2008 has become an extremely exciting year in the history of Century Media Records, one of the world's most respected independent homes for heavy music, as the label is celebrating its 20th anniversary.
The company's anniversary year started off with an extremely successful, first-ever yard sale/party at the Century Media office in Dortmund (Germany) in June, where several hundred guests partied out on exclusive live shows by ANGEL DUST and TURISAS. Video footage of the event can be viewed below. A photo gallery is available at this location.
To further celebrate this anniversary, Century Media Records will release the very special 2CD compilation "Covering 20 Years Of Extremes" on September 15 in Europe and on October 14 in North America. The all-covers release includes 32 mostly exclusive recordings and will be available in stores for the price of one CD. Sticking to the "keep it in the family" slogan, CM approached its artists about covering songs from other acts within the label's repertoire and the response from the musicians was overwhelming. Some choices were obvious and homages to the bands that influenced them, others were inspired picks. This combination ended up leading to a heavily entertaining and truly special final result across all sub-genres of heavy music.
"Covering 20 Years Of Extremes" 2CD track listing:
CD 1 (67:36)
01. ARCH ENEMY covering DREAM EVIL's "The Book Of Heavy Metal" 02. DARK TRANQUILLITY covering SENTENCED's "Broken" 03. HEAVEN SHALL BURN covering TIAMAT's "Whatever That Hurts" 04. SHADOWS FALL covering ONLY LIVING WITNESS's "December" 05. BRAND NEW SIN covering ICED EARTH's "Watching Over Me" 06. WOLF covering MOONSPELL's "Alma Mater" 07. MERCENARY covering ARCH ENEMY's "Burning Angel" 08. GOD FORBID covering MERAUDER's "Master Killer" 09. WARBRINGER covering UNLEASHED's "Execute Them All" 10. GRAVE covering ASPHYX's "Vermin" 11. ARCHITECTS covering STAMPIN' GROUND's "Officer Down" 12. NAPALM DEATH covering DESPAIR's "Outconditioned" 13. KRISIUN covering DEMOLITION HAMMER's "Human Dissection" 14. CRYPTOPSY covering STRAPPING YOUNG LAD's "Oh My Fucking God" 15. MAROON covering SAMAEL's "Baphomet's Throne" 16. WATCH THEM DIE covering BLOODBATH's "Breeding Death"
CD 2 (66:47 min)
01. FIREWIND covering NEVERMORE's "Believe In Nothing" 02. DREAM EVIL covering ARCH ENEMY's "Let The Killing Begin" 03. FEAR MY THOUGHTS covering HEAVEN SHALL BURN's "The Weapon They Fear" 04. THE AGONIST covering DARK TRANQUILLITY's "Monochromatic Stains" 05. THE FORSAKEN covering GRAVE's "You'll Never See" 06. DEVIAN covering MORGOTH's "Isolated" 07. HEAVEN SHALL BURN covering MERAUDER's "Downfall Of Christ" 08. ABORTED covering TURMOIL's "Playing Dead" 09. TERROR covering SUBZERO's "Boxed In" 10. NAPALM DEATH covering HELLHAMMER's "Messiah" 11. ASPHYX covering CELTIC FROST's "Os Abysmi Vel Daath" 12. ZIMMERS HOLE covering OLD MAN'S CHILD's "Doommaker" 13. FU MANCHU covering PENANCE's "Words To Live By" 14. MANNTIS (feat. IN THIS MOMENT) covering LACUNA COIL's "Heaven's A Lie" 15. KIVIMETSÄN DRUIDI covering THE GATHERING's "Leaves" 16. INTRONAUT covering EYEHATEGOD's "Dixie Whiskey"
Exclusive online advance feature: To share some of these stunning versions with all of you, Century Media will present you one song taken off "Covering 20 Years Of Extremes" rotating each week up to the end of the year every Thursday at this location.
"Don't Go Away", the new video from California rockers BUCKCHERRY, can be viewed on Music.MSN.com. The song comes off the group's fourth studio album, "Black Butterfly", which is scheduled for release on September 16.
The Best Buy-exclusive version of "Black Butterfly" will include two bonus tracks — demo versions of the songs 13. "Nothing" and "Stayin' High".
