AEROSMITH has announced the second leg of "The Global Warming Tour", featuring support act CHEAP TRICK. Tickets go on sale Monday, September 24 at 10:00 a.m. (local time) at LiveNation.com. American Express card members can get advance tickets beginning this Wednesday, September 19 at 10:00 a.m. (local time). For VIP ticket packages, including opportunities to meet band members, backstage tours, great tickets and more, visit Aeroforceone.com. In addition, a Facebook pre-sale begins Friday, September 21; fans who click here and RSVP to the presale will have early access to tickets.
The dates are as follows:
Nov. 08 - Oklahoma City, OK - Chesapeake Energy Arena
Nov. 11 - Wichita, KS - Intrust Bank Arena
Nov. 14 - Kansas City, MO - Spring Center
Nov. 16 - Austin, TX - Frank Erwin Center
Nov. 20 - New York, NY - Madison Square Garden
Nov. 23 - Atlantic City, NJ - Revel Resorts – Ovation Hall
Nov. 25 - Columbus, OH - Nationwide Arena
Nov. 27 - Toronto, ON - Air Canada Centre
Dec. 01 - Las Vegas, NV - MGM Grand Garden Arena
Dec. 03 - Los Angeles, CA - Staples Center
Dec. 06 - New Orleans, LA - New Orleans Arena
Dec. 09 - Fort Lauderdale, FL - BB&T Center
Dec. 11 - Tampa, FL - Tampa Bay Times Forum
Dec. 13 - Nashville, TN - Bridgestone Arena
On November 6, AEROSMITH — Steven Tyler (vocals), Joe Perry (guitar), Brad Whitford (guitar), Tom Hamilton (bass) and Joey Kramer (drums) — will release "Music From Another Dimension" on Columbia Records. It marks the band's 15th studio album and their first studio collection of all-new material in 11 years. The album was recorded in Los Angeles and at the band's studio in Massachusetts; it was produced by Jack Douglas, Steven Tyler and Joe Perry, with the exception of three tracks produced by Tyler and Marti Frederiksen.
"Music From Another Dimension" features 15 new tracks, including two songs that audiences in North America were treated to on the first leg of "The Global Warming Tour". The CD presents AEROSMITH in ferociously fine form and at the peak of their powers. They're the only band of their stature with all-original members and who are playing better than ever have before. The album abounds with one highlight after another, including "Out Go The Lights", "Oh Yeah", "Luv XXX", "We All Fall Down", "Street Jesus" and "Can't Stop Loving You", on which Tyler duets with Carrie Underwood. The album also includes "Freedom Fighter", which features Johnny Depp on backing vocals.
On September 17, legendary guitarist Slash was interviewed by Lamont and Sully of the "Lamont And Tonelli Show", which airs on the Bay Area rock station 107.7 The Bone. You can listen to the chat using the audio player below.
Slash recently confirmed longstanding rumors that his mother, late costume designer Ola Hudson, had an affair with rock legend David Bowie when Slash was just a child. The former GUNS N' ROSES guitarist told Australia's Triple M radio, "My mom started working professionally with David Bowie at first. I'm pretty sure that's how it started and then it turned into some sort of mysterious romance that went on for a while after that." Slash added, "I caught them naked once. They had a lot of stuff going on, but my perspective at eight was limited. Looking back on it I knew exactly what was going on."
Although that may have been awkward, Slash said he has fond memories of Bowie from that period, adding, "He was cool. I liked David a lot."
Speaking to the "Lamont And Tonelli Show", Slash clarified his earlier remarks, saying, "That was a very casual conversation with somebody on the phone in Australia that I had no idea was gonna get blown up. It became this big headline, and it was very awkward. I'm embarrassed 'cause I'm sure David didn't appreciate it. And my mom — rest in peace — probably wouldn't have dug it either. All it was, was they dated for a while, which is common knowledge, and all I said was there was one occasion where I happened to walk into the bedroom when they weren't fully dressed. That was it. It wasn't anything more lewd to that."
Slash's mother designed stagewear for Bowie, John Lennon, Diana Ross and others.
Slash spent many of his formative years living in Los Angeles with his mother, where he had a close-up view of the Hollywood music, film and art scene.
According to AbbyNews.com, STONE TEMPLE PILOTS took to the stage two hours after the opening band last night (Monday, September 18) in Abbotsford, British Columbia , Canada.
CRASH KINGS opened the concert, playing for just under an hour to an estimated 3,000 fans who waited for much anticipation for the main act.
By the time 10:30 rolled around, STONE TEMPLE PILOTS still hadn't kicked off their show, and many people had reportedly already left the building. The remaining fans started getting restless and the arena erupted many times with booing.
Just past 11 p.m. STONE TEMPLE PILOTS finally came on stage, greeted by boos. Lead singer Scott Weiland offered a brief apology, but otherwise offered no explanation for the band's tardiness.
According to an unconfirmed report on Grungereport.net, Weiland and STONE TEMPLE PILOTS guitarist Dean DeLeo were spotted playing paintball at Richmond Indoor Paintball yesterday afternoon.
STONE TEMPLE PILOTS' show scheduled for tonight (September 18) in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada has been canceled.
**UPDATE**: According to a statement posted on STONE TEMPLE PILOTS' Facebook page, tonight's concert at the Emax Centre in Lethbridge, Alberta, Canada was called off because Weiland has been put on 48 hours complete vocal rest due to strained vocal cords. The cancelation of the Lethbridge show "will allow STP to finish the remaining dates of their summer 2012 tour," the statement adds.
The band's next scheduled concert is September 22 in Irvine, California.
John Parks of Legendary Rock Interviews recently conducted an interview with ANTHRAX bassist Frank Bello. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
Legendary Rock Interviews: You recently went to a big film festival for your movie, "Greetings From Tim Buckley". How did it go over at the festival?
Frank Bello: It went great, man! They were nice enough to fly me out to it; it was the Toronto International Film Festival. The reviews were great. I mean, I have a smaller part in the movie, I'm a character actor in it and play Richard Hell, but I got a lot of nice compliments from people, which was really nice to hear. It was a totally positive experience.
Legendary Rock Interviews: Are they thinking it's going to receive more of a theatrical run or is it going to make a DVD/Blu-ray run soon?
Frank: I'm really learning as I go as far as how this whole process works. As for the film festivals, I guess that's how they sell the films and I guess the deals are made from there. I'm not sure if it's going to any more film festivals or what the next step was. I did the Toronto thing on Sunday [September] 9th and came right out here on the road with ANTHRAX. [laughs]
Legendary Rock Interviews: Do you have any more acting gigs on the horizon or….?
Frank: I'd like to. I'm touring with ANTHRAX for the rest of this year, and what I'd like to do is maybe get in some more acting work next year while we're all busy writing the next ANTHRAX record. We're going to be doing more touring, but I'm definitely planning on doing some auditioning and working towards more film work. I enjoy it, I genuinely enjoy it. It's very different from ANTHRAX, but it's a lot of fun, a blast actually.
Legendary Rock Interviews: I would think these side things like your acting and other stuff would keep you fresh and focused in the band.
Frank: It's one more creative thing. I've always been a big movie guy, growing up in New York, and I've always studied and worked on acting. It's another outlet and I've done some theater and film stuff but for the most part I've been on the road all these years. When I actually get the time to do it, I always have fun.
Legendary Rock Interviews: It was September 13, 2011 when "Worship Music" came out and you are still out there kicking ass a year later. Compared to twenty years ago, does any of this touring or promoting seem any easier with all of your experience?
