Highlights include:
* Robby Krieger discussing how THE DOORS had Paul Rodgers on a very short list of possible front men to take the spot in the band (after Jim Morrison had left and before THE DOORS called it quits).
* Jason Bonham recalls growing up and playing as a little kid in his dad's living room — with BAD COMPANY's "Rock and Roll Fantasy" as the background soundtrack.
* Mick Fleetwood talking about his longtime admiration for Paul Rodgers, his music and how amazed he is to have very recently connected with Paul.
* Randy Bachman talks about how FREE's "All Right Now" is a staple in his shows to this day.
* Johnny Van Zant talks about the role he played in Paul Rodgers meeting his wife Cynthia.
* Listen in as different artists recount discovering Paul Rodgers for the first time. Joe Elliott of DEF LEPPARD talks about listening to FREE in England while he was growing up, how he learned about them and James Young of STYX talks about being a young Chicagoan finding out about Rodgers and how it affected him.
"Classic Rock Insider" Paul Rodgers 60th birthday celebration features interviews with:
* Joe Elliott (DEF LEPPARD)
* Joe Perry (AEROSMITH)
* Mick Fleetwood (FLEETWOOD MAC)
* Paul Teutle (ORANGE COUNTY CHOPPERS)
* Robby Krieger (THE DOORS)
* Bill Wyman (formerly of THE ROLLING STONES)
* Johnny Van Zant (LYNYRD SKYNYRD)
* Randy Bachman (formerly of BACHMAN-TURNER OVERDRIVE, GUESS WHO and now of BACHMAN & TURNER)
* Jimmy Bowskill
* Alice Cooper
* Jason Bonham
* Bob Heil
* Chris Slade (THE FIRM)
* Colin Bradley (Paul's childhood friend)
* Deborah Bonham
* Howard Leese
* James Burton (ELVIS)
* James Young (STYX)
* Lucy Pillar (longtime fan)
* Mick Ralphs (BAD COMPANY)
* Pat Monohan (TRAIN)
* Paul O'Neil (TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA)
* Steve, Paul and Cynthia Rodgers
Rodgers, celebrating over four decades as a writing and recording artist (FREE, BAD COMPANY, THE FIRM, QUEEN + PAUL RODGERS), was recently presented with the "Classic Songwriter" award by Jimmy Page and Jeff Beck at the annual Classic Rock Magazine Roll of Honour 2009. Last year, Rolling Stone named Rodgers one of the "Top 100 Singers of All Time," Classic Rock placed him at #2 on their "50 Greatest Singers in Rock" list and England's Planet Rock radio fan poll placed him at #3 on their "Greatest Voices of Rock" list. His debut solo DVD, "Live in Glasgow", is certified gold and charted at #1 in Canada, #2 in Japan, #3 in the U.S. and #4 in the U.K.
Steven Rosen of Ultimate-Guitar.com recently conducted an interview with Zakk Wylde (BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, OZZY OSBOURNE). A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
Ultimate-Guitar.com: Why would [Ozzy] want to replace you?
Zakk: Well, you know, I love Ozz and I've always got his back so whatever it is he wants to do. Without Ozzy, there'd be no Zakk Wylde; there'd be no BLACK LABEL. When Ozz would do the SABBATH stuff, he'd say, "Guys, I'm going away for a while; I'm gonna be doing SABBATH." This is back when Mike [Bordin] joined ALICE IN CHAINS and I started doing the PRIDE & GLORY stuff even before BLACK LABEL. He was like, "Guys if anything comes up, you guys should do somethin' because I don't know how long I'll be with the guys [SABBATH]. It could be a year or two years."
Ozz has always been cool. Even when we did "Down to Earth", Ozz was like, "Zakk, I write these songs with all these other guys and I don't want to fuckin' rewrite a whole record. Can you just come in and wail on the fuckin' songs and shit like that? And we'll go out on the road." And I said, "Yeah, Ozz, no problem; whatever the fuck you want to do, man."
Ultimate-Guitar.com: It didn't bother you that Ozzy was auditioning other guitar players and didn't really say anything to you?
Zakk: I mean, with us, there's never any arguments; there's no fights or nothing. It's just, "What do you want to do, Steve?" It's like, "Ahh, Zakk, I want to go jam with these guys now." It's like with Slash and Scottie and all the guys and if they're gonna stop doing VELVET REVOLVER for a while. And then Scott is going to do STONE TEMPLE PILOTS; Duff is gonna do LOADED; Slash is gonna do his solo thing; Matt's gonna be jammin' with THE CULT again and then they're gonna get back together. It's just like no big deal. It's like GENESIS — there's MIKE AND THE MECHANICS and Phil is doing his solo thing and the keyboard player is doing movie soundtracks. And then it's like, "Let's get back together and do a fuckin' album."
I love Ozz and Sharon; Sharon is like my mother. Barbaranne [Zakk's wife] still hangs out with Sharon all the time. They go to "Dancing With the Stars" to see Kelly and all that shit. They hang out and have lunch and just chill and have a good time.
I always told everybody when the day would come when Ozz would say, "I don't feel like doin' this shit no more." What are you supposed to do? But you better figure somethin' out. You know what I mean?
Ultimate-Guitar.com: Have you heard Gus G. play?
Zakk: I'm sure he can fuckin' wail if he's got to play Randy's stuff and Jake's shit. Obviously he knows what the fuck he's doin'.
Ultimate-Guitar.com: He's a good guitar player.
Zakk: Cool; good for him. It was just like when Joe Holmes was playing and if Gus is gonna be jamming or anybody, I wish them all the fuckin' best. If you're gonna be playing with Ozzy, I hope you have as good a time as I did. Or just a quarter of it would be fuckin' slammin', dude.