"Black Butterfly" track listing:
01. Rescue Me 02. Tired Of You 03. Too Drunk... 04. Dreams 05. Talk To Me 06. Child Called "It" 07. Don't Go Away 08. Fallout 09. Rose 10. All Of Me 11. Imminent Bail Out 12. Cream
Best Buy-exclusive tracks:
13. Nothing (Demo) 14. Stayin' High (Demo)
For more information on the Best Buy version of "Black Butterfly", go to this location.
The tracks "Don't Go Away" and "Rescue Me" are available for streaming on the group's MySpace page.
"Too Drunk" was allegedly leaked online before its official release date, but several sources have speculated that the track was deliberately released by BUCKCHERRY's management.
AVENGED SEVENFOLD and BUCKCHERRY will team up for a fall co-headlining tour beginning on September 16 in Moline, Illinois, which will also feature SHINEDOWN and SAVING ABEL.
A new DEEDS OF FLESH track entitled "Unearthly Invent" is available for streaming on the band's MySpace page. The song comes off the Southern California death metallers' new album, "Of What's to Come", which is scheduled for release on November 18 via Unique Leader Records. According to the label, the follow-up to 2005's "Crown of Souls" "is nothing short of a masterpiece combining the usual DEEDS OF FLESH sound with many added new elements, twisted and memorable guitar riffs and lead work, blistering drums, powerful vocals and mind blowing bass lines. Easily one of the most highly anticipated new releases in its genre."
DEEDS OF FLESH previously stated that the new CD would be "over-the-top technical" and would include a re-recorded version of "Infecting Them With Falsehood" from 1998's "Inbreeding the Anthropophagi".
An e-card for "Versus", the new album from Swedish metallers THE HAUNTED, can be found at this location. A trailer for the CD is available below.
"Versus" will be released through Century Media Records on the following dates:
Sweden: Wednesday, September 17 Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Benelux, Italy: Friday, September 19 Spain, Portugal: Tuesday, September 23 Finland, Hungary: Wednesday, September 24 UK, France, Greece, Denmark, Norway, Rest Of Europe: Monday, September 22
The CD was recorded in part at PUK studio in Denmark with producer Tue Madsen (HEAVEN SHALL BURN, DARK TRANQUILLITY, MOONSPELL, etc), who previously worked with the group on its two most recent LPs, "rEVOLVEr" (2004) and "The Dead Eye" (2006).
"Versus" track listing:
01. Moronic Colossus 02. Pieces 03. Little Cage 04. Trenches 05. Ceremony 06. Skuld 07. Crusher 08. Rivers Run 09. Iron Mask 10. Faultline 11. Imperial Death March
Swedish metallers HAMMERFALL have posted the first two video blogs/reports (see below) featuring behind-the-scenes footage from the recording sessions for their new album. The as-yet-untitled CD will include an instrumental written by the group's latest addition, guitarist Pontus Norgren (THE POODLES, TALISMAN, GREAT KING RAT), and a song entitled "One of a Kind", which was written as a collaboration between HAMMERFALL guitarist Oscar Dronjak and IN FLAMES axeman Jesper Strömblad (who was a member of HAMMERFALL in the band's earliest incarnation).
Pontus Norgren joined HAMMERFALL as the replacement for Stefan Elmgren, who left the band in early April to focus on his new career as a pilot.
HAMMERFALL's "Masterpieces" CD — a collection of all the covers the band has recorded to date plus three previously unreleased versions of other artists' songs — recently entered the German Media Control chart at position No. 69. Meanwhile, HAMMERFALL's "Rebels With A Cause - Unruly, Unrestrained, Uninhibited" DVD chronicling the last few years of the band's career landed on the German chart at No. 81 (German chart rules allow music DVDs to enter album charts).
An e-card for "Masterpieces" can be accessed at this location.
HAMMERFALL vocalist Joacim Cans' track-by-track breakdown of the 18 songs featured on "Masterpieces" and the significance of each track as it relates to HAMMERFALL has been posted on the web site of the German edition of Metal Hammer magazine. Check it out in English, German.
"Rebels With A Cause - Unruly, Unrestrained, Uninhibited" is a continuation of HAMMERFALL's previous two DVDs ("The First Crusade" and "The Templar/Renegade Crusades") and contains newly recorded interviews with the band interspersed with footage from the group's own cameras. The time span is six years, from the beginning of 2002 until the end of 2007, and it's edited together as a documentary of sorts, i.e. one continuous film, but of course with chapters. Also included are all six promo videos made during the time in question plus some behind-the-scenes footage, four professionally filmed live songs from Filderstadt 2005, five TV clips they have purchased the rights to from SVT (the Swedish national television network) and some more homemade stuff as bonus.