Frank: I don't think anything is easier. [laughs] If anything, it's harder in ANTHRAX, especially the touring. You have to realize, we've all got families and kids for the most part, and it's really tough being away from them for so many days of the year. We try to keep it to three- or four-week runs at the most, but it can be trying. We just did the Mayhem festival here in the States which was five weeks. This new run of dates with TESTAMENT is three and a half weeks, and the MOTÖRHEAD thing will be another four and a half weeks. Being away from your family at this stage of the game, at this point in our lives, it's hard, but we know this is what we do. This is how you operate in a band these days, this is how you promote your band and sell records and try to get to where you need to be. We got really great reviews and response from fans to "Worship Music", but we still know we're in a rebuilding process. We've gotten a really good start, but there's still work to do, and we're still excited about doing it.
Legendary Rock Interviews: Your album, TESTAMENT's album, METALLICA's album, they were all really strong return-to-form-type records. They received mostly positive reviews, but there's always going to be some contingent of the population who has to talk shit or criticize. I listen to those albums from all you guys all these years later, and I'm just blown away by how thrashy and pure they are. Does it ever surprise you when you hear the naysayers or nitpickers?
Frank: I just think they're entitled to their own opinion, and everyone can express that, but I don't waste my time on focusing on all that negativity. I know, and you know, this band is working hard and I just try to stay focused and stay positive. In ANTHRAX, at this stage of the game, we are really working hard and I think a lot of people are really responding to this band and where we're headed right now. It's hard, in this day and age, people have really short attention spans and there's no airplay or MTV for bands like us, so we just have to go out there and slug it out and connect with people and re-establish that relationship with them. We go out there and we bring it out on the road. In a sense, it's nothing new. It's what we've always had to do, so in a sense we're accustomed to that. It's hard to be in this business and you have to want it, and we do.
In a recent interview with Georgia Straight, ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian was asked which of his cohorts in the "Big Four" of 1980s thrash metal — METALLICA, SLAYER, MEGADETH and ANTHRAX — he most enjoyed listening to in his spare time.
"Oh wow, that's tough," replied Ian. "I would have to say, if you went into my iTunes and you looked at the play count to see what songs I listen to the most, I would probably bet SLAYER gets played more than METALLICA or MEGADETH. So, if that answers your question..."
Asked whether he thought "Big Four" should have been expanded and considered the "Big Five", including one more band, Ian said, "The only other band really that it would make sense [to include] as far as American thrash-metal would be EXODUS, because they were there right at the beginning as well. Their first album came out right at the same time as the rest of us. So I mean, to me, yes — if you were gonna add a fifth band, certainly I would think EXODUS would be able to fill that slot very easily."
Last year, METALLICA, SLAYER, MEGADETH and ANTHRAX were presented with double-platinum plaques for the two-disc DVD release of "The Big Four: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria", containing footage of the June 22, 2010 Sonisphere cinecast from the Sofia, Bulgaria leg of the touring rock festival featuring all four groups. The presentation took place on April 23, 2010 at the first-ever "Big Four" concert on American soil at the Empire Polo Club in Indio, California.
"The Big Four: Live From Sofia, Bulgaria" was certified double platinum on December 17, 2010 by the Recording Industry Association Of America (RIAA) for shipments in excess of 100,000 copies. (Note: Due to the fact that the set consists of two discs, it was eligible for platinum certification after shipping 50,000 copies; platinum certification for a single-disc release is 100,000 copies.)
John Parks of Legendary Rock Interviews recently conducted an interview with vocalist Chuck Billy of San Francisco Bay Area metallers TESTAMENT. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
Legendary Rock Interviews: You went through a well-documented health scare about a decade ago. A lot of us who are fans and hate doctors visits received a big wake-up call from hearing about you, but I've always wanted to know what symptoms did you have or when did you knew something was wrong?
Chuck: I had started smoking cigarettes at that time. I had been smoking for about two or three months and I was just walking up the stairs in my house and just huffing and puffing and thinking, "Man, these cigarettes are just killing me. I gotta stop smoking, I can't breathe." That was the first thing I noticed. I think I was just really fortunate and blessed and had an angel looking down on me because I probably would have just kept right on smoking anyway, and I was the kind of guy that never went to the doctor. I probably hadn't been to the doctor since my high school physical to play football. One day, totally out of the blue, a real estate agent knocked on my door and told me that she had somebody who wanted to buy my house. My house wasn't even for sale but she just had someone she was talking to who had told her that they wanted to buy my house. I told her I wasn't interested but just wondered how much she'd sell it for and when she told me how much she could sell it for I was like, "Well, okay, if you can sell it for that much than maybe I am interested." [laughs] So she did. She sold it and at that time I was playing with these guys in Antioch, which was about an hour from my house and hanging out in this really nice little country town with not a lot going on out there. So when we sold our house, I told my wife, "Hey, let's move out there. It's quiet, on a river. Let's go there." So, the drummer I was working with there was a guy from SADUS and his wife worked at a hospital there and recommended a doctor, and my wife and I decided to switch doctors and dentists and everything and meet them and all of us go get a physical. The doctor called back and everything was fine with my wife but they wanted me to come in for a CAT Scan on my chest and further X-rays. That's how they found it. So it was kind of like a fluke situation. If that lady never knocked on my door to sell my house, I probably would have died and never see it coming because I had a tumor in my chest that was the size of a squash. It was growing off of my heart and pushing on my lungs, which is why I couldn't breathe. I didn't have any space in there for my lungs to expand.
Legendary Rock Interviews: I stupidly smoke a few little cigars here and there so that's pretty freaky shit. There was no pain or anything?
Chuck: No pain, nothing, just some shortness of breath. They did biopsies, and what my doctor told me was that my body had built a shell around the tumor, I guess, trying to fight it and it built a thick shell around the tumor. When they did the first biopsy, it came back with a negative result because of that shell until they went deeper. When they went deeper, that was when they broke it open, and it started spilling out, and when that happened that was when the doctor was like, "Okay, it's spilling out. Monday you're starting chemotherapy." And that's when all of that began.
Legendary Rock Interviews: All of that therapy almost sounds worse than the tumor, but you've spoken about how you actually found help through more traditional Native American means right?
Chuck: Yeah, I had a friend who I grew up with, and she cut my hair and she moved out to L.A., but every time we would go out, that way we'd get together. One time we went to the Rainbow Bar & Grill, and she actually told me that she had a dream. For about a year before that, she had been telling me about this medicine man named Charlie that she really wanted me to meet and telling me how we looked alike and basically just saying she really wanted me to meet him. We never did, but that night she told me that she had a dream that he and I were sitting around a fire putting on warpaint about to go into a battle together. I mean, we're drinking at the Rainbow and I'm like, "Yeah, yeah, whatever," and it kind of went in one ear and out the other. One day I came home after having chemotherapy and Charlie showed up to my house unannounced when I was home alone, and right away when we met, there was a connection as if we had known each other for a while, and I was really comfortable with him. He came in and said he was going to perform a healing ceremony on me and that after he was done, he was going to sit me down and we were gonna talk and explain a couple things to me. I laid on the floor and he had an eagle scepter and a flute and was chanting, and I can tell you that I had my eyes closed and saw myself floating through the sky and he just took me on this journey. I was like traveling through the sky and I heard the wind and wolves and howling and chanting and I was thinking to myself, "How's he doing all this?" because it was this really trippy experience. He wiped an eagle feather across my chest and it was like something moved inside of me and then he sat me down to talk to me and explain a few things. He said there were things that were going to happen that weren't going to make any sense to me, but when they start happening, I will notice that things will start falling into place and make sense. He told me that the wind was actually going to be my spirit guide and that the wind was going to be very important in communicating what was happening to me. Then he was gone. It all happened within the span of about an hour. Weeks went by, and we had a barbecue and had some friends over, and this night I was woken up in the middle of the night because of the wind, and I went to the bathroom because I was having all these stomach issues at that time. My stomach just didn't feel right and I couldn't go to the bathroom for days at a time. I walked downstairs and sat in our guest bathroom. Outside the window of our guest bathroom and outside the bathroom, there was this little gathering funnel cloud and these beer cans clinking together and just making this rattling noise spinning in the wind. I sat on the toilet and released something out of my body and had this weird sensation and the wind stopped and the beer cans hit the ground. Right then I just had this overwhelming sensation that I got the sickness out of my body and I went upstairs and woke my wife up and said, "Hey, I don't have cancer anymore. I'm cured. I just got rid of it downstairs." [laughs] She, of course, thought I was crazy and out of my mind and that was that. That week when I went in for my blood tests to see what my levels were and all this, my doctor says, "Wow, your tumor is cancer-free," and I just became a true believer at that point.
