WHITESNAKE was forced to cancel a number of shows on its 2009 summer U.S. tour with JUDAS PRIEST due to David Coverdale being diagnosed with "severe vocal fold edema and a left vocal fold vascular lesion."
WHITESNAKE and JUDAS PRIEST previously toured together in South America during 2005 to great critical and commercial success and maintain a great friendship.
WHITESNAKE's appearance at U.K.'s Download festival in June 2009 coincided with action-packed re-releases of the multi-platinum albums "Slip Of The Tongue", marking its 20th anniversary, and "Slide It In", which celebrated its 25th anniversary last year.
WHITESNAKE's latest album, "Good To Be Bad", was released through SPV/Steamhammer in April 2008. In addition to the regular jewel-case version, a limited-edition two-disc set contains an extra CD in a cardboard sleeve, as well as a poster, photocard and sticker.
Just a reminder that ex-IRON MAIDEN vocalist Blaze Bayley kicks off his Promise And Terror World Tour with an album launch show at JB's in Dudley, UK this Saturday, February 6th. According to Bayley "New album - new setlist - new t-shirts - new year of live mayhem ahead!"
Go to this location for Bayley's complete tour schedule.
Bayley's new album, Promise And Terror, will be featured on Metal Express Radio's 30 minute Daily Album Premiere show this Wednesday, February 3rd, offering the fans a listen to the new material. The album will be released on February 1st via Blaze Bayley Recordings. Tune in here at 6:00 and 18:00 CET (midnight and noon EST).
Bayley is featured in a new interview with Greece-based RockPages.gr. An excerpt is available below.
Rockpages.gr: Just when I thought that Blood And Belief" was the most introspective album of your career, you released The Man Who Would Not Die that it may have sounded optimistic but from a lyrical point of view it dealt with some very personal issues…
Blaze Bayley: The Man Who Would Not Die came after a break…I had released Blood and Belief which was a very important and honest record. I was suffering a lot from depression at the time and actually The Man Who Would Not Die was about my revenge and not being a victim of the circumstances. I had big problems with SPV; they lied to me, cheated me…they still owe me money. So, I said that if I would do another album, I'd release it through my own label. I've always believed in the fans. If the fans know about your music, if you play from your heart, they will support you. But, as it happens most of the times, the business side gets in the way. You sign a deal with a label and at the end of the day you have 50 people putting money in their pockets from your work and the fans' support and the last person that gets paid is actually you! It should always be about the artist and the fans and not some guys with suits that don't even care about you.
So, I decided to do my own label and a lot of the songs in The Man Who Would Not Die follow a theme…the revenge, the refusal to give up, because right before the album I was completely on my own, I had no band together, I had nothing happening for me at all…so, The Man Who Would Not Die is about me saying to the label that I am not gonna die and I will always play music to my fans. That's all that really matters."
"The last couple of years, I've been really lucky because I travel throughout the world, playing my own music and having a great time with the band and the fans. The whole idea right from the beginning was that we won't make any big stage plans but we will try to stick on the road and play for as many fans as possible to every single corner in the world. It's about the music and the show and we honestly try to give 100% to every show of the Blaze Bayley Band."
Go to this location for the complete interview.
Bayley's new studio album, Promise And Terror, will be released via Blaze Bayley Recordings on February 1st and distributed by Plastic Head.
BW&BK recently spoke with vocalist Blaze Bayley about his new album, Promise And Terror. An excerpt from the story is available below:
Promise And Terror is Bayley's second album under his own name and as an independent artist. Between 2000 and 2004 he released three studio records and one live album under the BLAZE moniker via SPV, a relationship that slowly but surely destroyed Bayley's belief in the almighty record company.
"I started my own label a few years ago, which made people think 'Well, I guess he can't get a record deal.' The truth is I'm absolutely sick of the mainstream music business and the way they look at things. I started out because I wanted to sing and write my own songs, I wanted to play lots of gig anywhere I could and live on a tour bus. That was my reason for getting into making music. Nothing in the mainstream business seems to be about that. It's all hype; it's 'Advertise this record, advertise this band, say they're the best thing ever and let's try to con some people into buying this album.' Then they put the band on tour in venues that they couldn't fill or afford to do if they didn't have money from the advertising. It's all complete nonsense to me."
"We're a real band, real musicians that play 100% live for audiences that want us there," Bayley continues. "There's no hype involved. We're not saying we're the greatest band in the world; that's for the fans to decide. It's up to the fans to say that we're worthy of their support. We're not conning anybody, we're saying 'This is the way of life we have chosen and this is what we dream of doing. The reactions that we've gotten so far for Promise And Terror, I can't believe it. You're always so nervous when you put out a new album. You do your best to pack everything into an album but then you have to let it go, and you just don't know if people are going to like it or not. So far the reaction has been really positive and that's absolutely fantastic."
Go to this location for the complete story.
Bayley's new studio album, Promise And Terror, was released via Blaze Bayley Recordings on February 1st and distributed by Plastic Head. A new teaser clip called 'God Of Speed' is available below:
TYGERS OF PAN TANG have announced that they will play the Legends of Rock Festival in Spain on August 14th. This will be the first time the band has ever played in Spain. Visit the fest's official site here.