Edmonton, Kentucky rockers BLACK STONE CHERRY were the featured guests on the nationally syndicated radio show "Rockline" with host Bob Coburn on Monday, August 18. The program is now available for streaming at this location.
BLACK STONE CHERRY's second Roadrunner album, "Folklore and Superstition", sold 13,600 in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 28 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was recorded in Nashville, Tennessee at Black Bird Studios, which is owned and operated by country music star Martina McBride. It was produced and mixed by veteran Bob Marlette (OZZY OSBOURNE, SALIVA).
BLACK STONE CHERRY shot a video for its new single, "Blind Man", on July 10 in Louisville, Kentucky at the famous Waverly Hills Sanatorium. Watch the clip below.
Metal Edge correspondent Gail Flug spoke with DEF LEPPARD drummer Rick Allen about his side project, the Raven Drum Foundation, the California-based organization which encourages trauma survivors to heal healing through drum circles. A couple of excerpts follows.
Metal Edge: How and when did you find out about drum circles?
Rick Allen: I found out about them through people that I knew, and I started actively doing them around the end of 2000. I had been to a couple of large drum circles across California before forming the foundation.
Metal Edge: It's no secret that you had some problems with drugs and alcohol throughout the years, as has been documented on VH1 "Behind the Music". Would you say drum circles helped you?
Rick: I think the human condition is filled with trauma, but unfortunately some of us are more traumatized than others by various life experiences. I totally believe, through my own experiences, that unchecked trauma in the body manifests new obsessions like alcohol addition, drug addiction, sexual addiction, gambling, you name it. And one of the things Raven Drum is trying to do at the moment is to help those who are coming out of a war zone through our Trauma and Resiliency Program. It is a comprehensive program of all different sorts of trauma therapy; what works for you might not necessarily work for me. I think a combination of different therapies under one roof might be able to make a difference. So along with a trauma specialist, we're putting these programs together, and I'm kind of going through all the different therapies just to show I'm not just reading this through a textbook. I'm going through the experience of it.
Metal Edge: I understand you started the foundation with your wife. How did you meet Lauren?
Rick: She was teaching at the Boulder College of Massage Therapy, and she was teaching what they call energy medicine, which is the study of the energy body, the part of the body you don't necessarily see. Attending some of her classes really gave me a language for many of the experiences I've been through. We kept in touch with each other for about six months, and then she made the suggestion that we get together and put this foundation together, so it's been a fantastic journey for both of us.
Metal Edge: Where do you do the drum circles?
Rick: We've done them all over the world. We used to visit a council ward in my hometown in Sheffield. We also get involved with various organizations, but mainly in California, more personal ones where people are going through cancer survival or alternative cancer therapy. We don't necessarily publicize the fact because that's not what it is about. It's about Lauren and myself showing up and offering them our experience of the drum and how we know that for such an ancient form, it could really help people on the road to recovery.
SKULLSHIFTER, the New Jersey-based metal band featuring former INSANIAC members Tom Nolz and CJ Scioscia as well as EXXPLORER bassist J. McCaffrey, has uploaded the cover art (see below) for its forthcoming full-length release, "Inner Demons".
The follow-up to 2005's "Here In Hell", "Inner Demons" features Ross The Boss (ROSS THE BOSS BAND, THE DICTATORS, ex-MANOWAR) contributing lead guitar on the track "Etched In Sand". The new nine-song effort was produced entirely by the band at Scioscia's studio, Le Chateau Bow Wow Recording, in Watchung, New Jersey, and was mastered by Alan Douches at West West Side Music.
"Inner Demons" will be released on September 16 via BFD Records. A matinee CD-release show has been scheduled for September 13 at the BPO Elks Lodge #2006 in Cranford, New Jersey. Also appearing are local cover acts BONEDADDY and METAL FINGER.
CRADLE TO GRAVE, the Vancouver, British Columbia-based band featuring ex-AGGRESSION guitarist Denis "Sasquatch" Barthe, has been forced to cancel its recently announced tour of the West Coast after the group was detained by the U.S. Department of Homeland Security "for suspicion of either sneaking drugs in or attempting to seek work illegally, despite the fact that the band had valid working papers in their possession," according to a press release. The group "was detained for more than five hours at the Blaine, Washington border facilities, where bored security agents strip-searched one of the members, and refused to listen to the bandmembers' account of why they were there. Singer Greg Cavanagh was held for four hours, then refused entry to the U.S. because of suspicion of 'rampant drug use, voluminous encounters with prostitutes and satanism' after the border agents reviewed the band's MySpace page. At one point, Barthe was held at gunpoint by five officers. He was asked to lay down on the ground, was handcuffed and returned to Canada in a U.S. Border Protection vehicle. After almost five hours of screaming, door slamming and accusations, the rest of the band was asked to return to Canada."