Read the entire interview from Ultimate-Guitar.com.
HEAVEN & HELL — the band featuring BLACK SABBATH members Tony Iommi (guitar), Ronnie James Dio (vocals), Geezer Butler (bass) and Vinny Appice (drums) — has been confirmed for the Spanish edition of the Sonisphere festival, set to take place on Saturday, July 10 in Barcelona.
HEAVEN & HELL's Sonisphere schedule is now shaping up as follows::
Jun. 18 - Degenaupark - Wil/Jonschwil, Switzerland.
Jun. 19 - Mimon Airport - Prague, Czech Republic
Jul. 10 - [to be announced] - Barcelona, Spain
Aug. 07 - Stora Skuggan Park - Stockholm, Sweden
Aug. 08 - Kirjurinluoto, Pori, Finland
HEAVEN & HELL drummer Vinny Appice underwent surgery on his right shoulder on November 30 for an injury sustained during the band's last tour.
The surgeon expects Vinny to be back behind the kit in about five months.
HEAVEN & HELL singer Ronnie James Dio was recently diagnosed with the early stages of stomach cancer while the band's guitarist, Tony Iommi, underwent stem-cell treatment on an injured hand.
HEAVEN & HELL's debut album, "The Devil You Know", entered The Billboard 200 chart at position No. 8 with first-week sales of 30,000 units.
The band's June 16, 2009 concert at Museumsmeile in Bonn, Germany was professionally filmed by WDR's (German public TV) series "Rockpalast" and was premiered on July 13. Watch the "Follow The Tears" performance below.
HEAVEN & HELL was forced to cancel its June 21, 2009 appearance at the Metalway Festival in Zaragoza, Spain due to back pain suffered by Iommi.
Virtualfestivals.com is reporting:
AC/DC look likely to be confirmed as headliners for next year's Download Festival after an over-enthusiastic admin on their official website revealed the band will be playing.
The date has since been removed, but eager fans noted that the Australian rockers are expected to play on Friday, June 11.
Organiser Andy Copping used his Twitter feed to acknowledge the mistake writing: "Not sure what to say about the AC/DC slip up tonight, it seems to have been taken off their site now. I think they may just want to play."
Other bands rumoured for the festival include AEROSMITH and THEM CROOKED VULTURES.
Organisers are making passes available at 2009 prices, which means £135 for the weekend, with camping add-ons at £25 for Friday, Saturday and Sunday.
Click here to buy Download Festival tickets.
Download Festival 2010 will take place at Donington Park, Castle Donington from June 11-13.
ARTISTdirect.com editor Rick Florino conducted an interview with SLAYER guitarist Kerry King earlier this week. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
ARTISTdirect.com: Where does "World Painted Blood" stand in your catalog?
Kerry: I think everything we've done this decade is pretty awesome. It's funny. I take our career in thirds. There are the first five records that we did. Then there was the '90s. The once we started up with "God Hates Us All", it seemed like we got back on track again. I think the '90s just fucked everybody up, with all of the stupid fads that got popular.
ARTISTdirect.com: With "God Hates Us All", you embraced a new energy. It bubbled more on "Christ Illusion", and then exploded on "World Painted Blood".
Kerry: Yeah, it's definitely another upswing. For "Christ Illusion", Dave [Lombardo, drums] came back. It's really fun working with Dave. When he got back in, it'd been enough time where it was no skin off anybody's ass. Everybody was happy to see each other. He's really enjoying himself on this tour. He's having the time of his life. I don't know. I guess it's good timing.
ARTISTdirect.com: The record's only eleven tracks, but you say everything you need to say in that span.
Kerry: That's another thing we did in the '90s — we got caught up in that whole thing where people just fill up CDs with music and generally it's just filler. It's garbage. By the time I figured that out, we were going into "Christ Illusion", and I said, "How many songs did your favorite records have when you were a kid?" When you think about it, it's just ten, period. That's the way I want to do it. If we didn't put "Psychopathy Red" on there, we would've just done ten songs, but since everybody had access to "Psychopathy", we wanted to add it to the collection.
ARTISTdirect.com: Tell me about the tour with MEGADETH in the U.S.
Kerry: If you became a fan of either of us since 1990, you've never seen us play together. So I think it's pretty cool. That's a long time. It's 19 years — more than many people's careers [Laughs]. Dave's [Mustaine] always been a great guitar player too! We were supposed to play Madison Square Garden, until we had to manipulate our dates and we lost the building because things get booked so far in advance there were no other openings. Now, we're playing the Izod Center in East Rutherford. We haven't played MSG in a long time though, that would've been really cool.
ARTISTdirect.com: You're obviously excited about the shows in Europe with the other "The Big Four" — METALLICA, ANTHRAX and MEGADETH…
Kerry: That's the first time ever this is happening. It's really legendary. It's groundbreaking. I don't think people realize how big of a deal it is. Mustaine said something like, "It's the biggest four metal bands from America," and I never thought of that. I just think of metal as metal and I thought, "No shit, we are one of the four biggest metal bands in America. That's pretty cool [Laughs]."
NAZARETH has been confirmed for next year's Sweden Rock Festival, set to take place June 9-12, 2010 in Sölvesborg in southern Sweden.
The festival billing is shaping up as follows:
ALDO NOVA (CAN)
ANVIL (CAN)
BACHMAN & TURNER (CAN)
BIGELF (US)
D-A-D (DK)
DANZIG (US)
JORN (N)
MAGNUM (UK)
MOTHER'S FINEST (US)
NAZARETH (UK)
RICK SPRINGFIELD (AUS/US)
RATT (US)
RAVEN (UK/US)
SABATON (S)
SAGA (CAN)
UNISONIC (D)
W.A.S.P. (US)
Y&T (US)
This year's festival was visited by 35,200 people, but in 2010 the maximum number of visitors will be limited to 33,000.