As previously reported, 2010 marks the 30th anniversary of the Tygers' Wildcat album, the band's first and most iconic recording. Robb Weir chose his top five tracks and re-recorded them utilising modern technology with the current lineup. Those songs are:
'Euthanasia'
'Slaves To Freedom'
'Suzy Smiled'
'Don't Touch Me There'
'Wildcat'
This five-track EP, limited to 1000 copies, will available for pre-sale exclusively from the Tygers website later this month. It should dispatch to buyers in early March.
Los Angeles-based traditional metal act WHITE WIZZARD has confirmed a U.K. tour with German melodic metallers EDGUY. The trek will mark WHITE WIZZARD's first official U.K. tour following the band's first and only U.K. show at the Earache Records Christmas party in London on December 17. WHITE WIZZARD is also set to appear at Hammerfest in Prestatyn, Wales just two days before kicking off the tour with EDGUY.
Commented WHITE WIZZARD singer Wyatt "The Screaming Demon" Anderson: "We are so excited to be playing the Hammerfest and doing a quick run with EDGUY. We have so much respect for all of these bands and just to share the stage with them is a big honor. It's going to be a great experience and a dream come true. We can't wait to give the U.K. a taste of what we bring live. We look forward to meeting new friends, seeing new fans and tasting the many pints of good English Ale."
Catch WHITE WIZZARD live in the U.K. at the following shows:
March 13 - Prestatyn, UK - Hammerfest
March 15 - Glasgow, UK - Cathouse *
March 16 - Leeds, UK - Rio's *
March 17 - Manchester, UK - Academy 2 *
March 19 - Nottingham, UK - The Rescue Rooms *
March 20 - London, UK - O2 Islington Academy *
* With EDGUY
"Over The Top", the new video from Los Angeles traditional metal heroes WHITE WIZZARD, can be viewed below. The clip sees WHITE WIZZARD trade their axes for guns, as the five members turn into rugged outlaws and bring true heavy metal to the wild west.
Filmed with director Dave Vorhes, the video strays from today's standard dark videos and instead features a light-hearted and entertaining story. Fans of WHITE WIZZARD's first music video for "High Speed GTO" will instantly recognize "Over the Top" as a sequel, with the same fun approach. The legendary White Wizzard himself may even make an appearance!
"Over The Top", WHITE WIZZARD's full-length follow-up to the "High Speed GTO" mini-album, will be released on February 8 in Europe and March 9 in the U.S. via Earache Records. The CD was recorded with producer Ralph Patlan (MEGADETH, UFO, MICHAEL SCHENKER) and contains "10 songs that will rip your head off," according to bassist Jon Leon. The limited-edition CD version includes two bonus tracks of classic metal covers.
WHITE WIZZARD formed in 2007 and shortly afterwards recorded its "High Speed GTO" demo, which only made it into the hands of a few select fans. Following a brief period of inactivity, the demo fell into the hands of Earache Records and the "High Speed GTO" song was included on "Heavy Metal Killers", a compilation featuring 13 tracks from the best new traditional-sounding heavy metal bands. Earache Records released the "High Speed GTO" tracks as a mini-album last summer.
For more information, visit www.myspace.com/whitewizzard.
HAMMERFALL and VARG have been confirmed for this year's installment of the Metalcamp festival, set to take place July 5-11, 2010 in Tolmin, Slovenia.
The festival billing is shaping up as follows:
ABSTINENZ
ACELDAMA
ASHES YOU LEAVE
BEHEMOTH
CANNIBAL CORPSE
DECAPITATED
DEMONICAL
DORNENREICH
ENOCHIAN THEORY
ENSIFERUM
EPICA
EQUILIBRIUM
EX DEO
HAMMERFALL
HEIDEVOLK
IMMORTAL
INSISION
INSOMNIUM
KALMAH
KORPIKLAANI
LEAVES' EYES
LITHIUM
METSATÖLL
OBITUARY
OMEGA LITHIUM
OVERKILL
PARADISE LOST
ROTTING CHRIST
SABATON
SONATA ARCTICA
SUICIDAL ANGELS
THE DEVIL'S BLOOD
THE EXPLOITED
TRAIL OF TEARS
VARG
For more information, visit www.metalcamp.com.
NEVERMORE, FATES WARNING, THE NEW BLACK and TOXIN are the latest acts confirmed for the 2010 edition of Germany's Bang Your Head!!! Festival, which is being held on July 16th and 17th in Balingen, Germany.
The line-up so far is as follows: ANVIL, BULLET, DORO, ENFORCER, JAG PANZER, KROKUS, LOUDNESS, NEVERMORE, THE NEW BLACK, JON OLIVA'S PAIN, QUEENSRŸCHE, RATT, SABATON, TOXIN, TWISTED SISTER.
More acts will be announced soon.
For more info visit www.bang-your-head.de.
FATES WARNING are the latest act confirmed for this year's edition of the Sweden Rock Festival, which will take place from June 9th - 12th in Sölvesborg.
Acts on the Sweden Rock 2010 bill include: ALDO NOVA, ALESTORM, ANVIL, BACHMAN & TURNER, BEHEMOTH, BIGELF, D-A-D, DANZIG, FATES WARNING, JORN, MAGNUM, MOTHER'S FINEST, NAZARETH, OPETH, RATT, RAVEN, RICK SPRINGFIELD, SABATON, SAGA, SLAYER, STEEL PANTHER, STRATOVARIUS, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, UNISONIC, W.A.S.P., WATAIN, Y&T.