Last year, CRADLE TO GRAVE were refused an entry visa allegedly because the State Department felt their name might "incite violence" and this after they were allowed to tour in 2005. However, in 2002 and 2004 the band were refused entry to the U.S. due to an alleged "lack of artistic merit".
Cavanagh commented: "Contrary to popular belief, the U.S. doesn't welcome all foreign musicians with open arms. We regret to say this, but the tour is over before it even started. Thanks to everyone that worked so hard to bring us down there for the shows we had booked. We'll hopefully have better luck next time and be able to play for all you crazy West Coast metalheads."
CRADLE TO GRAVE recently released its new album, "Texas Medicine", through Year of the Sun Records. The album was mixed and mastered by Devin Townsend (LAMB OF GOD, DARKEST HOUR, GWAR) and hailed by the Vancouver Straight as "the soundtrack of choice for your trip to the electric chair." The band is currently streaming tracks from the album online at this location.
Swedish multi-instrumentalist Snowy Shaw (THERION, DREAM EVIL, KING DIAMOND, MERCYFUL FATE, MEMENTO MORI, NOTRE DAME) will guest on "Uncensored Net Noise" on Friday, September 12 beginning at 9:30 p.m. EST.
You can listen to the program live via the Internet at this location.
XXX, the Gothenburg, Sweden-based glitter-rock trio featuring Snowy Shaw, will film a video for the song "Hello" on Saturday, September 13 at Götaplatsen (a public square in Gothenburg, Sweden, at the southern end of Kungsportsavenyn [The King's Gate Avenue], the city's main street) beginning at 12:00 noon sharp. The band says, "We want as many people as possible to show up and to be filmed and be included in the crowd for the video. Dressed up and hot, preferably."
XXX will have its debut album, "Heaven, Hell or Hollywood?", released in Japan in October through King Records.
The band is currently in the early stages of negotiating deals with several labels for the rest of the planet.
"Heaven, Hell or Hollywood?" was produced by Snowy Shaw and guitarist/vocalist X and was mixed by Andy La Rocque at Sonic Train Studios.
MetalSucks conducted an interview MASTODON bassist and co-vocalist Troy Sanders during some pre-show downtime at the Rockstar Mayhem Festival's stop at Nassau Coliseum in Long Island, NY. An excerpt follows.
MetalSucks: So you mentioned that you're sort of going more for that hard rock kind of audience. Is the new material that you're writing going in that direction too? Obviously you guys worked with producer Matt Bayles for a long time...
Sanders: Yeah.
MetalSucks: ...and now you're doing a record with Brendan O'Brien.
Sanders: Yeah.
MetalSucks: So is the new album more in that hard rock direction as well?
Sanders: I think most of our new material is going to be more under the rock category, but it's pretty epic and involved, extremely layered, broad, melodic, dark, and creepy. When we met up with Brendan, he had heard some of our demos and he liked some of the rock elements that we had with our stuff. We told him that we were interested in recording, quote, "a classic rock record that will hopefully have a long shelf life and have solid songs from start to finish, and that will live a lot longer than just listening to it a few times and shelving it." Our favorite records of all time that we always constantly revisit in our own collection are by bands like JOURNEY, YES, KING CRIMSON, FRANK ZAPPA, KANSAS, and all the shit that we grew up with and were inspired by and continue to revisit. We kind of wanted to attempt to capture a record like that, [at least] in our eyes and ears. The stars had aligned perfectly because Brendan's a perfect match, a funny dude and a great musician who has an amazing ear. He can pick out little things that we can try to do that we hadn't even thought of before, whether it be vocally or sonically with the guitars or something. So it is going to be more of a rock kind of Count Chocula-meets-DEEP PURPLE thing. That's kind of what we're saying. We finish that record in September. There's currently not a title, other song titles aren't confirmed, and that's all we can really say about that record now because we're not going to spoil the element of mystery.
MetalSucks: It does sound like there's a real difference between this record and your previous ones.
