METALLICA's official web site has been updated with the following message:
"As you know, we generally make it a policy not to comment on gossip or rumors, but we also pride ourselves on being first with 'TALLICA news. So, with that said, the more astute of you may have noticed a couple of mentions in trade publications, and most recently in the new issue of Rolling Stone, that a METALLICA 3D movie is in the works. We're here to tell you that, yes, there is indeed a 3D project in the very early stages of production! We wish we could tell you more right now, but we don't have all the finer points nailed down just yet. What we can tell you is that we are planning on being in a theatre near you sometime in 2013 and as you hear us say ever so often, this will be the space for all the details as we finalize them."
Deadline.com reported last October that METALLICA was planning to self-finance a 3D feature film. The band had hired producer Charlotte Huggins ("Journey To The Center Of The Earth" and "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island") to work on the project, for which a director was being sought.
METALLICA's critically acclaimed 2004 documentary "Some Kind Of Monster", directed by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky ("Brother's Keeper", "Paradise Lost"), offered a revealing behind-the-scenes look at METALLICA as they confronted personal demons and their relationships with each other during the making of the band's 2003 album "St. Anger".
In a 2010 interview with Australia's Herald Sun, METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich stated about "Some Kind Of Monster", "Every time I see Noel Gallagher [OASIS], he quotes lines from that movie back to me. That thing has taken on a life of its own. I had to live that shit for three fucking years! The whole thing was a mindfuck. I am aware a lot of other musicians seem to have lived a lot of those moments. They weren't necessarily stupid enough to film them like we were and share them with the rest of the world."
"As you know, we generally make it a policy not to comment on gossip or rumors, but we also pride ourselves on being first with 'TALLICA news. So, with that said, the more astute of you may have noticed a couple of mentions in trade publications, and most recently in the new issue of Rolling Stone, that a METALLICA 3D movie is in the works. We're here to tell you that, yes, there is indeed a 3D project in the very early stages of production! We wish we could tell you more right now, but we don't have all the finer points nailed down just yet. What we can tell you is that we are planning on being in a theatre near you sometime in 2013 and as you hear us say ever so often, this will be the space for all the details as we finalize them."
Deadline.com reported last October that METALLICA was planning to self-finance a 3D feature film. The band had hired producer Charlotte Huggins ("Journey To The Center Of The Earth" and "Journey 2: The Mysterious Island") to work on the project, for which a director was being sought.
METALLICA's critically acclaimed 2004 documentary "Some Kind Of Monster", directed by Joe Berlinger and Bruce Sinofsky ("Brother's Keeper", "Paradise Lost"), offered a revealing behind-the-scenes look at METALLICA as they confronted personal demons and their relationships with each other during the making of the band's 2003 album "St. Anger".
In a 2010 interview with Australia's Herald Sun, METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich stated about "Some Kind Of Monster", "Every time I see Noel Gallagher [OASIS], he quotes lines from that movie back to me. That thing has taken on a life of its own. I had to live that shit for three fucking years! The whole thing was a mindfuck. I am aware a lot of other musicians seem to have lived a lot of those moments. They weren't necessarily stupid enough to film them like we were and share them with the rest of the world."
VELVET REVOLVER will reunite with singer Scott Weiland for a short one-off performance at "Love You Madly: A Concert For John O'Brien" on Thursday, January 12 at the House Of Blues in West Hollywood, California. Also scheduled to appear are Adam Levine and James Valentine (MAROON 5), Sheryl Crow, Tom Morello (RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE), Stephen Stills and THE FOREST RANGERS.
"Love You Madly: A Concert For John O'Brien" pays tribute to award-winning ASCAP composer John O'Brien, who was found dead in his Chicago hotel room on August 20. He was 45 years old.
VELVET REVOLVER guitarist Dave Kushner tells RollingStone.com he brought the group back together to honor O'Brien, who was his best friend.
"I found out he passed away on August 20, and it was like out of nowhere," Kushner tells RollingStone.com. "Next day I was in shock and my wife said to me, 'You gotta have a benefit concert for his wife and you have to get VELVET REVOLVER back together.' That's how it started."
He then approached the different band members. "We did a benefit show for this thing called Road Recovery — me, Duff [McKagan], Slash and Matt [Sorum] — in New York, and that's when I asked those guys individually if they would agree to do it," Kushner says. "Once they said so then I got in touch with Scott, and he agreed."
"Because we hadn't played with Scott in a long time I said, 'Look, let's just do three songs.' It's not too much of a commitment," he says. "So we just got a bunch of people, everyone will do three songs."
Regarding the possibility of VELVET REVOLVER carrying on with Weiland after next Thursday's concert, Kushner tells RollingStone.com, "We haven't played together in four years, and so we're really just like, 'Let's see how this goes.'
"I know everyone's got other commitments, but I think everyone's like, 'Let's get this thing done and get through this and then we'll see.'"
It's been almost four years since VELVET REVOLVER parted ways with Weiland, and time appears to have healed all wounds. Although Scott and the band split on unfriendly terms, the vocalist told Classic Rock magazine last year, "We patched things up and we get along. I see them every now and again, we text each other. And you know, we can never say never. Who knows, maybe we'll do some shows some time."
According to The Pulse Of Radio, Weiland was reflective in the interview about his time in VELVET REVOLVER, which teamed him with former GUNS N' ROSES members Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum. He said, "That was right when I was getting off dope and those guys were all sober and clean, and I had a very special kind of kinship because we'd all experienced the same things . . . It was a great band to see live, and I think we made two exciting albums."
Weiland reunited with his original band, STONE TEMPLE PILOTS, just as his run with VELVET REVOLVER was coming to a close. STP has toured constantly since and recorded a new album in 2010.
VELVET REVOLVER has still not found a replacement vocalist and is more or less on hiatus, although it was recently revealed that the group recorded an album's worth of material with STONE SOUR and SLIPKNOT frontman Corey Taylor.
In a July 2011 interview with Brazil's "Lokaos Rock Show", VELVET REVOLVER drummer Matt Sorum said about the band's current status, "After [we parted ways with] Scott Weiland [in 2008]… We had such a great first record, especially. The second album is still a good album, but… It's hard to replace Scott for that particular band, I think.
"When we did VELVET REVOLVER, we wanted to make a modern rock album, and we had to figure out a way to make that work. We didn't wanna be like GUNS N' ROSES. We knew we had that in us anyway, especially the Slash and Duff sound was the initial sound of [GN'R's classic debut album] 'Appetite For Destruction', the way they played together and everything. Part of that chemistry was there, and when we added Scott, it brought it into a more modern rock element. He came more from grunge — the Seattle [sound like] SOUNDGARDEN, PEARL JAM and bands like that. So it took it sort of forward. We became more of a modern rock band and we were on modern rock radio."
O'Brien's first prominent composing job came in 1997, when he provided music for the horror film "Nightwatch". He stayed active until his death, composing additional music for "Anywhere But Here", "Iron Man" and "Iron Man 2", "Pineapple Express", "Four Christmases" and "Couples Retreat". O'Brien also scored the ABC series "In Case Of Emergency" and "Detroit 1-8-7". He was most recently working as a music supervisor on the NBC sitcom "Up All Night".
"Love You Madly: A Concert For John O'Brien" pays tribute to award-winning ASCAP composer John O'Brien, who was found dead in his Chicago hotel room on August 20. He was 45 years old.
VELVET REVOLVER guitarist Dave Kushner tells RollingStone.com he brought the group back together to honor O'Brien, who was his best friend.
"I found out he passed away on August 20, and it was like out of nowhere," Kushner tells RollingStone.com. "Next day I was in shock and my wife said to me, 'You gotta have a benefit concert for his wife and you have to get VELVET REVOLVER back together.' That's how it started."
He then approached the different band members. "We did a benefit show for this thing called Road Recovery — me, Duff [McKagan], Slash and Matt [Sorum] — in New York, and that's when I asked those guys individually if they would agree to do it," Kushner says. "Once they said so then I got in touch with Scott, and he agreed."
"Because we hadn't played with Scott in a long time I said, 'Look, let's just do three songs.' It's not too much of a commitment," he says. "So we just got a bunch of people, everyone will do three songs."
Regarding the possibility of VELVET REVOLVER carrying on with Weiland after next Thursday's concert, Kushner tells RollingStone.com, "We haven't played together in four years, and so we're really just like, 'Let's see how this goes.'
"I know everyone's got other commitments, but I think everyone's like, 'Let's get this thing done and get through this and then we'll see.'"
It's been almost four years since VELVET REVOLVER parted ways with Weiland, and time appears to have healed all wounds. Although Scott and the band split on unfriendly terms, the vocalist told Classic Rock magazine last year, "We patched things up and we get along. I see them every now and again, we text each other. And you know, we can never say never. Who knows, maybe we'll do some shows some time."
According to The Pulse Of Radio, Weiland was reflective in the interview about his time in VELVET REVOLVER, which teamed him with former GUNS N' ROSES members Slash, Duff McKagan and Matt Sorum. He said, "That was right when I was getting off dope and those guys were all sober and clean, and I had a very special kind of kinship because we'd all experienced the same things . . . It was a great band to see live, and I think we made two exciting albums."
Weiland reunited with his original band, STONE TEMPLE PILOTS, just as his run with VELVET REVOLVER was coming to a close. STP has toured constantly since and recorded a new album in 2010.
VELVET REVOLVER has still not found a replacement vocalist and is more or less on hiatus, although it was recently revealed that the group recorded an album's worth of material with STONE SOUR and SLIPKNOT frontman Corey Taylor.
In a July 2011 interview with Brazil's "Lokaos Rock Show", VELVET REVOLVER drummer Matt Sorum said about the band's current status, "After [we parted ways with] Scott Weiland [in 2008]… We had such a great first record, especially. The second album is still a good album, but… It's hard to replace Scott for that particular band, I think.
"When we did VELVET REVOLVER, we wanted to make a modern rock album, and we had to figure out a way to make that work. We didn't wanna be like GUNS N' ROSES. We knew we had that in us anyway, especially the Slash and Duff sound was the initial sound of [GN'R's classic debut album] 'Appetite For Destruction', the way they played together and everything. Part of that chemistry was there, and when we added Scott, it brought it into a more modern rock element. He came more from grunge — the Seattle [sound like] SOUNDGARDEN, PEARL JAM and bands like that. So it took it sort of forward. We became more of a modern rock band and we were on modern rock radio."
O'Brien's first prominent composing job came in 1997, when he provided music for the horror film "Nightwatch". He stayed active until his death, composing additional music for "Anywhere But Here", "Iron Man" and "Iron Man 2", "Pineapple Express", "Four Christmases" and "Couples Retreat". O'Brien also scored the ABC series "In Case Of Emergency" and "Detroit 1-8-7". He was most recently working as a music supervisor on the NBC sitcom "Up All Night".
The first single and music video from VAN HALEN's new album, "A Different Kind Of Truth", called "Tattoo", will arrive next Tuesday (January 10). A pre-order is available at Amazon.com.
VAN HALEN returned to the stage for the first time since the end of its 2007/2008 reunion tour on Thursday night (January 5) when the band performed at the tiny Cafe Wha? nightclub in downtown Manhattan. The gig also served to kick off the promotional campaign for "A Different Kind Of Truth", which is now officially confirmed to arrive on February 7.
The set list for the evening's show stuck to VAN HALEN classics from the six albums of the initial David Lee Roth era, with the exception of a tune called "She's The Woman". That song originally appeared on the 1976 demo, produced by KISS bassist Gene Simmons, that got VAN HALEN their record deal with Warner Bros. It was left off the group's 1978 debut but is rumored to have been resurrected for the new disc.
The capacity crowd at the 250-person club mostly consisted of press and members of the entertainment industry.
Roth at one point introduced his uncle, 92-year-old Manny Roth, who used to run Cafe Wha? and introduced a young Bob Dylan to the stage decades ago.