Further festival details at www.swedenrock.com.
As previously reported, Metal Blade Records will be releasing a special edition of Fates Warning's Parallels on March 16th. In addition to remastered audio there will be a second audio disc of live and demo material. The package will also include a DVD with nearly three hours of material, including a complete live show from the 1992 Parallels tour and a documentary on the making of Parallels which includes live, studio, and current day interview footage with all the band members, Terry Brown (producer) and Brian Slagel (CEO Metal Blade Records).
Parallels Special Edition tracklisting:
CD 1 – Parallels
Leave The Past Behind
Life In Still Water (Featuring DREAM THEATER's James LaBrie)
Eye To Eye
The Eleventh Hour
Point Of View
We Only Say Goodbye
Don't Follow Me
The Road Goes On Forever
CD 2 – Parallels Live In Hollywood, CA January 23rd, 1992
'Leave The Past Behind' (live)
'Don't Follow Me' (live)
'Eleventh Hour' (live)
'Point Of View' (live)
'Eye To Eye' (live)
'Nothing Left To Say'
'Quietus' (live)
'Through Different Eyes' (live)
'Leave The Past Behind' demo
'Eye To Eye' demo
'Eleventh Hour' demo
'Point Of View' demo
'Don't Follow Me' demo
DVD
- Filmed live in concert in New Haven, CT, February 13, 1992
- Features current interviews with all band members as well as acclaimed producer Terry Brown and Metal Blade Records head Brian Slagel
- Rare and exclusive interviews and behinds the scenes footage from the 1992 US Tour
To coincide with this release the Parallels lineup, Ray Alder (vocals), Jim Matheos (guitar), Frank Aresti (guitar), Joe DiBiase (bass), and Mark Zonder (drums), are planning a few one-off reunion shows. At this time the only confirmed shows are:
March
26 – Thessaloniki, Greece
27 – Athens, Greece
There will likely be one or two US shows added to this, and possibly one more European date.
FAITH NO MORE will play a special one-off show in the band's hometown of San Francisco on April 14 at the Warfield Theatre. Tickets for the gig go on sale on February 7. The concert will serve as a warm-up for the band's appearance the following weekend at the Coachella Valley Music & Arts Festival in Indio, California.
FAITH NO MORE reunited last year and has played European shows, but has yet to announce a full North American trek.
Professionally filmed video footage of FAITH NO MORE's November 1, 2009 performance at the Pepsi Music Festival in Buenos Aires, Argentina can be viewed below.
FAITH NO MORE kicked off its reunion tour on June 10, 2009 with a headlining performance at the Brixton Academy in London, England.
Original guitarist Jim Martin is not part of the reunion. Performing in his place is Jon Hudson, who played with FAITH NO MORE during the latter stages of its initial run after Martin departed.
The rest of the band's best-known lineup — singer Mike Patton , Gould, drummer Mike "Puffy" Bordin and keyboardist Roddy Bottum — is intact.
FAITH NO MORE released "The Very Best Definitive Ultimate Greatest Hits Collection" in June 2009 in the U.K. via Rhino Records.
This double disc set contains the band's greatest hits on the first CD, while the second CD features b-sides and rarities.
WEDNESDAY 13 is currently hosting two auctions on eBay, both of which end on February 4th.
The first lot (pictured at left) contains the actual X-ray of Wednesday 13's collar bone after his 2007 car accident while finishing the recording of Skeletons. The lot also comes with posters of Skeletons, Bloodwork, and a rare Southern California concert poster. Also the European CD version of Skeletons and one out of print W13 patch. Click here for further details.
The second lot features a hardback book with handwritten lyrics by W13 for his debut Transylvania 90210. In addition to this lot, it comes with an out of print 13 Dead Kids zipper tote bag, autographed Murderdolls promo flat, sticker, postcard and CD, W13 promo poster and CD. Visit this location for more information.
In live news, Wednesday 13 will embark on his Valentine's Massacre Down Under 2010 trek in the near future. Confirmed dates are as follows:
February
11 - Sydney, Australia - Metro Theatre (all ages)
12 - Brisbane, Australia - Club 299
13 - Melbourne, Australia - The Hi-Fi Bar
BLACKFINGER, the new project featuring ex-TROUBLE vocalist Eric Wagner, has inked a deal with Dark Star Records. The band's self-titled full-length debut is scheduled for release in the fall. A number of U.S. and international appearances will follow.
TROUBLE formed in 1979 and released several classic albums like "Trouble", "Manic Frustration" and "Plastic Green Head".
Eric was one of the guest singers on Dave Grohl 's (NIRVANA , FOO FIGHTERS ) heavy metal side project PROBOT, whose 2004 album featured heavy metal vocalists from the '80s and '90s. Wagner also makes a guest appearance in the forthcoming horror film "Jezebeth" (written and directed by Damien Dante of Satania 6 Films), to be released later this year.
Check out the BLACKFINGER's live demo, "For One More Day", and the acoustic track "All The Leaves Are Brown" at the band's MySpace page.
BLACKFINGER is:
Eric Wagner - Vocals
Doug Hakes - Guitar
Rico Bianchi - Guitar
Ben Smith - Bass
Larry Piatz - Drums
Eric Wagner left TROUBLE in April 2008, citing his disdain for the touring life as the main reason for his departure.
