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20 авг 2011


MIKE PORTNOY On ADRENALINE MOB: It Doesn\'t Have Much In Common With The Term \'Progressive\'Angela Villand of Hard-Rock-Reviews.com recently conducted an interview with drummer Mike Portnoy (DREAM THEATER, AVENGED SEVENFOLD) about ADRENALINE MOB, his new band with SYMPHONY X frontman Russell Allen, guitar virtuoso Mike Orlando (SONIC STOMP), bassist Paul DiLeo and STUCK MOJO/FOZZY axeman Rich Ward. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
Hard-Rock-Reviews.com: You've assembled many side projects and musical endeavors over the years. But ADRENALINE MOB is something that was brought to you, by a friend and fellow musician, Russell Allen. How did this project unfold?
Portnoy: Unlike most of my other bands and projects, I was not the matchmaker; I was actually one of the chosen ones (by them). It began with Mike Orlando and Russell Allen, who were already working on the material for at least a year prior to my involvement. Russell and I had been friends for many, many years because I took SYMPHONY X out with DREAM THEATER on a couple of different tours, and he and I became good friends and always wanted to work together. Anyways, once my time with DREAM THEATER and AVENGED SEVENFOLD ended, and Russ knew that I was "available," he contacted me, and played me some of the stuff that he and Mike Orlando had been working on. Within literally one minute of hearing the first tune, I knew I was on board, and I immediately loved the whole vibe and the sound of it. So, once I came on board, the three of us kind of became the nucleus of the band, and at that point we brought Paul DiLeo and Rich Ward into the fold as well. That's how it all came together.
Hard-Rock-Reviews.com: Was it anything like what you expected from those guys?
Portnoy: You know, when Russ mentioned wanting to do something with me, I kind of expected it was going to be "SYMPHONY X-esque," and I think even a lot of fans that are coming into ADRENALINE MOB are expecting it to sound like SYMPHONY X or DREAM THEATER, but obviously, it's not. It's a completely different beast and a completely different style and genre. To me, that was so refreshing and exciting. The minute I heard the song "Undaunted", I knew I was on board because it was just crushing grooves and riffs. After my time with AVENGED SEVENFOLD on the Rockstar Energy Drink Uproar Tour, touring with bands like STONE SOUR, DISTURBED, HELLYEAH, you know, the whole Uproar experience was such a pleasure to me that I knew one of the next things I was going to do musically needed to be something that was stylistically in that sound and vein.
Hard-Rock-Reviews.com: Fans and new listeners may be expecting something from the "progressive" genre, especially since both you and Russell Allen have spent most of your careers in that arena of style. How would you describe the music you've created in ADRENALINE MOB to someone that hasn't heard it yet?
Portnoy: I would absolutely not put the term progressive on this band at all, because we're not. It's not anything like DREAM THEATER or SYMPHONY X. It's just straight-ahead metal. I don't know — what would you classify PANTERA or BLACK LABEL SOCIETY as? I don't know — whatever that is, I think that's what this is; its crushing riffs, big grooves and shredding. I mean, the only elements of progressive that this band has is the fact that the players can shred, but realistically, stylistically it doesn't have much in common with the term "progressive." I think people need to know right out of the gates that this is not gonna be DREAM THEATER or SYMPHONY X territory; it's something else entirely. If you like PANTERA, ALICE IN CHAINS, stuff like that, you know — this is what this is all about. The fact is — this is a whole other side of myself and Russell Allen. 15
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20 авг 2011