For more information, visit www.swedenrock.com.
Razar Ice Records has set a January 21, 2010 release date for TOKYO BLADE's "Live In Germany" DVD. The effort was recorded in November 2008 at the Keep It True festival in Würzburg, Germany during the band's "Die By The Sword" tour.
"Live In Germany" was mixed and mastered by Sid Garcia at Sight 16 Studios in Albuquerque, New Mexico.
The DVD, which is the companion to the already released "Live In Germany" CD (available at this location), contains bonus material, including candid footage with the band, additional live songs from throughout the 2008 tour as well as previously unreleased photo galleries.
"Live In Germany" DVD track listing:
01. Intro - The Killer
02. Lovestruck
03. Lightning Strikes
04. Midnight Rendezvous
05. Death On Main St.
06. Dead Of The Night
07. Attack, Attack
08. Monkeys Blood
09. Long Live Rock and Roll
10. If Heaven Is Hell
11. Night Of The Blade
MÖTLEY CRÜE has been confirmed for next year's edition of the Wacken Open Air festival, set to take place August 5-7, 2010 in Wacken, Germany.
The festival billing is shaping up as follows:
1349
ARCH ENEMY
CALIBAN
CANNIBAL CORPSE
CORVUS CORAX
DESPISED ICON
DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER
EDGUY
ENDSTILLE
GHOST BRIGADE
GRAVE DIGGER
IMMORTAL
IRON MAIDEN
ORDEN OGAN
MÖTLEY CRÜE
STRATOVARIUS
THE DEVIL'S BLOOD
U.D.O.
W.A.S.P.
Former HANOI ROCKS vocalist MICHAEL MONROE issued the following update earlier today:
I had quite a nice time last weekend. ALICE COOPER was visiting Finland, so of course I wanted to see him. He certainly is one of my all time heroes plus a hell of a nice guy. I went to the show in Espoo, just outside Helsinki, on Friday (he also played in Oulu, further up north, on Saturday). Alice's show is always fantastic, he never lets you down. The new/current show has a lot of cool stuff happening all the time. This time he was guillotined already during the fourth song. He was hung from the gallows, impaled etc., but he just wouldn't die! What really made my night was me being invited up on stage to sing 'School's Out' with him at the end of the set. Sharing the stage with Alice Cooper is truly a great honor and feels totally magical! I had a super cool time and everybody seemed to really dig it. I must say that the audience was very good too. There were people of all ages and especially a lot of young kids, which is really cool.
A nice surprise was that my old friend SEBASTIAN BACH (ex-SKID ROW lead singer) was the opening act for Alice. I haven't met him for years so it was really nice to see him. Sebastian was also playing his own show in my hometown Turku on Saturday at the Caribia Hall, so I went there as well. During the encore I ended up on stage to sing Hanoi's 'Taxi Driver' with him and his band. After that I also joined him about half way through 'Youth Gone Wild' to sing the choruses. The crowd in Turku was exceptionally great and we had a blast with Sebastian! We used to hang out countless times in New York when I lived there and always had a lot of fun. So we sat up in his room 'til about 4am reminiscing and talking about the old days and the new...
As far as my new solo band is concerned, I'm keeping up the good work with the guys and it's only getting better!"
VELVET REVOLVER /ex-GUNS N' ROSES bassist Duff McKagan has penned the latest installment of his weekly column, which appears every Thursday on Reverb at SeattleWeekly.com. An excerpt follows below.
"I am on a plane right now flying back to Seattle. My first event this Saturday will be a benefit show (with LOADED) that KISW has selflessly and tirelessly organized to raise money for the poor families of those four slain Lakewood police officers. There is a man on the plane right now who had a huge fit when they had to gate-check his bag from the plane because it was too big to fit above. He was screaming for the names of the flight crew, who frankly were just trying to help the guy.
"I think we should all perhaps take a step back during this season to realize what things we should be at least a little thankful for. I was thinking of these cops' families when this man on the plane was losing it . . . over a piece of luggage. Luggage he will get when we get off this plane in two hours. These families will never get back what they lost. Maybe it is unfair of me to make fun of flight guy's predicament, but after the crew told him his bag would be fine, they also tried to wish him a Merry Christmas. He was not, let's say, accepting of the holiday tiding. Poor guy."
DREAM THEATER drummer Mike Portnoy will play select dates with the all-star band HAIL! — comprised of bassist David Ellefson (F5), guitarist Andreas Kisser (SEPULTURA), Tim "Ripper" Owens (JUDAS PRIEST, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, ICED EARTH) — in 2010.
HAIL! has been making a lot of noise around the world with its crushing live shows and its insistence on bringing metal to not-so-easy-to-reach places. Having just returned last month from playing one of the first metal concerts ever in Beirut, Lebanon, HAIL! has once again outdone itself.
Commented Ellefson: "Mike Portnoy is a demi-god! He is hands-down one of the very best drummers in the entire world and to be able to play together is really an honor.
"We have had our fingers crossed for this to happen because, truth be told, we had originally talked with him about the possibility of playing with us early last year. At that time DREAM THEATER was working on 'Black Clouds & Silver Linings', so it just couldn't happen at the time, but his enthusiasm and understanding about what we as HAIL! were doing was immediate. There was no need for any explanation, he got it — because he is it.
"The special beauty about HAIL! is the simple purity of passion and this is another clear illustration.
