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19 ôåâ 2019


ANTROPOMORPHIA Reveal Merciless Savagery Details; Title Track StreamingOn April 5th, AntropomorphiA will release their new album, Merciless Savagery, via Metal Blade Records. The title track is streaming below. Find preorders at MetalBlade.com.
Album formats:
–Digipak-CD
–180g black vinyl (EU exclusive)
–grey marbled vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 200 copies)
–dead gold marbled vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 200 copies)
–black/white splatter vinyl (EU exclusive - limited to 120 copies)
–brown marbled vinyl (US exclusive - limited to 100 copies)
In the year marking the 10th anniversary of their reunion, AntropomorphiA has delivered an extreme metal opus that more than maintains the high standards upheld over the course of their storied career. Further building on the monstrous sounds of 2017's Sermon Ov Wrath, Merciless Savagery lives up to its name, attacking with unrepentant ferocity and holding nothing back. Vocalist/guitarist Ferry Damen comments: "'Sermon Ov Wrath was our most raw and honest statement and an album where we transcended certain genre limitations, capturing the essence of AntropomorphiA, and I would say the new record's atmosphere is darker, heavier and more punishing, but still has hooky riffs and grooves. I think it's the logical step forward. It’s a different chapter, even more diverse while being very cohesive, but you can immediately hear it’s AntropomorphiA."
Prior to Sermon Ov Wrath, Damen never felt that AntropomorphiA's music called for female vocals, but this time around, he had the specific intention to bring in someone to add this extra dimension: the track "Luciferian Tempest" features a guest appearance from Farida Lemouchi (The Devil's Blood, Molasses), bringing a different feel to the song. "I think our fans know what to expect from us, they know our sound and know that we are not that generic extreme metal band," Damen explains. "We paint with a dark pallet, but we paint with lots of shades of darkness."
Tracklisting:
“Merciless Savagery”
“Requiem Diabolica”
“Womb Ov Thorns”
“Cahtedral Ov Tombs”
“Apocalyptic Scourge”
“Wailing Chorus Ov The Damned”
“Luciferian Tempest”
“The Darkest Light”
“Unsettling Voices”
“Merciless Savagery”:
AntropomorphiA line-up:
Ferry Damen - vocals, guitar
Jos van den Brand - guitar
Jeroen Pleunis - bass
Marco Stubbe – drums
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19 ôåâ 2019


MICHAEL ANTHONY Was Contacted By VAN HALEN's Management Six Months Ago About Possible Reunion Tour, Says SAMMY HAGARMichael Anthony was contacted by VAN HALEN's management half a year ago about reuniting with the band for a tour, Sammy Hagar has revealed.
A recent rumor has suggested that the original VAN HALEN lineup — including Anthony, who has not played with the band since 2004 — will reunite in 2019 for a run of stadium shows. This would be the first time that the four founding members of the band, including singer David Lee Roth, guitarist Eddie Van Halen and drummer Alex Van Halen, perform together since 1984.
During an appearance earlier today (Wednesday, February 13) on the "Trunk Nation" show on SiriusXM satellite radio, former VAN HALEN singer Sammy Hagar, who plays with Anthony in THE CIRCLE and CHICKENFOOT, said that Michael has been kept mostly in the dark about the possibility of the bassist being involved in a VAN HALEN comeback tour.
"As usual, Mike's hearing about it through the news, just like the way he heard about when Wolfie [Eddie Van Halen's son, Wolfgang Van Halen] replaced him [back in 2007]," Hagar said. "It was, like, 'Oh, I guess I'm not in VAN HALEN anymore.' He read about it instead of these knuckleheads giving him a call and just being straight upfront with him. So Mikey's still sitting in that same position again to where all these rumors are going around."
Having said that, Hagar said that he is "sure [the VAN HALEN camp is] trying to put something together. Whether or not it's gonna materialize, I wouldn't have a clue; it's nothing to do with me," he said. "But I told Mike, 'If this happens, you freakin' have my blessings. You go do this. You're a founding member in that band.' And for the fans, he needs to do it. He is the missing element right now. If you want my opinion, without Mike, it just doesn't seem quite the same. Mikey, he's the flag bearer — he walks out there with the flag, the VH flag. He holds it high, like the guy in the cavalry. And he's a special guy and he has my blessings. And when they're done, [THE CIRCLE will] go back out — if they do it; if it happens."