MASTERPLAN Mainman Discusses Forthcoming Album In New Audio Interview Tina Kilianová of the Czech web portal Kultura21.cz recently conducted an interview with guitarist Roland Grapow of German/Norwegian melodic metallers MASTERPLAN. You can now listen to the chat using the audio player below. A couple of excerpts follow.
On the status of the songwriting sessions for MASTERPLAN's forthcoming album:
"This time we tried not to make demo productions, which have a poor sound — so we wanted to make really nice pre-production [recordings] which sound very close to the album sound, which is very easy [to do] in my studio now. I think we have many, many new ideas which, I guess, are a little bit more modern and more aggressive as well. So we try not to follow any trends of MASTERPLAN — I'm not saying we're reproducing the first album or the third one or the fifth one. I think we always have to try to make some surprises for the people. The 'Time To Be King' album is great, but this new album sounds a bit different again. I always want to do this, because I'm not that kind of guy who wants to make every year the same album."
On the band's numerous lineup changes:
"I think it's always difficult in this band, I guess. If you see, the first album just came out after a big turbulence — leaving HELLOWEEN, Uli [Kusch, drums] and me. I think this band always needs some very bad moments to some great songs. [Laughs] And it looks like MASTERPLAN, basically, is my main band, and whoever will sing and whoever will play in the band, I'm happy with, or if Jorn [Lande, vocals] will stay as long as possible. But, basically, at the moment, I'm thinking the main songwriters are Axel [Mackenrott, keyboards] now and me. Also Jan [S. Eckert], the bass player, who was very involved in different in projects and has a great job now, just called me one week ago. He's happy to continue with MASTERPLAN and he's looking forward to the next album and the next tour next year, hopefully. So whatever happens, this band will continue. I'm still very positive. I'm a little bit tired of producing bands the last three years in my studio and I want to continue now with my career in MASTERPLAN. It's very important for me to show that we still have the power and the ability to write beautiful melodies and some aggression and rock and metal songs. Whatever we do, we want just to make good-quality stuff." 1
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20 авг 2011


EISBRECHER - verschieben Album und Tournee!Die Münchner Electro Rocker von EISBRECHER verlegen ihre lang erwartete Tournee von November 2011 auf Februar 2012. Alle bereits gekaufte Konzertkarten behalten ihre Gültigkeit.
Auch die Veröffentlichung des neuen Albums, das bereits für November angekündigt war, schiebt sich auf Anfang 2012. Das exklusive Gipfelkonzert auf Deutschlands höchstem Berg, der Zugspitze, am 5. November 2011, ist von den Verschiebungen jedoch nicht betroffen. Es findet wie geplant statt.
“Jetzt ist es also passiert. EISKALT ERWISCHT!", so Frontmann Alexx Wesselsky zu der notwendigen Planänderung. “Wir verschieben zum allerersten Mal in unserem Bandleben eine Tour. Von November 2011 auf Februar 2012.
Es uns tut wirklich sehr leid für alle, die sehnsüchtig auf neues Material und neue Shows von uns warten, schon Tickets gekauft haben und jetzt mit dieser ärgerlichen Änderung konfrontiert werden. Aber: es geht leider nicht anders! Keine Sorge, es geht uns gut, das Album wird gewaltig! Es liegt auch nicht daran, dass wir jetzt bei "Columbia"-Records sind… Es sind, wie so oft im Leben eine Reihe von Umständen, die uns zu diesem schweren Schritt zwingen! Das Frühjahr 2012 gehört Euch mit uns, und wenn uns der Himmel nicht auf den Kopf fällt und uns kein Eisbär in den Meeresgrund rammt, dann werdet Ihr für den Aufschub und den Orga-Stress mehr als entschädigt! Auf kalt°!”
Nach einigen grandiosen Festival Auftritten in diesem Jahr und einem exklusiven Gipfelgig auf Deutschland höchstem Berg, der Zugspitze, werden EISBRECHER keine Konzerte bis Februar 2012 mehr spielen.
Bestätigte EISBRECHER Konzertdaten 2011 / 2012:
05.11.2011 D- Garmisch-Partenkirchen | Zugspitze (2962m) - *exklusives Gipfelkonzert*
Ab 01.09. exklusiver Ticketvorverkauf nur über www.protain-ticket.de.
Konzertkarten sind auf 300 Stück limitiert!
16.02.2012 D- Hamburg | Docks
17.02.2012 D- Dresden | Alter Schlachthof
18.02.2012 D- Berlin | Huxley's Neue Welt
19.02.2012 D- Hannover | Capitol ( Zusatzkonzert! )
21.02.2012 A- Wien | Arena
23.02.2012 D- München | Backstage Werk
24.02.2012 D- Nürnberg | Löwensaal
25.02.2012 D- Erfurt | Stadtgarten ( Zusatzkonzert! )
26.02.2012 D- Magdeburg | Factory ( Zusatzkonzert! )
29.02.2012 D- Dortmund | FZW ( Zusatzkonzert! )
01.03.2012 D- Köln | Live Music Hall
02.03.2012 D- Kaiserslautern | Kammgarn
03.03.2012 CH- Pratteln | Z7
04.03.2012 D- Stuttgart | LKA Longhorn
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19 авг 2011