"Mike's been a great friend for a long time and I am thrilled to announce his participation."
"An interviewer recently asked me how long we planned on doing this and I joked 'until we run out of drummers!'" laughed Ellefson. "Seriously, though, look at the guys we've had — Jimmy DeGrasso, Roy Mayorga, Paul Bostaph and now Mike Portnoy! It is our aspiration to try and reward every fan that comes to see us with a one-of-a-kind, once-in-a-lifetime experience. We're doing our best to have the best players play the best songs from the best bands to the best fans! …and it's working!"
Professionally filmed video footage of HAIL! — Ellefson, Kisser, Owens and Paul Bostaph (TESTAMENT, SLAYER, EXODUS) — performing the SEPULTURA classic "Territory" on November 20, 2009 at Hektic Hall in Beirut, Lebanon can be viewed below. The clip, which was mixed and edited by Roy Naufal, is said to be a sample of the "Hail! In Beirut" DVD that is currently being produced.
Although HAIL! claims to have been "the first metal band" to ever have played live in Lebanon, several other acts — including APOCALYPTICA, LAKE OF TEARS and THEATRE OF TRAGEDY — have previously performed in the country.
The band's setlist was as follows:
01. Ace Of Spades (MOTÖRHEAD)
02. Territory (SEPULTURA)
03. Symphony Of Destruction (MEGADETH)
04. Grinder (JUDAS PRIEST )
05. Stand Up And Shout (DIO)
06. Walk (PANTERA)
07. Neon Knights (BLACK SABBATH)
08. Wrathchild (IRON MAIDEN)
09. Run To The Hills (IRON MAIDEN)
10. The Green Manalishi (JUDAS PRIEST)
11. Symptom Of The Universe (BLACK SABBATH)
12. South Of Heaven (SLAYER)
13. Peace Sells (MEGADETH)
14. Paranoid (BLACK SABBATH)
Encore:
15. Refuse / Resist (SEPULTURA)
16. Whiplash (METALLICA)
The all-star band HAIL! — comprised of bassist David Ellefson (F5, ex-MEGADETH ), guitarist Andreas Kisser (SEPULTURA), vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, ex-JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH) and newly appointed drummer Mike Portnoy (DREAM THEATER) — has announced its first-ever shows in the United States. They are as follows:
Jan. 26 - B.B. King Blues Club & Grill - New York, NY
Jan. 27 - Showcase Live - Foxborough, MA
A third date is rumored but unconfirmed at this time.
While HAIL! has played all over the globe in the past year, the band has yet to grace a North American stage and now the much-anticipated event is here. "We can't hold all the rabid fans off any longer," said Owens. "We only have a few days together on the East Coast so we're bringing it to you!"
Added Kisser: "We're really excited! Although it's only a few shows, and obviously we'd love to play a full tour of the entire U.S., New York and Boston are two great cities to start with and the fans there are tremendous. Between Mike Portnoy playing drums with us and all the friends we know in this area (hint, hint) I'd ask Santa for a tent and start camping out now for my tickets! These shows are going to be sick!"
Professionally filmed video footage of HAIL! — Ellefson, Kisser, Owens and Paul Bostaph (TESTAMENT, ex-SLAYER, EXODUS) — performing the SEPULTURA classic "Territory" on November 20, 2009 at Hektic Hall in Beirut, Lebanon can be viewed below. The clip, which was mixed and edited by Roy Naufal, is said to be a sample of the "Hail! In Beirut" DVD that is currently being produced.
Although HAIL! claims to have been "the first metal band" to ever have played live in Lebanon, several other acts — including APOCALYPTICA, LAKE OF TEARS and THEATRE OF TRAGEDY — have previously performed in the country.
The band's setlist was as follows:
01. Ace Of Spades (MOTÖRHEAD)
02. Territory (SEPULTURA)
03. Symphony Of Destruction (MEGADETH)
04. Grinder (JUDAS PRIEST )
05. Stand Up And Shout (DIO)
06. Walk (PANTERA)
07. Neon Knights (BLACK SABBATH)
08. Wrathchild (IRON MAIDEN)
09. Run To The Hills (IRON MAIDEN)
10. The Green Manalishi (JUDAS PRIEST)
11. Symptom Of The Universe (BLACK SABBATH)
12. South Of Heaven (SLAYER)
13. Peace Sells (MEGADETH)
14. Paranoid (BLACK SABBATH)
Encore:
15. Refuse / Resist (SEPULTURA)
16. Whiplash (METALLICA)
Brazilian singer André Matos (ex-ANGRA, SHAAMAN, VIPER) has joined the list of guest musicians who will appear on the forthcoming release from EDGUY frontman Tobias Sammet's AVANTASIA project.
Tobias met André in 1999 when EDGUY supported ANGRA on a French tour, and he immediately invited his Brazilian counterpart to sing a guest role on AVANTASIA's "The Metal Opera 1 & 2". Sometime later Tobias returned the favor with a special guest appearance on one of André's CDs as well as on a DVD. The returning of favors has gone on and on, and the tradition has lasted to this day.
Commented Tobias: "In 2008 André was part of the AVANTASIA live ensemble when we played the world tour which culminated in a headlining show in Wacken in front of more than 100,000 people. Half a year later, we invited André and his band to be special guest on the first leg of EDGUY's European tour. I mean, we have known each other for over ten years now, our paths have crossed countless times, and I remember André had a huge influence for me in the early 90s when we founded EDGUY. He was the key member in one of the few bands who dared to play traditional melodic metal when NIRVANA and PEARL JAM had killed any form of music that I loved. It was great for EDGUY and me to be able to tour France with him in the late '90s. That was the time when we built the foundation for a strong relationship with André, with Brazil, and — not to forget — a very successful one with France! Now André is my guest again and I am really happy about this
collaboration. He is special singer with a unique voice and he is a real friend and a class act! I am happy that our paths have crossed once again, his performance is great and am looking forward to hear people's opinion on it!"