Seemingly addressing the rumor that a VAN HALEN reunion tour with Anthony would see the bassist splitting the set with Wolfgang, Hagar added: "The things I've been reading, it aint gonna happen," Hagar continued. "They think Mikey's gonna come out and do his bass solo with the Jack Daniel's bass and say goodbye and stand on the side of the stage and watch Wolfie play his songs all night. I mean, I don't think the fans are gonna go for that either. That'd be real hard on little Wolf — he don't deserve that. So I don't know what to think. Maybe it's just a rumor. Who knows? Those guys, they don't tell me nothing, 'cause I don't wanna know. But you'd think they'd at least tell Mike. [Laughs]"
Hagar went on to say that he is "not trying to hide anything" about what he knows regarding Anthony's status with VAN HALEN. "Mike and I have had the conversation," he confirmed. "I'm telling you, Mike don't know shit. They're gonna have to eventually… Somebody's gonna have to give the guy a call. I mean, he got a call six months ago from [VAN HALEN's] management saying, 'Are you interested?' And he said, 'Yeah. I'm doing a record with Sammy right now. We're booking shows, so you'd have to work around it.' And they said, 'Okay. We'll get back to you.' And that was it. I can tell you that much."
Sammy repeated that Anthony "totally" has his blessings to play with VAN HALEN again if the opportunity presents itself. "I'm an easygoing guy," Hagar said. "First of all, I don't wanna go out and play six months. So [THE CIRCLE is] gonna go out and play a couple of months. And if this happens, he can go play with [VAN HALEN] a couple of months, and then I'll go out in the fall again for a couple of months. I just know that Mike's committed to these shows we've got going on right here. If those guys get it together, a hundred percent he has my blessings. I love the guy. And I think he knows that THE CIRCLE is really important for his long-term thing, because VAN HALEN is so sporadic."
During an appearance at last month's NAMM show in Anaheim, California, Anthony told Music Radar that he wasn't opposed to reuniting with VAN HALEN. "I'm a 'never say never' guy," he said. "At this point… I don't know what kind of rumors are floating around or whatever, but I personally haven't been contacted by them yet or anything. So, at this point, nothing is happening. But you never know."
The rumors stem from a recent interview Roth did, as well as a report from radio personality Eddie Trunk. Roth hinted to Vulture that the band would "come back through town in the summertime and do the original thing, maybe somewhere sportin', maybe with somebody famous…. next time my rock band will be playing the same place that the Yankees play."
Meanwhile, on his SiriusXM show, Trunk said that he heard from reliable sources that the band would tour in 2019 with Anthony back in the fold. He explained, "Every year there’s some rumor about VAN HALEN about to do something or announce something, and ultimately it just doesn't happen. But, a little more so than normal as we close out 2018, I'm starting to hear some rumblings."
He went on to say: "The rumors from reliable sources — but still rumors that are unconfirmed — is that the band will tour in 2019 with the original band, which would mean the return of Michael, and that it’s gonna be some sort of stadium package."
VAN HALEN and Anthony have not been on good terms for more than a decade, with Anthony not invited to join the reunion with Roth that began in 2007. The subsequent two tours and studio album, "A Different Kind Of Truth", featured Wolfgang on bass.
Anthony has said that a reunion of the original VAN HALEN lineup would be an opportunity for "closure." He told The Pulse Of Radio not long ago that he's ambivalent about playing VAN HALEN songs live even though he still feels like he has "ownership" of the old songs. "Part ownership, anyway," he said. "I was part of it. You know, that's kind of one of the reasons why I've never wanted to like actually put a [solo] thing together and go out and play like that. I know Roth did it for quite some time. But you know, to me, I mean, that's basically, that's VAN HALEN's stuff, and it's best left to VAN HALEN doing it."