Legendary Rock Interviews: I would imagine. Wow.
Chuck: I really wasn't prior to that. I was raised a Catholic and never really followed the Native culture or beliefs and spirituality until I had become sick but when he told me that and explained the chain of events I really became a true believer. I didn't tell the doctors anything. They told me I was cancer-free, but the tumor was still there but too big to operate on. I went back to the Native traditions and I traveled out to L.A. with my son and went to sweat lodges and healing places down there. I traveled up into the foothills because another friend of mine had another medicine man who was a direct descendant of Geronimo and lived with and raised wolves. We pulled up in front of his house and he has a pack of wolves there and a small one in a cage but had two that roamed free and one that sat on the porch. My friend said, "You have to approach the house, and if the wolves show aggression, that means you can't go inside but if they don't then you can pass." So I walked up and I passed the wolf and went inside, and he taught me grounding techniques to ground myself with the earth and use the energy of the earth to focus the energy on shrinking my tumor and we spent some time talking, and by this time I was just becoming more and more of a believer and knew that I was going to go home and continue practicing this and beat this. So, after a couple of weeks of that, I go in to see my doctor and found out that my tumor was now small enough to have an operation. I went in and had open-heart surgery to cut the tumor out and have been free of it ever since. From that point forward, I knew I would always be a believer, that no matter what path I took or road I chose, my spirituality and belief in Native culture would be strong.
ICED EARTH guitarist/mainman Jon Schaffer has commented on the lawsuits filed on behalf of Century Media Records that collectively target more than 7,000 people for allegedly using peer-to-peer networks to unlawfully distribute "Dystopia", the 2011 album by ICED EARTH, and "Dark Adrenaline", the most recent album by the Italian band LACUNA COIL.
Said Schaffer: "It has come to my attention that Century Media is suing fans over illegal downloads of (among others) our latest album, 'Dystopia'. I felt it was important to clarify that we had no knowledge of this motion and were, sadly, not asked permission.
"We all know the music industry is changing. We have been adapting to this model by embracing legal streaming services such as Spotify and by bringing our music to places we have never played before by touring our proverbial asses off.
"As much as we respect that the labels are having a harder time selling music, we feel this is a misguided effort and want to make sure our fans know we would have not given our consent would we have been asked."
In a typical illegal-downloading case, a lawyer hires a company to search for Internet protocol (IP) addresses associated with the use of file-sharing software such as BitTorrent. Once the IP addresses have been harvested, the lawyer's clients file suit naming defendants as John Doe. They then seek to have mass subpoenas issued for the Internet providers associated with the harvested IP addresses in order to obtain the name and address of the owner of the IP address on the date it was harvested. Once identified, an Internet account holder typically faces the prospect of settling the case for a few thousand dollars or hiring a lawyer to fight the charges.
"It's tough. If you get one of these letters you've been put in a difficult and unfair spot," said Rebecca Jeschke, a spokeswoman for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a San Francisco-based civil-liberties group, referring to the notices that go out once a John Doe has been identified.
"In many of these situations," she added to NorthJersey.com, "the goal doesn't seem to be to fight infringement; it seems to be to get settlements. That's where the money-making is."
Nuclear Blast Records made headlines earlier in the year when it filed a lawsuit against 80 users of the BitTorrent network over illegal music downloads of an album by Oakland, California-based extreme metallers ALL SHALL PERISH. The lawsuit was not only brought without the band's permission, but also without their knowledge.
After members of ALL SHALL PERISH made it clear that they did not want to participate in the legal proceedings, Nuclear Blast voluntarily dismissed the lawsuit without prejudice.
In December 2008, the Recording Industry Association Of America (RIAA) abandoned its litigation campaign against file sharers after having targeted some 18,000 individuals, usually naming dozens or hundreds of defendants per suit.
Most of the defendants settled out of court for a few thousand dollars rather than risk Copyright Act fines of up to $150,000 per purloined music track.
Elliot Levin of Examiner.com recently conducted an interview with DOWN guitarist Pepper Keenan. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
Examiner.com: You have the first of four EPs coming out, and some tracks have already hit the Internet. Can we expect to hear the new music live?
Pepper: Oh, for sure. That's kinda the purpose of the EP idea, is that we don't have to spend two years in the damn studio trying to write 20 songs to pick 14. And the EP idea will give us lateral movement to shift directions for each EP, and we can go a couple of places we've never been before.
Examiner.com: Who came up with the [DOWN] Jesus cigarette logo?
Pepper: I did, years ago. That's me.
Examiner.com: What's the story behind that?
Pepper: It was a photograph taken years ago, and I saved it and when we were talking about starting DOWN and needing a logo, I went to Kinko's and made a pretty basic logo and Jesus face underneath with the joint; that was about it. It's really latched on, one of those killer rock 'n' roll logos.
Examiner.com: Who is in the original photo?
Pepper: That's me! Back in the day I was just wearing the crown of thorns on my head, laying around, and put a flashlight over it, and that was that.
Examiner.com: I was at Mayhem festival in Connecticut this summer, and, of course, you could see DOWN tshirts all over the place. I know you've never been out on any of the five Mayhem fests, and I don't remember seeing you on any Ozzfests either. Has it just worked out that way or do you deliberately avoid the summer festival tours?
Pepper: We did Ozzfest years ago, on the second record. I think we swore we'd never do something like that again. I think DOWN is better served playing on our own. We have so much material and so many ways to run around it, that I think we're better on our own. Getting 30 or 45 minutes on a festival set isn't worth it. Sometimes it works, like in Europe. If DOWN could have a festival and pick our own bands, we'd do it.
Examiner.com: Does [new bassist] Pat [Bruders] change the dynamic of the band at all?
Pepper: The biggest dynamic change is that he plays with his fingers and not a pick, so it's more of a Geezer Butler feel to it. It's a different animal. But it works fine. He's got a brutal bass sound.
Examiner.com: I know [former DOWN bassist] Rex [Brown] wasn't a founding member. If anyone else chose to leave, would that be the end of DOWN or would you say that yourself or Kirk [Windstein, guitar] or Jimmy [Bower, drums] or Phil [Anselmo, vocals] are replaceable too?
Pepper: I don't think so. I think the four members of the band are pretty solid. I think where we're at right now is what it is. I can't imagine if one more person was to exit the scenario, I can't think it would still work. It's just a bunch of friends in a jam room going at it, pretty simple process. It's a different ballgame than an L.A. band that creates an image. We've grown up together.