CANNIBAL CORPSE, BEHEMOTH To Join Forces For \'Full Of Hate\' European Tour CANNIBAL CORPSE, BEHEMOTH, LEGION OF THE DAMNED, MISERY INDEX, SUICIDAL ANGELS and a to-be-announced "special guest" will join forces the "Full Of Hate 2012" European tour.
The dates are as follows:
Feb. 09 - Hamburg, Germany - Markthalle
Feb. 10 - Oberhausen, Germany - Turbinenhalle
Feb. 11 - Stuttgart, Germany - LKA Longhorn
Feb. 12 - Enschede, Netherlands - Atak
Feb. 13 - Paris, France - Bataclan
Feb. 14 - Saarbrücken, Germany - Garage
Feb. 15 - Pratteln, Switzerland - Z7
Feb. 16 - Milan, Italy - Live Club
Feb. 17 - Wien, Austria - Arena
Feb. 18 - München, Germany - Backstage
Feb. 19 - Antwerpen, Belgium - Trix
Feb. 21 - Bologna, Italy - Estragon
Feb. 22 - Bratislava, Slovakia - Majestic Music Club
Feb. 23 - Prague, Czech Republic - KD Vltavska
Feb. 24 - Linz, Austria - Posthof
Feb. 25 - Geiselwind, Germany - Music Hall
Feb. 27 - Stockholm, Sweden - Münchenbryggeriet
Feb. 28 - Gothenburg, Sweden - Trädgårn
Feb. 29 - Aarhus, Denmark - Voxhall
Mar. 01 - Berlin, Germany - Postbahnhof
Mar. 02 - Leipzig, Germany - Hellraiser
Mar. 03 - Giessen, Germany - Hessenhalle
Mar. 04 - Tilburg, Netherlands - O13 (Neurotic Deathfest) 22
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19 авг 2011


CRYPTOPSY Singer Launches Side-Project: THE ERA OFTHE ERA OF, the Montreal, Quebec, Canada-based progressive rock quartet featuring CRYPTOPSY frontman Matt McGachy, has completed work on its debut album, "Pelican Beach". Independently produced, the effort will be available for free download via the group's official web site, TheEraOf.com, in September.
Comprised of members of established bands — including CRYPTOPSY, A TEXAS FUNERAL and DOWNLINE — THE ERA OF has been described as a combination of 30 SECONDS TO MARS, A PERFECT CIRCLE and RUSH. Matt states, "We have blended epic build-ups, soaring choruses and uplifting rock outs into our own eclectic style. From a lyrical standpoint, our album explores the impact of an apocalyptic disaster through the eyes of different inhabitants of the city of Pelican Beach.
"Although music is the driving force behind our creative process, THE ERA OF has expanded upon our narrative concept by writing a compilation of short stories to be released alongside the album. These stories were conceived in fonction of the length of the songs to enhance the listener's experience."
Regarding how the launch of THE ERA OF affects his standing with CRYPTOPSY, McGachy states, "CRYPTOPSY fans need not worry: With the return of Jon Levasseur [guitar], we have been writing some of the most brutal material I have ever heard. Jon has been a pleasure to play with, and the connection between him and Flo [Mounier, drums] is undeniable. We are now hard at work preparing a new CRYPTOPSY album, to be released in 2012."
THE ERA OF will perform at the "Pelican Beach" CD-release party on September 9 at L'Alizé in Montreal. 9
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19 авг 2011