At the same time, VAN HALEN released details of its upcoming North American tour, which will kick off on February 18 in Louisville, Kentucky. Tickets for the tour will begin going on sale January 14. KOOL AND THE GANG will open for VAN HALEN on selected tour stops.
VAN HALEN returned to the stage for the first time since the end of its 2007/2008 reunion tour on Thursday night (January 5) when the band performed at the tiny Cafe Wha? nightclub in downtown Manhattan. The gig also served to kick off the promotional campaign for "A Different Kind Of Truth", which is now officially confirmed to arrive on February 7.
The set list for the evening's show stuck to VAN HALEN classics from the six albums of the initial David Lee Roth era, with the exception of a tune called "She's The Woman". That song originally appeared on the 1976 demo, produced by KISS bassist Gene Simmons, that got VAN HALEN their record deal with Warner Bros. It was left off the group's 1978 debut but is rumored to have been resurrected for the new disc.
The capacity crowd at the 250-person club mostly consisted of press and members of the entertainment industry.
Roth at one point introduced his uncle, 92-year-old Manny Roth, who used to run Cafe Wha? and introduced a young Bob Dylan to the stage decades ago.
At the same time, VAN HALEN released details of its upcoming North American tour, which will kick off on February 18 in Louisville, Kentucky. Tickets for the tour will begin going on sale January 14. KOOL AND THE GANG will open for VAN HALEN on selected tour stops.
Legendary rock guitarist Michael Schenker has announced that his brand new classic rock band TEMPLE OF ROCK will embark on a four-date U.K. tour in May. The dates are as follows:
May 09 - Wolverhampton - The Wulfren
May 10 - Manchester - HMV Ritz
May 11 - Glasgow - O2 ABC
May 12 - London - O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire
Tickets for all four "Temple Of Rock" U.K. concerts go on general sale Friday, January 13 at 10 a.m.
Planet Rock radio listeners in the U.K. will be treated to a special 48-hour "Temple Of Rock" U.K. tour ticket pre-sale from 9 a.m. on Wednesday, January 11. Ents24 will run an additional 24-hour pre-sale from Thursday, January 12.
Following his acclaimed 2009/10 world tour performing the "MSG 30th Anniversary Show", where Michael was joined by (original MSG vocalist) Gary Barden, alongside a host of other classic rock legends, including Carmine Appice, Simon Phillips, Chris Slade and Chris Glen, Schenker's "Temple Of Rock" is ready to conquer the U.K. with a brand new kick-ass, all-star line-up.
Boasting ex-SCORPIONS stars Herman Rarebell and Francis Buchholz on drums and bass, respectively, MSG stalwart Wayne Findlay on keyboards and the magnificent Doogie White (ex-RAINBOW, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN) on vocals, these "Temple Of Rock" concerts will include a plethora of hits spanning Michael Schenker's colourful career.
Songs to be performed by the TEMPLE OF ROCK include UFO's "Rock Bottom" and "Doctor Doctor", MSG's "Armed And Ready" and "Into The Arena", and the SCORPIONS classics "Another Piece of Meat" and "Rock You like A Hurricane". In addition, Schenker will perform brand new songs from the recently released "Temple Of Rock" album alongside other solo favorites such as "Before The Devil Knows You're Dead", "Miss Claustrophobia" and "Hangin On".
May 09 - Wolverhampton - The Wulfren
May 10 - Manchester - HMV Ritz
May 11 - Glasgow - O2 ABC
May 12 - London - O2 Shepherd's Bush Empire
Tickets for all four "Temple Of Rock" U.K. concerts go on general sale Friday, January 13 at 10 a.m.
Planet Rock radio listeners in the U.K. will be treated to a special 48-hour "Temple Of Rock" U.K. tour ticket pre-sale from 9 a.m. on Wednesday, January 11. Ents24 will run an additional 24-hour pre-sale from Thursday, January 12.
Following his acclaimed 2009/10 world tour performing the "MSG 30th Anniversary Show", where Michael was joined by (original MSG vocalist) Gary Barden, alongside a host of other classic rock legends, including Carmine Appice, Simon Phillips, Chris Slade and Chris Glen, Schenker's "Temple Of Rock" is ready to conquer the U.K. with a brand new kick-ass, all-star line-up.
Boasting ex-SCORPIONS stars Herman Rarebell and Francis Buchholz on drums and bass, respectively, MSG stalwart Wayne Findlay on keyboards and the magnificent Doogie White (ex-RAINBOW, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN) on vocals, these "Temple Of Rock" concerts will include a plethora of hits spanning Michael Schenker's colourful career.
Songs to be performed by the TEMPLE OF ROCK include UFO's "Rock Bottom" and "Doctor Doctor", MSG's "Armed And Ready" and "Into The Arena", and the SCORPIONS classics "Another Piece of Meat" and "Rock You like A Hurricane". In addition, Schenker will perform brand new songs from the recently released "Temple Of Rock" album alongside other solo favorites such as "Before The Devil Knows You're Dead", "Miss Claustrophobia" and "Hangin On".
GREAT WHITE singer Jack Russell has retained the services of The Law Offices of Michael Kelly to protect his rights to make his living and play under the name of the band that he founded in 1978.
Kelly has represented high-profile rock stars in disputes for more than 35 years.
Although Russell has had several public battles with addiction and issues with his health, "he has always been the lead vocalist for GREAT WHITE, and any other vocalist involved was there only to fill in until he was able to return," reads an official press release from Russell's new legal team. "It has never been stated, in public or private, that Russell was leaving GREAT WHITE permanently."
After several discussions with GREAT WHITE's management, Russell in December decided to continue as the band's lead vocalist without the current touring members. He has brought in former members of GREAT WHITE, as well as other musicians he has worked with previously, and in order to avoid any confusion, will be touring and performing under the name JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE.
Although the current touring members of GREAT WHITE came out with a statement saying that they were "shocked" by Jack's decision, Russell's legal team says that "it has since been discovered that prior to any conversations or correspondence with Russell, they filed an application (of which Russell's name was omitted) to trademark the band name GREAT WHITE, of which Russell was the founding member, and the only consistent member since its inception. This information was discovered by Russell's legal team, and he was never informed of this by the other band members or management."
Along with Kelly, Russell has hired the legal team of Brian Acree and Brenda Carey, and all proper legal actions are now in motion. The Law Firm of Carey & Acree is praised among industry insiders for their expertise in these sorts of matters and has begun taking the necessary legal actions. He has also enlisted the help of his longtime friend and legendary entertainment attorney Stan Diamond.
Says Russell's legal team: "Despite threats, defaming and untrue comments made by Russell's former band members and manager, he has every right to use the name of the band he founded, and no legal actions can be taken against anyone booking, promoting, publicizing, or working with JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE in any capacity, and all entities will be indemnified of such."
In an interview with Metal Sludge, Russell stated about his estranged bandmates, "I don't care what they say. The proof is in the pudding. Everyone is going to see that Jack is back, that it's all rumors. I mean, do people really give a shit if I'm sober or not? They can come, they'll see I look great, I sound great. I want everyone to come out and see. This January 14 thing is just a jam, and only four-fifths of the band is going to be there because Matt Johnson is going to be in Texas, but starting in February, I'm doing a a tour."
When asked about the rumors of his poor health, Jack said, "I am fine. I just bought a 45-foot boat, and I'm living on it in Redondo Beach, my old stomping ground when GREAT WHITE was its most successful. It's nice to see my favorite sushi restaurant and favorite Italian restaurant are still around. I go fishing three times a week, and I'm in great shape. All these rumors from the other camp about me being not healthy and everyone being afraid I am going to die, it's all B.S. Those guys haven't talked to me in months. They haven't talked to me, so come on, give me a break. Who even cares? I can still sing great. End of story."
Regarding the fact that the GREAT WHITE guys and their manager have a totally different opinion on whether Jack is fit to keep going, the singer said, "They're just trying to make me look bad. They feel scared and threatened, and they should be. They don't own the name. This is my band. Everyone knows this is my band. I started in 1978 and changed the name in 1982. The others, they came in because I was the one who invited them. It was cool for a while before all this crap started. They don't own the name, they don't own the logo. [GREAT WHITE's manager] Obi Steinman sues everyone in the world, but I'm lucid, I'm clear, and I'm sober. Just because I had a rough year and a half does not mean that I gave up on my band. My name has always been synonymous with GREAT WHITE. I came up with the name, and I am entitled to use it. The other GREAT WHITE, with Terry Illous singing my songs and my lyrics, now he's sticking his name into this, covering my tunes. Write your own stuff, dude."
Kelly has represented high-profile rock stars in disputes for more than 35 years.
Although Russell has had several public battles with addiction and issues with his health, "he has always been the lead vocalist for GREAT WHITE, and any other vocalist involved was there only to fill in until he was able to return," reads an official press release from Russell's new legal team. "It has never been stated, in public or private, that Russell was leaving GREAT WHITE permanently."
After several discussions with GREAT WHITE's management, Russell in December decided to continue as the band's lead vocalist without the current touring members. He has brought in former members of GREAT WHITE, as well as other musicians he has worked with previously, and in order to avoid any confusion, will be touring and performing under the name JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE.
Although the current touring members of GREAT WHITE came out with a statement saying that they were "shocked" by Jack's decision, Russell's legal team says that "it has since been discovered that prior to any conversations or correspondence with Russell, they filed an application (of which Russell's name was omitted) to trademark the band name GREAT WHITE, of which Russell was the founding member, and the only consistent member since its inception. This information was discovered by Russell's legal team, and he was never informed of this by the other band members or management."
Along with Kelly, Russell has hired the legal team of Brian Acree and Brenda Carey, and all proper legal actions are now in motion. The Law Firm of Carey & Acree is praised among industry insiders for their expertise in these sorts of matters and has begun taking the necessary legal actions. He has also enlisted the help of his longtime friend and legendary entertainment attorney Stan Diamond.
Says Russell's legal team: "Despite threats, defaming and untrue comments made by Russell's former band members and manager, he has every right to use the name of the band he founded, and no legal actions can be taken against anyone booking, promoting, publicizing, or working with JACK RUSSELL'S GREAT WHITE in any capacity, and all entities will be indemnified of such."
In an interview with Metal Sludge, Russell stated about his estranged bandmates, "I don't care what they say. The proof is in the pudding. Everyone is going to see that Jack is back, that it's all rumors. I mean, do people really give a shit if I'm sober or not? They can come, they'll see I look great, I sound great. I want everyone to come out and see. This January 14 thing is just a jam, and only four-fifths of the band is going to be there because Matt Johnson is going to be in Texas, but starting in February, I'm doing a a tour."
When asked about the rumors of his poor health, Jack said, "I am fine. I just bought a 45-foot boat, and I'm living on it in Redondo Beach, my old stomping ground when GREAT WHITE was its most successful. It's nice to see my favorite sushi restaurant and favorite Italian restaurant are still around. I go fishing three times a week, and I'm in great shape. All these rumors from the other camp about me being not healthy and everyone being afraid I am going to die, it's all B.S. Those guys haven't talked to me in months. They haven't talked to me, so come on, give me a break. Who even cares? I can still sing great. End of story."
Regarding the fact that the GREAT WHITE guys and their manager have a totally different opinion on whether Jack is fit to keep going, the singer said, "They're just trying to make me look bad. They feel scared and threatened, and they should be. They don't own the name. This is my band. Everyone knows this is my band. I started in 1978 and changed the name in 1982. The others, they came in because I was the one who invited them. It was cool for a while before all this crap started. They don't own the name, they don't own the logo. [GREAT WHITE's manager] Obi Steinman sues everyone in the world, but I'm lucid, I'm clear, and I'm sober. Just because I had a rough year and a half does not mean that I gave up on my band. My name has always been synonymous with GREAT WHITE. I came up with the name, and I am entitled to use it. The other GREAT WHITE, with Terry Illous singing my songs and my lyrics, now he's sticking his name into this, covering my tunes. Write your own stuff, dude."