SHADOWS FALL, GOD FORBID, THY WILL BE DONE and TRUMPET THE HARLOT will join forces for the "Party To The Apocalypse 2012" tour, set to launch October 12 in Worcester, Massachusetts.
For a list of currently confirmed dates, see the poster below.
SHADOWS FALL's new album, "Fire From The Sky", sold around 10,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 38 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's previous CD, "Retribution", opened with 13,000 units in September 2009 to land at No. 35.
"Fire From The Sky" was released on May 15 via Razor & Tie. Recorded at Zing Studios in late 2011, the CD reunites SHADOWS FALL with longtime friend, producer/engineer and KILLSWITCH ENGAGE/TIMES OF GRACE guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz (THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, ALL THAT REMAINS). The album was mixed by Brian Virtue and features some of the band's most complex and melodic material in years.
GOD FORBID's new album, "Equilibrium", sold 3,400 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 156 on The Billboard 200 chart. The effort landed at No. 7 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.
"Equilibrium" was released on March 27 via Victory Records. The bulk of the CD was recorded by Mark Lewis (THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, WHITECHAPEL, DEVILDRIVER, TRIVIUM), with Jason Suecof (TRIVIUM, ALL THAT REMAINS, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, CHIMAIRA, DEVILDRIVER) stepping in during the the vocal-tracking stage. The effort was mixed by acclaimed Swedish producer Jens Bogren, who has previously worked with such acts as KATATONIA, OPETH, PARADISE LOST and AMON AMARTH.
THY WILL BE DONE will release a new six-song EP, "Temple", on September 25. The EP was produced and engineered by the band, mixed by acclaimed metal producer Chris "Zeuss" Harris at Planet Z and is the inaugural release on the band's own Eye.On Lion Recordings with INgrooves Fontana handling worldwide distribution.
http://www.blabbermouth.net/soulflypremiere/shadowspartytour.jpg
Christopher Krovatin of Revolver magazine recently conducted an interview with drummer Chris Adler of Richmond, Virginia metallers LAMB OF GOD. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
Revolver: How are you feeling having your lead singer back safe and sound?
Chris Adler: It's good. It was a real scary situation, and it still is. Randy [Blythe] has to return [to the Czech Republic] to stand trial [on manslaughter charges in connection with the death of a fan at a LAMB OF GOD concert in May 2010] in January. But the process went from being very, very scary, when we first arrived in Prague, to a lot of frustration as we tried to jump through all the hoops put in front of us to get him home and try and make sense of the situation. By the time he did come home, we were very irritated trying to help, because we did everything we could and nothing was budging. It was most definitely a huge relief to meet him at the airport the other night, and just a few weeks ago we played the Knotfest in Iowa and Wisconsin, and it was great to get onstage and let that anger out. We would never market this as a comeback or anything, but there was a special energy among the crowd. They were really happy that we were there to do what we do.
Revolver: You're about to embark on this tour with HATEBREED and IN FLAMES. Is everything set to go on that?
Chris Adler: Definitely. We're already talking about doing some new things, bringing out some new tunes. We're really excited to get out there — the energy we had at the Knotfests was really special. One of the silver linings of this situation, for me, was that when something like this happens, you realize how fragile this all is makes you realize how lucky you are to get to do it. I'm super-excited to tour with SYLOSIS — one of the my favorite bands right now, who we've traveled the world with. It's going to be great.
Revolver: "Resolution" was a huge album when it came out earlier this year. Why do you think LAMB OF GOD has remained prominent while some of these other bands have fallen by the wayside?
Chris Adler: It's hard to say. There are so many steps we could've taken that could've meant the end for us, or for any of these other bands. It's not entirely a surprise. We're lucky to continue to do this. Getting on best-of lists, putting out Billboard Top Ten records, getting Grammy nominations, that stuff is absolutely insane. I just don't know where half of it comes from, because that was never something we tried to do. We just love to make music, we respect each other, we enjoy working with each other. So I think one of the missteps a lot of guys make, and it's difficult to deal with when you've been in a band for 17 years, is keeping a consistent lineup. It's easy to get fed up with each other, or the cycle — having to head out on the road, or be creative at a certain time. Or it's the friendships. Through a lot of this, you're in a metal tube of some kind traveling the world with each other 24/7 for years at a time. We've had that. But we really respect each other, and realize that together we are capable of so much more than any one of us individually.
"Apocryphon", the fourth album from Austin, Texas metal luminaries THE SWORD, will be released on October 22 via Razor & Tie.
To celebrate the release, the band has partnered with independent record stores nationwide for a special promotion: when fans buy "Apocryphon" on CD or vinyl, they will receive a free, limited-edition, hand-numbered version of the album on cassette tape (while supplies last).
For a list of participating stores, go to
http://www.recordstoreday.com/Home
"Apocryphon" was produced and engineered by J. Robbins (CLUTCH, JAWBOX) at Magpie Cage Studios and features cover art by famed comic book artist J.H. Williams III (Batwoman, Promethea).
"Apocryphon" track listing:
01. The Veil Of Isis
02. Cloak Of Feathers
03. Arcane Montane
04. The Hidden Masters
05. Dying Earth
06. Execrator
07. Seven Sisters
08. Hawks And Serpents
09. Eyes Of The Stormwitch
10. Apocryphon
Bonus tracks:
01. Arrows In The Dark (live at Emo's)
02. Barael's Blade (live at Emo's)
03. Chronomancer II: Nemesis (live at Stubb's)
04. Ebethron (live at Stubb's)
05. Cheap Sunglasses
THE SWORD is now offering a limited-time-offer bundle including:
* Autographed limited-edition glow-in-the-dark 12-inch vinyl
* "Apocryphon" deluxe version digipak CD
* Three hand-numbered triptych 11 x 17 lithograph black light reactive posters
* Exclusive limited-offer "Apocryphon" T-shirt
* "Apocryphon" slipmat
* Includes digital download code
Asked about the band's decision to work with J. Robbins on "Apocryphon" after self-producing two records and then working with Matt Bayles, THE SWORD guitarist Kyle Shutt told AltPress.com, "We're all huge CLUTCH fans, and we know those guys real well. [James] did two of their last three records, and those sound great, so we figured it was a no-brainer. We called him up and he was into it. He saw our live show at a club in Baltimore on the tour before we came here so he could get a feel of the kind of show we put on because we wanted to make an album that sounds like we do live in a club. And it was great. It was a real speedy process."
On the topic of the musical direction of the new album, Shutt said, "It is a reflection of everything that we [have gone] through and the lessons we learned. We then deal with these situations metaphorically in our lyrics. This record is just 10 banging hard rockers. There's no real 'stick-out' thrash song, or, like, this one is the ballad. I don't think there's going to be any instrumental songs on this record, either, so that'll be a first for us. It's just 10 kick-ass rock songs."
Regarding the subject matter covered in the new songs' lyrics, Shutt said, "There are lyrical themes that weave in and out of the songs, but there's no story or anything like that. With 'Warp Riders', J.D. [guitarist/vocalist John Cronise] had already written [the story] and now he [doesn't] have the time to sit down and write another book. We had the idea to make a comic book for 'Warp Riders', but we had some really poor management at the time, so nothing really came together with that and it was going to cost so much money that it never saw the light of day. It was just a nice thing we did. Now we're moving on to other things."
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NIGHTWISH's long-awaited "Imaginaerum" film — based on the band's album of the same name — will be released theatrically in Finland on November 23.
The movie will have its premiere on November 10 at Hartwall Arena in Helsinki, Finland, where the audience will be treated to both a full-scale NIGHTWISH concert and the first-ever public screening of the movie.