Anthony took a pay cut and signed away all of his rights to the band name and logo in order to participate in the 2004 tour, which featured Hagar.
Thanks: Bob Suehs of Rock N Roll Experience
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19 ôåâ 2019


HELLYEAH Bassist On VINNIE PAUL's Death: 'It Was Awful'HELLYEAH bassist Kyle Sanders says that "everything was put on hold" with the band following the death of Vinnie Paul Abbott. Last June, the drummer died from cardiomyopathy, or an enlarged heart, with coronary artery disease being identified as a significant condition in his death.
Sanders, who launched Let There Be Rock Schools in Gainesville, Georgia while HELLYEAH was taking a break, told the Gainesville Times about his friend's passing: "It was just heavy. It was awful. And dealing with that, everything was put on hold because we weren't sure what was going to happen. Everyone was dealing with it in their own ways and then a light just went off. I was talking to a friend and I was like, 'This is the time to start [the rock music school].'"
Let There Be Rock Schools, which is described as "a combination music lesson facility and rock and roll community center," will hold its grand opening on St. Patrick's Day weekend in mid-March.
"I don't know what to expect," Sanders said. "Everybody I've talked to — of course the kids are excited, but even the parents — are like, 'That's awesome.' They're excited about it."
Not long before his death, Vinnie laid down the drum tracks for HELLYEAH's sixth album, which is due later this year.
Like the last two records, 2016's "Unden!able" and 2014's "Blood For Blood", the new disc was recorded at The Hideout Recording Studio in Las Vegas, Nevada with producer Kevin Churko.
In late June 2018, singer Chad Gray released a statement on the death of Vinnie Paul, saying that dealing with his passing "has been one of the toughest things I've ever had to face in my life. I'm so confused, sad and as helpless as I've ever been," he said. "I'm at a loss and completely devastated. But I'm trying. It's the equivalent of an emotional riot in my head and in my heart as I write this. But I'm trying to focus on anything good. I know Vinnie would want that. And the good things are my memories of him. His smile, his infectious laugh and his personality that beamed light."
Gray added: "I just want to say, thank you, Vinnie Paul! For saving my life, for your music, for your endless generosity, for accepting me into your life, for creating our music that touched people, for being proud to be in HELLYEAH and for always treating me like a brother and more importantly for treating me like a friend... I will always love you and go to the end of the earth to carry the torch for you and Dime's legacy."
Sanders is a former member of BLOODSIMPLE, the New York-based band founded in 2002 from the remains of legendary New York hardcore act VISION OF DISORDER.
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19 ôåâ 2019


IN FLAMES' ANDERS FRIDÉN: 'I Will Never Go Back And Do Another 'The Jester Race' Or 'Whoracle''France's United Rock Nations recently conducted an interview with frontman Anders Fridén of Swedish metallers IN FLAMES. You can watch the entire chat below. A few excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).
On how he feels about about IN FLAMES' upcoming studio album, "I, The Mask":
Anders: "I have a great feeling every time we release an album. I think that's the way it should be. Otherwise, you're on the wrong track. Honestly, I do feel that every time because we create the music, we record the music, when we feel great, we leave it to the record company and it's out of our hands. Then, we start touring and eventually, we want to have more songs to play live, then we go for the next one. I feel really good. I think this album represents IN FLAMES in the best possible way, how we are right now. It has elements that we are known for: melody, aggression, big choruses and everything."
On how he has evolved as a vocalist:
Anders: "I don't know. I mean, we just want to make good music. I don't really think about the audience at that point when we're writing. It's for us. Yeah, I have to sing something that works with the music. It's always a combination. There are times where, in my head, [I think] 'Let's do this type of vocals.' As soon as the riff starts developing, then maybe that doesn't work or sometimes I am doing a vocal that we need to change the guitars underneath instead because it should fit the vocals. It's always back and forth, back and forth. Don't get me wrong: I love the audience and that's why we're here and able to do this and that's why you are here and why you guys are watching. But, when we create the music, it's for us. We have to be happy. I live and die by the music. That's it."