ORANGE GOBLIN's Ben Ward has decided to leave RAVENS CREED, the "VENOM-worshipping scumbags" also featuring Steve Watson (ex-IRON MONKEY), Jason Graham, and former SABBAT bassist Frazer Craske. The band states, "Yep, the big fella has decided to give another being the chance to commit vocal attacks. His reason is lack of available time to commit to the band, living miles away and having a priority band, family and work!"
The group adds, "It goes without saying that we wish Ben all the best and thank him for his dedication during his reign of terror. Ben will still be working with the band as a booking agent and all-round Ralph Filthy duties."
RAVENS CREED is currently seeking a replacement singer. "Anyone interested should be available to attend rehearsals in Nottingham 2-3 times a month," the band states.
"We are recording our second album for Doomentia Records this year and look forward to returning to the live arena once more! It should also be noted that we have no desire to tour as such; 2008 was about right, eight gigs and a few festivals."
RAVENS CREED's debut album, "Albion Thunder", was released in July 2009 via Doomentia Records. The CD contains 12 songs with a running time of 39 minutes.
Former METAL CHURCH singer RONNY MUNROE has issued the following update:
"I would like to take a moment and say thank you to everyone who took the time and voted for 'Delirium' in the OurStage competition over the past couple of weeks… because of YOU, we won Best Rock Video, Fan Favorite, Most Played and Hot New Video for the month of January! I feel blessed to have such great friends and fans!
To Joe O'Brien and everyone in the Rat Pak Records fold, I can't thank you enough for coming together to help make this all happen for me, you're the best!
To all the radio and Internet stations who play my songs, and for those DJ's that voted, I thank you and although you may not hear it often enough, you guys and gals rock!
And last, but definitely not least, I'd like to thank Ross Wells and everybody at Zenfilm who had a vision and made this incredible video possible! It was such a great experience and one that I'll never forget.
Thank you to all and I can't wait to see you soon!!
Here is a little "video" that our very own Tina Peek from Rat Pak Records made in honor of myself, the OurStage Competition and the win. It's hilarious!"
German power metallers GRAVE DIGGER have issued the following update:
"Last weekend, we've been at the TLC studio, Cologne /Pulheim to put down the first song ideas of the upcoming album.
"Holy shit, what a blast! Although we only got the first compositions on the list, you can imagine the direction of the songs. Let's call it typical GRAVE DIGGER! Once again you'll get the full monty , but spiced with some tiny little finesse.
"After all that stress within the last year (losing two guitarists), finally we had the chance to leave the ballast behind and rock it off our chest. Axel [Ritt, guitar] and Jens [Becker, bass] put down some awesome riff ideas, which will be hammered to real hot steel within the next three months.
"In the middle of May, we'll be at Principal studio [in Senden, Germany] once again, let the Resetti Brothers (never change a winning team) produce the new album. All you fans out there will get what you want us to do and for what you loved and kept faith with us."
GRAVE DIGGER's latest album, "Ballads Of A Hangman", was released on January 9, 2009 via Austria's Napalm Records.
HYPOCRISY, RAGE and DARK AGE have been confirmed for this year's edition of the Rockharz Open Air festival, set to take place July 8-10 at Flugplatz in Ballenstedt/Harz, Germany.
The festival billing is shaping up as follows:
BLACK MESSIAH
BURNING SKIES
DARK AGE
DELAIN
DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER
DORO
EISBRECHER
END OF GREEN
ENSIFERUM
EQUILIBRIUM
EXCREMENTORY GRINDFUCKERS
FEUERENGEL
GERNOTSHAGEN
HYPOCRISY
KRYPTERIA
MONO INC
OVERKILL
RAGE
SONATA ARCTICA
SUBWAY TO SALLY
THERION
UNZUCHT
VAN CANTO
VARG
More acts will be announced soon.
For more information, visit www.myspace.com/rockharzopenair.
Tommy Victor's PRONG will be joining up once again with SOULFLY on their North American tour this spring. Also on the bill are INCITE and ROTTING CORPSE.
Tommy Victor joined Soulfly's Logan Mader in the studio last November to lend his vocals to the song 'Lethal Injection'. The song will be released on the upcoming Soulfly album Omen (Roadrunner) on May 4th.
Tommy said of the collaboration, "It was an honor and a pleasure working with Soulfly in the studio. I think the song turned out great, its definitely a killer track."
Confirmed dates:
March
2 - Scout Bar - San Antonio, TX
3 - Scout Bar - Houston, TX
6 - Culture Room - Ft. Lauderdale, FL
7 - Firestone Live - Orlando, FL
8 - State Theater - St. Pete, FL
9 - The Loft - Atlanta, GA
11 - Starland Ballroom - Sayreville, NJ
12 - The Crazy Donkey - Farmingdale, NY
13 - The Royal Plaza Trade Center - Fitchburg, MA
19 - Peabody's - Cleveland, OH
20 - Al Rosa Villa - Columbus, OH
23 - Midland Theatre - Kansas City, MO
Additional dates to be announced.
Florida-based metallers CIRCLE II CIRCLE have posted the following press release:
REDLionMusic is proud to announce Circle II Circle is officially added to our roster - also called REDLion Family.
"First of all we give a very warm welcome to Circle II Circle (USA)... After more than 7 years of Circle II Circle being part of the live hard rock and metal scene and 4 outstanding albums released world wide, this band is known already by almost every metalhead all over the planet...