Eagerly anticipated around the world, "Imaginaerum" creates a musical fantasy world in the vein of David Lynch, Neil Gaiman, and Cirque du Soleil. The movie is an innovative mixture of story-telling and music, an extraordinary tale of the power of imagination… and what's ultimately important in life.
Shot and post-produced in Canada, the movie was directed by Stobe Harju and produced by Solar Films, and features appearances by all NIGHTWISH members. The screenplay is based on a wild vision that Tuomas Holopainen, the mastermind of the band, devised after the album "Dark Passion Play" came out in 2007.
"I though of how we could take our expression that had already became pretty ambitious and grandiose to the next level, and that's when I knew I wanted to tell a story, and to tell it with love and piety," said Tuomas.
According to Holopainen, finishing the movie has been an eventful and challenging journey that has sometimes demanded superhuman dedication from the production crew.
"I want to already thank everyone from the bottom of my heart. Together we've managed to create something innovative, strange, and timeless," Holopainen said.
The "Imaginaerum" screening at Hartwall Arena will be preceded by a show by the musicians NIGHTWISH themselves in what will be their last concert in Finland this year.
The official soundtrack of the movie, "Imaginaerum By Nightwish: The Score", will be released on the day before the premiere — Friday, November 9. The album features 13 grandiose, unreleased re-interpretations of "Imaginaerum" tracks by Petri Alanko.
"Imaginaerum By Nightwish: The Score" track listing:
01. Find Your Story
02. Orphanage Airlines
03. Undertow
04. Spying In The Doorway
05. A Crackling Sphere
06. Sundown
07. Wonderfields
08. Hey Buddy
09. Deeper Down
10. Dare To Enter
11. I Have To Let You Go
12. Heart Lying Still
13. From G To E Minor
Several photos from the "Imaginaerum" movie shoot can be found at this location.
"Imaginaerum" is one of the projects which received grants from the Finnish government institution called the Finnish Film Foundation. The movie, directed by Stobe Harju, about an old man on his deathbed who glimpses a childhood dream in which he refuses to grow old, and fights aging with his imagination, reportedly got $575,000 toward its $3.7 million budget.
During a September 2011 interview with Petri Silas of Finland's Soundi magazine, NIGHTWISH mainman/keyboardist Tuomas Holopainen explained that all the filming for the "Imaginaerum" movie was done in Canada with mostly Canadian actors/actresses. Post-production took place in Canada and Finland. He aso revealed the names of the actors who have two of the main roles in the film: Marianne Farley and Quinn Lord.
Speaking to Loudwire, Holopainen stated about the plot of the "Imaginaerum" film, "Basically it's about this old guy who used to be a composer and he's really sick; he's lying on his death bed in a hospital and he's going through his life, through his dreams — that's the basic storyline. It's all about praising life and life's beauty, imagination and all the strife and the bad stuff we have to face.
"[The storyline] came from the director; I just had the twelve ideas, the twelve visions. He basically wrote the script and storyline around those originally visions and the only one we had to leave out was the 'Ghost River' part, because we didn't have the finance to realize that vision."
Asked if the band appears in the film at all, Tuomas said, "A little bit, we are seen in two different scenes as a band, playing in the background. That's something that I really emphasized to the director, 'Please don't put the band into the movie,' because we want to do a believable story and we have no idea how to act. We are not actors so if your give us some lines and we tried to act, it would look goofy. He insisted to put us into the movie because it's our brainchild, so we're just playing in there as a band; it's a good compromise."
"Imaginaerum" film cast:
* Francis X. McCarthy
* Quinn Lord
* Marianne Farley
* Joanna Noyes
* Ilkka Villi
* Keyanna Fielding
* Ron Lea
* Victoria Jung
* Hélène Robitaille
* Stefan Demers
* Anette Olzon
* Marco Hietala
* Tuomas Holopainen
* Emppu Vuorinen
* Jukka Nevalainen
The "Imaginaerum" album was released in the U.S. on January 10 via Roadrunner Records.
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KILL DEVIL HILL, the new band featuring legendary drummer Vinny Appice (DIO, BLACK SABBATH, HEAVEN & HELL, KILL DEVIL HILL) alongside Rex Brown (PANTERA, DOWN) on bass, Mark Zavon (RATT, W.A.S.P., 40 CYCLE HUM) on guitar and Jason "Dewey" Bragg (PISSING RAZORS) on vocals, recently wrapped up a North American tour in support of their self-titled debut album, which was released earlier this year via Steamhammer/SPV.
The band has created a series of lyric videos for all of the songs from the CD. Over the coming weeks, these clips will be premiered exclusively at RevolverMag.com, the online home of Revolver magazine. Today the first video for the song "War Machine" has been unveiled and can be seen below.
KILL DEVIL HILL will hit the road again in November, playing select headline dates and supporting legendary shock rocker Alice Cooper. This jaunt kicks off November 23 and runs through December 1.
The self-titled debut album from KILL DEVIL HILL sold around 1,800 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 9 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.
"Kill Devil Hill" was produced by Warren Riker, who is best known for his work with DOWN, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, SUBLIME and CATHEDRAL. The effort was made available in a standard CD edition, as an iTunes digital download, and double gatefold LP.
According to Appice, KILL DEVIL HILL's sound is "like a cross between BLACK SABBATH, ALICE IN CHAINS and a little bit of LED ZEPPELIN thrown in. It's heavy, but with a lot of cool hooks and melodic overtones, too."
The members of KILL DEVIL HILL previously stated about their songwriting and recording approach, "We are going old school meets new; no sample drums here!!"
KILL DEVIL HILL is:
* Jason "Dewey" Bragg (PISSING RAZORS) - Vocals
* Mark Zavon (RATT, W.A.S.P., 40 CYCLE HUM) - Guitar
* Rex Brown (DOWN, PANTERA) - Bass
* Vinny Appice (HEAVEN & HELL, BLACK SABBATH, DIO) – Drums
A copy of the lawsuit filed by a New Jersey attorney on behalf of Century Media Records that collectively targets nearly 1,000 people for allegedly using peer-to-peer networks to unlawfully distribute "Dark Adrenaline", the most recent album by the Italian band LACUNA COIL, can be found below. The label has also filed a similar lawsuit against thousands of individuals who have allegedly illegally downloaded "Dystopia", the 2011 album by ICED EARTH, according to NorthJersey.com.
In a typical illegal-downloading case, a lawyer hires a company to search for Internet protocol (IP) addresses associated with the use of file-sharing software such as BitTorrent. Once the IP addresses have been harvested, the lawyer's clients file suit naming defendants as John Doe. They then seek to have mass subpoenas issued for the Internet providers associated with the harvested IP addresses in order to obtain the name and address of the owner of the IP address on the date it was harvested. Once identified, an Internet account holder typically faces the prospect of settling the case for a few thousand dollars or hiring a lawyer to fight the charges.
"It's tough. If you get one of these letters you've been put in a difficult and unfair spot," said Rebecca Jeschke, a spokeswoman for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a San Francisco-based civil-liberties group, referring to the notices that go out once a John Doe has been identified.
"In many of these situations," she added, "the goal doesn't seem to be to fight infringement; it seems to be to get settlements. That's where the money-making is."
Nuclear Blast Records made headlines earlier in the year when it filed a lawsuit against 80 users of the BitTorrent network over illegal music downloads of an album by Oakland, California-based extreme metallers ALL SHALL PERISH. The lawsuit was not only brought without the band's permission, but also without their knowledge.
After members of ALL SHALL PERISH made it clear that they did not want to participate in the legal proceedings, Nuclear Blast voluntarily dismissed the lawsuit without prejudice.