So far Tobias has confirmed the following musicians to be part of the forthcoming AVANTASIA opus:
* Klaus Meine (SCORPIONS)
* Tim "Ripper" Owens (JUDAS PRIEST , YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, ICED EARTH)
* Eric Singer (KISS, ALICE COOPER )
* Michael Kiske (HELLOWEEN)
* Jorn Lande (MASTERPLAN, ARK, MILLENIUM)
* Bob Catley (MAGNUM)
* Sascha Paeth
* Felix Bohnke (EDGUY)
* Alex Holzwarth (RHAPSODY, SIEGES EVEN)
* Russell Allen (SYMPHONY X)
* Jens Johansson (STRATOVARIUS, DIO, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN)
* André Matos (ex-ANGRA, SHAAMAN, VIPER)
AVANTASIA project will celebrate its comeback next year with a new epic masterpiece, to be released on April 3, 2010 as two separate albums and in a limited deluxe edition (in one box set) entitled "The Wicked Symphony" and "Angel Of Babylon".
Regarding his decision to release the next AVANTASIA chapter in two separate CDs, Tobias said, "I have always given my very best, but this new chapter in AVANTASIA's history is too much and too ambitious to be just a regular album. I have worked on it for years now, and it has become even more than two albums!
"I knew that story would be spread out over two albums back then when we started working on it in 2006, 'cause we had written a real rock opera of over 20 songs even back then. But since then, we kept composing, and out came even bigger and better material.
"Looking at the music industry today with all the CD burning and downloading, I guess in the near future many of us traditional rock and metal bands won't be able to spend such a production budget. I am afraid I won't be able to afford so many guests and such a big production with orchestration and a choir and all that. That's why this production takes so much time; it may be the last big epic I will be able to afford, and I want it to be the biggest piece I have worked on so far."
Kiske has appeared on every AVANTASIA album so far, including the first two full-length releases, "The Metal Opera" (2001) and "The Metal Opera Pt. II" (2002).
On the topic of the new AVANTASIA album's musical direction, Sammet recently stated, "We've got quite many songs, and it ranges from epic ballads to metal opera. From pop to hard rock to folk to speed metal. My best friend, who co-wrote the story of 'The Metal Opera' back then, just listened to some of the tracks and he said that it will blow people away and enchant AVANTASIA fans and it will surely piss people off . . . It's just enchanting music. And these days honest and good music is kind of offending to some, that's pretty sick, isn't it? But as long as I get goose bumps hearing majestic music, I do not really care if I am fashionable or not."
The most recent album from AVANTASIA, "The Scarecrow", was one of the 20 best-selling albums in whole Europe during the fourth week of January 2008, according to a press release.
"The Scarecrow" was released on January 25, 2008 as a standard CD as well as rare picture (double) vinyl. It features a long list of guest musicians, including Bob Catley, ex-MASTERPLAN frontman Jorn Lande, ex-HELLOWEEN singer Michael Kiske, Alice Cooper, KISS drummer Eric Singer, SCORPIONS guitarist Rudolf Schenker and GAMMA RAY's Kai Hansen. The album produced a Top 10 German hit single, "Lost In Space ", and entered the national charts in 15 countries, with the CD landing in the Top 10 in four countries.
American/Norwegian melodic metallers KAMELOT have set a March 22, 2010 tentative release date for the group's highly anticipated follow-up to "Ghost Opera". The band recently spent time at various studios — including the Gate Studio in Wolfsburg, Germany — under the watchful eye of Sascha Paeth and Miro as producers.
"The new songs are really inspiring," stated guitarist Thomas Youngblood. "We feel the long touring and time away from writing has been perfect for new ideas and an aggressive approach to the new songs."
Bassist Glenn Barry left KAMELOT earlier in the month and was replaced by Sean Tibbetts.
KAMELOT will tour Europe with LEAVES' EYES in March and April 2010.
Los Angeles metal veterans ARMORED SAINT have announced the track listing for their recently completed new album, "La Raza", due on March 16, 2010 via Metal Blade Records. The CD was recorded at Burbank, California's Tranzformer Studios, which is owned by Dave Jerdan (ALICE IN CHAINS, JANE'S ADDICTION), who produced ARMORED SAINT's 1991 classic "Symbol of Salvation" and Bryan Carlstrom, who engineered the same album. The band's first new release since 2001's "Nod to the Old School" was produced by bassist Joey Vera and engineered by Carlstrom and his assistant John Nuss.
"La Raza" track listing:
01. Loose Cannon
02. Head On
03. Left Hook from Right Field
04. Get Off the Fence
05. Chilled
06. La Raza
07. Black Feet
08. Little Monkey
09. Blues
10. Bandit Country
Bassist, producer, and founding member Joey Vera comments on the unique recording process for "La Raza": "We used nothing but analog gear, most of which was custom-built by Rupert Neve for Bryan Carlstrom. We hit every signal (drum mics, guitars, vocals) with custom or vintage analog gear before recording into Pro Tools. We even used rare vintage amps for most of the guitar overdubs. At mix time, we mixed on an SSL 4000E console and went to a one-inch tape reel (one of only two on the West Coast) for our final masters. Uh…you DO know what tape is, don't you?