In 1988, New York City-based speedsters Riot released their definitive mission statement, the tempo-pushing cult classic Thundersteel, with then-new vocalist Tony Moore at the front. Moore and Riot followed that up with 1990's The Privilege of Power before parting ways; though Riot never really disappeared, the lineup behind those two records is arguably one of the most revered in American metal history.
Moore and the other band members from that era – founding guitarist Mark Reale, longtime second guitarist Mike Flyntz, bassist Don Van Stavern and drummer Bobby Jarzombek – reconvened in 2008 to tour and ultimately recorded Immortal Soul, their first album together in 21 years. The response has been almost universal acclaim from both fans and critics, and Riot's upcoming American tour in January, though presently limited to a handful of dates, will mark the record's live debut. Metal Insider caught up with Moore over the phone from his rehearsal studio in Los Angeles, where he offered observations on the modern economics of touring, the band's writing and recording process now and in the late 80s, and just who he thinks the real star of the Immortal Soul sessions is.
You're down to tour for three dates in New York and Virginia, and then the five-day 70,000 Tons of Metal Cruise in Miami. What's the plan from there? It seems like there's a lot of support behind touring more.
That's something we're looking forward to spending some time talking about on the cruise. Since we're going to have five days together, and we only have to play a couple of shows, we'll have time to talk about exactly what we're going to do in the future. Because what we're discovering is that the response to the record has been great, but there are so many bands out there at our level. The market is kind of flooded. The economy is a disaster, both here and overseas – Europe, Japan – it seems like wherever our biggest fan bases are, the economy is making it really tough to put a tour together that makes money. The numbers that we're getting from the festivals are really far from the mark, in terms of making it affordable for us to do them. I mean, we're trying to come up with a plan; I don't know if that means getting on a leg of a tour as a support act for a bigger name or something, we're not sure. Right now, we picked a bad year to release a good record, and the world economy is making it hard to get out there. Our plan is to figure that out in January, and come up with a plan for spring.
You're talking about how the economy's really changed. What are some of the economic difficulties you're running into compared to when Thundersteel and The Privilege of Power were out back in the day?
Well, back in the 80s, the market was booming. It was an illusion, because there was a huge crash in 88-89, but there was all of this fake money around, and we were on a major label (Columbia). So while we weren't being treated like royalty, we did have access to some tour support. When we went out and toured the States, we could go out in a big tour bus and be comfortable, make enough money to survive, and it was all doable. But right now, it seems to be the exact opposite. The promoters are coming back to us with numbers that are just not workable. We can barely cover our flights. It's a challenge, but it's a challenge that hundreds of bands in our situation are facing. So we'll come up with something! But the economic situation, and the difference between now and then, is pretty remarkable. And Japan has the additional challenge of still being in recovery mode since the earthquake and the tsunami. And for the fans too, it's just a matter of discretionary income. Out of a hundred albums that come out this year, you've gotta pick and choose which ones you're gonna buy, and it's being reflected in what we're seeing in terms of sales. Although overall, we're pleased with how the album's selling, and especially pleased overall with the critical response, we're just dealing with the reality of a really bad overall world economy.
It seems like the critical response has been really positive; this record's getting extremely strong reviews almost across the board. What prompted you guys to come back and make this record in the first place?
We're not sure! (laughs) I'd have to think back…OK, I'd have to go all the way back to the early 2000's. At that time, Riot was on Metal Blade, and (ex-vocalist) Mike DiMeo was singing, and the (2006 Riot album) Army of One lineup was together. Mark (Reale) gave me a call – I'm in Los Angeles now, but I was still living in New York at the time – and asked if I'd be interested in doing another record with the band. I said, "Sure, of course! I've had those songs in my head for years, so I'd love to get together." So he said, "Great, let me talk to the guys about it." Apparently, he went back to Metal Blade, and they were not enthusiastic about changing singers midstream. So that sort of fell to the back burner, but it put me and Mike Flyntz back in touch. We went ahead and did the Faith and Fire project, and that got us back in the mode of writing together. That was really super-fun; it was me and Mike and Danny Miranda from Queen + Paul Rodgers, and John Miceli, who is Meat Loaf's drummer. So we self-produced an album (Accelerator) and released it back in 2006, and it did OK. We pretty much just put it up on CD Baby and promoted it as best we could.
Then a couple more years went by. I forget when the Thundersteel lineup all got together and floated the idea of doing the reunion thing, but as soon as we leaked the idea to some of the press, the response was overwhelming. We immediately got offered three dates in Japan, plus Sweden Rock and Metalway (in Spain), so we said, "Great! Let's do these things and see how it goes over." We got over to Sweden, and over 15,000 people showed up to see us. And the thing that amazed us was the age of the audience was about half what we expected it to be. We had our core original fans who were all in their 40s or older, but literally better than half the audience was kids in their 20s. So we discovered that somehow this music had been passed down to a new generation of fans, and I think that was what helped really generate the enthusiasm that kept us going to the point where we said, "Alright, let's talk about doing an album." There was some stuff written already back then in 2009, and we performed "Wings Are For Angels" in Texas (at the first reunion show in San Antonio) and Sweden and Japan. It went over great, and we were able to make deals with a couple of great indie labels pretty easily. We're working with Avalon Marquee in Tokyo, and SPV/Steamhammer worldwide. They've been really great and super-supportive, and it came together so quickly and easily in terms of enthusiasm from the business end that we really didn't have a choice. Plus, the technology has evolved so much in 20 years that we were able to record the album in five different studios and four different cities. We were never all in the room at the same time.
So everything was recorded in isolation then for each of your separate parts?
At the very beginning, four of the guys got together in Millbrook, NY and did the basics as the full rhythm section. I wasn't there for that part, but after that, Don (Van Stavern) and Bobby (Jarzombek) went back to Texas, Mark and Mike went home to Long Island, and I went out to LA. I did a couple of recording sessions in New York, but I would say I did 50 percent of the recording out here in LA. My friend Joe Floyd, who's one of the guitar players from Warrior, has a great studio out here called Silvercloud Recording, about 20 minutes down the beach from me in Redondo. He's recorded Bruce Dickinson and Rob Halford, so he has some amazing mics and is a really artistic engineer to work with. So I did probably 50 percent of the vocals out here. I would take the song demos, put them on my laptop and take Garage Band into the rehearsal studio and just sing sketches, mix some sketches down, send them to the guys for their feedback. They'd circulate it, I'd tweak stuff until everyone was happy with the songs, then I'd go down to Joe's and record them. And everybody else was doing the same thing! A lot of the drums, Bobby recorded at his home studio, same with Don and the bass. Mike actually did, I would say, 90 percent of the guitars on this particular album. Mark sort of took more of a producer role.
That's interesting, because Mark tends to be seen as more of the focal point of the band.
Well, this time around on guitar, it's all Mike. When you listen to those incredible, soaring harmonized double leads, that's all him! He wrote all that stuff.
So is it Mike playing both guitars on this and Mark just producing, or is it Mark and Mike together with Mike doing most of the writing?
Mark was involved in the writing end up-front on a bunch of the tunes. He played some rhythm guitars and played a couple of solos, but he pretty much let Mike play on this one because Mike just has tremendous energy and a really good relationship with our engineer, Bruno Ravel from Danger Danger, who mixed and mastered the whole album. He had this incredible task of just taking all these audio files from five different studios and turning them into an album that sounded coherent, and he did an amazing job. But yeah, it's all Mike on this. He wrote and arranged, I'd say, 90 percent of the guitars and played about 90 percent of them. It's really his moment, and it was great just listening to that stuff develop.
That's impressive, because his playing definitely sounds very much in the spirit of the classic days. Related to that, how did you manage to keep your voice in shape over these years? On some of these songs, you're hitting a lot of the high notes that you had back in the Thundersteel era. How are you handling that? Are you doing different things with your voice now that you've gotten older?
No, I'm doing the exact same thing I did when I was in my 20s. I had the benefit of some really, really good teachers when I was a kid. To tell you a quick story about how I ended up in Riot that will give you some insight as to how I managed to put my voice together – because I'd never done anything like this before I met those guys – I was a bass player first and foremost, and I was just a working bass player in New York. I always sang, I always loved hard rock and heavy music, but I was just playing bass in a lot of pop bands, writing stuff in the vein of like Tears For Fears and stuff like that, and just trying to get a record deal in the 80's like everybody else. I was in the studio where Riot did most of their recording (Manhattan's renowned Greene St. Recording, now closed), and the studio manager – a good friend of mine, Dave Harrington – one day just brought me a cassette and said, "Listen! You've gotta listen to this song. I got you an audition. I know you can sing this stuff, this band needs a singer, they have a deal, they're recording an album – just check this out! Take this home, check it out, learn the song, you're gonna be in next week auditioning." (laughs) So I took this cassette home, and it was "Thundersteel"! I nearly wet myself. I just thought, "What?"
To this day, I don't know who actually was singing on that demo. But I took it to my teacher, a dear college friend of mine who was a coach for the Metropolitan Opera chorus, and I said, "We gotta do something here." She knew I sang; I'd been studying with her for quite a while already, but I said, "Listen, I need to learn how to navigate this range semi-consistently. What are we gonna do?" So we got to work, and she developed a regimen for me to help extend my range into those freaking bird notes. But I only had like a week to practice the song, and I went into the studio and I really thought that I had just sucked. But Mark heard something – I think he heard it more in the quality of my voice than in the actual performance that day – that made him decide I could do the job. And so I got flung right into the recording of Thundersteel. It was already happening, and most of the stuff was written. I contributed some lyrics and vocal arrangements, but for the most part, all of that stuff was pretty much nailed down when I came on board. That's how that all happened!
The vocal regimen of warm-ups and exercises and tips and tricks, and things to do and avoid, that I developed back then are the exact same things I'm doing now. To be honest, the fact that I've been out of the scene for so long and not out there doing it year after year has probably helped preserve my voice more than anything else! But like I said, I'm in the practice studio now getting ready – I have like four weeks to get ready for these shows, and I usually give myself 4-6 weeks to do it – and I just go straight back to those old exercises, the same stuff I've been doing for 25 years, and it works every time.
It sounds like you got handed one hell of a regimen.
It's pretty intense. When I first started doing this stuff a quarter of a friggin' century ago, I would come out of my lessons sweating like I had just done a set. It's very, very intense; strictly operatic, power-building, range-building, stamina-building exercises, the same stuff that people on Broadway or in the opera would use. Very similar to that, and strictly classical, which is my background anyway.
What were some of the lyrical focuses on the record? "Wings Are For Angels" seems to be highly topical.
There's a long story to that song, but I'll try to put it in a nutshell. A few years back right after Faith and Fire, maybe around '06 or '07, I did this album with a phenomenal young Japanese guitarist named Takayoshi Ohmura. He's this amazing shredmeister, and his people contacted me and said that he had a bunch of songs written, but would I write some lyrics and melodies for a couple of the songs? So the album was called Emotions in Motion, and he had a song with a working title called "Holy Tomorrow." I decided to go with that, and I wrote it from the viewpoint of a father in Iraq who had lost his whole family, who had lost his house, everything to the Iraq War. He was fleeing his hometown, running from his own people who had turned against him. He actually sings in that tune some of the same lyrics in the first verse as "Wings Are For Angels." In "Wings Are For Angels," it's the exact same place in time, except the voice, the character, is an American helicopter pilot. He starts out with the exact same lyrics in the first verse. "Wings Are For Angels" is actually a long bookend to that song I wrote for Takayoshi.
Substance abuse also comes up in some of this stuff, like "Sins of the Father" and "Whiskey Man." What was some of the inspiration behind that?