For more info, photos and bio please feel free to visit the band's website.
REDLionMusic is looking forward to a successful partnership with this amazing band. We are looking forward to your feedback and take your offers for this band from now on."
Also visit Circle II Circle online at myspace.com/circleiicircle.
North Carolina's sludge pillagers WEEDEATER have set "Jason...The Dragon" as the title of their fourth album, tentatively due this fall via Southern Lord Recordings. The CD will be recorded starting late April with producer Steve Albini (NIRVANA , NEUROSIS, PIXIES) at his Electrical Audio studio in Chicago, Illinois.
WEEDEATER — in light of the recent loss of frontman Dave "Dixie" Collins' toe due to a self-inflicted gun-cleaning wound — has announced the routing for its upcoming U.S. tour, now officially dubbed the "Nine Toe" tour. The month-long trek kicks off a week before this year's South By Southwest (SXSW), where WEEDEATER will headline the Tone Deaf Touring showcase on March 20. Support bands for the tour include BLACK COBRA, ASG, BLACK TUSK, THE GATES OF SLUMBER, US CHRISTMAS, and STRUCK BY LIGHTNING.
"Nine Toe" tour dates:
Mar. 12 - The Jinx - Savannah, GA
Mar. 13 - The Back Booth - Orlando, FL
Mar. 14 - Crazy Marlins - Panama City Beach, FL
Mar. 15 - Lenny's - Atlanta, GA
Mar. 16 - Bottletree - Birmingham, AL
Mar. 17 - Hi Tone - Memphis, TN
Mar. 18 - The Channel @ Meridian - Houston, TX
Mar. 19 - Skillman Street Bar - Dallas, TX
Mar. 20 - Encore - Austin, TX @ Tone Deaf SXSW Showcase
Mar. 21 - Zombie's - San Antonio, TX
Mar. 23 - Launchpad - Albuquerque, NM
Mar. 24 - Chasers - Scottsdale, AZ
Mar. 26 - Ultra Violet - Los Angeles, CA
Mar. 27 - Elbo Room - San Francisco, CA
Mar. 28 - Rotture - Portland, OR
Mar. 29 - Funhouse - Seattle, WA
Mar. 31 - Club Vegas - Salt Lake City, UT
Apri. 01 - Larimer Lounge - Denver, CO
Apri. 02 - The Record Bar - Kansas City, MO
Apri. 03 - Triple Rock - Minneapolis, MN
Apri. 04 - Reggie's - Chicago, IL
Apri. 05 - Mac's - Lansing, MI
Apri. 06 - The Southgate House - Newport, KY
Apri. 07 - The Grog Shop - Cleveland, OH
Apri. 08 - Wreck Room - Toronto, ON
Apri. 09 - Bug Jar - Rochester, NY
Apri. 10 - Webster Hall (Studio) - New York, NY
Apri. 11 - Khyber - Philadelphia, PA
Apri. 12 - DC9 - Washington, DC
Apri. 13 - Krug's - Frederick, MD
Apri. 14 - The Triple - Richmond, VA
WEEDEATER's third album, "God Luck And Good Speed", was released in 2007 on Southern Lord Recordings; a deluxe double LP version came out in 2009. With the exception of one song ("Alone"), the entire LP was recorded at Albini's Electrical Audio. Remaining true to WEEDEATER tradition, the album art was provided by Arik Roper.
On January 23, 2010, vocalist/bassist Donavan "Demon" Mason of Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada metallers CRADLE TO GRAVE was rushed to Vancouver's UBC Hospital after he was unresponsive to his family attempting to wake him up.
Mason is blind and suffers from advanced diabetes, which can cause his immune system to shut down periodically. His family and bandmates suspected that he was just battling a bad case of the flu, but upon arrival at the hospital doctors diagnosed Mason with a severe case of the H1N1 virus. The medical staff at UBC Hospital were able to bring Mason back, but warned family and friends that he had been near death and had they waited a few more hours, the case could have turned tragic. Mason is now recovering at home while CRADLE TO GRAVE takes a break from recording its new album.
The veteran band — which features in its ranks Denis "Sasquatch" Barthe of AGGRESSION and Matt Fowler of ASSAULT/KARRION — just completed pre-production with producer Clay Haluk (INFERNAL MAJESTY, AGGRESSION) and has entered Screen Machine Studios in Vancouver to record the follow-up to 2008's "Texas Medicine".
CRADLE TO GRAVE's long-awaited, third studio LP is expected to surface later this year through Year of the Sun Records.
"Our goal with this album is to release material as relevant as VENOM's 'Black Metal' or VOIVOD's 'War and Pain' albums," commented Barthe.
"The pre-production sessions for the new record were awesome," added Mason. "It gave us the opportunity to make our material a little bit more in line with what VENOM did with 'Welcome to Hell' and 'Black Metal'. We can't believe how this band sounds now and we are anxious to show it to the world."
For more information, visit www.myspace.com/cradletograve.
ScarsMagazine.com recently conducted an interview with vocalist Randy Blythe of Richmond, Virginia metallers LAMB OF GOD about his role in the horror/thriller "The Graves", which was written and directed by former comic book writer Brian Pulido.
The entire magazine has been posted online and can be found below. (Note: The Blythe interview begins on page 18.) Click on the magazine to view in full-screen mode.
