoming announcement (see below). More information will be revealed sometime next month.
SIXX: A.M. recently revealed plans to film a video for the song "Skin" in the Los Angeles area. The band put out a casting call for people whom the song has affected personally because of their own scars — whether physical or under the surface.
"Skin" comes off SIXX: A.M.'s sophomore album, "This Is Gonna Hurt", which sold 30,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 10 on The Billboard 200 chart. Released on May 3, the 11-track CD is a companion piece to Sixx's "This Is Gonna Hurt: Music, Photography And Life Through The Distorted Lens Of Nikki Sixx" book, a follow-up to his New York Times bestseller, "The Heroin Diaries".
"This Is Gonna Hurt" is part photo, part journal — but all Nikki Sixx. It is a collection of compelling snapshots and stories that capture the rage, love, optimism, darkness, and determination that shape his work. Told with the raw authenticity that defined his New York Times bestseller "The Heroin Diaries", "This Is Gonna Hurt" chronicles Sixx's experience, from references to his early years filled with toxic waste to his success with MÖTLEY CRÜE, his death from an OD and rebirth to his addictions to music, photography, and love along with the journey of photographing these images over the past couple of years.
The "This Is Gonna Hurt" album as a whole deals with many raw, human issues. Nikki talks about the CD as "pulling back the veil on your internal truth," saying, "We are who we are… Either poisonous and evil or honest and willing… Willing to make a difference… I haven't led the life of a saint nor do I intend on it now." The album — produced entirely by James Michael with writing credits going to Sixx, Michael, Ashba and band friends John William Lowrey and Blair Daly — dives deep into meandering emotions through epic melodies. The resulting work is a deep, dark and intoxicatingly addictive mix of sounds and passion.
SIXX: A.M. recently revealed plans to film a video for the song "Skin" in the Los Angeles area. The band put out a casting call for people whom the song has affected personally because of their own scars — whether physical or under the surface.
"Skin" comes off SIXX: A.M.'s sophomore album, "This Is Gonna Hurt", which sold 30,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 10 on The Billboard 200 chart. Released on May 3, the 11-track CD is a companion piece to Sixx's "This Is Gonna Hurt: Music, Photography And Life Through The Distorted Lens Of Nikki Sixx" book, a follow-up to his New York Times bestseller, "The Heroin Diaries".
"This Is Gonna Hurt" is part photo, part journal — but all Nikki Sixx. It is a collection of compelling snapshots and stories that capture the rage, love, optimism, darkness, and determination that shape his work. Told with the raw authenticity that defined his New York Times bestseller "The Heroin Diaries", "This Is Gonna Hurt" chronicles Sixx's experience, from references to his early years filled with toxic waste to his success with MÖTLEY CRÜE, his death from an OD and rebirth to his addictions to music, photography, and love along with the journey of photographing these images over the past couple of years.
The "This Is Gonna Hurt" album as a whole deals with many raw, human issues. Nikki talks about the CD as "pulling back the veil on your internal truth," saying, "We are who we are… Either poisonous and evil or honest and willing… Willing to make a difference… I haven't led the life of a saint nor do I intend on it now." The album — produced entirely by James Michael with writing credits going to Sixx, Michael, Ashba and band friends John William Lowrey and Blair Daly — dives deep into meandering emotions through epic melodies. The resulting work is a deep, dark and intoxicatingly addictive mix of sounds and passion.
TWISTED SISTER hosts a holiday party, with the promise of glad tidings and good cheer to folks of all ages! Get ready for the 2011 presentation of "A Twisted Christmas" — a theatrical holiday extravaganza like no other to be held on Friday, December 2 at the Paramount Theater in Huntington, New York, and the Best Buy Theater in New York City on Saturday, December 17.
Dee Snider, Jay Jay French, Mark Mendoza, Eddie Ojeda and A.J. Pero have crafted this show into a hell-raisin' holiday tradition. In the past, they've had such wildly disparate personalities as Lita Ford, Mick Foley, and MINIKISS join the onstage festivities. You never know who will crash this NYC party!
After the release of 2006's "A Twisted Christmas" album (hailed by the Associated Press as "[one of] the best hard rock Christmas album[s] ever made, and one of the best rock 'n' roll Christmas albums — period — since Elvis made his"), TWISTED SISTER brought the metal merriment to the stage. They have continued to give these Yuletide anthems a TWISTED treatment ever since. "White Christmas", "Come All Ye Faithful" and "Deck The Halls" have never sounded so electric.
"If you told me 30 years ago that one day I would be playing Christmas songs, with TWISTED SISTER, for families in concert — and be happy about it — I would have punched you right in the nose," says TWISTED SISTER frontman Dee Snider. "Funny how life changes you. Now I'm actually looking forward to it!"
Added guitarist Jay Jay French: "There is no better way to blow your Christmas bonus than by seeing 'A Twisted Christmas' on Broadway. It's so good, even atheists love it!"
Make sure to get to the venue early to catch openers JAC&JILL. Fronted by ferocious femmes Jaclyn Quatela (vocals/keyboards) and Jill Winter (guitar), this sextet blends violin, bass, drums and synth into a riff-heavy brand of pop rock.
The celebration doesn't end there! For a taste of what's in store, fans should check out "Twisted Xmas: Live In Las Vegas", exclusively featured on the band's brand new eight-hour-plus boxed set, "From The Bars To The Stars" (Eagle Rock Entertainment). It's the perfect stocking stuffer for any metalhead, naughty or nice!
The Paramount Theater is located at 370 New York Avenue in Huntington, New York. The show starts as 7:00 p.m. Ticket prices range from $52 to $74.
The Best Buy Theater is located at 1515 Broadway at West 44th Street, right in the heart of Times Square. The show starts at 8:00 p.m. (doors open at 5:00 p.m.) Tickets are $35.
TWISTED SISTER brought its now-legendary stage show, "Twisted Sister: A Twisted Christmas", to the Nokia Theatre in New York City on December 7, 2009. Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be viewed below (courtesy of "yb77").
With set and stage designs created with the help of Kevin O'Callaghan, Chair of 3D Design at New York's legendary School of Visual Arts, "Twisted Sister: A Twisted Christmas" is a mind-boggling, theatrical spectacle designed to kick off the holiday season with a memorable assault of lights, sound and staging, filled with holiday thrills to delight one and all.
The promotional "I'll Be Home For Christmas" clip, which was released in November 2008, features Lita Ford in her first video in 20 years. The video intersperses live concert footage of TWISTED SISTER and the TS bandmembers on their tour bus (and, of course, a hilarious twist of an ending), and it's by far the biggest production of all the "A Twisted Christmas" videos.
Formed in 1973, TWISTED SISTER dominated the radio airwaves and MTV with such monster hits as "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock", still staples at classic rock radio and television. To date, the band has sold over 10 million albums worldwide, boasts 34 silver, gold and platinum certifications from eight countries and has toured in 22 different countries. TWISTED SISTER has given over 9,000 performances in its thirty-plus-year career.
Dee Snider, Jay Jay French, Mark Mendoza, Eddie Ojeda and A.J. Pero have crafted this show into a hell-raisin' holiday tradition. In the past, they've had such wildly disparate personalities as Lita Ford, Mick Foley, and MINIKISS join the onstage festivities. You never know who will crash this NYC party!
After the release of 2006's "A Twisted Christmas" album (hailed by the Associated Press as "[one of] the best hard rock Christmas album[s] ever made, and one of the best rock 'n' roll Christmas albums — period — since Elvis made his"), TWISTED SISTER brought the metal merriment to the stage. They have continued to give these Yuletide anthems a TWISTED treatment ever since. "White Christmas", "Come All Ye Faithful" and "Deck The Halls" have never sounded so electric.
"If you told me 30 years ago that one day I would be playing Christmas songs, with TWISTED SISTER, for families in concert — and be happy about it — I would have punched you right in the nose," says TWISTED SISTER frontman Dee Snider. "Funny how life changes you. Now I'm actually looking forward to it!"
Added guitarist Jay Jay French: "There is no better way to blow your Christmas bonus than by seeing 'A Twisted Christmas' on Broadway. It's so good, even atheists love it!"
Make sure to get to the venue early to catch openers JAC&JILL. Fronted by ferocious femmes Jaclyn Quatela (vocals/keyboards) and Jill Winter (guitar), this sextet blends violin, bass, drums and synth into a riff-heavy brand of pop rock.
The celebration doesn't end there! For a taste of what's in store, fans should check out "Twisted Xmas: Live In Las Vegas", exclusively featured on the band's brand new eight-hour-plus boxed set, "From The Bars To The Stars" (Eagle Rock Entertainment). It's the perfect stocking stuffer for any metalhead, naughty or nice!
The Paramount Theater is located at 370 New York Avenue in Huntington, New York. The show starts as 7:00 p.m. Ticket prices range from $52 to $74.
The Best Buy Theater is located at 1515 Broadway at West 44th Street, right in the heart of Times Square. The show starts at 8:00 p.m. (doors open at 5:00 p.m.) Tickets are $35.
TWISTED SISTER brought its now-legendary stage show, "Twisted Sister: A Twisted Christmas", to the Nokia Theatre in New York City on December 7, 2009. Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be viewed below (courtesy of "yb77").
With set and stage designs created with the help of Kevin O'Callaghan, Chair of 3D Design at New York's legendary School of Visual Arts, "Twisted Sister: A Twisted Christmas" is a mind-boggling, theatrical spectacle designed to kick off the holiday season with a memorable assault of lights, sound and staging, filled with holiday thrills to delight one and all.
The promotional "I'll Be Home For Christmas" clip, which was released in November 2008, features Lita Ford in her first video in 20 years. The video intersperses live concert footage of TWISTED SISTER and the TS bandmembers on their tour bus (and, of course, a hilarious twist of an ending), and it's by far the biggest production of all the "A Twisted Christmas" videos.
Formed in 1973, TWISTED SISTER dominated the radio airwaves and MTV with such monster hits as "We're Not Gonna Take It" and "I Wanna Rock", still staples at classic rock radio and television. To date, the band has sold over 10 million albums worldwide, boasts 34 silver, gold and platinum certifications from eight countries and has toured in 22 different countries. TWISTED SISTER has given over 9,000 performances in its thirty-plus-year career.
The hellaciously dude-esque Robb Flynn talks to Toby Cook about Tony Iommi's favourite curry, his generation's Big Four and Coldplay... Huh? Coldplay? WTF...
"I do my thing and you do yours. I am not in this world to live up to your expectations, and you are not in this world to live up to mine. You are you and I am I, and if by chance we find each other, then it is beautiful. If not, it can't be helped." Fritz Perls Gestalt Therapy Verbatim, 1969
It'd be easy to mock the career of Machine Head wouldn't it? No, go on, do it. Although they released arguably one of the greatest debut albums in the history of metal with 1994's Burn My Eyes the sight of a cornrow-ed vocalist/guitarist Robb Flynn stomping about in three-quarter length shorts in the video to lead single 'Davidian' was pretty fucking laughable, even back when nu-metal was in its embryonic beginnings. And then, very quickly, things turned even shitter. The possibly ironically titled The More Things Change… in fact showed that very little had changed and by the time The Burning Red and Supercharger were shat out on to record store shelves in '99 and 2001 respectively the group had resorted to incorporating the sort of shouted rapping even Fred Durst would be embarrassed by [actually, even I think that's maybe a bit harsh] as well as covering songs by the Police – like anyone needs their day ruined by a metal version of 'Message In A Bottle'.
Despite being dropped by their then label, Roadrunner, and failing to find a new home before being recaptured by the same label, 2003 at least saw a partial return to form with Through The Ashes Of Empire – a confusing affair that mercifully at least didn't have any rapping. But by then no one that wasn't Roadrunner really cared.
And chances are Robb Flynn didn't care either, he probably doesn't care now. He knows he's not here to live up to your expectations. Living in response to his own needs Flynn saw his band through a slump which seemed destined to end them before, finally, in 2007, we all really met Machine Head, and it was indeed beautiful; it was indeed The Blackening, an enigma of an album that's inexplicable artistic and musical vision was surely the result of Flynn making a Robert Johnson style deal with the big red horned one, because nothing, absolutely nothing should have saved the band from being the Bay Area's also-rans. More remarkable still is that now, four years later, in the shape of Unto The Locust, they've quite possibly bettered it and they're about to headline Wembley Arena. Just don't even begin to think that Robb Flynn's finished there though.
Alright Robb? So, this year saw the release of Unto The Locust and unsurprisingly people seem to love it. I understand that there was a lot of inspiration from classical music during the writing – now you've covered that, where do you go next?
Robb Flynn: [Laughing] I don't know! No way! The record just came out – and we're very much still enjoying this moment right here.
It seems that, certainly over here in recent times, especially with The Blackening, your popularity has grown as you've started creating longer, more diverse music – the opener on Unto The Locust is split into three parts for example. Does that surprise you? Normally kids want something of three minutes that they can download in seconds.
RF: I'm not sure if I'm surprised, I think that people are willing to go on a journey. I think that there may well be a lot of people out there – whether they're in the record industry or not – who think people need these short songs. But I think that there's a whole massive audience out there that can take longer songs, that can take the journey. And for us, our songs are still songs in the classic, pop sense of what a song is where it's got a verse and a chorus; and a pre-chorus and a bridge, it's just that in the middle of that, or leading up to that, we create this rollercoaster effect and let the listener go on a journey.