Well, "Sins of the Father"…oh boy, here we go! "Sins of the Father" has to do with the current clinical mindset in dealing with chronic depression in humans. You know, I'm amazed by ads for drugs I see on TV that say, [impersonating television announcer] "Wellbutrin is thought to work by blocking a certain chemical in the brain, blah blah blah…" And it's like, "Oh really, that's the best you've got? It's thought to work this way?" Basically what they're saying is, "If this stuff doesn't make you suicidal, it just might help you!" So yeah, "Sins of the Father" is sort of a meditation on psychotropic and mood-altering drugs, let's put it that way.
"Whiskey Man," though, is just fun! I was in a cover band back in the 80's, and the drummer's nickname was Whiskey Man. And that came about because when he went home to his wife and she found the car parked on the lawn and the oven left on and the cat running down the street, he'd get up in the morning and say, "No, that wasn't me, that was Whiskey Man!" I just had a little fun with that, and I'd had those lyrics kicking around for probably 20 years.
How much of this was written before you guys went into the studio and started working on the album? Was there a lot of writing when you were actually composing the parts and putting them all together, or was it one of those situations where you had probably 80 percent of the record written before you even hit the door?
I would say it's toward the latter. A lot of this stuff, at least a lot of the licks – the basic ideas for a lot of the songs were solidified in late 2009. And then bit by bit the arrangements came about, and then the guys bounced stuff off each other. But really, it took a couple years for it all to come together. Most of this stuff was written by the time we came back from Japan, and it took a while for us to get it in gear and get the business end all tied up. But then, it was just about exactly a year up to the record's release in mid-October that we were all working pretty much full-time on nailing the stuff down, and writing and arranging and perfecting. So it took about a year to fully put the album together.
Are you going to try to keep making records from here? Do you guys have a long-term plan figured out?
Oh sure! Riot is absolutely gonna do another album, because first of all, we had so much stuff written for Immortal Soul that we've got half of the next record written already. Everything from some basic ideas and licks to completely arranged songs; not that it's all recorded, but all the sketches are there, the parts are there. We had so much material that we had a really tough time deciding what to put on the album, and we had to let so many people listen to so much stuff to help us decide which songs would make the final cut. But yeah, we've got a ton of material! These guys write so prolifically, it's ridiculous. I was completely overwhelmed when they sent me the first song sketches; there were like 20 freaking songs! I was like, "Oh my God!" I just said, "Alright, I'm going to take them in order and write them one at a time and see what happens." And I was writing straight up until the very last vocal session. I'd change things in the studio as we go; as soon as they roll the take, I'm erasing stuff, I'm saying, "Wait, wait wait, hold on!" I'll change a syllable, I'll change a word, and then I'll change a whole line. The writing process went right up until a few days before we delivered it.
Are you trying to do another record within the next year or two, or are you going to try holding it off for a minute depending on tours?
We're gonna let the album do what it does, because we have the right people behind it. We were shocked at how well-received it's been. We were ready for anything from, "Oh my God, this is a bunch of dated crap," to, "Why did they bother?" We were not ready for this consistently positive response, so we're just going to let the record do what it does. I'm not to the point where I can listen to it yet, because I'm still listening critically to every note; of course it's too late for all of that! So I haven't really evaluated this stuff in terms of where it sits in my progression of songwriting and what I want to do next. I'm going to have to just digest that and wait and see. But the guys already have so much other stuff written that I can start right now – well, actually I have started a bunch of stuff for the existing tunes. So yeah, the follow-up will probably be fairly quick. Since both of the labels we're working with have options for another album, they'll tell us when the market's ready because we haven't done enough with Immortal Soul yet. It'll be next month when we debut it live, so we'll see where it goes from there.
Former IRON MAIDEN and current WOLFSBANE singer Blaze Bayley has announced that he will be accompanied by Italian guitarist Andrea Neri (ASTARTE SYRIACA) on the upcoming "King Of Metal" tour.
Video footage of Neri performing with Bayley in Rome last year can be seen below.
Bayley has commenced work on his new solo album, "The King Of Metal", for a tentative March release. A European headlining tour in support of the CD will kick off in early March in Belgium.
Commented Blaze: "Over the many years I have been a professional singer, and through my ups and downs, I have noticed how some artists and bands take their success and their fans for granted.
"For me, there is no heavy metal without heavy metal fans.
"I am dedicating the new album and tour to my fans and the fans of heavy metal. It is called 'The King Of Metal' because you the fans are the real kings of metal. Each one of you that buys albums and merchandise and tickets to gigs is a king of metal to me."
Blaze last year parted ways with the rest of his band in order to pursue a career as a solo artist and the lead singer of WOLFSBANE. He explained the decision by saying that "the mental, financial and emotional strain of keeping the BLAZE BAYLEY band together has proven to be too much for me and has taken a terrible toll on my mental health. . . It has been an upsetting, frustrating and sad time because the BLAZE BAYLEY band will not be going on any more, but it is also for me a huge relief and a time to look forward."
A statement from former members of Blaze Bayley's solo band — David Bermudez (bass), Nico Bermudez (guitar) and Jay Walsh (guitar) — regarding the group's split can be found at this location.
The 48-year-old Bayley, who was born in Birmingham, was the original frontman in WOLFSBANE, but left in 1994 to replace Bruce Dickinson as the lead singer of IRON MAIDEN.
Blaze's latest album, "Promise and Terror", was released on February 1, 2010.
The singer's double live album and live DVD, "The Night That Will Not Die" — recorded on December 13, 2008 at Z7 in Pratteln, Switzerland — were released on Blaze Bayley Recordings; the concert was filmed by director Kris McManus and all audio mixed and mastered by producer Jase Edwards.
Video footage of Neri performing with Bayley in Rome last year can be seen below.
Bayley has commenced work on his new solo album, "The King Of Metal", for a tentative March release. A European headlining tour in support of the CD will kick off in early March in Belgium.
Commented Blaze: "Over the many years I have been a professional singer, and through my ups and downs, I have noticed how some artists and bands take their success and their fans for granted.
"For me, there is no heavy metal without heavy metal fans.
"I am dedicating the new album and tour to my fans and the fans of heavy metal. It is called 'The King Of Metal' because you the fans are the real kings of metal. Each one of you that buys albums and merchandise and tickets to gigs is a king of metal to me."
Blaze last year parted ways with the rest of his band in order to pursue a career as a solo artist and the lead singer of WOLFSBANE. He explained the decision by saying that "the mental, financial and emotional strain of keeping the BLAZE BAYLEY band together has proven to be too much for me and has taken a terrible toll on my mental health. . . It has been an upsetting, frustrating and sad time because the BLAZE BAYLEY band will not be going on any more, but it is also for me a huge relief and a time to look forward."
A statement from former members of Blaze Bayley's solo band — David Bermudez (bass), Nico Bermudez (guitar) and Jay Walsh (guitar) — regarding the group's split can be found at this location.
The 48-year-old Bayley, who was born in Birmingham, was the original frontman in WOLFSBANE, but left in 1994 to replace Bruce Dickinson as the lead singer of IRON MAIDEN.
Blaze's latest album, "Promise and Terror", was released on February 1, 2010.
The singer's double live album and live DVD, "The Night That Will Not Die" — recorded on December 13, 2008 at Z7 in Pratteln, Switzerland — were released on Blaze Bayley Recordings; the concert was filmed by director Kris McManus and all audio mixed and mastered by producer Jase Edwards.
Former AFTER FOREVER guitarist Sander Gommans is working on a new album as a follow-up to his HDK project (formerly HATE DEATH KILL), which released its debut CD, "System Overload", in February 2009 via France's Season Of Mist. According to Gommans, Geert Kroes (DEAD MAN'S CURSE), an "awesome vocalist from the Netherlands," will be responsible for a lot of the vocal parts on the new album.
A brand new update on the project from Gommans follows below.
"Nearly all the keyboard parts are finished; they just have to be fine tuned a bit for the actual album. It's very cool to work with two keyboard players this time (Uri Dijk and Erik van Ittersum) since they both give a unique input to the songs.
"Koen Herfst is working out the drum parts at the moment; they will kick some serious ass!
"Tomorrow I'll visit Geert Kroes to check new vocal parts. They will be recorded under the supervision of Amanda Somerville (TRILLIUM, AVANTASIA) as soon as we can find some time in our schedule.
"As I mentioned before, I'm a busy man, but there's been a lot of progress!
"'System Overload' was full of agression and experiments, [but] this album will be a return to the AFTER FOREVER sound with more heavy elements — more guitar-oriented. The songwriting I did for AFTER FOREVER, HDK, TRILLIUM and various other projects have led to this record, and I really excited about the input of the awesome musicians I'm working with this time."
A short video clip of Kroes laying down vocal tracks in the studio can be seen below.
HDK's sound was previously described by Gommans as "much more aggressive and experimental than the stuff [he] had done before."
AFTER FOREVER announced its split in February 2009, explaining in a statement that the bandmembers "have reached the point where [they] need to explore the world of music in each of [their] own different ways."
The band's last, self-titled album, was released in April 2007 via Nuclear Blast Records.
A brand new update on the project from Gommans follows below.
"Nearly all the keyboard parts are finished; they just have to be fine tuned a bit for the actual album. It's very cool to work with two keyboard players this time (Uri Dijk and Erik van Ittersum) since they both give a unique input to the songs.
"Koen Herfst is working out the drum parts at the moment; they will kick some serious ass!
"Tomorrow I'll visit Geert Kroes to check new vocal parts. They will be recorded under the supervision of Amanda Somerville (TRILLIUM, AVANTASIA) as soon as we can find some time in our schedule.
"As I mentioned before, I'm a busy man, but there's been a lot of progress!
"'System Overload' was full of agression and experiments, [but] this album will be a return to the AFTER FOREVER sound with more heavy elements — more guitar-oriented. The songwriting I did for AFTER FOREVER, HDK, TRILLIUM and various other projects have led to this record, and I really excited about the input of the awesome musicians I'm working with this time."
A short video clip of Kroes laying down vocal tracks in the studio can be seen below.
HDK's sound was previously described by Gommans as "much more aggressive and experimental than the stuff [he] had done before."
AFTER FOREVER announced its split in February 2009, explaining in a statement that the bandmembers "have reached the point where [they] need to explore the world of music in each of [their] own different ways."
The band's last, self-titled album, was released in April 2007 via Nuclear Blast Records.
Stylistically inimitable yet perennially influential, since their reformation five years ago, Cynic have proven themselves serious about their art beyond the nostalgia and monetary driven motives that characterise so many other ephemeral reunions. And as evidenced on latest EP 'Carbon-Based Anatomy', they've continued to progress their riveting sonic amalgam of tech-metal, jazz fusion and prog rock elements while remaining idiomatically Cynic at core. Their evolution continues into 2011 following the announced departure in December 2010 of guitarist/growler Tymon Kruidenier and live session bassist Robin Zielhorst, who were swiftly replaced by Brandon Griffin and Max Phelps for live duties on bass and guitar/growls respectively. Embarking on a lengthy European tour as 2011 winds to a close, Metal Discovery spent some time chatting to the band's ever charismatic frontman Paul Masvidal a short while before their show in the UK's capital...
METAL DISCOVERY: You have a new EP out, 'Carbon-Based Anatomy', which is quite an ambiguous title but is there a concept or motif which binds the songs together because the music and flow of the tracks seem to point towards that?
PAUL: I don't like to be too literal about concepts just because I want the listener to have their own journey with it but there's definitely a thread there, a slender thread that's bridging it all together. It's kind of a journey about life and death which is pretty much what every Cynic record is to some degree. This one, in particular, is very earth-based and that's why it's that title because humans are comprised of carbon. It's really a lyric taken from the first song, from 'Carbon-Based Anatomy', and then I just ended up titling the record that way. So yeah, I don't know, I don't like to be too literal in breaking down concepts. For me, there's a lot going on there but I'd rather everyone just get their own experience.