In a recent interview with ARTISTdirect.com, Blythe was asked if he feels like he taps into a similar rhythm on stage and on set. "Absolutely!" he replied. "It was definitely a learning experience for me. I'm not going to say by any stretch of the imagination that I'll be up for an Academy Award for my acting [Laughs]. It was a big learning experience, but I definitely got to go to a darker mental place when I was filming the scenes. It required me to think, 'Okay, now I'm this totally evil guy. Whatever comes out of me comes out of me, with no regard for anybody else's feelings or safety whatsoever.' It's like the lid that society puts on you just gets taken off completely. You're like, 'Okay, I'm going to do whatever I want. She needs her throat slit; kill her.'"
When asked if it was really a trip to watch the performance, Blythe said, "I've only watched it a couple of times. It's the same thing with our music. Some guys when they get done recording a record, they listen to it relentlessly. I don't. I listen to it once or twice because if I keep on listening to it or, in this case, watching the scene over and over again, I'm going to start criticizing myself really heavily. I'd say, 'I could've done this better, that sounds horrible or I look stupid there.' Once something is down on wax, there's nothing more that you can do about it, except live with it. I tend to get really critical of myself when I review any sort of material that I've worked on. It was cool to watch for sure though — a couple times. I wouldn't watch it every day or anything [Laughs]."
AMON AMARTH and LAUREN HARRIS have been confirmed for the Swiss edition of the Sonisphere festival, set to take place on Friday, June 18, 2010 at Degenaupark in Wil/Jonschwil, Switzerland.
The festival billing is shaping up as follows:
METALLICA
SLAYER
MEGADETH
ANTHRAX
HEAVEN & HELL
RISE AGAINST
MOTÖRHEAD
DEVILDRIVER
MASTODON
LAUREN HARRIS
AMON AMARTH
VOLBEAT
Note: Although MASTODON's name is not currently being listed on the official web site of Sonisphere Switzerland, the band has included the Swiss date in its schedule on MySpace.
Dutch female-fronted symphonic metallers EPICA have launched a tour diary from their latest North American headlining trek (featuring support from THREAT SIGNAL and BLACKGUARD) exclusively at www.sounds2move.de. The band will be posting frequent blogs on the site with the latest news from on the road as well as photos. The first post is already online, done by drummer Ariën van Weesenbeek. Check it out at this location.
Keyboardist Coen Janssen was forced to sit out EPICA's current North American headlining tour because of "personal reasons." He was replaced by Simone's boyfriend Oliver Palotai (KAMELOT, SONS OF SEASONS, DORO).
EPICA's latest album, "Design Your Universe", landed at position No. 12 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.
"Design Your Universe" was released in Europe on October 16, 2009. The follow-up to 2007's "The Divine Conspiracy" was recorded at Gate Studio in Wolfsburg, Germany with producer Sascha Paeth.
German metallers SUIDAKRA have updated their 2010 tour schedule (**) with shows France, London, and Austin, TX. The band's itinerary is below:
February
3 - TNT Bar - Santiago de Compostela, Spain
4 - Heaven DC Club - Santander, Spain
5 - Mondo - Vigo, Spain
6 - Underfest Winter Edition - Vila Real, Portugal
7 - Side B - Lisbon, Portugal
March
8 - B.B. Kings - New York, NY
10 - Les Foufounes Electriques - Montreal, QC
13 - Wreck Room - Toronto, ON
14 - Bottom Lounge - Chicago, IL
19 - Encore - Austin, TX (SXSW) **
April
3 - Sojus 7 - Monheim, Germany (15th Anniversary show) **
May
1 - Ragnarök Festival 2010 - Rieden/Kreuth, Germany **
9 - Le Marché Gare - Lyon, France **
10 - Dynamo Werk21 - Zürich, Switzerland **
11 - La Laiterie - Strasbourg, France **
14 - Le Nouveau Casino - Paris, France **
15 - Le Ferrailleur - Nantes, France **
22 - Underworld - London, UK **
German metallers EMERGENCY GATE will release their new album, "The Nemesis Construct", on April 30 via Twilight Zone Records. The CD was recorded at Dreamscape Studios in Munich and will feature artwork by Raf W., who has previously worked with METALLICA, SLAYER, IRON MAIDEN and SOULFLY, among others.
EMERGENCY GATE last year parted ways with drummer Chris "The Machine" Widmann and replaced him with Dominik "Capricorn Khaos" Scholz. The band said, "Dominik has been the session drummer of LACRIMAS PROFUNDERE and the former drummer of ZOO ARMY. He already played with us as a session drummer during the Chaos Over Europe Tour with KREATOR."
"Gold & Glass", the latest video from EMERGENCY GATE, can be viewed below. The song comes off the group's most recent album, "Rewake", which was released in January 2009 via Silverwolf Productions.
EMERGENCY GATE in 2008 announced the addition of singer Matthias Kupka (ex-SUIDAKRA) to the group's ranks.
For more information, visit www.emergency-gate.com.
Bassist Andreas Larsen has left Swedish extreme metallers SHINING so that he can concentrate on his studies. The band states, "He has been a great asset to the band during his time with us, and a good companion, and we wish him well for the future."
The group adds, "A new bass player has already been chosen, and we will be announcing more about this shortly."
SHINING has completed work on its seventh album, "Shining VII - Född Förlorare" (English translation: "Born Loser"), for a March/April release via Indie Recordings.