So do you purposefully intend for it to be a more immersive experience for the listener, rather than it being something to just listen to?
RF: Well, we're not really writing for a listener, or writing for a record company, radio, MTV, we're writing for the four of us; if the four of us get goose bumps in the jam room, that's all that matters. To us that's the only honest means you can use as an artist. If you're writing for somebody else, and what you think they might like, then it's not a good place to write from. People's tastes change, things change, and in our case we're 17 years deep into our career and we're having the most success we've ever had – Metallica tours, Grammy nominations – it's not the normal trajectory of a band in their 17th year. We know that we're really fortunate and very lucky and we just try and write from as honest a place as we can. And it seems to work.
Being 17 years into your career you're now elder statesmen of the early 90s metal bands. With the whole 'Big Four' thing going on now, who do you see as your generation's 'Big Four'? And do you see Machine Head as part of it?
RF: Absolutely we see ourselves as part of something like that – I mean, we paved the way for, and inspired and influenced pretty much a whole generation of bands, and that's just such an incredible feeling. I read James Hetfield saying that The Blackening completely influenced Death Magnetic and then when he told me to my face and I was like, 'What the fuck!' My fucking brain imploded, y'know? This is a band that was a huge inspiration to us and to have it come around full circle is just incredible. And to have the likes of Trivium, the Killswitch Engage guys, Disturbed and Lamb Of God in existence? It's pretty cool. So I guess, then, if I had to pick a 'Big Four' of our generation I'd say: Slipknot, Machine Head, Killswitch Engage and Lamb Of God.
That's not a bad alternative 'Big Four' to be honest. I'd pay to see it!
In the past you've had a habit at shows of pulling people out of the audience for drinking contests or got them to jam on a few chords. In the wake of what happened with Dimebag Darrell back in 2004 did you ever discuss ending that, or was it necessary to continue it, almost as an act of defiance?
RF: No, I can't go around living my life in that much fear. I mean that's not to say that we don't need security – we need security, obviously – we're happy to have security and there's obviously times when there are security threats that we have to deal with. A lot of the time those things are completely spontaneous, it's not like it's a regular occurrence, it's something random really; it's a lot to do with getting lost in the moment, and sure, in wake of the Dimebag thing most bands have taken steps with security, but you can't live your life in fear like that.
I heard of a pretty famous moment where you managed to get a guy in a wheelchair on stage with you - how the fuck did that happen?
RF: Yeah, yeah – in San Francisco that happened. The thing that was crazy was that this guy in a wheelchair managed to get all the way up to the front to watch the show; he's in a wheelchair, he's not standing and people are, y'know, fucking crushing him! And so I stopped the show, like, I took a break in between songs, and I looked down and said, 'Hey man, are you alright? You look like you're getting your ass kicked!' And he was like, 'No dude I'm good, I'm good. I'm fucking loving this!' So I'm like, 'Alright.' We played two more songs and the whole time I watched him and the crowd was kind of doing the domino effect, y'know, people falling over all over the place and crowd surfing, and I thought, 'This is fucking stupid. The dude hasn't even been able to see the show now for almost ten minutes.' So I got security and all these dudes around him, and I was like, 'Dude, we got to pick you up man!' We picked him up on top of the crowd, security carried him up over the barricade and brought him up on stage. We just let him watch the rest of the show from the side of the stage – he was totally stoked!
The UK's always had a good relationship with Machine Head and you're about to embark on an arena tour playing places like Wembley Arena - is it a challenge to maintain that sense of intimacy and connection for which you've become known?
RF: We always make an effort to bring out a big show but you have to remember that within that big show there's still four people playing music, and that ultimately we're all there not to watch TV or pyro' or fucking chicks dancing or whatever, we're all there because of this music. And as long as you remember that the connection that is there is because of that, I think that's how you can keep that intimacy. Never let the show, or the effects or whatever, overshadow the fact that we're all here because we love music – even in big venue.
So where do you go next from playing somewhere like Wembley? Does it feel, in a way, like justification for all the effort you've put in over the years?
RF: I think we can go bigger! Much bigger! I mean, we're really happy with this run and it seems like a milestone in the band's career but I want to headline the O₂! I want to headline Wembley stadium! I feel like we can still bring this to a larger audience, we still think there are a lot of people out there that can get turned on to the music we create and can connect in the same way as so many other people have.
Staying in London, I hear that when you were over here last you headed to Brick Lane for a curry? Are you a big fan of Indian food?
RF: Awwww hell yeah! Especially the English Indian food!
What's the hottest curry that you've come across – what's really impressed you when you've been down Brick Lane?
RF: Y'know, I don't get to Brick Lane very often, we usually go somewhere around where our hotel is – if we're in Birmingham or Manchester, say, there's a couple of places out there that we like. But the hottest one, that we do, is the Chicken Phall!
Good effort – I remember trying to eat one of those when I was a teenager and it was so hot I could see through time!
RF: Yeah, it's fucking, fucking hot man! To the point where my tongue literally had no sensation for ten minutes – it was almost like someone took a taser and zapped my tongue, that's what it felt like – just like no feeling, no flavour, no anything. I was like, whoa! I mean, I like the Vindaloo, I like the Madras and I love the Saags too, but that shit's something else!
How did you become such a curry lover? I mean, it's got to be tough to get a good curry out in the states, hasn't it?
RF: Actually, here in the Bay Area there's a big Indian population, so there's a lot of Indian restaurants. They're not as good as the ones in the UK, but there are some good ones – there's a place called Breads Of India, it's a really fucking rocking place, like, legit Indian people doing it. So I got turned on to it awhile ago, but once I went to England… Oh my God! I was like, 'This is fucking insane!' Years ago, we had just finished mixing one of our records in Liverpool at this place called Parr Street Studios and the owner, well not the owner but the main watchman of the studio, we'd hang out every day and he was like, 'Dudes, have you guys tried Tony Iommi's favourite Indian place?' And we're like, 'Hell no. Where's that at?' And he's like, 'Right around the corner!' So we went there based on that recommendation and… well, my fucking my head exploded, it was so fucking amazing! After that, if we're in the UK for seven days, five of those seven days will be Indian food, for sure; I love it!
Fuck, that's more Indian food than people from Newcastle eat!
RF: Yeah, not everybody in the band is so into it but Dave and I are definitely all about it. We've recently got so into it that there's no going back; we're always on the quest!
Recently a couple of the guys from Mastodon were spotted at a Britney Spears gig. Do you yourself have any moments of weakness like that, or are you totally as metal as you look?
RF: [laughs] Oh I have many, many guilty pleasures. I mean, I love metal and I'm the most metal motherfucker you'll ever meet in your life. But yeah, I like all kinds of things man – if Coldplay come around you'll be seeing me up front! I'm, like, a total Coldplay groupie!
Are you taking the piss? Really?
RF: Fuck yeah, especially the first two albums, I really love those.
What is it about Coldplay that does it for you?
RF: I don't know, I really don't know – I guess I'm just a sucker for pop music. I don't know if I'd be going to a Britney Spears concert though. I guess if it meant hanging with the Mastodo-dudes I'd probably roll out with them, but, I don't know.
Unto The Locust Is Out Now On Roadrunner. Machine Head are playing Wembley Arena on Dec 3
According to a Twitter message from the unofficial BLACK SABBATH web site Black-Sabbath.com, former BLACK SABBATH singer Tony Martin is considering re-releasing his first solo album, "Back Where I Belong", for its 20th anniversary next year. The new version of the LP would come with previously unreleased leftover tracks and concert video footage.
"Back Where I Belong" was recorded after Martin was briefly replaced in BLACK SABBATH by Ronnie James Dio in the early Nineties. Released in 1992, the album featured guest appearances by QUEEN guitarist Brian May, former WHITESNAKE bassist Neil Murray and longtime BLACK SABBATH keyboardist Geoff Nicholls, among others. The LP also included a cover version of the song "Jerusalem", which originally appeared on "Tyr", a BLACK SABBATH album on which Martin sang.
"Back Where I Belong" track listing:
01. If It Ain't Worth Fighting For
02. It Ain't Good Enough
03. If There Is A Heaven
04. Back Where I Belong
05. Ceasefire
06. Why Love
07. Sweet Elyse
08. The Last Living Tree
09. Now You've Gone
10. India
11. Angel In The Bed
12. The Road To Galilee
13. Jerusalem
Martin's last solo album, "Scream", was released in November 2005 via MTM Music. The CD featured legendary drummer Cozy Powell (BLACK SABBATH, RAINBOW, WHITESNAKE) on the track "Raising Hell" as well as songwriting contributions by another SABBATH member, Geoff Nicholls.
Timo Kotipelto (vocals) and Jens Johansson (keyboards) of STRATOVARIUS will make guest appearances on the forthcoming fourth album from Finnish female-fronted symphonic metallers AMBERIAN DAWN. AMBERIAN DAWN's mainman, keyboardist and guitarist Tuomas Seppälä composed all ten songs for the CD — which is due in 2012 — and vocalist Heidi Parviainen penned the lyrics.
Johansson previously guested on AMBERIAN DAWN's third album, "End Of Eden", which was released in October 2010 via Spinefarm Records.
Commented Tuomas: "I and the whole band have put even more effort on this album than never before and I'm sure that this new album is going to be best AMBERIAN DAWN album so far... Some songs on this album are propably best that I've ever composed and there's also one instrumental song on this album, which I wrote in 1992 and it was supposed to be released on some rock opera project. Unfortunaly, this project never happened due some unfortunate happenings. But now, after 20 years, this one song is going to be released. All other songs are new and are not covered with dust.
"If you liked the sound of 'The Clouds Of Northland Thunder' [AMBERIAN DAWN's second album, 2009], which was mixed by Teropekka Virtanen, you'll going like the fact that this new album is going to mixed by the same guy at legendary Finnvox Studios in Finland...
"As you know, guitarist Kasperi Heikkinen injured at summer and was unable to play at all for several months. That's why Kasperi was replaced by our ex-guitarist Emppu on our latest European tour this fall. It even seemed like Kasperi wasn't able to play on this new album at all. But a miracle happened and Kasperi got his hand better only a few days before the mixing sessions started and he was able to play something on this new album after all!! So, Kasperi is back on our happy lineup again."
Metal-Trails.com conducted an interview with AMBERIAN DAWN on October 14, 2011 at the Hamburg, Germany stop on the "Out Of The Dark" tour with VAN CANTO, TRISTANIA, SERENITY and XANDRIA. You can now watch the chat below.
AMBERIAN DAWN last year parted ways with Tommi Kuri (bass), Emil Tobias Pohjalainen (guitar) and Joonas Pykälä-aho (drums) and replaced them with Jukka Koskinen (NORTHER, WINTERSUN), Kimmo Korhonen (WALTARI, HELION, SOLACIDE) and Heikki Saari (NORTHER, NAILDOWN), respectively.
AMBERIAN DAWN's current lineup:
* Heidi Parviainen - Vocals
* Tuomas Seppälä - Keyboards, Guitar
* Kasperi Heikkinen - Guitar
* Kimmo Korhonen (WALTARI, HELION, SOLACIDE) - Guitar
* Jukka Koskinen (NORTHER, WINTERSUN) - Bass
* Heikki Saari (NORTHER, NAILDOWN) - Drums
For more information, visit www.amberiandawn.com.
Johansson previously guested on AMBERIAN DAWN's third album, "End Of Eden", which was released in October 2010 via Spinefarm Records.
Commented Tuomas: "I and the whole band have put even more effort on this album than never before and I'm sure that this new album is going to be best AMBERIAN DAWN album so far... Some songs on this album are propably best that I've ever composed and there's also one instrumental song on this album, which I wrote in 1992 and it was supposed to be released on some rock opera project. Unfortunaly, this project never happened due some unfortunate happenings. But now, after 20 years, this one song is going to be released. All other songs are new and are not covered with dust.
"If you liked the sound of 'The Clouds Of Northland Thunder' [AMBERIAN DAWN's second album, 2009], which was mixed by Teropekka Virtanen, you'll going like the fact that this new album is going to mixed by the same guy at legendary Finnvox Studios in Finland...
"As you know, guitarist Kasperi Heikkinen injured at summer and was unable to play at all for several months. That's why Kasperi was replaced by our ex-guitarist Emppu on our latest European tour this fall. It even seemed like Kasperi wasn't able to play on this new album at all. But a miracle happened and Kasperi got his hand better only a few days before the mixing sessions started and he was able to play something on this new album after all!! So, Kasperi is back on our happy lineup again."
Metal-Trails.com conducted an interview with AMBERIAN DAWN on October 14, 2011 at the Hamburg, Germany stop on the "Out Of The Dark" tour with VAN CANTO, TRISTANIA, SERENITY and XANDRIA. You can now watch the chat below.
AMBERIAN DAWN last year parted ways with Tommi Kuri (bass), Emil Tobias Pohjalainen (guitar) and Joonas Pykälä-aho (drums) and replaced them with Jukka Koskinen (NORTHER, WINTERSUN), Kimmo Korhonen (WALTARI, HELION, SOLACIDE) and Heikki Saari (NORTHER, NAILDOWN), respectively.