(Paul Masvidal on developing and progressing as a musician and songwriter)
"...it's constantly referencing life experience so, for me, as long as you're living and breathing, and life is happening and you're actually paying attention, how can your music not get more interesting, expansive and colourful?"
Paul Masvidal in The Garage, London, UK, 5th December 2011
Photograph copyright © 2011 Mark Holmes - www.metal-discovery.com
Interview & Photography by Mark Holmes
MD: I gather there was a shamanic tribe from the Amazon Jungle that inspired some of the writing?
PAUL: Well, the opening track is an Icaro. It's a classic Icaro based on a tribe from the Amazon called the Shipibo tribe from Peru. They're a jungle tribe that basically lives without electricity and very seemingly primitive but they do this really sophisticated healing work, shamanic healing work, with certain medicinal plants and they tune your biology so to speak. And those songs, those Icaros, are healing sounds. There's some indigenous language in there but it's really more of a sound that's based on… what's really curious is they have these tapestries and fabrics, and things that they paint and draw and sew, and it's very fractal and interesting looking, and they can sing them. So that's why that melody is so interesting and kind of all over the place. It's just there to ground the body and ground the listener, and soften the heart a little bit, and get 'em ready for the record… [laughs]
MD: So do you hope Cynic's music is healing in any way?
PAUL: I can't claim any of that, I just know that this is what interests me and I just feel like music in general, for me, sometimes the most seemingly negative pieces of music can be very therapeutic for certain people and vice versa. So, for me, that's what it represents in terms of what we're doing. And what we're trying to do, at least to some degree, is help people maybe wake up a little bit, see a little bit clearer. I think, again, it's always a self-reflective process so as long as I'm telling the truth to myself, the listener will get that also.
MD: Kind of cathartic then, in that sense?
PAUL: Yeah, definitely. I think all the records for me are a massive purgative experience. It's one of those things that overtakes me… [laughs]… then I'm in it and I don't know how I got there. It's just consuming and crazy but that's how it goes.
MD: I also read the ambient sounds of Brian Eno influenced some of the new material?
PAUL: Yeah. I've been a big fan of Brian Eno's and I think that was my reference point of someone saying, "where's all this ambient stuff?", and I always say, "well, of all the ambient artists, he's probably the one I've listened to the most". So I think it just surfaced more, you know, my Eno inspiration. Again, there's no way to rip off Eno that way but I think the vibe and sentiment's there.
MD: I've read online where some people have been saying the new EP is basically a new Aeon Spoke record just based on the fact there are no death growls in there, so they're saying it's Aeon Spoke under the name of Cynic. Do you think that's short-sighted criticism from listeners that maybe don't get what Cynic are and always were about?
PAUL: Yeah, perhaps. I think that, to me, Aeon Spoke and Cynic, it's still the same songwriter so it's just one of those things where you can call it whatever you like but it's not like another band per se. It is a different name and, obviously, Aeon was more folk-based, but I think Cynic's constantly exploring and evolving and this just happened to be how this record sounds. We don't really pay attention to what anyone says anyway! [laughs] We just do what we do.
MD: I guess it goes back to what you say about people's own interpretation of what they hear, music-wise as well.
PAUL: Totally, yeah.
MD: So while on the subject of Aeon Spoke, will there ever be another album?
PAUL: I don't know. Possibly. I have a lot of material that's Aeon material in terms of super folky, almost innocent songs that I think lend themselves more to the Aeon aesthetic because Cynic's aesthetic is more futurism-based and modernist and proggy. Aeon's more folky so it's a different realm to some degree. But it's possible. Right now, I'm just in the Cynic realm.
MD: Based on the new EP, I've recently read journalists describe your music as "space rock" which brings to mind Hawkwind, I guess. Do you think that label over-simplifies your sound and might be misleading for some people?
PAUL: I think labels in general and the moment you start deploying semantics to describe sound architecture, you're limiting it already because it's such an ambiguous thing, you know, music in general.
MD: That's what journalists have to do though – they only have the written word and musicians have the sounds!
PAUL: Right, exactly. And there's this subjective quality to music that makes it very mysterious because every each person has their own interpretation based on their own experience. But I definitely hear some space rock in there, for sure. That's part of Cynic's thing is, for some reason, it always ends up sounding modern and futuristic.
MD: You get labelled as progressive a lot more these days more so than when 'Focus' was originally released which I think can be quite limiting too for a band like Cynic because progressive has unfortunately become regarded a genre. Would you say being progressive for you is more an attitude towards creating music?
PAUL: Yeah, exactly, I like that. I like the more vague meaning of progressive which is forward-thinking music in general regardless of genre. There's obviously progressive metal, progressive rock, progressive pop, progressive fusion… but, yeah, I don't know, we're pretty hybridised in that sense. You can't really put us in any particular niche; we've always been outsiders in that sense.
MD: And as one particular musician in a band said to me once, to have a genre of prog at all is a paradox.
PAUL: Exactly.
MD: Would you say being progressive for you is also about challenging yourself as a musician as much as trying to write innovative music?
PAUL: Yeah, I think so. I think it's always trying to push the envelope and explore and keep things moving, instead of staying in safe comfort zones. Cynic has always been about getting out of our comfort zone and, without it even being intentional, I think it's just the natural process for Sean and I as musicians to keep it interesting. That's just what happens; I don't know why but I don't like to stay in cocoons. Especially as an artist, you just want to keep breaking and pushing boundaries, and exploring. Thankfully, I think our first record set that up to some degree because it did cover quite a bit of territory.
MD: So what's been your biggest challenge as a musician and songwriter during your career in terms of pushing yourself and your abilities?
PAUL: I don't know; I think there's this overwhelming aspect to just being a musician and the nature of music itself is so vast and deep and complex that I'm kind of in awe of it constantly. And I realise how I'm a beginner for the rest of my life and even if I just locked myself up and practice for twelve hours a day I'm not sure I'd still get to where… you know what I mean? You're always reaching for something so it's that endless task of trying to write the perfect song and execute everything. That's just one of those things that is part of the tortured reality of being an artist and musician that wants to make everything right. You're just consumed by it and it's never quite there. But that's the beauty of it too; it drives the whole thing.
MD: So you never see yourself as having peaked as a musician in terms of your skill level?
PAUL: I don't think so. I like to think I'll be doing this well into old age, writing and playing music. That's one of the wonderful things about music is you can do it for the rest of your life.
MD: And improve.
PAUL: And get better, and your compositions can expand and… because it's constantly referencing life experience so, for me, as long as you're living and breathing, and life is happening and you're actually paying attention, how can your music not get more interesting, expansive and colourful? That's what's kinda cool. It's always informed by that, you know.
MD: In that sense then, to date, would you say there's not yet been the perfect Cynic record? Like the next one's always going to be better?
PAUL: Yeah, exactly. And I'm always thinking the last thing I'm doing is the best thing. You know, the current song I'm in the middle of is the coolest song ever! [laughs] But that's good! I don't wanna ever think that it's not. That means that something's not working, I guess. But there are those peaks and valleys in the creative process and it's really about being patient with yourself and just keep showing up for it regardless of… or, as I see, it, what else is there to do?! There's no real meaning behind it; you just do it.
METAL DISCOVERY: There's an interesting quote from Ben Ratliff on your website, the NY Times jazz critic, about your music being better understood out of a metal context although your audience seems to be predominantly a metal one still, but have you ever had feedback from jazz guys or people from other genres of music that love what you do?
PAUL: Yeah, sure. They've always been there, woven in, even from the 'Focus' period it seemed like a lot of our best shows back in that period were the college towns and it was all the jazz guys.
(Paul Masvidal on Cynic transcending their metal fanbase)
"...even from the 'Focus' period it seemed like a lot of our best shows back in that period were the college towns and it was all the jazz guys."
RELATED LINKS
Cynic Official Website:
CYNIC DISCOGRAPHY
Focus (1993)
Albums & EPs
ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
Thanks to Gunnar Sauermann & Guillaume Rochard at Season of Mist for arranging the interview
Traced in Air (2008)
Re-Traced (2010)
Cynic Official MySpace:
Carbon-Based Anatomy (2011)
Cynic Official Facebook:
MD: Really?
PAUL: Yeah, and they were studying and had eclectic tastes. We were this freaky heavy band that had jazz elements. So, yeah, I think that they're a big component of our audience. It's just they're maybe not as obvious concert goers and we've been obviously associated with the packages and the scenes and the record companies that are more metal. And we have a heavier sound per se than a lot of jazz and whatever groups. Yeah, definitely, some of our peers and contemporaries have given us the nod which is nice.
MD: There's obviously been some changes in Cynic since the reformation, but how did you hook up with Max [Phelps] and Brandon [Griffin] as live session players?
PAUL: Brandon toured with us when we toured the States with Meshuggah. He toured with a group called The Faceless, they were the support group. So we've known him, I guess, for over three years now. He just became a friend because he lived in Los Angeles. And Max, when we announced that we were letting the other guys go we had a bunch of emails come in and he stood out amongst a lot of guys who wanted that position. He just had a natural sensibility and I think it is a 0.01% of the population that can actually play like Allan Holdsworth and, also, really complex, heavy music and growl on top of it! [laughs] It's a very peculiar combination of skills! He had it all and was just right, and he's really earnest, he's young and he has a great attitude, so it just all kind of worked.
MD: Sounds amazing and weird when you put it like that. I'd love to see Allan Holdsworth growl, or John McLaughlin!
PAUL: Yeah, exactly! It's a really peculiar combination.
MD: Quite a niche. Did you have a lot of emails then from people; you were saying a lot of people asked if they could join Cynic?
PAUL: Oh yeah. I'd say a couple of dozen of people wanting either the bass slot or the guitar slot. There were a few definitely, seriously, insanely talented musicians out there that we were humbled that actually approached us but I think it's just one of those things where it's not so much… I mean, beyond skill there's also personality. You want people you can live with because you're on the road in tight quarters. And just, also, a lot of different things have to come together beyond being able to play the music. And I think it's intuition-driven for us too, like a gut thing and who feels right. But these guys have just been great.
MD: So there were more people coming to you than having to go off and search for new musicians?
PAUL: Yeah, we didn't have to do any of that. It was nice. It was probably to our advantage that we did a press release announcing the departure and that did it. We almost put the word out immediately.
MD: Last time we did an interview, three years ago, you said reforming was born from a period of "cosmic synchronicity" and you felt like you were "taking direction from the universe". Is that still your ethos to this day with the band?
PAUL: Yeah. Sometimes you don't feel that because the nature of the music business can be really challenging and I feel disconnected occasionally but if I'm paying attention and I'm just having faith in the way things are, and generally not arguing with reality, everything seems to go okay… [laughs]… so that's really the name of the game and I think I've gotten a lot better at it since our early years. We were hyper sensitive kids in the 'Focus' period and a bit overwhelmed by the music industry, and now I've just turned it into a bit of a dance, you know, I don't take it too seriously! [laughs] I just go – "ohhh, okay, here we go, this is how it goes, that's fine"!
MD: Older and wiser.
PAUL: Yeah, exactly.
MD: So the final thing I want to ask, are there any plans for a full length release because there's just been the two EPs since 'Traced in Air'?
PAUL: Yeah, and 'Carbon…', to me, ended up feeling like a full-length. It's so concentrated and has this beginning, middle and end thing, so kind of a realised mini-album per se versus an EP. To me, it's all semantics these days because, again, we're in a day and age where people are downloading single songs and it's ADD to the max in terms of the nature of the internet and how music is distributed. And I'm always a fan of quality over quantity so the next album might be two EPs bundled together or… it's one of those things where I just want it to be good and it doesn't matter about how long it is.
MD: It's twenty three minutes long?
PAUL: Yeah.
MD: You're only seven minutes off of 'Reign in Blood'! So it's just semantics, like you say. Fundamentally, it's just a new Cynic record.