Sanders: Yeah, this is probably the biggest departure we've done from record to record. The four of us are incredibly stoked on the material.
MetalSucks: Do you worry at all about the hardcore fans going along for the ride?
Sanders: We've never worried about anything outside of the fact that the four of us dig it, love it, and our hearts and souls are in it. At the end of the day if the four of us feel that way, then anything that happens outside of our circle is a bonus, dessert, gravy, or whatever, and that's great. It's been obvious since day one that we've never really written music to please other people. So we've been playing a totally different genre since day one. We like to create the music that we feel good about so that we can channel all of our emotions and energy through this art that we call MASTODON. So it's the four of us. Of course we want people to like our music, but that's not the initial goal when we're writing music and creating stories.
Emerging from the unlikely location of the summer holiday destination of Heraklion, Crete in sunny Greece, ARKENSTONE has signed with UK-based Casket Music for the release of its debut album.
The Greek modern thrash metallers have been working on their sound since the late Nineties and have finally proven themselves able to attract interest from different labels for the aptly titled "Dead Human Resource". It is ARKENSTONE's modern approach to good ol' traditional thrash metal that makes their sound so powerful and addictive. It is their honest passion that has kept them going all these years and their determination that took them to Germany for the recording of "Dead Human Resource", which was produced by R.D. Liapakis (MYSTIC PROPHECY).
Casket showed enough interest to attract the five-piece, who, according to guitarist Herck, "are excited for the opportunity to work with the well established UK record company to bring ARKENSTONE to the masses". The other six-string shredder, fiercely named Beast, adds: "We want to tour wherever possible, whenever possible and with the help of a European label taking our debut album to the world, we are ready to come and destroy you, wherever you are!"
"Dead Human Resource" track listing:
01. Fall 02. Psychopath's Salvation 03. Blame 04. Righteous Murderer 05. Forevermore 06. Eyes Of The Dark 07. Majestic Tales Untold 08. World Of Corruption 09. Pain Horror Stigmata 10. Dead Human Resource
Veteran British all-female hard rock band GIRLSCHOOL will release its 30th-anniversary album, "Legacy", on October 24 in Germany, October 27 in Europe and November 4 in the USA via Wacken Records/SPV. The CD will feature a plethora of special guests, including Tony Iommi (BLACK SABBATH), Ronnie James Dio (BLACK SABBATH, RAINBOW, DIO), Lemmy and Phil Campbell from MOTÖRHEAD, "Fast" Eddie Clarke (FASTWAY, ex-MOTÖRHEAD) and a couple of members of TWISTED SISTER. Even the group's original guitarist Kelly Johnson, who died last year, can be heard on the opener "Everything 's The Same" with a special ghost appearance!
"Legacy" (see artwork below) track listing:
01. Everything's The Same (feat. Kelly Johnson on percussion - her ashes) 02. From The Other Side 03. I Spy (Girlschool Mix) 04. Spend Spend Spend (feat. J.J. French guitar solo) 05. Whole New World (feat. Neil Murray - bass, Phil Campbell - lead guitar) 06. Just Another Day (feat. Phil Campbell - guitar solo) 07. Legend (feat. Neil Murray - bass) 08. Still Waters 09. Metropolis (MOTÖRHEAD cover) (feat. Fast Eddie Clarke - guitar solo) 10. Don't Mess Around (feat. Eddie Ojeda - guitar solo) 11. Zeitgeist 12. Don't Talk To Me (feat. Lemmy on bass, vocals and triangle)
Bonus Tracks:
13. I Spy (Dio/Iommi Mix) (feat. Ronnie James Dio on vocals, Tony Iommi on lead guitar) 14. Emergency 15. London
Evil Elvis of Festivals2Go.com conducted an interview with GIRLSCHOOL at this year's Wacken Open Air festival, which was held July 31 - August 2 in Wacken, Germany. Watch the chat below.
Kelly Johnson passed away on July 15, 2007 after a six-year battle with cancer of the spine. Along with Johnson, the classic lineup of GIRLSCHOOL included Kim McAuliffe (guitar), Enid Williams (bass) and Denise Dufort (drums). The band was an integral and major force in the New Wave of British Heavy Metal (NWOBHM) movement, beginning with the release of its debut album, "Demolition" (1980), and continuing with the follow-up efforts, "Hit 'n' Run" (1981) and "Screaming Blue Murder" (1982).