AMBERIAN DAWN's current lineup:
* Heidi Parviainen - Vocals
* Tuomas Seppälä - Keyboards, Guitar
* Kasperi Heikkinen - Guitar
* Kimmo Korhonen (WALTARI, HELION, SOLACIDE) - Guitar
* Jukka Koskinen (NORTHER, WINTERSUN) - Bass
* Heikki Saari (NORTHER, NAILDOWN) - Drums
For more information, visit www.amberiandawn.com.
The U.K. edition of the Sonisphere festival sold out this year as each day 60,000 festival-goers from all across Europe made the pilgrimage to Knebworth. Nearly a million people across the world watched the official webcast, making Sonisphere the major event in the heavy metal calendar.
Rufus Stone Limited Editions is proud to present the first-ever Sonisphere yearbook... a unique photographic look at this year's festival from backstage, front of stage, the audience, the technicians, the stars... in fact, Sonisphere as you've never seen it before! Rufus Stone's team of photographers was given unrivalled levels of access (not just Knebworth but at all of this year's Sonispheres across Europe!) to bring you a major publishing event.
The book will be released in two strictly limited editions, each destined to become truly collectible. Pre-ordering is essential to secure your copy later this year... in time for Christmas. These exclusive books are not available from shops... only online from Rufus Stone. The standard edition is £40 plus P+P and the luxurious Hardkase edition is £200 plus P+P.
For more information, visit www.sonisphereyearbook.com.
Rufus Stone Limited Editions is proud to present the first-ever Sonisphere yearbook... a unique photographic look at this year's festival from backstage, front of stage, the audience, the technicians, the stars... in fact, Sonisphere as you've never seen it before! Rufus Stone's team of photographers was given unrivalled levels of access (not just Knebworth but at all of this year's Sonispheres across Europe!) to bring you a major publishing event.
The book will be released in two strictly limited editions, each destined to become truly collectible. Pre-ordering is essential to secure your copy later this year... in time for Christmas. These exclusive books are not available from shops... only online from Rufus Stone. The standard edition is £40 plus P+P and the luxurious Hardkase edition is £200 plus P+P.
For more information, visit www.sonisphereyearbook.com.
During a new interview with the Chicago Tribune, '80s hard rock queen Lita Ford let slip that she recently met with her former THE RUNAWAYS bandmate Joan Jett for the first time in years, for dinner in New York City. "I hadn't seen her so long. We exchanged guitar picks," Lita said. "I just thought it was about time to see her. I reached out to her, and she reached back to me, so it was meant to be. She could have told me, 'Ah, go stick your head in the toilet,' but she didn't. It was great. I told her in the e-mail, 'If you want, you can tell me to (expletive) off. It's fine, but I would really love to see you.' She was a sweetheart."
Last year, the movie "The Runaways" was released starring Kristen Stewart of "Twilight" fame as singer Joan Jett. The band formed in 1975, with Ford on lead guitar. She was 16 at the time.
When asked about a possible reunion of THE RUNAWAYS, which broke up in 1979, Ford told the Naperville Sun, "I would love it [if a THE RUNAWAYS reunion were to happen]. I can't answer that question, but I would love it," she said. "We were ahead of our time. Now, people are realizing we were ahead of our time. We inspired so many different artists, and not just girls."
"The Runaways" was directed by Floria Sigismondi, who is best known for directing music videos by such artists as DAVID BOWIE, MARILYN MANSON, and SHERYL CROW.
Jett previously explained THE RUNAWAYS breakup to an interviewer, "I think it all really came down to musical differences. A couple of the girls wanted to go in a heavier direction and I wanted to stay with mainstream rock 'n' roll and punk rock. I was like, 'OK. Let's just say goodbye.'"
Last year, the movie "The Runaways" was released starring Kristen Stewart of "Twilight" fame as singer Joan Jett. The band formed in 1975, with Ford on lead guitar. She was 16 at the time.
When asked about a possible reunion of THE RUNAWAYS, which broke up in 1979, Ford told the Naperville Sun, "I would love it [if a THE RUNAWAYS reunion were to happen]. I can't answer that question, but I would love it," she said. "We were ahead of our time. Now, people are realizing we were ahead of our time. We inspired so many different artists, and not just girls."
"The Runaways" was directed by Floria Sigismondi, who is best known for directing music videos by such artists as DAVID BOWIE, MARILYN MANSON, and SHERYL CROW.
Jett previously explained THE RUNAWAYS breakup to an interviewer, "I think it all really came down to musical differences. A couple of the girls wanted to go in a heavier direction and I wanted to stay with mainstream rock 'n' roll and punk rock. I was like, 'OK. Let's just say goodbye.'"
Seminal rock group HELMET will celebrate the 20th anniversary of the release of its classic "Meantime" album by embarking on a five-week European tour in March/April 2012 and playing the LP in its entirety at each and every show.
A full listing of tour dates can be seen at this location.
A special pre-sale for HELMET fans will begin at 9 a.m. GMT this Thursday, November 30. Pre-sale tickets will only be available at www.helmetmusic.com or on the band's official Facebook page. The general public on-sale will begin Monday, December 5.
HELMET's second album, "Meantime", was released in 1992 on Interscope Records. The LP peaked at No. 68 on The Billboard 200 chart and was certified gold in 1994 by the Recording Industry Association Of America (RIAA) for shipments in excess of 500,000 copies. John Franck of Allmusic labeled "Meantime" "arguably one of the most influential and overlooked rock records of the '90s." He praised the music "colored by Teutonic riffs, with only 'Unsung' hinting at a gasp of commercial accessibility." Steffan Chirazi of Kerrang! described the album as "a wall of angry, bitter and agonized New York street cries."
HELMET's latest full-length album, "Seeing Eye Dog", came out on September 7, 2010. The band's first LP since 2006's critically acclaimed "Monochrome" and its seventh album overall was made available on the indie Work Song label (with physical distribution by Redeye and direct-to-fan digital delivery by Topspin). The CD was produced by HELMET mainman Page Hamilton, with additional production by Toshi Kasai and vocal production by Mark Renk.
Hamilton is joined by drummer Kyle Stevenson, guitarist Dan Beeman and bassist Chris Traynor; HELMET's live bassist is Dave Case.
A full listing of tour dates can be seen at this location.
A special pre-sale for HELMET fans will begin at 9 a.m. GMT this Thursday, November 30. Pre-sale tickets will only be available at www.helmetmusic.com or on the band's official Facebook page. The general public on-sale will begin Monday, December 5.
HELMET's second album, "Meantime", was released in 1992 on Interscope Records. The LP peaked at No. 68 on The Billboard 200 chart and was certified gold in 1994 by the Recording Industry Association Of America (RIAA) for shipments in excess of 500,000 copies. John Franck of Allmusic labeled "Meantime" "arguably one of the most influential and overlooked rock records of the '90s." He praised the music "colored by Teutonic riffs, with only 'Unsung' hinting at a gasp of commercial accessibility." Steffan Chirazi of Kerrang! described the album as "a wall of angry, bitter and agonized New York street cries."
HELMET's latest full-length album, "Seeing Eye Dog", came out on September 7, 2010. The band's first LP since 2006's critically acclaimed "Monochrome" and its seventh album overall was made available on the indie Work Song label (with physical distribution by Redeye and direct-to-fan digital delivery by Topspin). The CD was produced by HELMET mainman Page Hamilton, with additional production by Toshi Kasai and vocal production by Mark Renk.
Hamilton is joined by drummer Kyle Stevenson, guitarist Dan Beeman and bassist Chris Traynor; HELMET's live bassist is Dave Case.
HOTEL DIABLO, the new band featuring vocalist Rick Stitch (LADYJACK, ex-ADLER'S APPETITE), guitarist Alex Grossi (QUIET RIOT), bassist Mike Duda and drummer Mike Dupke (both of W.A.S.P.), will release an EP on January 10 via iTunes and other online stores. The six-song effort will consist of the material the group recently recorded with producer (and former GUNS N' ROSES/ROCKSTAR SUPERNOVA guitarist) Gilby Clarke.
"We are very excited to get this stuff out there," says Grossi. "We have been taking our time in the studio and I think people will be into what we have so far."
Audio samples of the tracks "All These Years", "What You Do To Me" and "Psycho California" can be streamed in the YouTube clip below.
HOTEL DIABLO will debut many of the new songs live on December 8 at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California.
Clarke is best known for his tenure as the rhythm guitarist of GUNS N' ROSES. He joined the band in November 1991, replacing Izzy Stradlin, who quit the group in the middle of a 28-month world tour. Gilby has also played with ROCKSTAR SUPERNOVA, HEART, NANCY SINATRA, Kathy Valentine (of THE GO-GO'S) and the reformed MC5 on their 2005 European tour.
HOTEL DIABLO released its first single, "Set It Off", back in July. It can currently be heard exclusively on the band's web site, www.thehoteldiablo.com. It is also available on iTunes and other online music stores.
"We are very excited to get this stuff out there," says Grossi. "We have been taking our time in the studio and I think people will be into what we have so far."
Audio samples of the tracks "All These Years", "What You Do To Me" and "Psycho California" can be streamed in the YouTube clip below.
HOTEL DIABLO will debut many of the new songs live on December 8 at the Whisky A Go Go in West Hollywood, California.
Clarke is best known for his tenure as the rhythm guitarist of GUNS N' ROSES. He joined the band in November 1991, replacing Izzy Stradlin, who quit the group in the middle of a 28-month world tour. Gilby has also played with ROCKSTAR SUPERNOVA, HEART, NANCY SINATRA, Kathy Valentine (of THE GO-GO'S) and the reformed MC5 on their 2005 European tour.
HOTEL DIABLO released its first single, "Set It Off", back in July. It can currently be heard exclusively on the band's web site, www.thehoteldiablo.com. It is also available on iTunes and other online music stores.
Original KISS guitarist Ace Frehley has been forced to cancel his previously announced U.K. dates due to a fractured left wrist resulting from a fall in his home yesterday (Sunday, November 27). Doctors applied a fiberglass cast to Frehley's hand and arm, and he has been instructed not to play guitar or use his wrist for a minimum of ten days. Ace would like to convey his deepest heartfelt apologies to all of his U.K. fans and to make it up to them, has already signed on to headline Hard Rock Hell festival in December 2012. He hopes to be able to announce the additional rescheduled dates soon.
Affected dates:
Dec. 01 - Cardiff, Wales - Coal Exchange
Dec. 03 - Pontins Prestatyn, North Wales - Hard Rock Hell Festival
Dec. 04 - London, England - Islington Academy
Ace Frehley's book, "No Regrets: A Rock 'N' Roll Memoir", landed at position No. 10 on the New York Times "Hardcover Nonfiction" best sellers list. The book, which is described as a look back at Ace's "life of sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll," arrived on November 1 via Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.
"No Regrets", which was published under Gallery's VH1 Books imprint, was co-written by New York Times journalist Joe Layden who also authored "The Last Great Fight" about what is considered by many to be the biggest upset in the history of boxing: James "Buster" Douglas' tenth-round knockout win over Mike Tyson in 1990.
Frehley performed with KISS from its inception in 1973 until his first departure in 1982 before rejoining KISS in 1996 for a very successful reunion tour. Frehley's second stint lasted until 2002 as Ace went back to being a solo artist again, but the stories and memories still remain from touring in one of rock and roll's most successful acts of all time.
Affected dates:
Dec. 01 - Cardiff, Wales - Coal Exchange
Dec. 03 - Pontins Prestatyn, North Wales - Hard Rock Hell Festival
Dec. 04 - London, England - Islington Academy
Ace Frehley's book, "No Regrets: A Rock 'N' Roll Memoir", landed at position No. 10 on the New York Times "Hardcover Nonfiction" best sellers list. The book, which is described as a look back at Ace's "life of sex, drugs, and rock-and-roll," arrived on November 1 via Gallery Books, an imprint of Simon & Schuster.
"No Regrets", which was published under Gallery's VH1 Books imprint, was co-written by New York Times journalist Joe Layden who also authored "The Last Great Fight" about what is considered by many to be the biggest upset in the history of boxing: James "Buster" Douglas' tenth-round knockout win over Mike Tyson in 1990.
Frehley performed with KISS from its inception in 1973 until his first departure in 1982 before rejoining KISS in 1996 for a very successful reunion tour. Frehley's second stint lasted until 2002 as Ace went back to being a solo artist again, but the stories and memories still remain from touring in one of rock and roll's most successful acts of all time.
Legendary U.S. metal band RIOT has scheduled the following U.S. dates:
Jan. 18 - New York, NY @ BB King Blues Club & Grill
Jan. 19 - West Springfield, VA @ Jaxx
Jan. 20 - Rochester, NY @ Montage Music Hall
RIOT's new album, "Immortal Soul", was released on October 21 in Japan via Marquee/Avalon; October 26 in Scandinavia; October 28 in Germany; Austria and Switzerland; October 31 in the rest of Europe; and November 22 in the U.S. and Canada through Steamhammer/SPV. The effort was made available as a limited digipack with two bonus tracks, double gatefold LP (colored blue vinyl) and regular jewel case.
"Immortal Soul" sees Tony Moore, Mark Reale, Don Van Stavern and Bobby Jarzombek — the lineup responsible for the band's hugely acclaimed "Thundersteel" (1988) and "The Privilege Of Power" (1990) albums — reunited once more, together with Mike Flyntz who as the additional live guitarist helped bring these two acclaimed albums to life on stage.