PAUL: Yeah, exactly, and it boils down to the songs and, for us, this was just the right length. But, yeah, I've got a lot of material and probably, I would predict, like barring disaster or anything too crazy, by next summer it'll be coming out.
MD: Wow, that soon?
PAUL: I think so because the material's there; it's just a matter of getting in the room with Sean, playing and jamming the stuff, and then building these little demos. Yeah, it's doable. We'll see if it'll be released and everything but that'd be cool, right in time for the festivals and everything.
MD: Are you booked for many festivals then next year?
PAUL: I don't know actually. We need to get on that.
MD: Hopefully somewhere in the UK.
PAUL: Yeah, it'd be great to play Donington or some big ones. That would be amazing.
MD: Definitely. Right, thanks for your time.
PAUL: Thank you. Thanks for making it.
"New Tradition", the previously unreleased second album from DARK NEW DAY — the band featuring Clint Lowery (guitar; SEVENDUST), Corey Lowery (bass; ex-STEREOMUD, STUCK MOJO), Brett Hestla (vocals, guitar; ex-CREED, VIRGOS MERLOT), Will Hunt (drums; EVANESCENCE, ex-SKRAPE, TOMMY LEE) and Bradley "BC" Kochmit (guitar; SWITCHED a.k.a. SW1TCHED) — will finally be made available on February 28 via Goomba Music. The first single, "New Tradition", is currently being serviced to radio stations nationwide and can be streamed using the SoundCloud player below.
"We're very excited about the new DARK NEW DAY release," proclaims guitarist Clint Lowery. "It seems the time is right to make these songs public and share with the fans that continue to support this project. We believe this music is still very valid and powerful today, and think its mandatory we give these songs a fair chance out in the music world. We owe it to ourselves and the DARK NEW DAY fans. 'New Tradition' sums up the mindset we were in writing the follow-up to 'Twelve Year Silence'."
"New Tradition" track listing:
01. Fist From The Sky
02. Come Alive
03. I Don't Need You
04. New Tradition
05. Tremendous
06. Sorry
07. Straightjacket
08. Take It From Me
09. Caught In The Light
10. Sunday
11. Fiend
12. Breakdown
13. Burns Your Eyes
DARK NEW DAY released its debut album, "Twelve Year Silence", in June of 2005. The CD was mixed with producer/mixer Ben Grosse, who had previously worked with FILTER, FUEL, SEVENDUST and ALTER BRIDGE. The disc featured the single "Brother" (see video below). The band went on a hiatus after releasing the "Black Porch (Acoustic Sessions)" EP while the members focused on their current projects.
The members of DARK NEW DAY came together in 2011 to compile tracks for this special release to put out as a "thank you" to all the loyal fans that have continued to follow the band and request more material from the group.
DARK NEW DAY may have been new to fans of the bandmembers' previous groups, but it was really a reunion that was twelve years in the making, as the members of DARK NEW DAY literally grew up together. Brothers Clint and Corey Lowery and childhood friend Troy McLawhorn met singer Brett Hestla and drummer Will Hunt while touring as kids in the Southeast club circuit. "We were playing a circuit that had a lot of older people in it, in their twenties, and we were all kids, so we could identify with each other," said Hunt in a 2005 interview. "We really came into ourselves on that circuit," added Corey. "It was like going to rock 'n' roll high school — you'd always try and turn it up because you wanted to impress each other."
"We're very excited about the new DARK NEW DAY release," proclaims guitarist Clint Lowery. "It seems the time is right to make these songs public and share with the fans that continue to support this project. We believe this music is still very valid and powerful today, and think its mandatory we give these songs a fair chance out in the music world. We owe it to ourselves and the DARK NEW DAY fans. 'New Tradition' sums up the mindset we were in writing the follow-up to 'Twelve Year Silence'."
"New Tradition" track listing:
01. Fist From The Sky
02. Come Alive
03. I Don't Need You
04. New Tradition
05. Tremendous
06. Sorry
07. Straightjacket
08. Take It From Me
09. Caught In The Light
10. Sunday
11. Fiend
12. Breakdown
13. Burns Your Eyes
DARK NEW DAY released its debut album, "Twelve Year Silence", in June of 2005. The CD was mixed with producer/mixer Ben Grosse, who had previously worked with FILTER, FUEL, SEVENDUST and ALTER BRIDGE. The disc featured the single "Brother" (see video below). The band went on a hiatus after releasing the "Black Porch (Acoustic Sessions)" EP while the members focused on their current projects.
The members of DARK NEW DAY came together in 2011 to compile tracks for this special release to put out as a "thank you" to all the loyal fans that have continued to follow the band and request more material from the group.
DARK NEW DAY may have been new to fans of the bandmembers' previous groups, but it was really a reunion that was twelve years in the making, as the members of DARK NEW DAY literally grew up together. Brothers Clint and Corey Lowery and childhood friend Troy McLawhorn met singer Brett Hestla and drummer Will Hunt while touring as kids in the Southeast club circuit. "We were playing a circuit that had a lot of older people in it, in their twenties, and we were all kids, so we could identify with each other," said Hunt in a 2005 interview. "We really came into ourselves on that circuit," added Corey. "It was like going to rock 'n' roll high school — you'd always try and turn it up because you wanted to impress each other."
Ann Arbor, Michigan hard rock band TAPROOT will release its new album, "Episodes", on February 28 via Victory Records.
TAPROOT's last CD, "Plead The Fifth", came out in May 2010 through Victory. The effort was recorded on farm in Sullivan, Michigan with producer Tim Patalan (SPONGE, LOVEDRUG).
TAPROOT is:
Stephen Richards - Guitar, Vocals
Mike DeWolf - Guitar
Philip Lipscomb - Bass
Nick Fredell – Drums
TAPROOT's last CD, "Plead The Fifth", came out in May 2010 through Victory. The effort was recorded on farm in Sullivan, Michigan with producer Tim Patalan (SPONGE, LOVEDRUG).
TAPROOT is:
Stephen Richards - Guitar, Vocals
Mike DeWolf - Guitar
Philip Lipscomb - Bass
Nick Fredell – Drums
RISE TO REMAIN — the up-and-coming London, England metalcore outfit featuring singer Austin Dickinson, the son of IRON MAIDEN frontman Bruce Dickinson — has parted ways with bassist Joe Copcutt and drummer Pat Lundy. As a result, the band has been forced to cancel its previously announced U.S. shows as the support act for MACHINE HEAD.
RISE TO REMAIN's critically acclaimed debut album, "City Of Vultures", will now be released in the U.S. on June 5 to coincide with RISE TO REMAIN's extensive soon-to-be-announced North American tour. The American version of the CD will also feature exclusive new material recorded in the coming months.
RISE TO REMAIN will head back out on the road in Europe in March as part of a headlining tour, with support from German metallers HEAVEN SHALL BURN.
Helmed by renowned metal producer Colin Richardson (SLIPKNOT, AS I LAY DYING), "City Of Vultures" delivers twelve electrifying tracks that will leave all hard music fans pleased. The CD is described in a press release as "an explosive, assured and extraordinarily diverse first offering that marks RISE TO REMAIN as an extremely talented standard bearer for a new generation of metal bands."
RISE TO REMAIN is no stranger to the road, having toured throughout Europe with IRON MAIDEN, BRING ME THE HORIZON, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE and other notable acts, along with having played career-defining, blistering sets at this year's Download and Sonisphere festivals.
RISE TO REMAIN's critically acclaimed debut album, "City Of Vultures", will now be released in the U.S. on June 5 to coincide with RISE TO REMAIN's extensive soon-to-be-announced North American tour. The American version of the CD will also feature exclusive new material recorded in the coming months.
RISE TO REMAIN will head back out on the road in Europe in March as part of a headlining tour, with support from German metallers HEAVEN SHALL BURN.
Helmed by renowned metal producer Colin Richardson (SLIPKNOT, AS I LAY DYING), "City Of Vultures" delivers twelve electrifying tracks that will leave all hard music fans pleased. The CD is described in a press release as "an explosive, assured and extraordinarily diverse first offering that marks RISE TO REMAIN as an extremely talented standard bearer for a new generation of metal bands."
RISE TO REMAIN is no stranger to the road, having toured throughout Europe with IRON MAIDEN, BRING ME THE HORIZON, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE and other notable acts, along with having played career-defining, blistering sets at this year's Download and Sonisphere festivals.
English alternative rock band INME will release its fifth studio album, "The Pride", via the PledgeMusic project, which encourages fans to contribute funds to the recording of albums and the artists themselves to donate to charity as a part of their fundraising.
Having worked with PledgeMusic on his debut solo album last year, INME frontman Dave McPherson is in no doubt that it's the best route to take.
"PledgeMusic enabled me to take my solo music to a whole new level," he said. "It brought me closer to my supporters and helped finance the whole campaign whilst raising £2000 for Save The Children.
"I've been excited about INME's PledgeMusic campaign for far too long; it's like waiting for Christmas when you're a kid! We have around 70 incentives, including 'The Pride' album, 'Elysium: Overgrown Eden Live' DVD, personalised songs, house party gigs, a massive merch range, handwritten lyric sheets and loads more.
"Mine and Greg's [McPherson, bass] grandfather passed away earlier this year due to complications from Alzheimer's disease so we'll be donating a portion of the funds raised to the Alzheimer's Society to help combat this terrible condition for the future. Some of our management team have also had to deal with Alzheimer's first-hand, so it's a charity the whole team feels warmly about."
The INME of today is a very different animal to that of their 2003 debut album, "Overgrown Eden". Their continued evolution has maintained a fiercely loyal fanbase and challenged them further as musicians with the release of every album. Following on from "White Butterfly" (2005), "Daydream Anonymous" (2007) and "Herald Moth" (2009), the band released "Phoenix - The Best of InMe" in 2010: this celebrated their career so far and featured exclusive tracks that showcased INME's progression from their early days, when they had been thrust into the spotlight as teens.
INME's PledgeMusic campaign began on Friday, November 25 and exceeded 100 percent within the first week. As well as the music itself being available in various formats, there will be a large number of incentives for the fans to purchase: signed memorabilia and merchandise, "Come Dine With InMe," poker with Greg, acoustic covers from Dave, DJ sets from guitarist Gazz Marlow, session drumming from Simon Taylor and personalized items are just a handful of the incentives that fans can get involved with.
The digital download of "The Pride" will be available on all platforms (including an iTunes exclusive) from Sunday, February 19; the physical release will be available from Monday, February 20, on vinyl, CD and CD/DVD combo (the live DVD of "Overgrown Eden" will be available separately).
INME will embark on a 35-date tour of the U.K. and Ireland, beginning
Having worked with PledgeMusic on his debut solo album last year, INME frontman Dave McPherson is in no doubt that it's the best route to take.
"PledgeMusic enabled me to take my solo music to a whole new level," he said. "It brought me closer to my supporters and helped finance the whole campaign whilst raising £2000 for Save The Children.
"I've been excited about INME's PledgeMusic campaign for far too long; it's like waiting for Christmas when you're a kid! We have around 70 incentives, including 'The Pride' album, 'Elysium: Overgrown Eden Live' DVD, personalised songs, house party gigs, a massive merch range, handwritten lyric sheets and loads more.
"Mine and Greg's [McPherson, bass] grandfather passed away earlier this year due to complications from Alzheimer's disease so we'll be donating a portion of the funds raised to the Alzheimer's Society to help combat this terrible condition for the future. Some of our management team have also had to deal with Alzheimer's first-hand, so it's a charity the whole team feels warmly about."
The INME of today is a very different animal to that of their 2003 debut album, "Overgrown Eden". Their continued evolution has maintained a fiercely loyal fanbase and challenged them further as musicians with the release of every album. Following on from "White Butterfly" (2005), "Daydream Anonymous" (2007) and "Herald Moth" (2009), the band released "Phoenix - The Best of InMe" in 2010: this celebrated their career so far and featured exclusive tracks that showcased INME's progression from their early days, when they had been thrust into the spotlight as teens.