In December 2008, the Recording Industry Association Of America (RIAA) abandoned its litigation campaign against file sharers after having targeted some 18,000 individuals, usually naming dozens or hundreds of defendants per suit.
Most of the defendants settled out of court for a few thousand dollars rather than risk Copyright Act fines of up to $150,000 per purloined music track.
Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada metallers 3 INCHES OF BLOOD will enter the studio later this week to record a cover of a DAYGLO ABORTIONS track, to be included on the upcoming DAYGLO ABORTIONS tribute album, due out in 2013. The song will be recorded with Reversed Records founder, producer/engineer/manager Rob Shallcross (STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, GWAR, Gene Hoglan, MELDRUM, WEST OF HELL).
3 INCHES OF BLOOD's "Leather Lord" video can be seen below. The song comes off the band's latest album, "Long Live Heavy Metal", which was released on March 27 via Century Media Records.
For "Long Live Heavy Metal", 3 INCHES OF BLOOD reunited with producer and engineer Terry "Sho" Murray (CITY OF FIRE, EXHIBITIONISTS), who worked with the band on their seven-inch single, "Anthems For The Victorious".
3 INCHES OF BLOOD teamed up with Kim Thiessen to perfect their artistic vision for the album, which was released as a digipack and when opened, lays out similar to that of a book.
3 INCHES OF BLOOD recently recruited Byron Stroud (STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, FEAR FACTORY) as its new bassist.
Duff McKagan (DUFF MCKAGAN'S LOADED, VELVET REVOLVER, GUNS N' ROSES) will celebrate the paperback release of his critically acclaimed memoir, "It's So Easy (And Other Lies)", on Monday, October 15 at the Viper Room in West Hollywood, California. Billed as "A Punk's Revue", the event will feature a multi-media exploration of Duff's career in music, words, video, and sound. Musicians Mike Squires, Jeff Rouse and Burke Thomas will accompany McKagan through this spoken-word performance.
For more information, go to this location.
DUFF MCKAGAN'S LOADED will perform a full set on Tuesday, October 16 at the Viper Room.
As previously reported, McKagan will take part in "Rock Stars Say The Funniest Things", a new series of spoken-word sets taking place at Garage in London, England.
Duff will take to the stage on Tuesday, October 25 for "It's So Easy: A Punk's Review", featuring anecdotes and passages from "It's So Easy (And Other Lies)". As well as sharing memories from his musical journey, he will be playing some acoustic tracks and letting the audience delve deeper into this life with a question-and-answer session.
"It's So Easy (And Other Lies)" is a raw, utterly candid autobiography that chronicles the unlikely story of the formation and rise of GUNS N' ROSES to the pinnacle of fame, fortune, and excess. With great candor, charm, and introspection, Duff details his twelve years as the bass player for GN'R as well as his nearly fatal struggle with alcoholism and drug addiction, his unusual path to sobriety, and his success as a savvy business investor and loving husband and father.
"It's So Easy (And Other Lies)" landed at position No. 17 on the New York Times "Hardcover Nonfiction" best-sellers list. The book arrived on October 4, 2011 via Touchstone Books (formerly Touchstone Fireside), a division of Simon & Schuster.
The first 20 pages of "It's So Easy (And Other Lies)" can be read at this location.
Duff's VELVET REVOLVER/GUNS N' ROSES bandmate Slash has published his own book, as has ex-GUNS drummer Steven Adler, who released his life story, "My Appetite For Destruction: Sex And Drugs And Guns N' Roses", in July 2010.
MURDERDOLLS frontman Wednesday 13's special Halloween (October 31) show at Koko in London, England will be professionally filmed and recorded for a DVD release.
Commented Wednesday 13: "I'm beyond excited to be playing London on Halloween night. Our last show on Halloween outside the U.S. was in '08 in London at the Astoria and it was nothing short of an amazing night. Seeing almost the entire audience dressed up in costumes was a big highlight, so we are encouraging everyone to do the same again. This is our only U.K. show of the tour...So get ready London, here we come...SPOOK & DESTROY!!!!"
Wednesday 13 has been busy in the studio all summer recording music for two new releases; the "Spook & Destroy" EP, which will be issued in October, to be followed by a new full-length album, "The Dixie Dead", due in February/March 2013.
"Spook & Destroy" contains two new songs, two remixes, one acoustic reworking of a song as well as three re-recordings of some older songs.
"People keep asking why I have recorded some of my older songs," says Wednesday 13. "The simple answer is that I have been recording music for 20 years; actually 2013 makes 20 years of me putting out recorded music. A lot of the recordings from the earlier days were bare-bones recording. As recording technology has become cheaper and better, I wanted to go back and give those songs a proper recording."
Wednesday 13 recently released one of re-recordings, "Mr. Motherfucker", exclusively through Metal Hammer magazine. The song was originally released in 1998 by his former band FRANKENSTEIN DRAG QUEENS FROM PLANET 13.
Swedish melodic metallers BLOODBOUND will release their fifth full-length CD, "In The Name Of Metal", on November 7 via AFM Records, The effort was recorded with producer Jonas Kjellgren (SCAR SYMMETRY, SONIC SYNDICATE, HYPOCRISY, CENTINEX, CARNAL FORGE). According to the band, "This is BY FAR the best album we've done!"
"In The Name Of Metal" track listing:
01. In The Name Of Metal
02. When Demons Collide
03. Bonebreaker
04. Metalheads Unite
05. Son Of Babylon
06. Mr. Darkness
07. I'm Evil
08. Monstermind
09. King Of Fallen Grace
10. Black Devil
11. Bounded By Blood
12. Book Of The Dead 2012 (bonus track).
BLOODBOUND filmed a video for the "In The Name Of Metal" title track this past weekend.
BLOODBOUND's fourth album, "Unholy Cross", entered the official chart in Sweden at position No. 50. The CD was released on March 18, 2011 via Germany's AFM Records.
BLOODBOUND in 2010 parted ways with lead vocalist Urban Breed due to "musical and personal differences" and replaced him with Patrik "Pata" Johansson (DAWN OF SILENCE) from Finspång, Sweden.
Finnish gothic metallers UNSHINE have inked a deal with Massacre Records. The band's third album, "Dark Days Rising", will be released in February 2013. The artwork for the CD was created by Jan Yrlund at Darkgrove Design (KORPLIKAANI, EDGE OF SERENITY, TÝR, IMPERIA). Songtitles set to appear on the effort include "The Oath To Wilderness Of Unredeemed Nature", "Idyl", "Defender Of His Faith" and "Ikuinen Taistelu".
UNSHINE in 2010 parted ways with Low Frequency Records after releasing two full-length CDs through the label.
The band's second album, entitled "The Enigma Of Immortals", came out in April 2008.
UNSHINE is:
Susanna Vesilahti (vocals)
Harri Hautala (guitar, synth)
Jari Hautala (guitar)
Teemu Vähäkangas (bass)
Jukka Hantula (drums)
SOULFLY/CAVALERA CONSPIRACY guitarist Marc Rizzo has released a new single, "Downside Up", via iTunes, Amazon and other digital retailers. The song is the first single off Rizzo's fourth solo album, which was recently recorded with producer Chris "Zeuss" Harris (SUICIDE SILENCE, ALL THAT REMAINS, SHADOWS FALL, SOULFLY).
Rizzo is currently on a European tour with SOULFLY in support of the band's latest record, "Enslaved", which came out in March.
New Jersey native Marc Rizzo embarked on his first U.S. solo tour in 2007. He released two solo albums with Shrapnel Records in 2006 and 2007, entitled "Colossal Myopia" and "The Ultimate Devotion", respectively. In 2010, Marc issued his latest album on his own Phlamencore Records, entitled "Legionnaire".