Jan. 18 - New York, NY @ BB King Blues Club & Grill
Jan. 19 - West Springfield, VA @ Jaxx
Jan. 20 - Rochester, NY @ Montage Music Hall
RIOT's new album, "Immortal Soul", was released on October 21 in Japan via Marquee/Avalon; October 26 in Scandinavia; October 28 in Germany; Austria and Switzerland; October 31 in the rest of Europe; and November 22 in the U.S. and Canada through Steamhammer/SPV. The effort was made available as a limited digipack with two bonus tracks, double gatefold LP (colored blue vinyl) and regular jewel case.
"Immortal Soul" sees Tony Moore, Mark Reale, Don Van Stavern and Bobby Jarzombek — the lineup responsible for the band's hugely acclaimed "Thundersteel" (1988) and "The Privilege Of Power" (1990) albums — reunited once more, together with Mike Flyntz who as the additional live guitarist helped bring these two acclaimed albums to life on stage.
KING DIAMOND bassist Hal Patino and his son, 20-year-old Danish rock singer Maryann Cotton (born Jackie Patino), have teamed up with legendary Danish movie director Martin Miehe-Renard to write a Christmas song. The track, titled "Cruel Christmas", is dedicated to all the deployed soldiers that may never get to celebrate Christmas with their families again.
Hal Patino recently donated his trademark skeleton pants, skeleton shirt, top hat and cream Warwick bass to the Danish Rock Museum, which will open in 2014 in the newly developed creative urban area, Musicon, situated next to the Roskilde Festival site in Roskilde.
Patino used the cream Warwick bass to record everything he has done since 2000, including the upcoming album from his son.
Hal's clothes and bass will be displayed in glass cases where visitors will be able to view the items and listen to an audio track on headphones highlighting the musician's 35-year career.
Hal Patino recently donated his trademark skeleton pants, skeleton shirt, top hat and cream Warwick bass to the Danish Rock Museum, which will open in 2014 in the newly developed creative urban area, Musicon, situated next to the Roskilde Festival site in Roskilde.
Patino used the cream Warwick bass to record everything he has done since 2000, including the upcoming album from his son.
Hal's clothes and bass will be displayed in glass cases where visitors will be able to view the items and listen to an audio track on headphones highlighting the musician's 35-year career.
Danish metal rock 'n' rollers VOLBEAT have issued the following update:
"VOLBEAT has decided to part ways with Thomas Bredahl.
"Being in a band is in many ways similar to a marriage with ups and downs. At times you can work it out and sometimes you need to go separate ways...
"We want to thank him for the work he has put in for VOLBEAT and we wish him all the best in the future.
"VOLBEAT will play all shows as announced, either as a trio or with a replacement guitarist. Right now we'll take a well-deserved break and we will be back on the road in January, ready to rock the Gigantour and Wacken."
Bredahl had been a member of VOLBEAT since 2006.
VOLBEAT has just released "Live From Beyond Hell/Above Heaven" via Vertigo/Universal on double DVD, Blu-ray, limited double DVD + audio CD, CD, digital download and VOD.
With engines revving, VOLBEAT takes "Live From Beyond Hell/Above Heaven" into overdrive and jacks up their musical ride with footage from their sold-out show in front of 10,000 fervent fans at the Forum in Copenhagen, to the House of Blues in Anaheim, California and the Rock Am Ring show in Germany. It's VOLBEAT conquering performance territory Stateside and across Europe, showing fans that the band is just as comfortable, charged and throttled in front of an audience as intimate as 1,100 or as vast as 80,000.
Filmed on 11 cameras, leaving no musical stone unturned, this is as close to a backstage pass as you can get. And joined by such musical greats as Scott Ian and Rob Caggiano of ANTHRAX/THE DAMNED THINGS, Michael Denner (MERCYFUL FATE), Mille Petrozza (KREATOR), Jacob Øelund, and L.G. Petrov (ENTOMBED), viewers also witness VOLBEAT in a rock and metal Hall Of Fame.
"VOLBEAT has decided to part ways with Thomas Bredahl.
"Being in a band is in many ways similar to a marriage with ups and downs. At times you can work it out and sometimes you need to go separate ways...
"We want to thank him for the work he has put in for VOLBEAT and we wish him all the best in the future.
"VOLBEAT will play all shows as announced, either as a trio or with a replacement guitarist. Right now we'll take a well-deserved break and we will be back on the road in January, ready to rock the Gigantour and Wacken."
Bredahl had been a member of VOLBEAT since 2006.
VOLBEAT has just released "Live From Beyond Hell/Above Heaven" via Vertigo/Universal on double DVD, Blu-ray, limited double DVD + audio CD, CD, digital download and VOD.
With engines revving, VOLBEAT takes "Live From Beyond Hell/Above Heaven" into overdrive and jacks up their musical ride with footage from their sold-out show in front of 10,000 fervent fans at the Forum in Copenhagen, to the House of Blues in Anaheim, California and the Rock Am Ring show in Germany. It's VOLBEAT conquering performance territory Stateside and across Europe, showing fans that the band is just as comfortable, charged and throttled in front of an audience as intimate as 1,100 or as vast as 80,000.
Filmed on 11 cameras, leaving no musical stone unturned, this is as close to a backstage pass as you can get. And joined by such musical greats as Scott Ian and Rob Caggiano of ANTHRAX/THE DAMNED THINGS, Michael Denner (MERCYFUL FATE), Mille Petrozza (KREATOR), Jacob Øelund, and L.G. Petrov (ENTOMBED), viewers also witness VOLBEAT in a rock and metal Hall Of Fame.
Texas heavy rockers DROWNING POOL have parted ways with vocalist Ryan McCombs.
A member of DROWNING POOL since 2006, McCombs replaced singer Jason "Gong" Jones, who joined the band following the tragic passing of Dave Williams.
Ryan recently rejoined his former bandmates in SOIL for a tour of the U.K. that featured a setlist comprised of select cuts from the group's "Scars" and "Re.de.fine" albums, along with a song from SOIL's debut "Throttle Junkies" release.
Commented DROWNING POOL guitarist C.J. Pierce: "We have always been a band who has gained success despite having multiple singers... maybe we suffer from reverse 'lead singer's disease.'
"Changing things up has not always been easy, but the band has become re-energized time and time again.
"We are looking to find a new singer who will give both us, and most importantly our fans, the new adrenaline shot they deserve." He went on to say, "We do wish Ryan great success in his future endeavors."
In a 2007 interview with Live-Metal.net, DROWNING POOL bassist Stevie Benton stated about the band's collaboration with McCombs, "After Dave passed, Ryan was the original singer, I think, we wanted, the reason being we knew the guy, we were friends with the guy. We just thought he'd be a great fit, both musically and personally. Unfortunately, he was still working in a band, so we didn't want to go in there and break up that whole rig. So instead, we held auditions and just wound up getting a total stranger in the band."
He added, "We'll always be proud of the record we made with Gong. That was never a problem. It was once we got on the road touring together every day that we realized the personality conflict was not gonna allow the band to continue that way. With Dave, we had always been such a tight-knit group, such a family — brothers, basically. So we weren't used to having to deal with these personal issues that we had with Gong, just the personality conflict. I would say probably he didn't handle that very well and neither did we. So that's what ultimately led to us parting ways. By the time that happened, luckily Ryan had quit his former band, so we didn't have the guilt of breaking that whole rig up. We called him one day, you know, 'Hey, bro, you wanna tour? You wanna make a record?' It all fell together quite nicely after that. The situation is just so much better because we do have a past with the guy. We toured with him lots of times before, done a hundred shows with him in his old band. So we had that tight-knit circle again."
DROWNING POOL's self-titled fourth album was released in April 2010 via Eleven Seven Music. The CD was recorded at House of Loud (BREAKING BENJAMIN, PARAMORE) with Kato Khandwala producing and David Bendeth mixing. Drummer Mike Luce previously stated about the album, "Sonically, 'Drowning Pool' squashes anything we've ever done. This record is really diverse too. There's some material that could've been taken right off 'Sinner', and there's some new stuff that goes beyond all expectations of this band."
Following their first hit with "Bodies" in 2001, DROWNING POOL developed a special relationship with the military and their families, eventually visiting and performing for the soldiers in Kuwait and Iraq in 2005 and 2006, respectively. They were also instrumental in the passing of the Lane Evans Mental Health Care Reform providing better mental health care for our veterans. During a trip to Capitol Hill, they presented then-Senator Barack Obama with a petition which helped to pass the Lane Evans Mental Health Care Reform, which he sponsored in the Senate and went on to become law supporting the medical rights for our returning warriors. DROWNING POOL engaged in a tour of South Korea for MWR (The US Army's family and morale, welfare and recreation organization) and on Memorial Day 2009 they even played Guantanamo Bay.
A member of DROWNING POOL since 2006, McCombs replaced singer Jason "Gong" Jones, who joined the band following the tragic passing of Dave Williams.
Ryan recently rejoined his former bandmates in SOIL for a tour of the U.K. that featured a setlist comprised of select cuts from the group's "Scars" and "Re.de.fine" albums, along with a song from SOIL's debut "Throttle Junkies" release.
Commented DROWNING POOL guitarist C.J. Pierce: "We have always been a band who has gained success despite having multiple singers... maybe we suffer from reverse 'lead singer's disease.'
"Changing things up has not always been easy, but the band has become re-energized time and time again.
"We are looking to find a new singer who will give both us, and most importantly our fans, the new adrenaline shot they deserve." He went on to say, "We do wish Ryan great success in his future endeavors."
In a 2007 interview with Live-Metal.net, DROWNING POOL bassist Stevie Benton stated about the band's collaboration with McCombs, "After Dave passed, Ryan was the original singer, I think, we wanted, the reason being we knew the guy, we were friends with the guy. We just thought he'd be a great fit, both musically and personally. Unfortunately, he was still working in a band, so we didn't want to go in there and break up that whole rig. So instead, we held auditions and just wound up getting a total stranger in the band."
He added, "We'll always be proud of the record we made with Gong. That was never a problem. It was once we got on the road touring together every day that we realized the personality conflict was not gonna allow the band to continue that way. With Dave, we had always been such a tight-knit group, such a family — brothers, basically. So we weren't used to having to deal with these personal issues that we had with Gong, just the personality conflict. I would say probably he didn't handle that very well and neither did we. So that's what ultimately led to us parting ways. By the time that happened, luckily Ryan had quit his former band, so we didn't have the guilt of breaking that whole rig up. We called him one day, you know, 'Hey, bro, you wanna tour? You wanna make a record?' It all fell together quite nicely after that. The situation is just so much better because we do have a past with the guy. We toured with him lots of times before, done a hundred shows with him in his old band. So we had that tight-knit circle again."
DROWNING POOL's self-titled fourth album was released in April 2010 via Eleven Seven Music. The CD was recorded at House of Loud (BREAKING BENJAMIN, PARAMORE) with Kato Khandwala producing and David Bendeth mixing. Drummer Mike Luce previously stated about the album, "Sonically, 'Drowning Pool' squashes anything we've ever done. This record is really diverse too. There's some material that could've been taken right off 'Sinner', and there's some new stuff that goes beyond all expectations of this band."
Following their first hit with "Bodies" in 2001, DROWNING POOL developed a special relationship with the military and their families, eventually visiting and performing for the soldiers in Kuwait and Iraq in 2005 and 2006, respectively. They were also instrumental in the passing of the Lane Evans Mental Health Care Reform providing better mental health care for our veterans. During a trip to Capitol Hill, they presented then-Senator Barack Obama with a petition which helped to pass the Lane Evans Mental Health Care Reform, which he sponsored in the Senate and went on to become law supporting the medical rights for our returning warriors. DROWNING POOL engaged in a tour of South Korea for MWR (The US Army's family and morale, welfare and recreation organization) and on Memorial Day 2009 they even played Guantanamo Bay.
"Rebels", the new EP from Los Angeles theatrical rockers BLACK VEIL BRIDES, will be released on December 13, exclusively through iTunes. Pre-sales begin on December 6. The EP contains "Coffin", a new original track; a cover version of Billy Idol's '80s anthem "Rebel Yell", which BLACK VEIL BRIDES has been performing live; and a cover of KISS' "Unholy", featuring a guest guitar solo by Zakk Wylde. The EP, which boasts artwork by longtime BLACK VEIL BRIDES artist Richard Villa, also includes the six-minute director's cut of BLACK VEIL BRIDES' latest video, "Rebel Love Song", which hasn't been seen anywhere until now.
"Rebels" track listing:
01. Coffin
02. Rebel Yell (BILLY IDOL cover)
03. Unholy (KISS cover, ft. Zakk Wylde)
04. Rebel Love Song (6-minute extended director's cut music video)
BLACK VEIL BRIDES is currently on the road as the support act for AVENGED SEVENFOLD on the "Buried Alive Tour". The trek kicked off November 23 in Fort Myers, Florida and is scheduled to conclude on the West Coast in mid-December.
BLACK VEIL BRIDES postponed several shows on its recent U.K. tour after singer Andrew Biersack broke his nose in Luxembourg on October 26.
In an interview with Revolver magazine, Biersack said he suffered his most recent injury as a result of his "typical routine to entertain the crowd …. rolling around and being crazy."