On whether he agrees with the notion that "I, The Mask" is more guitar-oriented than 2016's "Battles":
Anders: "I agree in many ways. There's equally much as of the electronics, it's just in the production. It's great that you say it's more guitar-oriented. There's as much guitar as on 'Battles', but the production, the mix, it's different. It's sort of the only thing we said prior to the album because we don't have big meetings about what we should do or shouldn't do, we just go with the flow. We said, 'Let's move the guitars a little bit forward in the mix.' Chris Lord-Alge, who mixed it, did a great job. Howard [Benson, producer] and Mike Plotnikoff, the whole team helped us with a great tone and everything. Sure, looking at 'Battles', I think it's as good as it can be. We love it, but it's more laid back compared to 'I, The Mask', for instance."
On the ongoing debate from those who prefer IN FLAMES' original melodic death metal sound to their newer, more modern sound:
Anders: "I hear it when I do interviews, when I get questions, but I don't follow what's going on. Of course, I'm aware, but it's not a debate I have. I mean, I've given up a long time [ago]. I know I can't win. I do what I do and I create music and I have a good time and if people like us, that's great and if they don't, whatever. I can't do anything. If somebody says something, I can't go home to them and knock on their door and try to convince them my way is the right way. No. I will never go back and do another 'The Jester Race' or 'Whoracle' or 'Colony' or 'Clayman'. It wouldn't be right. It wouldn't be true to that album. That album is perfect in every way. If I try to go back 20 years and try to recreate something when I'm in a whole different state of mind, that wouldn't do it justice. It would just only be bad. I love those albums; don't get me wrong. Every single album led up to where we are today. To me, it's totally fine if you like one album or only like one song. At least you like something. I can't do it. This is where we are right now and the way we right music is sort of the same. It's sort of the same mentality. It's all about the melody, all the time."
On the album artwork for "I, The Mask", which re-imagines the band's longtime "Jesterhead" logo/mascot:
Anders: "We all carry masks. You, I, you people out there. We all do for certain situations. A lot of people, there are very few people that are always themselves, all the time. We adapt ourselves to the people around us, to the situation around us. We carry those masks and not show our true inner selves. We might be carrying a black hole inside or we try to pretend like everything is great because we don't dare to explain and sometimes, we don't want to be that boring, sad person that drags everybody down by saying, 'Oh, I'm not feeling good today.' Usually, you wake up and somebody asks and you're, like, 'It's okay.' You're not explaining the whole, 'No, I feel like shit.' I think it's very important that we do open up and we learn about ourselves and learn a way to get out these feelings and create a better — become better people, in general. We all carry those masks to adapt to the situation. The look of the album, it's a story — it's a 'Jesterboy' and he's wearing this mask and you get to see a story, a super-cool story and really nicely done by [artist] Blake Armstrong. We hung out; he's living in Los Angeles and he got to hear the first demos and he was coming up with ideas immediately and we were bouncing ideas back and forth. He did an amazing job. It's this 'Jesterboy' who, he got abused by his dad and so he wanted to [seek] revenge on his dad but accidentally killed his brother while burning down the house his dad was in. To deal with the guilt and everything, he took on his persona of the mask with the jester and he starts fighting demons to deal with everything in his imaginary world. It's the first time we sort of gave the 'Jester' a body, but it's not the 'Jester' you know, it's just using this 'Jester' as a mask to shield himself from the outside and deal with all the bad things and the guilt and the darkness."
"I, The Mask" will be released on March 1 via Nuclear Blast (worldwide, excluding North America) and Eleven Seven Music (North America). 13
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19 ôåâ 2019


Which MEGADETH Album Does DAVID ELLEFSON Like Better: 'Risk' Or 'Super Collider'?During a recent appearance on "The Metal Sucks Podcast", David Ellefson was asked which of the two most consistently maligned MEGADETH albums he prefers: 2013's "Super Collider" or 1999's "Risk".
"It's funny," the bassist responded (hear audio below). "The 'Risk' songs worked great acoustically — these really simple singer-songwriter kind of songs almost. 'Super Collider' has a lot of really heavy stuff on it. It's definitely a much heavier record.