INME's PledgeMusic campaign began on Friday, November 25 and exceeded 100 percent within the first week. As well as the music itself being available in various formats, there will be a large number of incentives for the fans to purchase: signed memorabilia and merchandise, "Come Dine With InMe," poker with Greg, acoustic covers from Dave, DJ sets from guitarist Gazz Marlow, session drumming from Simon Taylor and personalized items are just a handful of the incentives that fans can get involved with.
The digital download of "The Pride" will be available on all platforms (including an iTunes exclusive) from Sunday, February 19; the physical release will be available from Monday, February 20, on vinyl, CD and CD/DVD combo (the live DVD of "Overgrown Eden" will be available separately).
INME will embark on a 35-date tour of the U.K. and Ireland, beginning
Nicole Bogner, who was the vocalist for Austrian symphonic metallers VISIONS OF ATLANTIS from 2000 to 2005, has died after fighting a "severe disease over a long period of time." Bogner, 27, sang on the band's first two albums, "Eternal Endless Infinity" (2002) and "Cast Away" (2004).
Commented VISIONS OF ATLANTIS in a statement: "In deep mourning and with highest respect we have to notify all VISIONS OF ATLANTIS fans that our former female singer, Nicole Bogner, has passed away at the age of 27 after fighting a severe disease over a long period of time. The band is shocked about the loss of an old VISIONS OF ATLANTIS family member but wants to express sincere gratitude to Nicole not only for five years of sharing a musical vision but also for more than a decade of friendship inside and outside of VISIONS OF ATLANTIS. Without Nicole, VISIONS OF ATLANTIS would have never been born and her unique voice and personality were a big part of VISIONS OF ATLANTIS. With Nicole, a great part of VISIONS OF ATLANTIS died as well. We will always treasure your warm-hearted soul; you will never be forgotten, Nici."
An "In Memoriam Nicole Bogner" Facebook page has been launched at this location.
VISIONS OF ATLANTIS will enter the studio at the end of January to begin recording its fifth album.
VISIONS OF ATLANTIS' fourth album, "Delta", was released in North America on March 15, 2011 via Napalm Records. The CD was recorded Dreamscape Studios in Munich, Germany and marked the debut of the group's new singer, Maxi Nil, who joined the group in 2009.
Commented VISIONS OF ATLANTIS in a statement: "In deep mourning and with highest respect we have to notify all VISIONS OF ATLANTIS fans that our former female singer, Nicole Bogner, has passed away at the age of 27 after fighting a severe disease over a long period of time. The band is shocked about the loss of an old VISIONS OF ATLANTIS family member but wants to express sincere gratitude to Nicole not only for five years of sharing a musical vision but also for more than a decade of friendship inside and outside of VISIONS OF ATLANTIS. Without Nicole, VISIONS OF ATLANTIS would have never been born and her unique voice and personality were a big part of VISIONS OF ATLANTIS. With Nicole, a great part of VISIONS OF ATLANTIS died as well. We will always treasure your warm-hearted soul; you will never be forgotten, Nici."
An "In Memoriam Nicole Bogner" Facebook page has been launched at this location.
VISIONS OF ATLANTIS will enter the studio at the end of January to begin recording its fifth album.
VISIONS OF ATLANTIS' fourth album, "Delta", was released in North America on March 15, 2011 via Napalm Records. The CD was recorded Dreamscape Studios in Munich, Germany and marked the debut of the group's new singer, Maxi Nil, who joined the group in 2009.
Las Vegas, Nevada-based metallers MOLOTOV SOLUTION have parted ways with founding member/guitarist Robbie Pina. Cody Jarvis, who appeared with the band during the recent national UNEARTH/CHIMAIRA tour, will now assume the guitarist role until a full-time replacement is announced.
MOLOTOV SOLUTION has released the following statement: "After recently taking some time off for personal reasons, Robbie has decided to step down. For now, we are calling on our friend Cody Jarvis to fill his place until we find a full-time replacement. Anyone worried about musical material differences will not be disappointed, especially if you are a fan of 'Insurrection'. Anyone worried about the future of the band, don't be; it has never held brighter things for us. Stay tuned for spring plans..."
MOLOTOV SOLUTION is continuing to promote its latest release, "Insurrection", which dropped last fall via Blkheart Group.
MOLOTOV SOLUTION has released the following statement: "After recently taking some time off for personal reasons, Robbie has decided to step down. For now, we are calling on our friend Cody Jarvis to fill his place until we find a full-time replacement. Anyone worried about musical material differences will not be disappointed, especially if you are a fan of 'Insurrection'. Anyone worried about the future of the band, don't be; it has never held brighter things for us. Stay tuned for spring plans..."
MOLOTOV SOLUTION is continuing to promote its latest release, "Insurrection", which dropped last fall via Blkheart Group.
David Gold, a founding member of the Ontario, Canada-based black and doom metal band WOODS OF YPRES, was killed December 21, in a car accident near Barrie, Ontario. He was 31 years old.
In accordance with the wishes of David's family and bandmates, the group's recently completed album, "Woods V: Grey Skies & Electric Light", will be released, as planned, in February.
The Gold family issued a statement for David's friends and fans as follows:
"The Gold family is incredibly saddened in the wake of David's sudden passing. We want to thank everyone for the ongoing outpour of support, as it is greatly appreciated. Although he was only 31 years old, David lived more than most would be able to in an entire lifetime. He was well educated, well travelled, incredibly talented, passionate, compassionate, and loved dearly by thousands of friends, family, and fans all over the world. David's legacy will not only live on, but continue to grow. We ask you to keep David's spirit alive by continuing to listen to his music, and let him inspire your life."
Donations can be made to support his funeral costs through his PayPal account at davidypresgold@gmail.com.
Joel Violette, David's bandmate and longtime collaborator, had the following statement:
"I am completely shocked and utterly at a loss for words about David's passing. I write this with a very heavy heart, and I can only imagine what David's family is going through, as well as the rest of his friends. My heart goes out to them all.
"This tragedy comes at a truly inopportune time for WOODS OF YPRES, though there is never an opportune time for these things to happen. We'd booked to tour Europe in support of 'Woods V', we'd recruited the talented Rae Amitay and Brendan Hayter, and we were only waiting for January rehearsals before setting off. We had an exciting album to play and exciting places to play it.
"It's hard to say what is next for WOODS. David was unequivocally the voice, heart, and soul of the band. In the last year or so David and I planned out many projects for WOODS OF YPRES in great detail. It would be a shame for none of them to come to fruition, and David would have wanted his fans to hear them. So I will examine these, discuss them with Earache, and endeavour to complete what can be completed given the circumstances.
"David was always, and still is, the essence of WOODS OF YPRES. So if and when any WOODS projects come to light, it will be with this fact firmly and unwaveringly in mind.
"For the present time, my immediate task is to promote and release 'Woods V: Grey Skies & Electric Light'. We finished the audio portion in August at Beach Road Studios, and David D'Angelo finished the stunning album art last month. All that remains is press and promotion for the album. And I'm more than willing to do my own share as well as David's, with the same passion, enthusiasm, and good humor David would have had. So please direct any interviews to me, and I will be thrilled to answer questions.
"It was an honour to have worked with David, an honour to have shared the stage with him, and an honour to have spent a summer writing and recording with him. He was an extremely talented, driven, and generous man. He will be sorely missed."
Earache will be working closely with David's family moving forwards, and join the hundreds of fans around the world that have offered their condolences to the Gold family.
To leave messages of remembrance, memories or comments, please go to the Facebook tribute (run by David's family and Earache Records).
In accordance with the wishes of David's family and bandmates, the group's recently completed album, "Woods V: Grey Skies & Electric Light", will be released, as planned, in February.
The Gold family issued a statement for David's friends and fans as follows:
"The Gold family is incredibly saddened in the wake of David's sudden passing. We want to thank everyone for the ongoing outpour of support, as it is greatly appreciated. Although he was only 31 years old, David lived more than most would be able to in an entire lifetime. He was well educated, well travelled, incredibly talented, passionate, compassionate, and loved dearly by thousands of friends, family, and fans all over the world. David's legacy will not only live on, but continue to grow. We ask you to keep David's spirit alive by continuing to listen to his music, and let him inspire your life."
Donations can be made to support his funeral costs through his PayPal account at davidypresgold@gmail.com.
Joel Violette, David's bandmate and longtime collaborator, had the following statement:
"I am completely shocked and utterly at a loss for words about David's passing. I write this with a very heavy heart, and I can only imagine what David's family is going through, as well as the rest of his friends. My heart goes out to them all.
"This tragedy comes at a truly inopportune time for WOODS OF YPRES, though there is never an opportune time for these things to happen. We'd booked to tour Europe in support of 'Woods V', we'd recruited the talented Rae Amitay and Brendan Hayter, and we were only waiting for January rehearsals before setting off. We had an exciting album to play and exciting places to play it.
"It's hard to say what is next for WOODS. David was unequivocally the voice, heart, and soul of the band. In the last year or so David and I planned out many projects for WOODS OF YPRES in great detail. It would be a shame for none of them to come to fruition, and David would have wanted his fans to hear them. So I will examine these, discuss them with Earache, and endeavour to complete what can be completed given the circumstances.
"David was always, and still is, the essence of WOODS OF YPRES. So if and when any WOODS projects come to light, it will be with this fact firmly and unwaveringly in mind.
"For the present time, my immediate task is to promote and release 'Woods V: Grey Skies & Electric Light'. We finished the audio portion in August at Beach Road Studios, and David D'Angelo finished the stunning album art last month. All that remains is press and promotion for the album. And I'm more than willing to do my own share as well as David's, with the same passion, enthusiasm, and good humor David would have had. So please direct any interviews to me, and I will be thrilled to answer questions.
"It was an honour to have worked with David, an honour to have shared the stage with him, and an honour to have spent a summer writing and recording with him. He was an extremely talented, driven, and generous man. He will be sorely missed."
Earache will be working closely with David's family moving forwards, and join the hundreds of fans around the world that have offered their condolences to the Gold family.
To leave messages of remembrance, memories or comments, please go to the Facebook tribute (run by David's family and Earache Records).
Heavy metal funk/soul pioneers 24-7 SPYZ plan to celebrate their 20th anniversary of the release of "Strength In Numbers" with a winter European reunion tour, featuring the CD's original lineup of Jimi Hazel (guitar and vocals), Rick Skatore (bass and vocals), Jeff Brodnax (vocals), and Joel Maitoza (drums).
Following a successful one-off reunion show which took place at the Highline Ballroom in New York City this past August 2011, the band started discussing the possibility of playing some select dates throughout Europe and the U.S. in 2012.
"Strength In Numbers 20th Anniversary Tour" dates:
Feb. 29 - 013 - Tilburg, Netherlands
Mar. 01 - Luxor - Cologne, Germany
Mar. 02 - Fenix - Sittard, Netherlands
Mar. 03 - Paradiso – Amsterdam, Netherlands
Mar. 04 - MS Treue – Bremen, Germany
Mar. 05 - Hafenklang - Hamburg, Germany
Mar. 06 - SO36 - Berlin, Germany
Mar. 07 - KFZ - Marburg, Germany
Mar. 08 - Grabenhalle - St. Gallen, Switzerland
Mar. 09 - Le Repaire des Ours - Le Fayet, France
Mar. 10 - The Machine - Paris, France
Mar. 11 - O2 Academy Islington - London, England
The band has stated that there is a possibility of more dates being added and plans to return to Europe in the summer 2012.