"Rebels" track listing:
01. Coffin
02. Rebel Yell (BILLY IDOL cover)
03. Unholy (KISS cover, ft. Zakk Wylde)
04. Rebel Love Song (6-minute extended director's cut music video)
BLACK VEIL BRIDES is currently on the road as the support act for AVENGED SEVENFOLD on the "Buried Alive Tour". The trek kicked off November 23 in Fort Myers, Florida and is scheduled to conclude on the West Coast in mid-December.
BLACK VEIL BRIDES postponed several shows on its recent U.K. tour after singer Andrew Biersack broke his nose in Luxembourg on October 26.
In an interview with Revolver magazine, Biersack said he suffered his most recent injury as a result of his "typical routine to entertain the crowd …. rolling around and being crazy."
Legendary British occult metal act HELL will support ACCEPT on the following dates:
April 06 - Paris, France - Bataclan
April 07 - Mons, Belgium - PPM Fest
April 10 - Kempten, Germany - Big Box
April 11 - Stuttgart, Germany - Pilharmonie
April 13 - Straubing, Germany - Messehalle
April 14 - Geiselwind, Germany - Event Center
April 15 - Pratteln, Switzerland - Z7
April 17 - Oberhausen, Germany - Turbinenhalle
April 18 - Hamburg, Germany - Große Freiheit
April 19 - Berlin, Germany - Huxleys
Professionally filmed video footage of HELL's performance at his year's installment of the Summer Breeze festival, which is being held August 18-20, 2011 in Dinkelsbühl, Germany, can be seen below.
HELL's new album, "Human Remains", entered the German Media Control chart at position No. 46.
Cited as a huge indirect influence, and as one of the true founding fathers of occult metal, HELL formed in 1982 from the carcasses of U.K. metal bands RACE AGAINST TIME and PARALEX, whose "White Lightning" EP was listed by METALLICA as a favorite, and which was subsequently included on the Lars Ulrich, Geoff Barton "NWOBHM '79 Revisited" sampler album.
Despite over five years of constant touring, the band was cruelly overlooked by the '80s music press, who just didn't get it. HELL were too different, too extreme, too musically intelligent and far too thought-provoking for all but the most enlightened to understand them. The final crushing blow came when their long-awaited 1986 album deal with Mausoleum collapsed as the label went bankrupt, followed by the tragic suicide of singer/guitarist Dave Halliday in 1987. The remaining members drew a line in the sand and stopped playing overnight.
A teenage Andy Sneap was a permanent fixture on the front row of almost every show HELL played and was also taught to play guitar by Halliday. He then went on to form SABBAT and become a renowned metal producer. Upon meeting again, the remaining members of HELL — Kev Bower (guitar/keyboards), Tony Speakman (bass) and Tim Bowler (drums) — talked with Andy about re-recording the old material to release in conjunction with the old demos. With Sneap replacing Halliday on guitar and David Bower on vocals, the band has recorded 10 HELL classics from the '80s.
One hugely respected European journal has described "Human Remains" as one of the best things they have heard in the last 15 years and THE band to watch out for in 2011.
April 06 - Paris, France - Bataclan
April 07 - Mons, Belgium - PPM Fest
April 10 - Kempten, Germany - Big Box
April 11 - Stuttgart, Germany - Pilharmonie
April 13 - Straubing, Germany - Messehalle
April 14 - Geiselwind, Germany - Event Center
April 15 - Pratteln, Switzerland - Z7
April 17 - Oberhausen, Germany - Turbinenhalle
April 18 - Hamburg, Germany - Große Freiheit
April 19 - Berlin, Germany - Huxleys
Professionally filmed video footage of HELL's performance at his year's installment of the Summer Breeze festival, which is being held August 18-20, 2011 in Dinkelsbühl, Germany, can be seen below.
HELL's new album, "Human Remains", entered the German Media Control chart at position No. 46.
Cited as a huge indirect influence, and as one of the true founding fathers of occult metal, HELL formed in 1982 from the carcasses of U.K. metal bands RACE AGAINST TIME and PARALEX, whose "White Lightning" EP was listed by METALLICA as a favorite, and which was subsequently included on the Lars Ulrich, Geoff Barton "NWOBHM '79 Revisited" sampler album.
Despite over five years of constant touring, the band was cruelly overlooked by the '80s music press, who just didn't get it. HELL were too different, too extreme, too musically intelligent and far too thought-provoking for all but the most enlightened to understand them. The final crushing blow came when their long-awaited 1986 album deal with Mausoleum collapsed as the label went bankrupt, followed by the tragic suicide of singer/guitarist Dave Halliday in 1987. The remaining members drew a line in the sand and stopped playing overnight.
A teenage Andy Sneap was a permanent fixture on the front row of almost every show HELL played and was also taught to play guitar by Halliday. He then went on to form SABBAT and become a renowned metal producer. Upon meeting again, the remaining members of HELL — Kev Bower (guitar/keyboards), Tony Speakman (bass) and Tim Bowler (drums) — talked with Andy about re-recording the old material to release in conjunction with the old demos. With Sneap replacing Halliday on guitar and David Bower on vocals, the band has recorded 10 HELL classics from the '80s.
One hugely respected European journal has described "Human Remains" as one of the best things they have heard in the last 15 years and THE band to watch out for in 2011.
DEATHDESTRUCTION will support fellow Swedes IN FLAMES on "a bunch of Swedish dates in April."
For a complete list of dates, visit DeathDestruction.com.
DEATHDESTRUCTION recently inked a deal with the Swedish branch of Sony Music Entertainment. The band's three-song EP, "Fuck Yeah", was released in April and was followed by the group's self-titled debut album in August. The CD was recorded at IN FLAMES' IF Studios with producer Roberto Laghi (IN FLAMES, HARDCORE SUPERSTAR, LOK, SONIC SYNDICATE).
"Deathdestruction" track listing:
01. The Shredding March
02. Kill It!
03. Fuck Yeah
04. Silence
05. Mark My Words
06. Hellfire
07. Day Of Reckoning
08. Purified
09. Chained In Thoughts
10. Sea Of Blood
11. Kingdome Come
DEATHDESTRUCTION is:
Jimmie Strimell (DEAD BY APRIL) - Vocals
Henrik Danhage (ex-EVERGREY) - Guitar
Fredrik "Loppan" Larsson (HAMMERFALL) - Bass
Jonas Ekdahl (ex-EVERGREY) - Drums
Formed in late 2003 by Danhage, Ekdahl and EVERGREY keyboardist Rikard Zander (who was handling the vocals in the band's earliest incarnation), DEATHDESTRUCTION began as an innocent "hobby project" before Henrik and Jonas realized they wanted to pursue the band more seriously. They eventually parted ways with Rikard and enlisted Larsson and Strimmell, both of whom were "very excited to join the band," according to the group's official bio.
For a complete list of dates, visit DeathDestruction.com.
DEATHDESTRUCTION recently inked a deal with the Swedish branch of Sony Music Entertainment. The band's three-song EP, "Fuck Yeah", was released in April and was followed by the group's self-titled debut album in August. The CD was recorded at IN FLAMES' IF Studios with producer Roberto Laghi (IN FLAMES, HARDCORE SUPERSTAR, LOK, SONIC SYNDICATE).
"Deathdestruction" track listing:
01. The Shredding March
02. Kill It!
03. Fuck Yeah
04. Silence
05. Mark My Words
06. Hellfire
07. Day Of Reckoning
08. Purified
09. Chained In Thoughts
10. Sea Of Blood
11. Kingdome Come
DEATHDESTRUCTION is:
Jimmie Strimell (DEAD BY APRIL) - Vocals
Henrik Danhage (ex-EVERGREY) - Guitar
Fredrik "Loppan" Larsson (HAMMERFALL) - Bass
Jonas Ekdahl (ex-EVERGREY) - Drums
Formed in late 2003 by Danhage, Ekdahl and EVERGREY keyboardist Rikard Zander (who was handling the vocals in the band's earliest incarnation), DEATHDESTRUCTION began as an innocent "hobby project" before Henrik and Jonas realized they wanted to pursue the band more seriously. They eventually parted ways with Rikard and enlisted Larsson and Strimmell, both of whom were "very excited to join the band," according to the group's official bio.
German female-fronted symphonic metallers XANDRIA will release their new studio album, "Neverworld's End", via Napalm Records on the following dates:
Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Benelux, Italy: February 24, 2012
Spain, Finland, Sweden: February 22, 2012
Rest of Europe: February 27, 2012
USA, Canada: March 6, 2012
Commented the band: "Although the title may indicate it, this is not a concept album, but there is an overall theme threading its way through most of the songs."
The first two in a series of webisodes featuring behind-the-scenes footage from the making of the new XANDRIA CD can be seen below.
XANDRIA recently took part in the "Out Of The Dark" European tour with VAN CANTO, TRISTANIA, SERENITY and AMBERIAN DAWN.
XANDRIA in December 2010 announced the addition of singer Manuela Kraller to the group's ranks.
Commented Manuela: "My musical life started very late, at the age of 23. In a choir in Finland I discovered singing for me and since then it became my passion. I began to take classical singing lessons, sang in church and gospel choirs and soon I was asked to be a solo singer in choirs, at churchly and also at private occasions. But as I have grown up with metal and rock music I soon wanted to combine it with my classical background. So I started singing rock and metal songs with a friend and also wrote own songs for the first time. Soon after that I joined a metal band called NAGOR MAR (Switzerland) and I also became a singer in the German band HAGGARD, where I had great experiences on stage and on tour. And now a 'new age' has begun for me and I am very pleased to be the new singer of XANDRIA!"
XANDRIA performed several concerts last year with the band's former frontwoman, Lisa Middelhauve, filling in.
XANDRIA in February 2011 parted ways with its singer of one year, Kerstin Bischof. The group stated at the time, "Due to occupational and private reasons, [Kerstin] wants to concentrate on her non-musical career in the future and cannot support XANDRIA the way it would be necessary."
Bischof joined XANDRIA in February 2009 as the replacement for Middelhauve, who left the band in May 2008 for "personal reasons." Lisa stated at the time, "My exit has nothing to do with dispute or controversy within the band. It was just time to split."
XANDRIA's fourth album, "Salomé - The Seventh Veil", was released in May 2007.
Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Benelux, Italy: February 24, 2012
Spain, Finland, Sweden: February 22, 2012
Rest of Europe: February 27, 2012
USA, Canada: March 6, 2012
Commented the band: "Although the title may indicate it, this is not a concept album, but there is an overall theme threading its way through most of the songs."
The first two in a series of webisodes featuring behind-the-scenes footage from the making of the new XANDRIA CD can be seen below.
XANDRIA recently took part in the "Out Of The Dark" European tour with VAN CANTO, TRISTANIA, SERENITY and AMBERIAN DAWN.
XANDRIA in December 2010 announced the addition of singer Manuela Kraller to the group's ranks.
Commented Manuela: "My musical life started very late, at the age of 23. In a choir in Finland I discovered singing for me and since then it became my passion. I began to take classical singing lessons, sang in church and gospel choirs and soon I was asked to be a solo singer in choirs, at churchly and also at private occasions. But as I have grown up with metal and rock music I soon wanted to combine it with my classical background. So I started singing rock and metal songs with a friend and also wrote own songs for the first time. Soon after that I joined a metal band called NAGOR MAR (Switzerland) and I also became a singer in the German band HAGGARD, where I had great experiences on stage and on tour. And now a 'new age' has begun for me and I am very pleased to be the new singer of XANDRIA!"
XANDRIA performed several concerts last year with the band's former frontwoman, Lisa Middelhauve, filling in.
XANDRIA in February 2011 parted ways with its singer of one year, Kerstin Bischof. The group stated at the time, "Due to occupational and private reasons, [Kerstin] wants to concentrate on her non-musical career in the future and cannot support XANDRIA the way it would be necessary."
Bischof joined XANDRIA in February 2009 as the replacement for Middelhauve, who left the band in May 2008 for "personal reasons." Lisa stated at the time, "My exit has nothing to do with dispute or controversy within the band. It was just time to split."
XANDRIA's fourth album, "Salomé - The Seventh Veil", was released in May 2007.
http://www.roadrunnerrecords.com/blabbermouth.net/soulflypremiere/xandrianeverworld.jpg
MACHINE HEAD, CANNIBAL CORPSE, AMON AMARTH, DEVILDRIVER and EXODUS are among the confirmed bands for next year's edition of Hellfest, set to take place June 15-17, 2012 in Clisson, France.