"What does this all mean? It means we spit in the ear of the age of the mp3, teenie, tiny ear bud listening culture that has turned its back on what it means to experience music. This record is FAT. We mean, obese! Full-on cardiovascular failure stuff! Old school, baby!"
Vera previously stated about ARMORED SAINT's new LP, "The result is just amazing, and I may be hasty when I say that this may be our best record ever. But all dopes in bands say that right? Well, this time I think it's true and although my reasons may be purely personal, I still deem it truth. The songs are great and it sounds great."
To get a taste of what the new ARMORED SAINT album will sound like, check out a demo version of "Loose Cannon" (performed with a drum program) in the YouTube clip below (also available for download as a ZIP file at this location).
The band's current lineup is the same as the one on 2000's "Revelation" and 1992's "Symbol of Salvation" LPs:
John Bush (vocals)
Jeff Duncan (guitar)
Phil Sandoval (guitar)
Joey Vera (bass)
Gonzo Sandoval (drums)
Demo version of new ARMORED SAINT song "Loose Cannon":
San Francisco's EXODUS, one of thrash metal's seminal bands responsible for the birth and development of the genre, has named its ninth studio album "Exhibit B: The Human Condition". The band is currently recording in Northern California with acclaimed British producer Andy Sneap (MEGADETH, ARCH ENEMY, KREATOR) for a spring 2010 release via Nuclear Blast Records.
In a recent interview with the German edition of Metal Hammer magazine, EXODUS guitarist Gary Holt stated about the band's forthcoming CD, "It's gonna be sick. We have four [songs] recorded [and left over] from the last session [for 2007's 'The Atrocity Exhibition... Exhibit A'], and I've got, like, nine [other tracks] I'm working on, and Lee [Altus, guitar] has a bunch of stuff. But this next album is gonna blow people's minds."
Regarding the upcoming CD's musical direction, Holt said, "There's a couple of twists on this. I try not to repeat every album. I mean, we did 'Tempo Of The Damned' [2004], [which was] a little more old-school, and we did 'Shovel Headed Kill Machine' [2005], which was really brutal and fast, and then 'The Atrocity Exhibition... Exhibit A', [which] was, like, longer and more epic songs. So this album's gonna have some different stuff to it. Maybe a little more dual-guitar stuff, 'cause I've been playing with Lee for quite awhile now — a little more dual-guitar harmony shred stuff. "
A high-definition and slightly different version of EXODUS' Jon Schnepp-directed video for the song "Riot Act" can be viewed below. Known most recently for his work on the animated program "Metalocalypse" on Cartoon Network's Adult Swim about DETHKLOK (the world's most popular death metal band), Schnepp is responsible for the character design of the five DETHKLOK members. He also directs the majority of the "Metalocalypse" episodes for each season, and works closely with the show's co-creators/writers Brendon Small and Tommy Blacha.
"Shovel Headed Tour Machine: Live At Wacken & Other Assorted Atrocities", EXODUS' new DVD (2 DVDs + bonus audio CD) will be released in North America on January 12, 2010. Los Angeles fans will have the unique opportunity to attend an exclusive, advanced screening at the Steve Allen Theater on Friday, January 8 at 8 p.m.
According to The Pulse of Radio, Michael Anthony says that Eddie and Alex Van Halen hold a grudge against him for maintaining a friendship with Sammy Hagar. Anthony recalled to Mojo, that the problems started between him and the band when in the late '90s, VAN HALEN once again tried unsuccessfully to bring David Lee Roth back into the fold. With VAN HALEN seemingly on hiatus, Hagar had called Anthony to see if he was interested in hooking up with him and Neal Schon in their side project PLANET US.
Anthony explains, "Some VAN HALEN fans say I left the band to hook up with Sammy, but I never said, 'I quit.' There was nothing going on in the VAN HALEN camp, but Eddie kinda backed me up against a wall. . . Eddie felt that I was a traitor. I helped hook Sammy back up with them for the 2004 reunion tour, but Eddie didn't want me to be a part of that originally, so I took a big pay cut. I'm not crying, I didn't need the money. I did that because I wanted to play for the fans. I signed away any legal rights I had with the name, the trademark or whatever. I did it because if that was the last time VAN HALEN would ever be on stage, I wanted to be part of it."
He went on to say, "The major reason why I'm not in VAN HALEN (now) is because I became friends with Sammy again. The Van Halen brothers never got over that. If they hold a grudge, they hold it forever."
During VAN HALEN's August 2007 press conference announcing their reunion tour with David Lee Roth and Eddie's son Wolfgang Van Halen on bass, Roth skirted over the issue of why a then-16 year old kid was playing bass instead of Anthony. "Michael Anthony is part of this band's history, " he said. "There's a lot of great alumni who have been through this band. I'm shocked that any of us are still vertical after 30 years. And as far as why Wolf is in the band, may I speak for you, Ed? I understand how he wanted to play with the boy because he's amazing."
Chris "The Destroyer" Mills, drummer with U.K. heavy metal warriors CONQUEST OF STEEL, is currently in hospital recovering from surgery to remove an infected appendix. The band states, "The surgery was successful but he recently had to return to hospital with a severe infection in the wound. The Destroyer is expected out of hospital in a weeks time and will then begin a period of recuperation before he is able to return to take his position back behind his drum kit."
In the event that Mills is not fit to resume his drum duties for CONQUEST OF STEEL's January shows, John Savage (HYPNOSIS) will take his place behind the kit for those dates.
"The Prophecy", the new video from CONQUEST OF STEEL, can be viewed below. The song comes off the band's third album, "Storm Sword (Rise of the Dread Queen)", which was released in March.