EXUMER Mixing New AlbumGerman thrashers EXUMER are "in the final stages of mixing" their new album their first album in 24 years. The CD was recorded at a studio in Dortmund, Germany with producer Waldemar Sorychta (GRIP INC., ENEMY OF THE SUN, VOODOOCULT, THERION, TIAMAT, MOONSPELL) and will feature artwork by Baptiste Treton, a French-born artist who resides in Vietnam.
Commented EXUMER vocalist Mem V. Stein: "We basically took off from playing live for this entire year in order to concentrate solely on writing, recording and mixing this record.
"Waldemar was the most logical choice for us in regards to producing this very important album. We heard what he had done with the last SODOM album and we all agreed that he is capable of preserving the spirit of a 1980s thrash band but still make them sound relevant today. That is exactly what we envision for EXUMER. We became quite confident that we will achieve this objective after meeting Waldemar earlier this year and trust his intuition as a producer, songwriter and musician, as well as his ability to push EXUMER's envelope when it is necessary."
EXUMER began negotiating with several labels to release the upcoming CD and will announce the album's title once a record deal has been secured. 2
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19 авг 2011


At Least 3 Dead, 70 Injured After Storm Hits Belgium\'s PUKKELPOP Festival At least three people were killed when stage equipment, towers, a tent and a tree collapsed earlier today after a wind and hail storm hit the Pukkelpop festival in Hasselt, Belgium. In addition, more than 70 people were injured and the festival was halted, with as many as 60,000 attendees having left the mud-filled grounds, according to the Associated Press.
Chokri Mahassine, the organizer of the festival, told reporters "we have for now put the festival on hold until we understand the situation completely."
DEFTONES, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, BRING ME THE HORIZON, SUICIDIAL TENDENCIES, APOCALYPTICA and WITHIN TEMPTATION are among the artists who were scheduled to perform at this year's edition of Pukkelpop, an annual festival which was launched in 1985.
Last weekend, a stage collapsed at the Indiana State Fair and sent steel scaffolding into the crowd below, killing five people and injuring dozens more.
On July 17, CHEAP TRICK barely avoided being crushed when the stage at the Ottawa Bluesfest collapsed during a storm. A few were injured, but no one was killed. 11
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18 авг 2011


\'Metal Bible\' Finally Available In EnglishAfter years of hard work, the Metal Bible has finally been released in both English and German.
The Metal Bible was made available in time for the Wacken Open Air festival in Germany, where more than 12,000 copies were distributed.
Over 60,000 copies of the Metal Bible's Swedish version have been made available since its first edition was published in 2005. It was also printed in Dutch.
According to a press release, the Metal Bible "is a cool special Bible edition that besides (New Testament) also features plenty of metalheads that share their life stories and talk about what God and the Bible means to them. The cover, all layout, fonts, pictures, etc., of the extra 128 pages are also done in true metal style, making it the ultimate Bible for any metal fan, showing that the Bible is a cool book also for people into metal music."
Featured musicians:
* Nicko McBrain (IRON MAIDEN)
* Dave Ellefson (MEGADETH)
* Peter Baltes (ACCEPT)
* Brian Welch (KORN)
* Tommy Aldridge (WHITESNAKE)
* Michael Sweet (STRYPER)
* Ted Kirkpatrick (TOURNIQUET)
* Rob Rock
* Matthew Smith (THEOCRACY)
* Steve Rowe (MORTIFICATION)
* Simon "Pilgrim" Rosen (CRIMSON MOONLIGHT)
Previews of the Metal Bible:
* English
* German21
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18 авг 2011