"I think with 'Super Collider', the setup and the launch of that record, I think, is what really polarized that album with the fans," he continued. "Had we led with kind of the traditional format, which is you come out with a heavy track and then you move to the single — if we had come out with 'Kingmaker' and then moved to 'Super Collider', that record would have been received completely different. Because first impressions are lasting impressions.
"There was this big wait — MEGADETH were doing the 'Big Four'; we did all this big stuff, SLAYER, MEGADETH and ANTHRAX tours again; we're back on top as this real thrash band; and then, all of a sudden, the next song people hear from us is the 'Super Collider' track. It was, like, 'Woah! What the hell happened?' And 'Super Collider' is a perfectly fine song, if it was the second song you heard. But to come out of the gate swinging with something like 'Kingmaker' would have set an entirely different precedent. So it's amazing how you can skew public opinion by what you see and hear first."
Ellefson added: "I think 'Super Collider', there's a lot of heavy tracks on it; there's a lot of pretty crushing material on that one. So I'm probably a bigger fan, overall, of the 'Super Collider' album. When I hear it now, I remember, I go, 'That had some pretty freakin' crushing stuff on it.'"
Back in 2013, MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine told Ultimate Guitar that fans who didn't like "Super Collider" are "people that wanna hear 'Black Friday' the rest of their lives. And I feel for them, man. I know the first time I heard AC/DC versus what they put out now, it's a different time. I think that's the whole thing about if you're really a fan of the band, you grow with them or you stop being a fan. I always loved early AC/DC and I totally respect older AC/DC, but I was weaned on Bon Scott."
Mustaine told Loudwire that the "Super Collider" title track was actually written several years before the album's recording sessions. He explained: "The majority of the riffs in [the track] 'Super Collider', it's a very simple song, there's not a lot of stuff there. It was a file I had saved from several years before. I restructured the song a little bit and added a part to it and that's how the song ended up being. It was just one of those songs that had a vibe to it. It wasn't even that it was simple. After we finished 'Super Collider', people were saying, 'Wow, it sounds like 'Teenage Wasteland' [THE WHO's 'Baba O'Riley']; it sounds like [AC/DC's] 'Highway to Hell'; sounds like [VAN HALEN's] 'Running With The Devil'.' And I was like, 'Well, those songs don't suck.'" 14
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19 ôåâ 2019


SILVERSTEIN To Release 'Redux: The First 10 Years' In AprilFresh off back-to-back tours celebrating the 15th anniversary of their 2003 full-length debut album "When Broken Is Easily Fixed", Canadian rockers SILVERSTEIN are gearing up to release "Redux: The First 10 Years".
The album features all-new recordings of 12 classic songs from the band's first 10 years as a unit. Consider it a "sonic update" of some of the most beloved tracks in the band's catalog.
SILVERSTEIN is releasing this special album direct to fans. Those who pre-order the record now at this location will receive it by April 12. "Redux: The First 10 Years" will be available in four, limited edition vinyl variants, on CD, via cassette, and digitally. The band is already creating exclusive merch.
"The goal was to update the recordings and make them sound the best they can — not change the songs from what has made them resonate with people for so long," says singer Shane Told. "You're going to hear the clarity and dynamics in a new way, but the magic of the original songs is kept intact. It's going to be fun for fans to crank these up and really hear the songs the way they were meant to be heard."
He continues: "We chose the songs that we thought needed the most in terms of a sound update, and also which songs have spoken to our fans the most. Re-recording 'Bleeds No More', a song I wrote in my bedroom 17 years ago, was a very cool experience as well, as was remembering the entire 'Discovering The Waterfront' recording experience."
"I remember writing these songs in basements, demoing them with friends, and testing them on the road," reflects drummer Paul Koehler. "Starting as a hobby, then given the opportunity to fulfil a dream, and all of sudden finding myself in the middle of a real music career. These songs are a cross-section from the early material that helped define our band, along with my own life."