The festival billing is shaping up as follows:
ABORTED
ACID KING
ALCEST
ALL FOR NOTHING
ALL PIGS MUST DIE
ALPHA TIGER
AMENRA
AMON AMARTH
ANAAL NATHRAKH
AOSOTH
ARCTURUS
ASG
AUGUST BURNS RED
AVULSED
BENEDICTION
BETRAYING THE MARTYRS
BLACK SABBATH
BLOOD RED THRONE
BLUE ÖYSTER CULT
BRAIN POLICE
BRUJERIA
BRUTAL TRUTH
CANNIBAL CORPSE
CHANNEL ZERO
CHILDREN OF BODOM
COLOUR HAZE
CRASHDIET
DARKEST HOUR
DARKSPACE
DEATH ANGEL
DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR
DEVILDRIVER
DIMMU BORGIR
DISEMBOWELMENT
DJERV
DO OR DIE
DOG EAT DOG
DYING FETUS
DYSE
EMMURE
ENDSTILLE
ENSLAVED
EXODUS
EXTINCTION OF A MANKIND
FROM ASHES RISE
GAMA BOMB
GIRLSCHOOL
GLORIOR BELLI
H2O
HAEMORRHAGE
HATEBREED
HOODS
HOUR OF PENANCE
IN EXTREMO
INTEGRITY
LAMB OF GOD
L'ESPRIT DU CLAN
LIZZY BORDEN
LYNYRD SKYNYRD
MACHINE HEAD
MADBALL
MERRIMACK
MOLLY HATCHET
MONKEY 3
NAPALM DEATH
NASUM
NECROS CHRISTOS
ORANGE GOBLIN
ORANSSI PAZUZU
ORIGIN
PENTAGRAM
ROMPEPROP
SACRED REICH
SAINT VITUS
SOLSTAFIR
SPUDMONSTERS
STRIFE
SUICIDAL ANGELS
TAAKE
THE DEVIL'S BLOOD
THOU
TRIVIUM
UFOMAMMUT
UNEXPECT
VANDERBUYST
VICTIMS
VOMITORY
VULTURE INDUSTRIES
WALLS OF JERICHO
WHITECHAPEL
WINTERFYLLETH
YEAR OF NO LIGHT
YOB
The festival billing is shaping up as follows:
ABORTED
ACID KING
ALCEST
ALL FOR NOTHING
ALL PIGS MUST DIE
ALPHA TIGER
AMENRA
AMON AMARTH
ANAAL NATHRAKH
AOSOTH
ARCTURUS
ASG
AUGUST BURNS RED
AVULSED
BENEDICTION
BETRAYING THE MARTYRS
BLACK SABBATH
BLOOD RED THRONE
BLUE ÖYSTER CULT
BRAIN POLICE
BRUJERIA
BRUTAL TRUTH
CANNIBAL CORPSE
CHANNEL ZERO
CHILDREN OF BODOM
COLOUR HAZE
CRASHDIET
DARKEST HOUR
DARKSPACE
DEATH ANGEL
DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR
DEVILDRIVER
DIMMU BORGIR
DISEMBOWELMENT
DJERV
DO OR DIE
DOG EAT DOG
DYING FETUS
DYSE
EMMURE
ENDSTILLE
ENSLAVED
EXODUS
EXTINCTION OF A MANKIND
FROM ASHES RISE
GAMA BOMB
GIRLSCHOOL
GLORIOR BELLI
H2O
HAEMORRHAGE
HATEBREED
HOODS
HOUR OF PENANCE
IN EXTREMO
INTEGRITY
LAMB OF GOD
L'ESPRIT DU CLAN
LIZZY BORDEN
LYNYRD SKYNYRD
MACHINE HEAD
MADBALL
MERRIMACK
MOLLY HATCHET
MONKEY 3
NAPALM DEATH
NASUM
NECROS CHRISTOS
ORANGE GOBLIN
ORANSSI PAZUZU
ORIGIN
PENTAGRAM
ROMPEPROP
SACRED REICH
SAINT VITUS
SOLSTAFIR
SPUDMONSTERS
STRIFE
SUICIDAL ANGELS
TAAKE
THE DEVIL'S BLOOD
THOU
TRIVIUM
UFOMAMMUT
UNEXPECT
VANDERBUYST
VICTIMS
VOMITORY
VULTURE INDUSTRIES
WALLS OF JERICHO
WHITECHAPEL
WINTERFYLLETH
YEAR OF NO LIGHT
YOB
British gothic metal pioneers PARADISE LOST have entered The Chapel studios in Lincolnshire, England to begin recording their new album, "Tragic Idol", for an April 24, 2012 release via Century Media Records.
Commented Gregor Mackintosh: "The [new CD] will again be produced by Jens Bogren and is influenced by classic doom metal and classic metal. I would say it is more melodic than the last record whilst retaining the heaviness. There are lots of guitar solos and melodies. The album will contain such track titles as 'Honesty in Death', 'Theories from Another World', 'In this We Dwell' and the title track, 'Tragic Idol'."
PARADISE LOST's last full-length effort, "Faith Divides Us - Death Unites Us", came out in October 2009. The CD landed at position No. 148 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. The follow-up to 2007's "In Requiem" was recorded at Fascination Street Studios in Örebro, Sweden with producer Jens Bogren. The album's artwork, which is based upon a "Danse Macabre" woodcut by Hans Holbein the Younger (first published in 1538), was created by Stefan Wibbeke at Medialogistics (LACUNA COIL, POISONBLACK).
PARADISE LOST recently released the "Draconian Times MMXI" DVD via Century Media.
Sony Music reissued PARADISE LOST's seminal 1995 album "Draconian Times" through the "Legacy" series; featuring the entire digitally remastered album, including a 5.1 Dolby Surround mix in a brand-new collector's edition digipak box set, so fans could hear the album like never before. Along with this release, the band performed "Draconian Times" live at a series of seven exclusive gigs this past spring in Utrecht, Bochum, London, Paris, Athens, and Thessaloniki.
"Draconian Times MMXI" features the London show at The Forum on April 1, a documentary from the whole tour filmed by the band's bass player Steve Edmondson, interviews about the history of "Draconian Times" with producer Simon Efemey, Nick Holmes (vocals), Greg Mackintosh (guitar), Aaron Aedy (guitar), Steve Edmondson (bass) and Andy Farrow (manager since 1990) and the two promo videos from PARADISE LOST's latest album, "Faith Divides Us - Death Unites Us".
Commented Gregor Mackintosh: "The [new CD] will again be produced by Jens Bogren and is influenced by classic doom metal and classic metal. I would say it is more melodic than the last record whilst retaining the heaviness. There are lots of guitar solos and melodies. The album will contain such track titles as 'Honesty in Death', 'Theories from Another World', 'In this We Dwell' and the title track, 'Tragic Idol'."
PARADISE LOST's last full-length effort, "Faith Divides Us - Death Unites Us", came out in October 2009. The CD landed at position No. 148 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. The follow-up to 2007's "In Requiem" was recorded at Fascination Street Studios in Örebro, Sweden with producer Jens Bogren. The album's artwork, which is based upon a "Danse Macabre" woodcut by Hans Holbein the Younger (first published in 1538), was created by Stefan Wibbeke at Medialogistics (LACUNA COIL, POISONBLACK).
PARADISE LOST recently released the "Draconian Times MMXI" DVD via Century Media.
Sony Music reissued PARADISE LOST's seminal 1995 album "Draconian Times" through the "Legacy" series; featuring the entire digitally remastered album, including a 5.1 Dolby Surround mix in a brand-new collector's edition digipak box set, so fans could hear the album like never before. Along with this release, the band performed "Draconian Times" live at a series of seven exclusive gigs this past spring in Utrecht, Bochum, London, Paris, Athens, and Thessaloniki.
"Draconian Times MMXI" features the London show at The Forum on April 1, a documentary from the whole tour filmed by the band's bass player Steve Edmondson, interviews about the history of "Draconian Times" with producer Simon Efemey, Nick Holmes (vocals), Greg Mackintosh (guitar), Aaron Aedy (guitar), Steve Edmondson (bass) and Andy Farrow (manager since 1990) and the two promo videos from PARADISE LOST's latest album, "Faith Divides Us - Death Unites Us".
Cleveland thrashers SOULLESS have parted ways with longtime guitarist Jim Corrick.
After spending the better part of the past ten years melting faces and crushing kegs, Jim has decided to move on to greener hop fields. Jim will join his SOULLESS bandmates for their shows December 23 in Parma, Ohio and January 13 in Cleveland, and from there will ride off on his trusty steed directly into the Forbidden Zone to seek his future. Filling the void will be long time north coast axemaster Matt Sorg (BLOOD OF CHRIST, FROM THE DEPTHS, DECREPIT, BEYOND FEAR, RINGWORM).
Commented the band: "Matt is a longtime friend, incredible player and a drinking champion. We're thrilled that circumstances are allowing him to join us in SOULLESS. He's a perfect fit and we plan on getting busy with him as soon as possible, teaching him our material and beginning the songwriting process for our next full-length."
Added Jim: "Sadly, my time in SOULLESS is up. This would have been an easier decision if Chris, Jim, Dave and Wayne weren't such god-damned rippers! It's time for someone else to forge ahead with this metal juggernaut; I'm glad to hear my good friend Matt Sorg is stepping in to continue the assault... I can't think of anyone else better suited for the task."
Stated Matt: "It's great to be joining Cleveland's best metal band! I've been in bands with Chris Dora for over 17 years now and I'm glad to keep that going! I've known all these guys forever and I'm excited to get to thrash with them!"
SOULLESS is currently at Bad Back studios with producers David Johnson and Snacks Mahone putting the finishing touches on its latest opus, "In Death's Grip", which should be out in early 2012.
Formed in 1996, SOULLESS has released three full-length albums and two seven-inch singles, along with multiple appearances on various compilations and tribute records. The band's next limited release will be the "As Darkness Dawns" seven-inch picture disc featuring exclusive artwork by metal art legend Sean Rodgers (DARK ANGEL, NUCLEAR ASSAULT).
After spending the better part of the past ten years melting faces and crushing kegs, Jim has decided to move on to greener hop fields. Jim will join his SOULLESS bandmates for their shows December 23 in Parma, Ohio and January 13 in Cleveland, and from there will ride off on his trusty steed directly into the Forbidden Zone to seek his future. Filling the void will be long time north coast axemaster Matt Sorg (BLOOD OF CHRIST, FROM THE DEPTHS, DECREPIT, BEYOND FEAR, RINGWORM).
Commented the band: "Matt is a longtime friend, incredible player and a drinking champion. We're thrilled that circumstances are allowing him to join us in SOULLESS. He's a perfect fit and we plan on getting busy with him as soon as possible, teaching him our material and beginning the songwriting process for our next full-length."
Added Jim: "Sadly, my time in SOULLESS is up. This would have been an easier decision if Chris, Jim, Dave and Wayne weren't such god-damned rippers! It's time for someone else to forge ahead with this metal juggernaut; I'm glad to hear my good friend Matt Sorg is stepping in to continue the assault... I can't think of anyone else better suited for the task."
Stated Matt: "It's great to be joining Cleveland's best metal band! I've been in bands with Chris Dora for over 17 years now and I'm glad to keep that going! I've known all these guys forever and I'm excited to get to thrash with them!"
SOULLESS is currently at Bad Back studios with producers David Johnson and Snacks Mahone putting the finishing touches on its latest opus, "In Death's Grip", which should be out in early 2012.
Formed in 1996, SOULLESS has released three full-length albums and two seven-inch singles, along with multiple appearances on various compilations and tribute records. The band's next limited release will be the "As Darkness Dawns" seven-inch picture disc featuring exclusive artwork by metal art legend Sean Rodgers (DARK ANGEL, NUCLEAR ASSAULT).
Los Angeles-based traditional metallers WHITE WIZZARD have been forced to drop off the ICED EARTH European tour and return home.
Commented WHITE WIZZARD in a statement: "Due the harsh economic realities in Europe, we have to cut our tour a bit short. We financed this all ourselves and in the end we have to make the tough choice to stop. We played many amazing shows and want to thank ICED EARTH for being so good to us. Sorry to miss those last shows, but we will be back. Thanks to so many wonderful fans that came out!!!"
WHITE WIZZARD released its new album, "Flying Tigers", on September 19 via Earache Records. The CD features twelve new tracks and expands on the band's traditional heavy metal blueprint, with songs ranging from fist-pumping NWOBHM-style anthems, through the arena rock power of "Starchild", to a six-track epic concept piece featuring science-fiction and philosophical elements tied together with a progressive vibe.
"Flying Tigers" features the core WHITE WIZZARD lineup of bassist, songwriter and founding member Jon Leon, drummer Giovanni Durst and studio vocalist Wyatt Anderson, who featured on the band's debut album, "Over The Top". The album was once again recorded with producer Ralph Patlan in Phoenix, Arizona.
WHITE WIZZARD recently recruited Jake Dreyer as the band's new second guitarist.
Commented WHITE WIZZARD in a statement: "Due the harsh economic realities in Europe, we have to cut our tour a bit short. We financed this all ourselves and in the end we have to make the tough choice to stop. We played many amazing shows and want to thank ICED EARTH for being so good to us. Sorry to miss those last shows, but we will be back. Thanks to so many wonderful fans that came out!!!"
WHITE WIZZARD released its new album, "Flying Tigers", on September 19 via Earache Records. The CD features twelve new tracks and expands on the band's traditional heavy metal blueprint, with songs ranging from fist-pumping NWOBHM-style anthems, through the arena rock power of "Starchild", to a six-track epic concept piece featuring science-fiction and philosophical elements tied together with a progressive vibe.
"Flying Tigers" features the core WHITE WIZZARD lineup of bassist, songwriter and founding member Jon Leon, drummer Giovanni Durst and studio vocalist Wyatt Anderson, who featured on the band's debut album, "Over The Top". The album was once again recorded with producer Ralph Patlan in Phoenix, Arizona.
WHITE WIZZARD recently recruited Jake Dreyer as the band's new second guitarist.