"Storm Sword (Rise of the Dread Queen)" is a concept effort which charts the rise and fall of an empire. Recording took place once again at Priory and Red Flag Studios.
For more details, head to www.conquestofsteel.co.uk.
Austrian female-fronted symphonic metal band EDENBRIDGE has set "Solitaire " as the title of its seventh album, due in May 2010.
The track listing for the CD is as follows:
01. Entree Unique
02. Solitaire
03. Higher
04. Skyline's End
05. Bon Voyage Vagabond
06. Come Undone
07. Out Of This World
08. Further Afield
09. A Virtual Dream?
10. Brothers On Diamir
11. Exit Unique
LEAVES' EYES and TRACEDAWN have been confirmed for next year's installment of the Summer Breeze festival, set to take place August 19-21, 2010 in Dinkelsbühl, Germany.
The festival billing is shaping up as follows:
AHAB
ANATHEMA
ASPHYX
BARREN EARTH
BEHEMOTH
CALLISTO
CUMULO NIMBUS
DARK FUNERAL
DARK TRANQUILLITY
DESPISED ICON
DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER
DYING FETUS
EISBRECHER
EISREGEN
FIDDLER'S GREEN
FREI.WILD
FEUERSCHWANZ
HAIL OF BULLETS
HYPOCRISY
ILL NINO
INSOMNIUM
KORPIKLAANI
KYLESA
LEAVES' EYES
LETZTE INSTANZ
LONG DISTANCE CALLING
MAROON
MONO INC.
MY DYING BRIDE
NECROPHAGIST
OBITUARY
ORIGIN
ORPHANED LAND
POISONBLACK
SEPULTURA
SOLSTAFIR
SUBWAY TO SALLY
THE CROWN
THE DEVIL'S BLOOD
TRACEDAWN
WE BUTTER THE BREAD WITH BUTTER
For more information, go to this location.
Metal-Experience.com recently conducted an interview with LEAVES' EYES/ex-THEATRE OF TRAGEDY singer Liv Kristine Espenaes Krull. An excerpt from the chat follows below.
On her upcoming solo album (the follow-up to 2006's "Enter My Religion"):
Liv Kristine: "The new solo album is almost finished. It is clear we are working a lot; everyone who wants to bring in something is allowed for that. It went very fast soon after the 'Njord' [LEAVES' EYES' new album] production. Guitarist Thorsten Bauer and I sat down, and just wrote amazing music . It is an inspirational flash and we recorded everything in one long session."
Metal-Experience.com: Is it different than before?
Liv Kristine: "Normally we record the vocals in a separate room. This time I sat next to Thorsten with a shield to protect me from the other sounds coming from outside, to filter only my voice, and we communicated directly. We recorded each song in one take, without cutting and pasting the voice afterwards. On this album, you can really hear and feel that the songs are 'alive' and 'real.'"
Metal-Experience.com: It sounds like it is totally different from what you did before, right?
Liv Kristine: "Yes, it makes the new album more personal and close. I only used two or three instruments and a few rocky arrangements. It is more an individual album. We have to wait with the release 'till after the LEAVES' EYES promotion. Beginning of 2010 is the [expected release date]."
Metal-Experience.com: Wasn't it scary to be so close on the skin of the listener?
Liv Kristine: "I felt a bit more fragile and naked, because my singing voice comes from deep inside. However, I do not fear it. I am not afraid of showing you who I am, nor of critics. I loved 'Enter My Religion', but now I see that it was slightly too polished, sometimes. It was released by a huge major label with a big campaign. This time I keep it more basic."
Metal-Experience.com: So you want to have it back in your hands?
Liv Kristine: "I let nobody talk into my business, I won't let the big money decide what, how and when to do things! I have made my bad experience and being a mother and more grown up and experienced, I want no circus. It is music from the heart and it's personal! In both LEAVES' EYES and my solo project, you get Liv Kristine, but my talent, knowledge and voice are wrapped up in different ways."
British thrashers EVILE have revealed the identity of their new bassist, who joins the band following the tragic and untimely death of their late bassist, Mike Alexander .
Mike Alexander passed away on October 5, 2009 while the band was on tour in Sweden.
EVILE members Matt Drake, Ol Drake and Ben Carter have released the following statement:
"This has been one of the most bizarre and surreal tasks we've ever had to undertake. It isn't like Mike has decided to leave the band and we're simply finding a new bass player. He was taken from us, and we were forced to replace him. In effect, we had to look for a new Mike, but that would never happen. He was one of a kind, and we'll never forget him.
"We had hundreds upon hundreds of emails from bass players from around the world (though we can only realistically have a bassist from the U.K.), and we want to thank everyone for taking the time out to contact us, and the people who came to jam with us.
"We only had a certain amount of time to actually audition/jam with bass players before the upcoming tours, to get time in for rehearsing the songs , getting visas sorted etc.
"Our new bass player goes by the name Joel Graham. He's an excellent, experienced bass player, and a really nice guy.
"We'd all appreciate it if you gave him a warm welcome to the band, as this must be a bizarre situation for him to be in also.
"We'll be getting some photos taken with him soon so you can see us with Joel. We just wanted to get the news out there that we have a new bassist, and that we thank each and every person for auditioning. Mike would be honoured at the amount of respect and admiration you expressed to us through contacting us."
EVILE is set to kick off a headlining European tour in January. The "Infecting Nations" trek will start with a run of U.K. shows before the band heads off to mainland Europe. Joining EVILE on the tour will be American thrashers WARBRINGER and Israel's THE FADING.
New York hardcore legends AGNOSTIC FRONT have changed the face of music throughout their 25-year-long career and the "Victim In Pain" and "United Blood" records started it all.