The album will feature the following track listing:
01. Förtvivlan, Min Arvedel
02. Tiden Läker Inga Sår
03. Människa O'Avskyvärda Människa
04. Tillsammans Är Vi Allt
05. I Nattens Timma
06. FFF
According to vocalist Niklas "Kvarforth" Olsson, "Shining VII - Född Förlorare" will see SHINING "tak[ing] a deep dive into the darkest of all musical genres you could imagine."
Making guest appearances on the album are Erik Danielsson (WATAIN), Peter Bjargo (ARCANA) and NORDMAN.
Addict-TV conducted an interview with Niklas "Kvarforth" Olsson when SHINING played Paris, France last year. The clip, which includes performance footage, can be viewed below.
WE ARE THE FALLEN — the new band featuring original EVANESCENCE members Ben Moody (guitar) and John LeCompt (guitar) and Rocky Gray (drums) along with "American Idol" powerhouse vocalist Carly Smithson — will release its debut album on May 11 via Universal Republic Records. The group's first single, "Bury Me Alive", has just been made available exclusively via the digital domain.
WE ARE THE FALLEN will make its live debut on March 23 at at Kings College in London, England. A 28-city U.S. tour as the support act for H.I.M. will launch on March 26 in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
WE ARE THE FALLEN was officially unveiled during a press conference on June 22, 2009 in Hollywood, California. The group also performed a two-song set consisting of "Bury Me Alive", and a rendition of EVANESCENCE's "Going Under".
"This all happened by accident," Smithson — who sang EVANESCENCE's "Bring Me to Life" during the 2008 "Idols Live" tour— told USA Today . She's friends with Moody's housemate, Monique Morrison. "I met him once or twice (at the house) before the band thing," said Smithson, who had been working on a solo project.
Smithson doesn't see herself as replacing EVANESCENCE singer Amy Lee . "Amy let the boys go," she told USA Today. "We just started a new band, called THE FALLEN. It's got really nothing to do with EVANESCENCE." WE ARE THE FALLEN initially may perform a few EVANESCENCE songs live, she said, "but we're pretty much focused on new music. You have an amazing writing team here, and amazing musicians."
"Our voices are completely different," she said of Lee. "This music is, obviously, the players from EVANESCENCE, but Marty's bringing a different flavor from what he does. I'm bringing a different flavor from what I do, and Ben has completely explored many different genres over the last few years. It's not EVANESCENCE anymore. It's huge. It's big, big, big songs that I can wail my ass off on, because that's what I love to do."
In an interview with Billboard.com, Moody stated about his former band, "There's not really an EVANESCENCE now. It's [singer] Amy Lee playing as EVANESCENCE with a bunch of other guys hired to play our parts. And she's amazing — an incredible front person, a great songwriter, an incredible singer. There's no reason we can't both exist in the world. Musically, we're going in completely different directions; 'The Open Door' (EVANESCENCE's 2006 album) sounds nothing like WE ARE THE FALLEN."
The energetic creative engine behind the launch of EVANESCENCE, Moody and the other members of WE ARE THE FALLEN found a true partner in Smithson, who always envisioned a band environment as her dream move following "Idol". Moody, who left the platinum-plus breakthrough metal act in 2003, has since co-written major hits for Chris Daughtry and Kelly Clarkson, among others.
Carly Smithson was a sixth place finisher during Season 7 of the landmark television series "American Idol", duly recognized for having one of the hit shows most loyal fan bases. The fiery singer's "elimination" sent shockwaves through the "Idol" blogger nation, with a critic for Entertainment Weekly even calling her dismissal "an embarrassing lapse in judgment." Her acclaimed performances on the 2008 "Idols Live" tour confirmed her stature as a preeminent female rock powerhouse.
Italian death metallers HOUR OF PENANCE will release their fourth album, "Paradogma", on March 30 via Unique Leader Records. The CD cover art was created by Gyula Havancsàk, who has previously worked with such acts as ANNIHILATOR and DESTRUCTION.
"Paradogma" was recorded at 16th Cellar studios in Rome with producer Stefano Morabito and was mastered at Hertz Studios in Poland.
"Paradogma" track listing:
01. Paradogma
02. Thousands Of Christs
03. The Woeful Eucharesty
04. Malevolence Of The Righteous
05. Caged Into Falsehood
06. Incestuous Dynasty Of Worms
07. Adversary Of Bigotry
08. Incontrovertible Doctrines
09. Spiritual Ravishment
10. Apotheosis
The song "Paradogma" is available as a free MP3 download at this location.
Commented the band: "We thought it was time to give you a shot of the new album and we decided to post track 1, 'Paradogma'.
"Why we've chosen this track? Because we think that it describes best the new and darker mood behind the new album. This obviously doesn't mean that the new album will sound just like this track. 'Paradogma' is the most varied album weve done so far, and each track will have his own personality still being coherent to the overall sound of the new album. We've added so many elements to our music that this track… it's just a little preview."
HOUR OF PENANCE's current lineup:
Giulio Moschini - Guitar
Mauro Mercurio - Drums
Silvano Leone - Bass
Francesco Paoli - Vocals
HOUR OF PENANCE's last album, "The Vile Conception", was released on February 23, 2008 via Unique Leader Records. The CD was recorded at 16th Cellar with Morabito and contains 10 songs of "insanely fast and twisted death metal," according to a press release. Artwork was handled by Pär Olofsson.