LIZZY BORDEN Guitarist DARIO LORINA: JANI LANE \'Made My Dream Come True\' LIZZY BORDEN's 21-year-old guitarist Dario Lorina, who has previously played with late WARRANT singer Jani Lane, has released the following statement:
"I would first like to thank all of you for your kind words and support with the passing of my friend and confidant, Jani.
"He influenced my life in so many ways. He gave me a chance. He gave me confidence. He made my dream come true. From my 16th year of life, my high school graduation, through my 18th birthday, all of which was spent on stage with him, he was a prominent part of my life and years of growing up. He gave me memories I will never forget. He gave me guidance and advice.
"Jani, you will be greatly missed and I thank you from the bottom of my heart.
"As he would sign... 'Tomorrow is a gift.'
"With love, D."
Video footage of Lorina performing with Lane can be seen below.
At age 16, Lorina was recognized for his passion and what some may call exceptional talent, and began touring with Lane. During that time Dario strongly created a reputation and name for himself as a player and gained the respect of many, thus giving him the opportunity to play with various notable artists.
Dario has been touring consistently throughout the USA and Europe since 2006.
An autopsy performed Friday on Lane proved inconclusive pending the results of toxicology tests, according to the Los Angeles County coroner's office.
Assistant Chief Coroner Ed Winter says it may take seven or eight weeks to finalize the cause of death.
Investigators found a half-empty bottle of vodka and prescription medication in the hotel room where Lane was discovered dead on Thursday (August 11), according to TMZ.com.
A public memorial with performances by fellow metal rock bands including GREAT WHITE and L.A. GUNS will be held in Hollywood on August 24 at a venue to be announced later, the singer's manager and longtime friend Obi Steinman said. 1
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18 авг 2011


QUIET RIOT Movie: New Trailer ReleasedA new three-minute teaser for "Well Now You're Here There's No Way Back - The Quiet Riot Story" can be seen below.
The synopsis for the film, which will be released through the festival circuit in 2012: "Our story follows Frankie Banali, a world-renowned drummer you probably remember from the '80s band QUIET RIOT. As a single soccer dad in the suburbs, his long hair and tattoos frighten the neighbors, but to other drummers he's a hero. His career took a major sideswipe when his singer Kevin Dubrow died in 2007. At a crossroads in his life, he must forge ahead and make a new life for himself and his daughter.
"This film takes a trip back through time to the decade of debauchery and decadence. Real home videos shot backstage, on the tour bus, in the recording studio, and in hotel rooms with one of the '80s top platinum-selling bands and most notorious bad boys. Never-before-seen footage from the milestones in Frankie's long career in music and his personal life now. Funny and deeply personal and poignant exploration of Frankie's longtime friendship with his bandmate Kevin Dubrow. The loss of his close friend and his career as he knew it, and his life after Kevin. Follow his journey at his current moment of truth. As he goes through the ups and downs of having to fill the void left by his singer and friend Kevin Dubrow and continue on with QUIET RIOT."
Without a doubt, THE heavy metal success story of the early '80s was none other than QUIET RIOT. After years of struggling in Los Angeles clubs (despite legendary guitarist Randy Rhoads being in their ranks throughout the '70s), the classic QUIET RIOT lineup of Kevin Dubrow (vocals), Frankie Banali (drums), Rudy Sarzo (bass), and Carlos Cavazo (guitar) hit mega-success with their first-ever U.S. release in 1983, the classic "Metal Health". Spawning two hit singles that have gone on to become synonymous with heavy metal — "Cum On Feel the Noize" and "Metal Health" — the "Metal Health" album went on to become the first-ever metal U.S. debut to hit the No. 1 spot on the Billboard album chart, and resulted in a solid year of sold-out shows and non-stop MTV video airplay.
Despite this being an absolute standout era of the band's career, very little substantial video documentation has surfaced. That is...until now.
The video footage — directly from Banali's archives — will include the aforementioned performance in 1980 through some of the last shows QR played, including footage of their Rocklahoma performance in 2007. Additional video footage captures QR in many phases, including a 1982 performance of DUBROW (a short-lived name QUIET RIOT went by in the early '80s), with Dubrow, Banali, bassist Chuck Wright (Sarzo was playing in Ozzy Osbourne's band at the time), and Cavazo's first video performance with the band, his second total. Also included will be live performances, backstage footage, sound checks, studio sessions, and interviews — most of which has never been seen.
As Banali says, "The moment my friend Kevin Dubrow died, my life and career went from sixty to zero with his final breath." But now, Dubrow and QUIET RIOT will receive a much-deserved video retrospective, that will leave no stone unturned. Get ready to bang your head and feel the noize once more!" 1
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