Rizzo has been endorsed by the likes of Peavey, Yamaha and B.C. Rich, and currently has a B.C. Rich Stealth Pro seven-string signature guitar available for public purchase.
Rizzo is well known for his position in popular metal act SOULFLY, with whom he has released five records to date; "Prophecy" (2004), "Dark Ages" (2005), "Conquer" (2008), "Omen" (2010) and "Enslaved" (2012). In addition, he is a member of CAVALERA CONSPIRACY with SEPULTURA co-founders Max and Igor Cavalera, with whom he collaborated on the project's debut album, "Inflikted", in 2008 and the follow-up effort, "Blunt Force Trauma".
New York hardcore has an undeniable past, present and future within the ranks of all of the members of THE LAST STAND. The Brooklyn-based band features Mike Scondotto of the long-running INHUMAN on vocals, along with Dion De Nardo on bass, Stephen Della Croce on guitar and Jimmy McCormack on drums, all members of the band SHUTDOWN, who spent most of their recording career on Victory Records.
Since the band's first live show in October 2010, THE LAST STAND has been playing all over the Northeast, sharing the stage with the likes of legendary hardcore bands like SICK OF IT ALL, MADBALL, AGNOSTIC FRONT, MURPHY'S LAW, YOUTH OF TODAY, MAXIMUM PENALTY and TERROR, as well as newer hardcore artists like WISDOM IN CHAINS, SUBURBAN SCUM and TRAPPED UNDER ICE. In 2011, the band released its debut seven-inch EP on 1124 Records. In 2012, THE LAST STAND entered Nova Studios with producer Jerry Farley to record its debut full-length, "The Time Is Now", featuring guest appearances by Lou Koller of SICK OF IT ALL, Dave Franklin of VISION and Joseph James of AGNOSTIC FRONT/INHUMAN.
"This band came together for two reasons in 2010. The first was for the love of hardcore," says Scondotto. "The other was to have fun playing with friends, who are more like an extended family.
"In the tradition of the many bands that came before us and continue to inspire us, THE LAST STAND hopes to carry the torch and show the world that New York hardcore is alive and as vital as ever.
"We are very happy and excited to be releasing 'The Time Is Now' on Eulogy Recordings, a label we have all admired and respected over the years."
Look for "The Time Is Now" to be released worldwide through Eulogy in
January 2013.
Finnish metallers BATTLE BEAST have parted ways with lead singer Nitte Vänskä and have replaced her with Noora Louhimo (pictured below).
Commented the band: "On August 19th, Nitte sent the rest of the band an e-mail stating that she was leaving the band, effective immediately. As the reason for her leaving, she cited her will to focus on her family life. As this happened without any prior notice, the rest us were slightly disappointed. But what's done is done, and we're thrilled to announce the new BATTLE BEAST vocalist with a voice and character to take the band to heights of glory."
According to a press release, Louhimo "is already experienced in performing some of the most demanding rock songs in existence and is now ready to take her big step into the metal world. With lungs of leather and a voice to order gods with, Noora possesses all the requirements to deliver the kind of power needed for performing BATTLE BEAST's music.
Noora will lay down all the lead vocals on BATTLE BEAST's forthcoming second album, to be released in early 2013.
An audio snippet of Noora Louhimo singing the BATTLE BEAST song "Iron Hand" is available in the YouTube clip below.
In the meantime, BATTLE BEAST will support fellow Finns SONATA ARCTICA on a European tour in November. The trek will consist of 20 shows in 11 countries.
BATTLE BEAST's debut album, "Steel" — which was originally released in Finland last year via Hype Records — was made available internationally on January 27 through Nuclear Blast Records.
Formed in 2008, BATTLE BEAST won the Wacken Open Air Metal Battle contest in Finland last year, enabling the band to perform at the Wacken Open Air festival in Germany and represent its home country in the international Metal Battle finals. The group beat out 26 other acts from all around the world, which led to a record deal with the world's biggest independent heavy metal label.
Dark Star Records has announced the signing of the Illinois-based metal band LOW TWELVE. The group's new album, "Skin In The Game", will be released before the end of the year.
LOW TWELVE is headed up by Pete Altieri, who is the founder of Heavycore, The International Union Of Heavy Bands. Pete has played a significant role in the underground metal scene for many years, releasing a number of compilation CDs and DVDs, doing interviews with major metal artists as well as running his own radio show, the "Heavycore Chopping Block Show". All this hard work has paid off for Pete and LOW TWELVE, who have released a slew of brutal albums and gained quite a large following over the years.
Commented Altieri: "LOW TWELVE is very excited about our new partnership with Dark Star Records. I've known Jeffrey Swanson for years and I know how hard he works to get the word out there, and we're hoping to see bigger and better things with our latest slab-o-sickness, 'Skin In The Game'. The production is stronger than anything we've done before and we think the metal freaks will dig it."
LOW TWELVE is:
Pete Altieri - bass/lead vocals
Meister - guitar/vocals
Les Aldridge - lead guitar
Travis Waterman - drums
RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE guitarist Tom Morello and DEAD KENNEDYS' Jello Biafra performed on Sunday (September 16) in Foley Square in Lower Manhattan as part of the anniversary celebration of the Occupy Wall Street movement, which was launched one year ago.
According to RollingStone.com, Morello's half-hour set as THE NIGHTWATCHMAN with the FREEDOM FIGHTER ORCHESTRA included a cover of BRUCE SPRINGSTEEN's "The Ghost Of Tom Joad" and an instrumental run-through of RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE's "Sleep Now In The Fire".
The rocker, who is a staunch progressive and fierce political activist, told RollingStone.com, "The one thing that Occupy has been very successful at is forever changing the dialogue around the great, unspoken five-letter word in American politics, and that's 'class. The people who were in the streets – whether it was 100,000 people in the streets of Madison, Wisconsin, or the months-long occupation of Zuccotti Park – those people haven't gone away. Their ideas haven't gone away. The mistrust and resentment toward the status quo hasn't gone away. How it manifests itself in the months and years to come will determine the ultimate success or failure of the movement."
Singer Candice Clot has announced her departure from the Marseille, France-based metalcore band ETHS. She says in a statement: "I am leaving four friends, two of which I even consider as brothers.
"I made this choice for personal and family reasons.
"It has been very hard to make this decision and to face the truth about my longings and a passion that is no longer strong enough to prevail.
"I can't live unconditionally for music and its listeners anymore. Although the stage remains an outlet, I can't live up to such a demanding job anymore.
"I have been living for music for the past 15 years and it has given me back so much, but there are now things I can't sacrifice anymore and I need to take care of my family and stay with them.
"The band wants to go on, as the guys are still burning with a rage and a motivation that I don't have anymore.
"You can't cheat with things that have to come from your heart, body and soul.
"I am begging you to keep ETHS and the people who will replace me close to your hearts.
"This is the end of a chapter, but you have to give a chance to novelty and change.
"I am definitely not irreplaceable.
"Until the band finds a permanent successor, two people will share the vocal duties and I asked my friend Virginie from KELLS (please be nice to her) to be one of them. Before that, I will carry out the remaining gigs until October to bid you farewell and enjoy my last moments on stage.
"This may surprise you and the last shows may be emotionally painful, but I prefer to talk about it publicly now.
"I wish to thank all those who have been supporting us since our early days in 1999, our friends, people from the music business who believe in ETHS and, of course, the fans without whom nothing would have ever been possible. ETHS' fans are so kind-hearted and gave me so much love and gratitude along the years that I will cherish those memories forever. I have been through wonderful times thanks to you and have been keeping all gifts and notes in a box. Thank you again.