Norwegian black metallers DARKTHRONE will release their new album, "Circle The Wagons", on April 5 via Peaceville Records.
The track listing for the CD is as follows:
01. Those Treasures Will Never Befall You
02. Running For Borders
03. I Am The Graves Of The 80s
04. Stylized Corpse
05. Circle The Wagons
06. Black Mountain Totem
07. I Am The Working Class
08. Eyes Burst At Dawn
09. Bränn Inte Slottet
In a recent interview with Holland's FaceCulture, DARKTHRONE's Nocturno Culto (real name: Ted Skjellum) stated about the upcoming CD, "I think the focus is now more heavy metal and rock and roll, really, and that's a style I like to play on the guitar, and that shows on our new album as well, because my songs on that album are very heavy metal-oriented."
He added, "I think the first recording session we had on this album, I had a really good feeling, as usual, but I think it was something extra. I think this album is… It's not cool to say it's probably some of the best things we did, but I believe so. The songs are strong, and they have a good production, in our point of view.
"We really don't belong in the modern scene; that's why we're kind of outsiders. In our hearts, we still belong to the underground, and that's where we're comfortable."
Regarding the "Circle The Wagons" cover artwork, Nocturno Culto said, "It has an Indian theme, actually; I don't know if any band did that before. Dennis Dread is the American artist doing the front covers for the last three albums, including the new one. Mr. Necro, our kind of guy on the cover, he kind of has Indian things."
Peaceville Records released DARKTHRONE's "A Blaze In The Northern Sky" album on 180g heavyweight vinyl with gatefold sleeve in December.
This vinyl edition of the album is limited to 1,000 numbered copies and is issued on 180g heavyweight vinyl in a gatefold sleeve which features new liner notes written by Nocturno Culto especially for this release.
Swedish death metallers NOMINON have scheduled the following dates:
May 07 - Sundsvall, SWE - Club Deströyer
May 08 - Jönköping, SWE - Zaragon Rock Club
May 09 - Göteborg, SWE - Club Centurion
Support on the shows will come from Spanish coffin robbers GRAVEYARD.
NOMINON will release its fourth album, "Monumentomb", on March 23 via Deathgasm Records. The CD was recorded at Necromorbus Studio (WATAIN, NOMINON, AVERSE SEFIRA, FUNERAL MIST, NEX, ONDSKAPT, MORK GRYNING, ADORIOR) in Alvik, Sweden and was mixed with producer Tore Stjerna. The group states, "We managed to record eleven songs and it all sounds really powerful and heavy, yet fast and with a certain raw edge, and at last it's definitely the most varied material so far from NOMINON."
NOMINON recently announced the addition of bassist Martin Petersson from Gothenburg to the group's ranks.
Taking a darker and more blasphemous approach to their already visceral sound, California-based deathcore band CARNIFEX will unleash "Hell Chose Me" on February 16 via Victory Records. Blood-curdling screams, guttural growls, double-bass fury, and razor-sharp guitar riffs make for sinister and brutal work.
As the follow-up to 2008's death metal masterpiece "The Diseased And The Poisoned", CARNIFEX's third album takes aggression to the next level. Influenced by the likes of CANNIBAL CORPSE, SUFFOCATION, and THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, this San Diego quintet really knows how to bring the brutality. Growing in notoriety, CARNIFEX has been featured in Kerrang!, Outburn and Revolver magazines.
"From when we started to now, a lot has changed," states vocalist Scott Lewis. "The progression we've gone through is staggering. With the confidence we have in this record, we know we will be making new fans.
"If anybody is expecting CARNIFEX to lighten it up, better luck next time. Dark, sick, painful — that's the concept of this album lyrically, and the music brings all of that emotion and puts it right inside your head."
"Hell Chose Me" track listing:
01. Hell Chose Me
02. Dead Archetype
03. Entombed Monarch
04. Names Mean Nothing
05. Heartless
06. Sorrowspell
07. The Scope Of Obsession
08. By Darkness Enslaved
09. The Liar's Funeral
10. Genocide Initiative
Soon to return from the Bonecrusher Fest tour in Europe, CARNIFEX will begin to annihilate the masses in San Diego, California on March 5 on the Atticus Metal Tour.
Italian death metal quartet HOUR OF PENANCE, London's INFESTATION, doom titans RAMESSES and the crushing sludge of PALEHORSE have been confirmed for "Deathfest - The Second Coming", set to take place Sunday, May 2 at Leeds University Union in Leeds, England.
The festival billing is shaping up as follows:
BRUJERIA
DAWN OF CHAOS
FUKPIG
HOUR OF PENANCE
IMMOLATION
INFESTATION
PALEHORSE
RAMESSES
VOLITION
Festival director Gavin McInally said: "Hundreds of tickets have already gone and we're delighted to be able to repay that early support by adding another four top quality extreme metal acts.
"As promised, Deathfest - The Second Coming will have a stunning bill of death metal on our Terrorizer Stage with the PHD Stage offering an alternative of filthy sludge, doom and unsavoury noise.
"With several slots still to be filled, fans can look forward to an unrivalled day of extreme music in the U.K. this May!"
Tickets are on sale now, priced at £19.50 from LeedsTickets.com, Ticketline.co.uk and SeeTickets.co.uk.
For more information, visit www.deathfest.co.uk.
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