Radio Metal recently conducted an interview with new GOTTHARD singer Nic Maeder. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
Radio Metal: What were your impressions and feelings during your auditions with GOTTHARD?
Nic Maeder: It was sort of a pretty long process. I think I spent three different auditions with the guys and we spent time together. It started at the beginning of the year; it was a very long process. Then you never know, you know? [laughs] You just give it your best shot and hope for the best. We got along really well from day one. The chemistry was always great from the beginning. Even when at one point we spent two weaks writing songs together, it just worked fantastically — we wrote a lot of stuff — and yeah, it's just really good.
Radio Metal: Since you were still a completely unknown musician five days ago, before the official announcement, could you tell us about your background, your musical projects, etc?
Nic Maeder: I've been playing music all my life. I started to play a bit piano of when I was 8 years old. I didn't like it that much and I quit. My piano teacher
told my dad, "Oh, don't worry, one day he'll pick up a guitar probably," and
I did. I really started singing a bit after that and then had a lot of different bands and day jobs in between as well. Sometimes I could make a living from some bands for a little while, but never very long. That's how I've been doing this. Last year I've been doing accoustic covers in pubs in Australia and stuff. Then I started the auditioning process for this and here I am!
Radio Metal: Didn't you feel any pressure replacing Steve Lee or maybe were afraid of the reaction of Steve Lee's fans?
Nic Maeder: Yeah, of course, there's definitely a lot of pressure. I think you need not to think about it too much. [laughs] It really helped me with it. And it's really good having the guys here… It's like family; everybody sticks together and everybody's fighting the pressure, not just me. It makes it a lot easier.
Radio Metal: I guess it must be kind of embarrassing since you're replacing someone who passed last year… Did you feel somehow ashamed of the feeling of being enthusiastic to be in the band?
Nic Maeder: No, not at all. The band really wanted to continue; that's something that they're really passionate about doing. I was really happy they asked me to do this and to be part of it. I think it's fantastic.
Radio Metal: To be honest, your voice is very similar to Steve Lee's. Was he one of your vocal influences?
Nic Maeder: I grew up with AC/DC. But yeah, I was always a fan, you know, I always thought he had a fantastic voice. But it's funny, because some people say it sounds very similar and some people don't. It's a hard one. Personally, I don't think that I sound very similar. There are similarities, but I still see the differences.
Radio Metal: What is your level of contribution to the new album?
Nic Maeder: Well, I compose as well, so I compose music and lyrics and everything along with the others guys. It's really a shared work with everybody.
Radio Metal: Freddy [Scherer, guitar] told us a few weeks ago that a song will be dedicated to Steve Lee. Who will write the lyrics?
Nic Maeder: This is actually something that Leo [Leoni, guitar] wrote. I helped a little bit, but it's his.
Radio Metal: What are your projects now? You're gonna dedicate yourselves to the album?
Nic Maeder: We're starting production at the end of the week, and we hope that the album will be out for spring next year. Then we'll start touring.
Radio Metal: What were your impressions and feelings during your auditions with GOTTHARD?
Nic Maeder: It was sort of a pretty long process. I think I spent three different auditions with the guys and we spent time together. It started at the beginning of the year; it was a very long process. Then you never know, you know? [laughs] You just give it your best shot and hope for the best. We got along really well from day one. The chemistry was always great from the beginning. Even when at one point we spent two weaks writing songs together, it just worked fantastically — we wrote a lot of stuff — and yeah, it's just really good.
Radio Metal: Since you were still a completely unknown musician five days ago, before the official announcement, could you tell us about your background, your musical projects, etc?
Nic Maeder: I've been playing music all my life. I started to play a bit piano of when I was 8 years old. I didn't like it that much and I quit. My piano teacher
told my dad, "Oh, don't worry, one day he'll pick up a guitar probably," and
I did. I really started singing a bit after that and then had a lot of different bands and day jobs in between as well. Sometimes I could make a living from some bands for a little while, but never very long. That's how I've been doing this. Last year I've been doing accoustic covers in pubs in Australia and stuff. Then I started the auditioning process for this and here I am!
Radio Metal: Didn't you feel any pressure replacing Steve Lee or maybe were afraid of the reaction of Steve Lee's fans?
Nic Maeder: Yeah, of course, there's definitely a lot of pressure. I think you need not to think about it too much. [laughs] It really helped me with it. And it's really good having the guys here… It's like family; everybody sticks together and everybody's fighting the pressure, not just me. It makes it a lot easier.
Radio Metal: I guess it must be kind of embarrassing since you're replacing someone who passed last year… Did you feel somehow ashamed of the feeling of being enthusiastic to be in the band?
Nic Maeder: No, not at all. The band really wanted to continue; that's something that they're really passionate about doing. I was really happy they asked me to do this and to be part of it. I think it's fantastic.
Radio Metal: To be honest, your voice is very similar to Steve Lee's. Was he one of your vocal influences?
Nic Maeder: I grew up with AC/DC. But yeah, I was always a fan, you know, I always thought he had a fantastic voice. But it's funny, because some people say it sounds very similar and some people don't. It's a hard one. Personally, I don't think that I sound very similar. There are similarities, but I still see the differences.
Radio Metal: What is your level of contribution to the new album?
Nic Maeder: Well, I compose as well, so I compose music and lyrics and everything along with the others guys. It's really a shared work with everybody.
Radio Metal: Freddy [Scherer, guitar] told us a few weeks ago that a song will be dedicated to Steve Lee. Who will write the lyrics?
Nic Maeder: This is actually something that Leo [Leoni, guitar] wrote. I helped a little bit, but it's his.
Radio Metal: What are your projects now? You're gonna dedicate yourselves to the album?
Nic Maeder: We're starting production at the end of the week, and we hope that the album will be out for spring next year. Then we'll start touring.
LEAVES' EYES — the German/Norwegian band formed by ex-THEATRE OF TRAGEDY singer Liv Kristine Espenaes Krull and members of ATROCITY — will release a digital-only EP, "Melusine", on December 16 in Europe and December 20 in the U.S. via Napalm Records. The five-track EP effort includes no less than four previously unreleased songs.
The track listing for the effort is as follows:
01. Melusine
02. To France (unreleased mix)
03. Tell-Tale Eyes (alternate version)
04. The Battle Of Maldon
05. Legend Land (acoustic version)
The track listing for the effort is as follows:
01. Melusine
02. To France (unreleased mix)
03. Tell-Tale Eyes (alternate version)
04. The Battle Of Maldon
05. Legend Land (acoustic version)
LEAVES' EYES' latest album, "Meredead", entered the German Media Control chart at position No. 32. Released on April 22 in Germany, Austria and Switzerland via Napalm Records, the effort was made available exclusively as limited-edition mediabook CD, including bonus track and bonus DVD "Live At The Metal Female Voices Fest", strictly limited-edition deluxe box set and regular jewel case. The deluxe box set (pictured below) is limited to 1,000 copies and includes the mediabook CD including bonus track and bonus DVD, "Live At The Metal Female Voices Fest", plus pendant (Celtic cross with LEAVES' EYES branding).
STONE SOUR and SLIPKNOT frontman Corey Taylor will take part in a reading and book-signing session on Friday, December 2 at 2:00 p.m. at Sunrise Records in Toronto, Ontario, Canada.
For more information, go to this location.
Taylor kicked off his solo tour on November 14 at the House Of Blues in Anaheim, California. Called "An Evening With Corey Taylor", the concerts feature Taylor doing both spoken-word and acoustic performances, along with question-and-answer sessions with the audience.
Remaining dates are as follows:
Dec. 01 - Corona Theatre - Montreal, QC
Dec. 02 - Mod Club - Toronto, ON
Dec. 04 - Middle East - Boston, MA
Dec. 05 - Highline Ballroom - New York, NY
Dec. 06 - World Cafe Live - Philadelphia, PA
Dec. 07 - The Met - Providence, RI
Dec. 09 - Starland Ballroom - Sayreville, NJ
Dec. 10 - Sound Stage - Baltimore, MD
Dec. 12 - Masquerade - Atlanta, GA
Dec. 13 - The Social - Orlando, FL
Taylor recently revealed that STONE SOUR will release a concert DVD and cover songs EP in one package. He also said in a recent interview that the next STONE SOUR album is likely to be recorded in 2012 and could end up being a concept record.
For more information, go to this location.
Taylor kicked off his solo tour on November 14 at the House Of Blues in Anaheim, California. Called "An Evening With Corey Taylor", the concerts feature Taylor doing both spoken-word and acoustic performances, along with question-and-answer sessions with the audience.
Remaining dates are as follows:
Dec. 01 - Corona Theatre - Montreal, QC
Dec. 02 - Mod Club - Toronto, ON
Dec. 04 - Middle East - Boston, MA
Dec. 05 - Highline Ballroom - New York, NY
Dec. 06 - World Cafe Live - Philadelphia, PA
Dec. 07 - The Met - Providence, RI
Dec. 09 - Starland Ballroom - Sayreville, NJ
Dec. 10 - Sound Stage - Baltimore, MD
Dec. 12 - Masquerade - Atlanta, GA
Dec. 13 - The Social - Orlando, FL
Taylor recently revealed that STONE SOUR will release a concert DVD and cover songs EP in one package. He also said in a recent interview that the next STONE SOUR album is likely to be recorded in 2012 and could end up being a concept record.
Drummer Robb Rivera has teamed up with THC:Music to form his own label imprint SSFM (Stand Strong For Music), which will sign and release records through THC:Music/Rocket Science. Rivera is a founding member of hard rock mainstays NONPOINT, who released their latest and sixth studio album, 2010's "Miracle", through Rocket Science, debuting at No. 59 on The Billboard 200 chart.
But the connection doesn't stop there, as THC founder/Rocket Science A&R Thom Hazaert, also served as an early manager to the Florida rockers, and helped to garner them some of their first label interest in the late '90s while working as an A&R scout for Jive.
"Obviously the ties to Robb and the NONPOINT camp were strong; we've always been friends and crossed paths many times over the years. Robb has an amazing eye for business, and an incredible ear for talent, so when we started talking about this, it just made perfect sense," says Hazaert.
"Many of the most successful up-and-coming bands of the last decade cut their teeth touring with NONPOINT, and both myself and Robb saw that as a great opportunity to form a pipeline to develop some amazing talent together."
Rivera adds, "Thom and I go way back from NONPOINT's demo/local days. I saw what he was doing with THC and Rocket Science, and I decided to reach out, and that's when the idea for the imprint came up.
"Most people that know me know that I have always helped bands by either putting them on shows, posting about their band and this is something I have done since my teens.
"I love promoting and helping bands; I have always said that if I like your band, people will know, and this is just an extension of that.
"I am excited about this new chapter in my life and I will be looking forward to finding the best new bands out there, not only bands with great music, but with the work ethic to match."
Releases will be distributed in North America though Sony/RED.
But the connection doesn't stop there, as THC founder/Rocket Science A&R Thom Hazaert, also served as an early manager to the Florida rockers, and helped to garner them some of their first label interest in the late '90s while working as an A&R scout for Jive.
"Obviously the ties to Robb and the NONPOINT camp were strong; we've always been friends and crossed paths many times over the years. Robb has an amazing eye for business, and an incredible ear for talent, so when we started talking about this, it just made perfect sense," says Hazaert.
"Many of the most successful up-and-coming bands of the last decade cut their teeth touring with NONPOINT, and both myself and Robb saw that as a great opportunity to form a pipeline to develop some amazing talent together."
Rivera adds, "Thom and I go way back from NONPOINT's demo/local days. I saw what he was doing with THC and Rocket Science, and I decided to reach out, and that's when the idea for the imprint came up.
"Most people that know me know that I have always helped bands by either putting them on shows, posting about their band and this is something I have done since my teens.
"I love promoting and helping bands; I have always said that if I like your band, people will know, and this is just an extension of that.
"I am excited about this new chapter in my life and I will be looking forward to finding the best new bands out there, not only bands with great music, but with the work ethic to match."
Releases will be distributed in North America though Sony/RED.
Formerly Italian, currently U.S.-based band EPHEL DUATH, known as a modern mixture of avant-garde metal and progressive rock with jazz-fusion and hardcore punk elements, has inked a worldwide deal with Agonia Records for the release of an EP and two full-length albums.
Under the leading role of talented guitarist and songwriter Davide Tiso, the machine of EPHEL DUATH is ready to send out a new musical impulse, with the artistic contribution of a new line-up of well-known special session musicians, soon to be announced.
Due in the spring, EPHEL DUATH's new EP will be recorded in January 2012 at Sharkbyte Studios (MACHINE HEAD, EXODUS, HIGH ON FIRE) in Oakland, California. Erik Rutan will handle the mixing duties at his Mana Recording Studio (CANNIBAL CORPSE, HATE ETERNAL, GOATWHORE, AGNOSTIC FRONT) in St. Petersburg, Florida. Alan Douches will master the material at West West Side Music (DEATH, SWANS, MASTODON, CONVERGE, BARONESS, THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, CLUTCH) in New Windsor, New York.
Under the leading role of talented guitarist and songwriter Davide Tiso, the machine of EPHEL DUATH is ready to send out a new musical impulse, with the artistic contribution of a new line-up of well-known special session musicians, soon to be announced.