Austrian hardcore act THE CASSIDY SCENARIO has inked a deal with Let It Burn Records. The group's debut album, "Withstanding Voracity", will be recorded at Principal Studios with Toni Meloni (CALIBAN, THE SORROW, ESTATE) and will feature artwork by Dan Mumford (GALLOWS, BRING ME THE HORIZON, SET YOUR GOALS, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, ARCHITECTS). An early 2009 release is expected.
Commented the band: "To hell with all puff pieces about signing news and so on, here's what we all think: It feels good that there are people that like what and how we do it, people who trust us and who we trust. Thanks to the guys at Let It Burn Records for their efforts and their support. We know that they'll do an amazing job as they did with all their great artists in the past. There could be no better home for our upcoming debut album 'Withstanding Voracity'."
Formed out of the ashes of the Austrian "supergroup" ESTATE, THE CASSIDY SCENARIO "break completely new grounds compared to their predecessors, musically and conceptually," according to a press release. "Influenced by bands such as WILL HAVEN, THIS IS HELL, MODERN LIFE IS WAR, POISON THE WELL and COMEBACK KID and with a restless 'on-the-road' attitude, the band's career will further accelerate."
ALESTORM released its debut album, "Captain Morgan's Revenge", in January through Napalm Records.
According to a press release, the quartet "plays Scottish 'pirate metal,' by their own definition, and musically resembles the great battle metal bands such as KORPIKLAANI or TURISAS, albeit with a unique touch and Scottish instrumentation."
METALLICA frontman James Hetfield joined reactivated NWOBHM legends SWEET SAVAGE (based in Belfast, Northern Ireland) on stage at their August 20, 2008 concert at Marlay Park in Dublin, Ireland (where they supported METALLICA) for a rendition of the SWEET SAVAGE classic "Killing Time". Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be viewed below.
METALLICA recorded a cover of "Killing Time" (co-written by current DEF LEPPARD guitarist Vivian Campbell, a former member of SWEET SAVAGE), which was included as the B-side to METALLICA's "The Unforgiven" single.
Guitarist Doc Coyle of the New Jersey metal titans GOD FORBID has issued the following update:
"I'm not sure if anyone cares about what I have to say on the matter, but I have to say that I am feeling the new METALLICA songs.
"First, we heard a live version of 'Cyanide' from Ozzfest. I wasn't really that into it, but it was a live version with not much production so I reserved judgement. Then a high-quality version of the live performance was released, and the song began to grow on me.
"Then 'The Day That Never Comes' is released as the single. I really didn't like this song much at first. Seemed not too hooky and overlong.
"A week and a half goes by, and I listen to the tracks again and I'm grooving out and enjoying the melodies and the overall vibe. [A few days ago], METALLICA released another new song 'My Apocalypse' which I liked instantly.
"My point is that some of my favorite records were ones that didn't grab me immediately, but had to grow on me. I think METALLICA's back catalog is so ingrained into our collective musical blueprint, that it's almost difficult to consider adding something new or unfamiliar into that context.
"I just can't wait to get the whole record and put this theory to test. The songs may be a little bloated. It does seem a bit like 'And Justice For Load...' but it might not be a bad thing. We'll see."
UK death metallers NAILED have set a November 3 release date for their long-overdue second album, "Hatred, Failure & The Extinction of Mankind". The CD is the band's debut for Anticulture Records and sees worldwide distribution through Plastic Head.
Commented the group: "We finished up recording and mixing this album back in July 2007, then we started shopping it to labels. In the middle of this, our guitarist left who we replaced with Jim, before getting picked up by Anticulture in late 2007/early 2008 and they set a May release date. During this time the artwork that we had for the CD was bought by Sony BMG, rendering it useless to us, so we had to get the artwork re-done by Marcelo HVC. This delay gave us the chance to remaster the album at the label's request and remove some samples that we were struggling to get clearance for, but lo and behold when we went back the studio had deleted the audio! Luckily, Andy Giblin had the rhythm guitars and drums saved in his personal archive, so we re-recorded the bass, vocals and solos in June of this year, remixed the album and remastered it. It sounds a whole lot better but it's been 18 months in the making, so we hope you fucking enjoy it!"
The Quietus conducted an interview with METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich earlier this week. An excerpt from the chat follows.
The Quietus: Rumor has it that you and MEGADETH's Dave Mustaine [former METALLICA guitarist] still aren't friends. Do you have a relationship?