24-7 SPYZ came onto the funk-rock scene in 1989 with its debut album titled "Harder Than You", followed by "Gumbo Millennium" in 1990 (both on In-Effect/Relativity Records). The band then released a five-song EP titled "This Is… 24-7 Spyz" in 1991 after signing with Eastwest/Atlantic Records with the full-length release in 1992, "Strength In Numbers", which included the single "Stuntman" that was featured in a Budweiser television commercial as well as an episode of "Beavis and Butthead". 1995 brought the original lineup back together for the release of "Temporarily Disconnected" (Enemy Records) which, after a short tour, drummer Joel Maitoza reunited with Jimi Hazel and Rick Skatore to record the CDs "6" (Enemy Records) and "Heavy Metal Soul By The Pound" (released in the U.S. on the What Are Records? label) in 1996. A live EP titled "If I Could" was released in 1997 also with the three-piece lineup. Most recently, the band has been promoting their CD "Face The Day" which was released in 2006. A new full-length release from the band is scheduled for 2012.
Following a successful one-off reunion show which took place at the Highline Ballroom in New York City this past August 2011, the band started discussing the possibility of playing some select dates throughout Europe and the U.S. in 2012.
"Strength In Numbers 20th Anniversary Tour" dates:
Feb. 29 - 013 - Tilburg, Netherlands
Mar. 01 - Luxor - Cologne, Germany
Mar. 02 - Fenix - Sittard, Netherlands
Mar. 03 - Paradiso – Amsterdam, Netherlands
Mar. 04 - MS Treue – Bremen, Germany
Mar. 05 - Hafenklang - Hamburg, Germany
Mar. 06 - SO36 - Berlin, Germany
Mar. 07 - KFZ - Marburg, Germany
Mar. 08 - Grabenhalle - St. Gallen, Switzerland
Mar. 09 - Le Repaire des Ours - Le Fayet, France
Mar. 10 - The Machine - Paris, France
Mar. 11 - O2 Academy Islington - London, England
The band has stated that there is a possibility of more dates being added and plans to return to Europe in the summer 2012.
24-7 SPYZ came onto the funk-rock scene in 1989 with its debut album titled "Harder Than You", followed by "Gumbo Millennium" in 1990 (both on In-Effect/Relativity Records). The band then released a five-song EP titled "This Is… 24-7 Spyz" in 1991 after signing with Eastwest/Atlantic Records with the full-length release in 1992, "Strength In Numbers", which included the single "Stuntman" that was featured in a Budweiser television commercial as well as an episode of "Beavis and Butthead". 1995 brought the original lineup back together for the release of "Temporarily Disconnected" (Enemy Records) which, after a short tour, drummer Joel Maitoza reunited with Jimi Hazel and Rick Skatore to record the CDs "6" (Enemy Records) and "Heavy Metal Soul By The Pound" (released in the U.S. on the What Are Records? label) in 1996. A live EP titled "If I Could" was released in 1997 also with the three-piece lineup. Most recently, the band has been promoting their CD "Face The Day" which was released in 2006. A new full-length release from the band is scheduled for 2012.
Stockholm, Sweden-based "melodeath" metal band FRANTIC AMBER will perform at "P3 Guld" — Swedish radio station P3's annual music awards ceremony — on January 21 at Lisebergshallen in Gothenburg, Sweden.
Commented FRANTIC AMBER guitarist and founder Mary Säfstrand: "We really couldn't believe it when they called and asked us to play! It's a big honor for us, not least because it's P3 Guld's 10th anniversary. We will be the hardest act because all the other acts performing this year are either pop or electro and because of that, we will probably stand out a lot."
In other news, FRANTIC AMBER has recruited a new drummer — and its first male member — Erik Röjås. Erik has been performing with the band since last year's Sweden Rock Festival and accompanied the group on its second tour of Russia in September.
Stated FRANTIC AMBER vocalist Elizabeth Andrews: "Erik has just grown into our band. After all these gigs this year with him, we suddenly realized that we didn't want to play without him. And when he also wanted to join the band, we saw no reason to not make him a full member."
FRANTIC AMBER is currently recording its second EP with producer Ralph Santolla (guitarist for such acts as DEATH, DEICIDE, OBITUARY, ICED EARTH) for a spring release.
Commented FRANTIC AMBER guitarist and founder Mary Säfstrand: "We really couldn't believe it when they called and asked us to play! It's a big honor for us, not least because it's P3 Guld's 10th anniversary. We will be the hardest act because all the other acts performing this year are either pop or electro and because of that, we will probably stand out a lot."
In other news, FRANTIC AMBER has recruited a new drummer — and its first male member — Erik Röjås. Erik has been performing with the band since last year's Sweden Rock Festival and accompanied the group on its second tour of Russia in September.
Stated FRANTIC AMBER vocalist Elizabeth Andrews: "Erik has just grown into our band. After all these gigs this year with him, we suddenly realized that we didn't want to play without him. And when he also wanted to join the band, we saw no reason to not make him a full member."
FRANTIC AMBER is currently recording its second EP with producer Ralph Santolla (guitarist for such acts as DEATH, DEICIDE, OBITUARY, ICED EARTH) for a spring release.
Singapore grindcore trio WORMROT was arrested by religious authorities in Malaysia in the early hours of New Year's Day.
According to a posting on the band's Tumblr page, the members of WORMROT were "chlling" at a local hotel after playing a New Year's Eve show in Kuala Lumpur when the Jabatan Agama Islam Selangor (Selangor Islamic Religious Department) came into their room. Azean, the band's manager, writes, "After several questions and telling us that it is wrong for unmarried Muslim men and women to be in one room, they took our passports and we were taken to the police station to give our statements and call someone to bail us.
"Five of us were taken into custody. Arif [vocals], Rasyid [guitars], Fit [drums], his girlfriend, who is Arif's little sister and myself. Rasyid's girlfriend was not taken into custody 'cause she's not Muslim and Fiaz [ASILENT bassist, with them at the time] was from another room.
"When we got out of the hotel to be escorted into the police lorry, which already has some couples who were caught earlier than us, around 30-40 more people from JAIS, passerby and maybe some people from the media took pictures of us as though they had busted the most biggest crime for the night. We were taken to the Taman Muda police station and had to sit on the floor to wait for the organizer, Emi, to come and bail us out. Emi arrived at 4 a.m. and he had talked to one of the JAIS staff. At around 4:15 a.m., we were taken to another police station as there was no high-ranking officer to do up the reports. Again everyone had to be escorted into the lorry to be driven to Pandan Indah police station. However, when we arrived there, we were still held in the lorry as the high-ranking staff from JAIS have not arrived. At around 5 a.m., when they finally arrived, we thought that we will be taken into the police station for our statements. But… in the end… we were let off with just a warning. We were nearly fined $3000 MYR ($950 USD) per person if Emi did not call his lawyer up and we being Singaporeans. Plus we weren't doing any sexual intercourse when they entered our room.
"By the time Emi sent us back to our hotel, it was already 5:30 a.m. We were beyond exhausted as we had been awake since 5 a.m. the day before, performing and then the hotel drama."
WORMROT's latest album, "Dirge", came out in May 2011.
According to a posting on the band's Tumblr page, the members of WORMROT were "chlling" at a local hotel after playing a New Year's Eve show in Kuala Lumpur when the Jabatan Agama Islam Selangor (Selangor Islamic Religious Department) came into their room. Azean, the band's manager, writes, "After several questions and telling us that it is wrong for unmarried Muslim men and women to be in one room, they took our passports and we were taken to the police station to give our statements and call someone to bail us.
"Five of us were taken into custody. Arif [vocals], Rasyid [guitars], Fit [drums], his girlfriend, who is Arif's little sister and myself. Rasyid's girlfriend was not taken into custody 'cause she's not Muslim and Fiaz [ASILENT bassist, with them at the time] was from another room.
"When we got out of the hotel to be escorted into the police lorry, which already has some couples who were caught earlier than us, around 30-40 more people from JAIS, passerby and maybe some people from the media took pictures of us as though they had busted the most biggest crime for the night. We were taken to the Taman Muda police station and had to sit on the floor to wait for the organizer, Emi, to come and bail us out. Emi arrived at 4 a.m. and he had talked to one of the JAIS staff. At around 4:15 a.m., we were taken to another police station as there was no high-ranking officer to do up the reports. Again everyone had to be escorted into the lorry to be driven to Pandan Indah police station. However, when we arrived there, we were still held in the lorry as the high-ranking staff from JAIS have not arrived. At around 5 a.m., when they finally arrived, we thought that we will be taken into the police station for our statements. But… in the end… we were let off with just a warning. We were nearly fined $3000 MYR ($950 USD) per person if Emi did not call his lawyer up and we being Singaporeans. Plus we weren't doing any sexual intercourse when they entered our room.
"By the time Emi sent us back to our hotel, it was already 5:30 a.m. We were beyond exhausted as we had been awake since 5 a.m. the day before, performing and then the hotel drama."
WORMROT's latest album, "Dirge", came out in May 2011.
Swedish melodic death metallers SATARIEL have announced the return of guitarist and founding member Mikael Granqvist to the group's ranks.
Commented the band: "When Mike decided to quit after recording the 'Chifra' EP, we lost an important creative force and also a big part of the SATARIEL spirit. It isn't an overstatement to say that much of our drive and resolve vanished — to some extent leading us into the long hiatus we've only just recently recovered from. Therefore, we're really happy that circumstances changed and Mike wanted back in. Fuck yeah!
"We'd also like to extend a huge THANK YOU to Simon Johansson who stepped up when Mike left. Even though not much happened during the years he was a member (sorry...), it was a great feeling having him at our side. Hopefully, he'll still put down some awesome guitar solos as a session member on the forthcoming 'White Ink', like he did on our last couple of albums. You rule, Simon!"
An audio sample of the song "Daemons" from "White Ink", the forthcoming full-length album from SATARIEL, can be streamed in the YouTube clip below. The band previously stated that the new CD would "continue in the sound of [the band's mini-CD] 'Chifra', which was released [in 2007], but probably will have a little more aggressivity and 'evil' added to it this time, as the lyrics pretty much demand that this time around."
"Chifra" was mixed by Daniel Bergstrand (IN FLAMES, MESSHUGGAH, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD) and Magnus Alakangas at Dug-Out Studios in Uppsala, Sweden and featured artwork and layout by Pär Johansson.
SATARIEL is:
Pär Johansson - Vocals
Magnus Alakangas - Guitar
Robert Sundelin - Drums
Mikael Granbacke - Bass
Mikael Granqvist - Guitar
Commented the band: "When Mike decided to quit after recording the 'Chifra' EP, we lost an important creative force and also a big part of the SATARIEL spirit. It isn't an overstatement to say that much of our drive and resolve vanished — to some extent leading us into the long hiatus we've only just recently recovered from. Therefore, we're really happy that circumstances changed and Mike wanted back in. Fuck yeah!
"We'd also like to extend a huge THANK YOU to Simon Johansson who stepped up when Mike left. Even though not much happened during the years he was a member (sorry...), it was a great feeling having him at our side. Hopefully, he'll still put down some awesome guitar solos as a session member on the forthcoming 'White Ink', like he did on our last couple of albums. You rule, Simon!"
An audio sample of the song "Daemons" from "White Ink", the forthcoming full-length album from SATARIEL, can be streamed in the YouTube clip below. The band previously stated that the new CD would "continue in the sound of [the band's mini-CD] 'Chifra', which was released [in 2007], but probably will have a little more aggressivity and 'evil' added to it this time, as the lyrics pretty much demand that this time around."
"Chifra" was mixed by Daniel Bergstrand (IN FLAMES, MESSHUGGAH, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD) and Magnus Alakangas at Dug-Out Studios in Uppsala, Sweden and featured artwork and layout by Pär Johansson.
SATARIEL is:
Pär Johansson - Vocals
Magnus Alakangas - Guitar
Robert Sundelin - Drums
Mikael Granbacke - Bass
Mikael Granqvist - Guitar
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