Due in the spring, EPHEL DUATH's new EP will be recorded in January 2012 at Sharkbyte Studios (MACHINE HEAD, EXODUS, HIGH ON FIRE) in Oakland, California. Erik Rutan will handle the mixing duties at his Mana Recording Studio (CANNIBAL CORPSE, HATE ETERNAL, GOATWHORE, AGNOSTIC FRONT) in St. Petersburg, Florida. Alan Douches will master the material at West West Side Music (DEATH, SWANS, MASTODON, CONVERGE, BARONESS, THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, CLUTCH) in New Windsor, New York.
A BAND OF ORCS, the fantasy-themed heavy metal band from Santa Cruz, California, has entered Trident Studios in Pacheco, California with producer Juan Urteaga (MACHINE HEAD) to begin recording their new concept album about killing giants. The artwork is being created by Chuck Lukacs.
Since most earthly establishments do not accept human blood as monetary payment, the ORCS are having humans help out with the process by means of a new campaign via the crowd-funding platform Kickstarter. The ORCS will reward the generosity of their human fans by including their names in the albums liner notes, giving away free album downloads, autographed albums, T-shirts, Orc miniatures, and more.
A BAND OF ORCS' debut EP, "Warchiefs Of The Apocalypse", was released on August 15, 2007.
Since most earthly establishments do not accept human blood as monetary payment, the ORCS are having humans help out with the process by means of a new campaign via the crowd-funding platform Kickstarter. The ORCS will reward the generosity of their human fans by including their names in the albums liner notes, giving away free album downloads, autographed albums, T-shirts, Orc miniatures, and more.
A BAND OF ORCS' debut EP, "Warchiefs Of The Apocalypse", was released on August 15, 2007.
Uddevalla, Sweden-based metallers HELLENNIUM have inked a deal with Gothenburg, Sweden's Rambo Music, a division of Gain Music Entertainment (which is distributed and partly owned by Sony Music). The band's self-titled debut album was mastered at Andy La Rocque's (KING DIAMOND) Sonic Train Studios in Varberg, Sweden.
In a recent interview with TheUnderground.in, HELLENNIUM bassist Linus Palmqvist stated about the band's upcoming CD, "The theme, though, is already chosen, and was probably the easiest decision we've ever taken, seeing as it never was a decision. The songs sort of wrote themselves and united around the common theme that our values create. It's the soundtrack to the battlefield of life! To have a record about anything else would be to go against all of the things that we and HELLENNIUM stand for."
HELLENNIUM is:
Khaled El Tayara: Vocals
Martin Lindberg: Guitar
David Borg-Hansen: Guitar
Linus Palmqvist: Bass
Dave O'Neill: Drums
In a recent interview with TheUnderground.in, HELLENNIUM bassist Linus Palmqvist stated about the band's upcoming CD, "The theme, though, is already chosen, and was probably the easiest decision we've ever taken, seeing as it never was a decision. The songs sort of wrote themselves and united around the common theme that our values create. It's the soundtrack to the battlefield of life! To have a record about anything else would be to go against all of the things that we and HELLENNIUM stand for."
HELLENNIUM is:
Khaled El Tayara: Vocals
Martin Lindberg: Guitar
David Borg-Hansen: Guitar
Linus Palmqvist: Bass
Dave O'Neill: Drums
BLOTTED SCIENCE guitarist/mastermind Ron Jarzombek (WATCHTOWER, TERRESTRIAL EXILED, SPASTIC INK) has released an instructional video for the song "Cretaceous Chasm" off the band's "The Animation Of Entomology" EP. In it, the guitarist explains the application of the twelve-tone system devised specifically for the writing process of the EP, which will be the subject of a forthcoming DVD, titled "Dissecting Bugs".
States Jarzombek: "I've been mentioning this '12-Tones In Fragmented Rows' system in interviews and it seems that even non-musicians are interested in it, so I put together this video to give listeners some insight on how it all works. I thought it would be best to break this all down into its most basic theoretical form, and play examples of its use. I chose to post the basic guitar tracks to 'Cretaceous Chasm' because it is the simplest song on the EP and is the easiest to grasp theoretically. The song will also appear first on my upcoming instructional DVD, 'Dissecting Bugs', where I will go in-depth with all of the 12-tone theory, and play all guitar parts on all songs from the EP. Things do get a bit complicated when melodies and solos are laid on top of the note groups, but we'll get to all of that good stuff on the DVD." More information about the sample video, including the transcription/tabs, can be found at this location.
"The Animation Of Entomology", which was released in the U.S. on October 4 via Jarzombek's EclecticElectric label, will be made available in Europe on November 28 through Basick Records. The cover art was created by Atlanta, Georgia-based artist Richard Morley of Morley Arts and can be seen below.
Described as "a cross between CANNIBAL CORPSE, SPASTIC INK, and a Bugs Bunny cartoon," "The Animation Of Entomology" takes Jarzombek's fascination with animated cartoons and creepy crawlies to a whole new level. Having experimented with writing complex pieces of music to sync up with movie sequences in the past with his previous outfit SPASTIC INK, the concept has now been applied to BLOTTED SCIENCE over the course of seven songs and a total of 24 minutes of music.
The folllow-up to the band's highly acclaimed 2007 "The Machinations Of Dementia" full-length album was produced and mixed by Ron Jarzombek and recorded in San Antonio, Texas; Tampa, Florida; and V. Santura's (OBSCURA, TRIPTYKON) Woodshed Studios in Landshut, Germany where the drums were cut. Mastering duties were once again handled by Jacob Hansen (VOLBEAT, DESTRUCTION) at Hansen Studios in Ribe, Denmark.
States Jarzombek: "I've been mentioning this '12-Tones In Fragmented Rows' system in interviews and it seems that even non-musicians are interested in it, so I put together this video to give listeners some insight on how it all works. I thought it would be best to break this all down into its most basic theoretical form, and play examples of its use. I chose to post the basic guitar tracks to 'Cretaceous Chasm' because it is the simplest song on the EP and is the easiest to grasp theoretically. The song will also appear first on my upcoming instructional DVD, 'Dissecting Bugs', where I will go in-depth with all of the 12-tone theory, and play all guitar parts on all songs from the EP. Things do get a bit complicated when melodies and solos are laid on top of the note groups, but we'll get to all of that good stuff on the DVD." More information about the sample video, including the transcription/tabs, can be found at this location.
"The Animation Of Entomology", which was released in the U.S. on October 4 via Jarzombek's EclecticElectric label, will be made available in Europe on November 28 through Basick Records. The cover art was created by Atlanta, Georgia-based artist Richard Morley of Morley Arts and can be seen below.
Described as "a cross between CANNIBAL CORPSE, SPASTIC INK, and a Bugs Bunny cartoon," "The Animation Of Entomology" takes Jarzombek's fascination with animated cartoons and creepy crawlies to a whole new level. Having experimented with writing complex pieces of music to sync up with movie sequences in the past with his previous outfit SPASTIC INK, the concept has now been applied to BLOTTED SCIENCE over the course of seven songs and a total of 24 minutes of music.
The folllow-up to the band's highly acclaimed 2007 "The Machinations Of Dementia" full-length album was produced and mixed by Ron Jarzombek and recorded in San Antonio, Texas; Tampa, Florida; and V. Santura's (OBSCURA, TRIPTYKON) Woodshed Studios in Landshut, Germany where the drums were cut. Mastering duties were once again handled by Jacob Hansen (VOLBEAT, DESTRUCTION) at Hansen Studios in Ribe, Denmark.
Veteran U.S. death metal act INCANTATION is writing material for a new studio album, tentatively due sometime in 2012.
Commented INCANTATION drummer Kyle Severn: "The new material we have been writing with new members Alex [Bouks, also of GOREAPHOBIA] and Chuck [Sherwood, also of BLOODSTORM] is beyond brutal, as these songs have come together they are by far the darkest and most demented INCANTATION tracks I've been a part of since 'Diabolical Conquest'."
In related news, Kyle has finished up with his first foray into the cinema realm with a new horror/slasher movie called "After Party Massacre". Co-written/co-directed with Kristoff Bates (of Horrormerch.com), this slasher starts with live performances by INCANTATION and SOULLESS, which then takes a deadly turn after the bands are finished as this unrated movie is filled with blood, scantily clad female flesh and lots of death metal.
INCATATION has a brand new track (the group's first studio recording in six years) available on the "After Party Massacre" CD soundtrack and limited-edition seven-inch bloodsplatter vinyl single.
Commented INCANTATION drummer Kyle Severn: "The new material we have been writing with new members Alex [Bouks, also of GOREAPHOBIA] and Chuck [Sherwood, also of BLOODSTORM] is beyond brutal, as these songs have come together they are by far the darkest and most demented INCANTATION tracks I've been a part of since 'Diabolical Conquest'."
In related news, Kyle has finished up with his first foray into the cinema realm with a new horror/slasher movie called "After Party Massacre". Co-written/co-directed with Kristoff Bates (of Horrormerch.com), this slasher starts with live performances by INCANTATION and SOULLESS, which then takes a deadly turn after the bands are finished as this unrated movie is filled with blood, scantily clad female flesh and lots of death metal.
INCATATION has a brand new track (the group's first studio recording in six years) available on the "After Party Massacre" CD soundtrack and limited-edition seven-inch bloodsplatter vinyl single.
Swedish death metal veterans GRAVE have set "Endless Procession Of Souls" as the working title of their new album, tentatively due in early 2012. According to a posting on the band's Facebook page, five songs have thus far been completed for the next CD, which will be released via Century Media Records.
GRAVE recently parted ways with guitarist Magnus Martinsson. According to the group, Magnus — who has played with GRAVE since 2008 — and his now-former bandmates made "this joint decision after going through plans for next year and we needed to address this within the band before we start the new album process. There aren't now, and have never been, any hard feelings between us and we wish him the best in any future endeavors."
GRAVE's November 12 concert at Club Distortion/Kulturhuset in Stockholm, Sweden was filmed for future release. The band celebrated the 20th anniversary of its classic 1991 debut album, "Into The Grave", by performing the LP in its entirety, along with "another handful classic tunes." Support at the show came from VICIOUS ART and GENERAL SURGERY.
Fan-filmed video footage of GRAVE's performance can be seen below.
GRAVE in September completed a North American headlining tour with support from BLOOD RED THRONE, PATHOLOGY and GIGAN.
GRAVE's latest album, "Burial Ground", was released on June 14, 2010 via Regain Records. The CD's cover artwork was created by Costin Chioreanu of Twilight13 Media.
GRAVE recently parted ways with guitarist Magnus Martinsson. According to the group, Magnus — who has played with GRAVE since 2008 — and his now-former bandmates made "this joint decision after going through plans for next year and we needed to address this within the band before we start the new album process. There aren't now, and have never been, any hard feelings between us and we wish him the best in any future endeavors."
GRAVE's November 12 concert at Club Distortion/Kulturhuset in Stockholm, Sweden was filmed for future release. The band celebrated the 20th anniversary of its classic 1991 debut album, "Into The Grave", by performing the LP in its entirety, along with "another handful classic tunes." Support at the show came from VICIOUS ART and GENERAL SURGERY.
Fan-filmed video footage of GRAVE's performance can be seen below.
GRAVE in September completed a North American headlining tour with support from BLOOD RED THRONE, PATHOLOGY and GIGAN.
GRAVE's latest album, "Burial Ground", was released on June 14, 2010 via Regain Records. The CD's cover artwork was created by Costin Chioreanu of Twilight13 Media.
Swedish progressive death metallers IN MOURNING have inked a deal with Spinefarm Records. The band's third full-length album, "The Weight Of Oceans", will be released next year.
IN MOURNING's latest CD, "Monolith", was released in January 2010 via Pulverised Records. The CD was recorded, mixed and mastered at Black Lounge Studio in Avesta, Sweden in with producer Jonas Kjellgren (SCAR SYMMETRY, CENTINEX, WORLD BELOW). The cover artwork was created by Travis Smith (NEVERMORE, OPETH, KING DIAMOND, AMORPHIS).
IN MOURNING's full-length debut, "Shrouded Divine" (2008), was released on vinyl on November 20, 2009 via Kolony Records. Limited to 500 copies worldwide, it came with new exclusive artwork for this version only and inner sleeve containing all lyrics and info.
IN MOURNING is:
Tobias Netzell - Vocals, Guitar
Pierre Stam - Bass
Björn Pettersson - Guitar
Tim Nedergård - Guitar
Christian Netzell - Drums
IN MOURNING's latest CD, "Monolith", was released in January 2010 via Pulverised Records. The CD was recorded, mixed and mastered at Black Lounge Studio in Avesta, Sweden in with producer Jonas Kjellgren (SCAR SYMMETRY, CENTINEX, WORLD BELOW). The cover artwork was created by Travis Smith (NEVERMORE, OPETH, KING DIAMOND, AMORPHIS).
IN MOURNING's full-length debut, "Shrouded Divine" (2008), was released on vinyl on November 20, 2009 via Kolony Records. Limited to 500 copies worldwide, it came with new exclusive artwork for this version only and inner sleeve containing all lyrics and info.
IN MOURNING is:
Tobias Netzell - Vocals, Guitar
Pierre Stam - Bass
Björn Pettersson - Guitar
Tim Nedergård - Guitar
Christian Netzell - Drums
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