Lars: "No. We did the movie ['Some Kind Of Monster', 2005], and as has been well documented, he was not pleased with what came in the movie and what came in the wake of it, and since then we haven't spoken. I'm sure we'll cross paths one day, and usually when we cross paths it's all OK. There's the public relationship and there's the private relationship. People say, 'Kerry King [SLAYER] and METALLICA — whoo!', but whenever I see Kerry King we hug, we laugh, we talk, we embrace. I haven't seen Dave since I filmed that scene in the movie, and I'm sure I'll see him again and maybe it won't be the same — but when did he leave the band, 24 years ago, 25 years ago? Every time I've seen him since then, it's always been, 'Hey, how are you doing? What's going on?' and then there's the shit-talking thing in the press, and then I see him three years later and it's fine again."
The Quietus: All this childish squabbling has been going on for decades. Can't you just call him and say, "Let's stop this now, once and for all?"
Lars: "Yeah, but I gotta tell you, honestly — I don't feel that I'm the instigator. I don't have a problem with him as much as I think he has a problem with me. I've always quite liked the guy. It has a tendency to depend on which mood he's in. If he's in happy-go-lucky mood, then it's 'Lars is OK, ha ha, the little Danish guy, we used to dig holes in the earth and smoke bongs,' or whatever, and if he's in a particular type of mood then it's 'Lars is a fuckin' asshole.' I can't control that, so when people say to me in an interview, 'Dave Mustaine says this and that and that'… I can take on anybody in verbal diarrhea match, but I don't feel the need to. I keep coming back to the statistics, which are interesting: he's never played on a METALLICA record, he was in the band for 10 months, 25 years ago! That's an amazing statistic when you think about it, and still METALLICA is such a prominent part of his existence. That's just mind-blowing, because he has made some of the best heavy metal records of all time. It blows my mind."
Finnish hard rock monsters LORDI have released the first photo (see below) of their new costumes via their official web site. All the costumes were designed by the group's mainman Mr. Lordi (real name: Tomi Putaansuu) and his wife and required several months to complete. Mr. Lordi's costume alone weighs more than 24 kilograms (approximately 53 pounds).
"We made five costumes and a spare for each member," Mr. Lordi says. "Since we needed to have the new costumes ready for the photo shoot to accompany the upcoming 'Deadache' album, we haven't been able to sleep been much lately."
LORDI's fourth studio album, "Deadache", will be released in the U.S. on October 28 and internationally in the same week. The Nino Laurenne-produced CD, much like its predecessors, is catchy, melodic hard rock, but this time around there is a rougher edge to the music.
A crucial element of LORDI's essence has always been the band's monster characters. As is customary for LORDI, the look of each character has been redesigned for this album; the new costumes will be revealed when LORDI headlines Popkomm in Berlin this October. Popkomm is where the world's music and entertainment business meets, each year it attracts over 10,000 music business professionals from all over the world.
"There are more horror themes on all levels than before," says Mr. Lordi. "The lyrics, in particular, are more like horror stories than before," he states.
Keyboardist Ms. Awa also promises something different. "The music is guitar-based rock, just the way a rock band should be. The album features sounds from the '80s: Hammond-style organs and a bit of ROB ZOMBIE style as well. All the experiences we've had and people we've met touring the world during the last few years have had their influences on the album."
The first single off the album, "Bite It Like A Bulldog", was serviced to Finnish radio last week. The song features a powerful bass line and was co-written by Mr. Lordi and bassist Mr. Ox.
Check out "Bite It Like a Bulldog" at ReverbNation.
LORDI's previous studio album, "The Arockalypse", has sold over 350,000 copies worldwide. The album has been released in over 30 countries, including the U.S. and Japan and the album has been certified over triple platinum in the band's home country of Finland, gold in Germany (100,000 units), and gold in Sweden (40,000 units). The single "Hard Rock Hallelujah" has achieved gold status in Germany (150,000 units). The new album, "Deadache", will be released in over 30 countries as well, including all of Europe, the U.S., and Japan.
"V.icious Circle - The 7 Seven Deadly Sins", the new video from German thrash metal veterans DESTRUCTION, can be viewed below. The track comes off the group's new album, "D.E.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N.", which was released on August 22 via AFM Records. Gary Holt (EXODUS) and Jeff Waters (ANNIHILATOR) have recorded guest appearances on the effort, which was made available in three different formats: standard CD, digipack and two-LP.