"I guess you will ask me a lot of questions regarding my departure but please respect my silence. I told you all you need to know.
"Last but not least, I wish to thank ETHS and the music, which taught me so much about surpassing oneself, willpower, tolerance, writing and all the things that made me become the person I am today.
"Thank you all and see you soon."
Fan-filmed video footage of ETHS' August 17 performance at the Motocultor Festival in Theix, France can be seen below.
ETHS' third album, "III", was released on April 6 via Season Of Mist. The CD was recorded at Studio Fredman in Gothenburg, Sweden with producer Fredrik Nordström, who has previously worked with AT THE GATES, IN FLAMES, DARK TRANQUILLITY, ARCH ENEMY, SOILWORK and BRING ME THE HORIZON, among others.
May The Rock Be With You recently conducted an interview with bassist Alex Webster of Florida death metal veterans CANNIBAL CORPSE. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
May The Rock Be With You: 24 years and 12 albums the band has been in existence for. How much do you feel the way you tackle songwriting has changed?
Alex: It's changed gradually over what's been a long history of the band, and it has been a gradual change. It was very, very collaborative in the beginning, where we would basically be in the practice room and nobody had done any homework and we would just show up and start writing together. That did work out well, but some of those songs really did show that lack of direction. I guess we were really just winging it and a lot of them seem like one riff after the other because that's basically what they were. But we felt that, lately, having one person writing an entire song works really well and having them prepared in advance, rather than working on a song in the practice room; that's been working better. But that's not to say we aren't open to still doing a collaborative type of song where a couple of us might write it on the fly at practice. The song "Scalding Hail" off "Evisceration Plague", that was a song collaborated between Rob [Barrett, guitar] and I, so we've had some of that stuff in our recent history, but most of it now is written by individuals at home.
May The Rock Be With You: In the genre of death metal, CANNIBAL CORPSE seems to have consistently remained at the forefront. What do you consider to be the key things that you guys as a band have done to maintain that vital relevance of the band in extreme music?
Alex: For sure, I think consistency, and that's consistency on a few different levels. We are not a band that has ever quit for a period of time and never had more than a couple of months layoff. We are always practicing together and we've always maintained a constant cycle of albums and touring for us. There hasn't been any broken points in that cycle or hiatuses for us. Most other bands have had that, although there are a handful of other bands such as MALEVOLENT CREATION that came out around the same time as us as well. But the vast majority have had a layoff of a few years. I think with us keeping going, we've never been that far out of people's minds. People forget about you if you're gone from the scene for five or six years, you know. Then also is that we are consistent artistically. We're a death metal band, every album we do is going to be a death metal album with horror-oriented lyrics, and people can always count on that.
May The Rock Be With You: I guess also another factor I must say has been your relentless preparedness to tour the world consistently and take your music to the fans.
Alex: Yes, there's that, too — touring is something we enjoy doing and not every band does. I look at some other bands' tours and they're, like, maybe 15 to 20 shows long. Ours are usually 25 to 30 shows and then we will back up a couple of them in a row. We just did a 33-show tour, had a week and a half off, then went out and did a 31-show tour. This year we've already done around 120 shows and we will still do another 30 or so before the year's done. That makes around 150 shows for 2012, which is a lot. We've kept that going for every album we do, and I think that's the key. The bands that do a lot of touring are the ones who have a more personal connection with their fanbase and are the ones who stick around. That's the key, I think. If people get a chance to see you perform live, it sets you apart from all the bands they can only just listen to on an album.
Season Of Mist has announced the signing of the "true" Norwegian black metal act KOLDBRANN. The band's third full-length album will be released in early 2013 through Season Of Mist's Underground Division.
KOLDBRANN will debut "Totalt Sjelelig Bankerott", a seven-inch single including a song from the forthcoming album (title pending) and an exclusive B-side entitled "Kasjtjeijs Svøpe", on November 16. The single will also be available digitally.
KOLDBRANN's first two albums, "Nekrotisk Inkvisition" and "Moribund", and 2008's "Stigma: På Kant Med Livet" EP, will be reissued via Season Of Mist.
Commented KOLDBRANN vocalist Mannevond: "KOLDBRANN are pleased to announce that from this moment on, Season Of Mist will be handling our nekrotic business. As one of the leading dealers of aural blasphemy, we are confident that they will serve as the tool needed to spread our gospel of oppression. We have kept you waiting, but rest assured, we have been striving in our cellars, slowly and persistently chiseling out our utmost arrogant and depraved work to date. Sordid details will follow. The time is ripe, let the end times roll!"
Dutch death metallers ANTROPOMORPHIA filmed a video for the new song "Psuchagogia" last week in Leizpig, Germany. The clip was directed by renowned video producer Maurice Swinkels.
Comments ANTROPOMORPHIA singer/guitarist Ferry Damen: "We talked about recording a video for 'Psuchagögia' a few months ago and decided to bring in Maurice Swinkels from Younique Film for the visual awakening of this track. I told Maurice some of the ideas I had regarding the 'storyline,' and he came up with a great location in the eastern part of Germany, which turned out to be perfect for documenting this somewhat disturbingly and dark tale. We shot the video on September 8th and during the shoot we seriously got beneath the horrid surface of the tale we wanted to tell. It's our first ever video and I can say that we are thrilled about the way it turned out!"
"Psuchagogia" comes off ANTROPOMORPHIA's new album, "Evangelivm Nekromantia", which will be released October 22 via Metal Blade Records.
ANTROPOMORPHIA is:
Ferry Damen (vocals, guitar)
Marc van Stiphout (bass)
Marco Stubbe (drums)
"Evangelivm Nekromantia" track listing:
01. Intro
02. Nekrophilian Mass
03. The Mourned And The Macabre
04. Debauchery In Putrefaction
05. Anointment By Sin
06. Fleisch
07. Impure Desecration
08. Psuchagogia
09. Nekrosophia
10. Evangelivm Nekromantia
ANTROPOMORPHIA was created under the influence from bands such as HELLHAMMER, CELTIC FROST, INFERNÄL MÄJESTY and BATHORY in a tiny town in Holland in 1989.
Over the years, they became more and more brutal, released several demos and the "Necromantic Love Songs" MCD in 1993, but went on a hiatus in the late '90s since their other bands became more important.
Fast forward to 2009 when other projects moved into the background and ANTROPOMORPHIA was reactivated. The lineup is still the same — original members Ferry Damen (vocals, guitar), Marc van Stiphout (bass) and Marco Stubbe (drums).
In early 2011 ANTROPOMORPHIA made its first live appearance since 2001 at the Neurotic Deathfest, where they put up a convincing brutal show.
At the end of 2011, most of the new album was recorded, resulting in "Evangelivm Nekromantia", a CD consisting of nine tracks, divided into three chapters of each three songs. Lyrically, it is driven by nekrophilae, murder, necromancy and necrolesbian lust. It was mastered at Necromorbus Studios by Tore Stjerna.
After five years of silence, Norwegian progressive thrash/death metallers EXTOL have returned to the studio to record their fifth album.
Commented the band: "After the 'The Blueprint Dives' [album] in 2005 and the massive worldwide touring with bands such as MASTODON and OPETH, we dissapeared without any further explanation. Now, years later, we are back on track working on what is to be our fifth full-length. As expected from the musical legacy of EXTOL, no compromise is offered."
Mastermind Ole Børud has returned, and along with David Husvik and Peter Espevoll, the trio now constitutes the 2012 lineup of EXTOL.
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