In celebration of these eminent re-releases, AGNOSTIC FRONT will pay homage to where it all began with a headlining show on February 26 in Brooklyn, New York. Showcasing at The Bell House in Brooklyn, AGNOSTIC FRONT will have its original 1984 lineup in tow — Roger Miret, Vinny Stigma, Rob Kabula and Dave Jones.
"We haven't played together since '84, this is the CLASSIC lineup together again doing vintage AF songs and some classics. We couldn't be more excited to do this!" said vocalist Roger Miret.
On November 17, 2009, Bridge Nine released a CD version with "United Blood" and "Victim in Pain" combined, and additionally re-released "United Blood" on 7" and "Victim in Pain" on 12" LP. "Victim In Pain" has been given extra special treatment, with a gatefold LP cover, complete with a dirty gold metallic ink and embossed logo and title. The gatefold opens up to the original handwritten layout of the first pressing, and the original cover — which was subsequently censored — is printed full size on the front and back of the dust sleeve. "United Blood" has a similar metallic ink and embossed logo front cover, and also has the original cover design printed in black and white on the enclosed dust jacket. Gold vinyl is the limited color, and comes first-come-first-served with each package deal. Packages include a 12"x18" poster and a limited edition "Victim In Pain" t-shirt.
Originally released in 1983, "United Blood" was AGNOSTIC FRONT's first release and was followed shortly thereafter by "Victim In Pain" in 1984. These albums were a blast of pure New York hardcore that confirmed AF's status as leaders of the New York hardcore movement alongside precursors the CRO-MAGS and MURPHY'S LAW.
German death metal and hardcore fusionists HEAVEN SHALL BURN have been confirmed for next year's edition of the With Full Force festival, set to take place July 2-4, 2010 at Flugplatz Roitzschjora in Löbnitz, Germany (near Leipzig).
The festival billing is shaping up as follows:
AS I LAY DYING
BORN FROM PAIN
DEATH BEFORE DISHONOR
EKTOMORF
ELSTERGLANZ
EVERGREEN TERRACE
HEAVEN SHALL BURN
KILLSWITCH ENGAGE
LETZTE INSTANZ
NOFX
TEXAS IN JULY
THE BONES
THE DEVIL'S BLOOD
THE EXPLOITED
TOXPACK
UNLEASHED
WALLS OF JERICHO
For the first time, organizers are announcing bands on the official With Full Force advent calendar; each day in December a new band is being confirmed for the festival.
For more information, visit www.withfullforce.de.
Just home from touring with TRIVIUM and CHIMAIRA and closing out an extremely busy and successful year, Tennessee's WHITECHAPEL are now set to head into the studio December 27th to January 31st with infamous metal producer Jason Suecof (Trivium, ALL THAT REMAINS, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, Chimaira). Whitechapel are set to record the follow up to the band's crushing Metal Blade debut, This is Exile, at Jason's Orlando, FL based Audiohammer Studios. Be sure to stay tuned to Whitechapel's and Metal Blade's sites as more information regarding guest vocalists, studio updates, and video updates will be posted throughout the band's recording process.
Guitarist and founding member Alex Wade comments: "We're really excited to announce that we will be hitting the studio in January with a producer who needs no introduction, Jason Suecof. Suecof has produced some of the most brutal metal albums to date and we are excited for him to get his hands on our new material to make it the heaviest music we've created thus far.
Also, Dusty Peterson has been signed on to handle the artwork duties. His dark, yet meticulously detailed style of hand drawn artwork is sure to bring out a truly vivid and brutal masterpiece. We really wanted our artwork for the record to speak as loudly for us as the music we are creating, thus, Dusty was picked for his unbelievably realistic and detailed hand drawn style. In this day and age where downloading a CD is as easy as typing the cd's name into a search bar, we wanted to make the artwork something creative and special for the fans who actually purchase the CD. Almost like owning a piece of art.
As for the title and track listing, you'll just have to wait for that as the CD comes closer to completion."
This is Exile was unleashed on July 8th, 2008, and debuted at #118 on the Billboard top 200 charts, #2 on Billboard's Top Heatseekers, and #14 on Billboard's Top Independent albums. An accomplishment that is impressive for veteran artists, much less a relatively brand new metal act.
Whitechapel is:
Phil Bozeman - vocals
Ben Savage - guitar/leads
Alex Wade - guitar
Zach Householder - guitar
Gabe Crisp - bass
Kevin Lane - drums
1349 and REBELLION have been confirmed for next year's installment of the Summer Breeze festival, set to take place August 19-21, 2010 in Dinkelsbühl, Germany.
The festival billing is shaping up as follows:
1349
AHAB
ANATHEMA
ASPHYX
BARREN EARTH
BEHEMOTH
CALLISTO
CUMULO NIMBUS
DARK FUNERAL
DARK TRANQUILLITY
DESPISED ICON
DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER
DYING FETUS
EISBRECHER
EISREGEN
FIDDLER'S GREEN
FREI.WILD
FEUERSCHWANZ
HAIL OF BULLETS
HYPOCRISY
ILL NINO
INSOMNIUM
KORPIKLAANI
KYLESA
LEAVES' EYES
LETZTE INSTANZ
LONG DISTANCE CALLING
MAROON
MONO INC.
MY DYING BRIDE
NECROPHAGIST
OBITUARY
ORIGIN
ORPHANED LAND
POISONBLACK
REBELLION
SEPULTURA
SOLSTAFIR
SUBWAY TO SALLY
THE CROWN
THE DEVIL'S BLOOD
TRACEDAWN
WE BUTTER THE BREAD WITH BUTTER
For more information, go to this location.
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