Commented DESTRUCTION frontman Marcel "Schmier" Schirmer: "Gary Holt and Jeff Waters play on 'Urge (The Greed Of Gain)'; the first solo is Gary, the second is Mike [Sifringer; DESTRUCTION guitarist], and the long third solo is Jeff. If you listen to his solo you'll know right away that it's him because he's got this picking style that gives you goosebumps."
"D.E.V.O.L.U.T.I.O.N." track listing:
01. D.evolution 02. E.levator To Hell 03. V.icious Circle - The 7 Seven Deadly Sins 04. O.ffenders Of The Throne 05. L.ast Desperate Scream 06. U.rge (The Greed Of Gain) 07. T.he Violation Of Morality 08. I.nner Indulgence 09. O.dyssey Of Frustration 10. N.o One Shall Survive
METALLICA guitarist/vocalist James Hetfield took part in a live interview with Anja Caspary of the German radio station Radio Eins on Monday, August 25. The chat is now available for download as an MP3 audio file at this location.
METALLICA recently posted another new song from its upcoming album, "Death Magnetic", at the band's official web site. Titled "My Apocalypse", the track closes the CD and is a fast thrash metal anthem in the style of vintage METALLICA numbers such as "Battery" and "Damage Inc." but without the thick, crunchy production that made those songs so undeniably powerful. The tune is the second new one to be heard from the album, following the release last week of the first official single, "The Day That Never Comes". "Death Magnetic" arrives worldwide on Friday, September 12.
A number of fans complained online about the sound quality of the streams and iTunes downloads of "The Day That Never Comes", with a member of the band's web site staff sending an e-mail message stating that the problem would be corrected. A new version of the track has since been released to iTunes, but the complaints are continuing to pour in via the band's official message board, with some fans seemingly upset over the band's silence regarding the issue.
Metal Storm conducted an interview with guitarist Marc Rizzo and bassist Johny Chow of CAVALERA CONSPIRACY at this year's Hellfest festival, which was held June 20-22, 2008 in Clisson, France. Watch the chat in two parts below.
"Inflikted", the debut album from CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, sold 9,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at No. 72 on The Billboard 200 chart.
Johny Chow (a.k.a. John Mark Bechtel; FIREBALL MINISTRY, SOULS OF WE, ex-SYSTEMATIC, MY RUIN) was recruited by CAVALERA CONSPIRACY to play bass on the group's European and U.S. tours as the replacement for Joe Duplantier of the French progressive death metallers GOJIRA. Duplantier, who laid down all the bass tracks on CAVALERA CONSPIRACY's debut album, "Inflikted", recently spent time in the studio working on the new GOJIRA CD and was unable to join CAVALERA CONSPIRACY on the road.
Chow played his first show with CAVALERA CONSPIRACY on May 30 at the Electric Weekend in Madrid, Spain.
AGE ETERNAL (formerly MIDDIAN), the band featuring former YOB leader Mike Scheidt, has issued the following update:
"AGE ETERNAL (MIDDIAN) is fucking dead.
"Our lawsuit [involving a Milwaukee-based band called MIDIAN over the use of the MIDDIAN name] is finally coming to a close. It has been a hard year, and we could not have done it without the support of the metal community world wide and the time and money people donated to our cause. We are eternally in your debt.
"Sadly, the lawsuit came with a high cost to us personally and interpersonally. Scott Headrick is quitting the band and moving. Mike S felt he needed to back off from touring due to family and work/lack of work issues, cutting his touring commitment from 60-70 shows a year to a handful of shows, mostly local to the West Coast, for an indefinite amount of time, maybe permanently.
"This extreme change in direction, coupled with the immense stress of our lawsuit and inner conflicts in the band resulted in Scott's decision to move on with his life. Scott Headrick is the highest caliber of person. We mourn his loss, and support his need to take care of himself.
"We are very sad to share this news about AGE ETERNAL, but are confident that it must and will open the doors for new music creation and growth.
"Will Lindsay and Mike S will continue to write music with the goal of recording and doing some shows, under another name, as a new band and not AGE ETERNAL. And with Will's now full-time commitment playing guitar with the immaculate WOLVES IN THE THRONEROOM, people should be expecting to see him in their hometown in the USA and abroad very soon.
"News regarding the reformation of YOB, including a small number of shows and a new recording, shall be announced officially soon.
"Once again, we cannot thank the metal community and people who donated their money and time enough. We feel extremely fortunate to be a part of such a quality group of people, and we will pay your kindness and generosity forward."
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