"After so many years, it's a lot of fun for me to revisit these old albums and be transported back in time to when we were creating them," says guitarist Josh Bradford. "Even through the rose-colored lens of nostalgia, it's hard not to notice how much recording technology has changed and how much we have grown as musicians in the time since. With this in mind, we've decided to give a selection of our favorite tunes a sonic update. These songs clearly mean a lot to people, so we've tried our very best to honor the original recordings while making them sound more modern and polished."
Guitarist Paul Marc Rousseau furthers: "These updated versions breathe new life into songs I've loved for as long as I can remember. Our goal was to put some polish on old performances while staying faithful to the original arrangements, and though it was challenging deciphering some of the forgotten and buried parts. I had a great time doing it."
According to bassist Billy Hamilton, the release is special because it's the connective tissue between the band and fans. He shares: "The great thing about this collection is that it's not just mine, it's not just SILVERSTEIN's. It's yours, it's all of ours, and this is our chance to revisit our cherished songs, memories and feelings."
"Redux: The First 10 Years" track listing:
01. Smashed Into Pieces
02. Smile In Your Sleep
03. American Dream
04. Bleeds No More
05. My Heroine
06. Vices
07. Your Sword vs My Dagger
08. If You Could See Into My Soul
09. Giving Up
10. Still Dreaming (Acoustic)
11. Red Light Pledge
12. Call It Karma
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19 ôåâ 2019


STAIND's AARON LEWIS Calls ELIZABETH WARREN A 'F**king Lying Bitch' Over Native American Ancestry ClaimsSTAIND frontman Aaron Lewis has slammed Elizabeth Warren, the Massachusetts senator and 2020 Democratic presidential contender, as a "lying bitch" for claiming to be Native American.
Lewis, who was born and raised in Vermont but now lives in Massachusetts, made his comments during his February 9 solo concert in Jacksonville, Florida.
Speaking to the audience in between songs, Aaron said (see video below): "I really don't wanna give Massachusetts any props right now. I'm being honest with you. I can't in good conscience give props to the state that re-elected 'Pocahontas' after it was proven beyond a shadow of a doubt that every person in this room is more American Indian than that woman. I have never claimed in my life to be American Indian — I'm more American Indian than that fucking lying bitch. So I get to go home once a week and realize that the state that I'm going to voted that fucking perfect bitch back into politics."
Last month, Warren apologized to Cherokee Nation Principal Chief Bill John Baker for a DNA test she released in October that she said showed "strong evidence" of Native American ancestry dating back several generations.
The Native American community derided her decision to take the test, claiming Warren mistook DNA for identity.
President Donald Trump has repeatedly called Warren "Pocahontas," a gesture many find offensive and has been dubbed a racial slur. (Pocahontas, the daughter of a Native American chief, welcomed English settlers to the current-day U.S. in the early 17th century.)
In an interview with the Washington Post, Warren said she's sorry "for furthering confusion on tribal sovereignty and tribal citizenship and harm that resulted."
Warren, who formally announced her 2020 presidential bid on February 9, has been trying for the past year to get past the controversy.
Lewis, who is widely considered to be one of the most politically conservative musicians in rock, was a staunch critic of President Barack Obama, telling a crowd at one of his solo concerts in 2016: "Barack Obama should have been impeached a long fucking time ago. Every fucking decision he makes is against the Constitution, it's against what's good for our fucking country, and he is truly the worst fucking president that we have ever had in the history of this fucking country."
That same year, Lewis told Billboard that he would support Donald Trump in the U.S. presidential race, even though he was "disappointed" by the real estate mogul "with the bickering and the name-calling." Lewis added that he voted for Senator Ted Cruz, Trump's closest competitor in the Republican nomination race, in the Massachusetts primary.
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19 ôåâ 2019


LAST IN LINE's VINNY APPICE Says He And VIVIAN CAMPBELL 'Lock In Like A Bastard'Drum legend Vinny Appice (DIO, BLACK SABBATH, HEAVEN & HELL) recently spoke with Jack Antonio of the "Do You Know Jack" podcast about "II", the new album by LAST IN LINE. The full conversation can be streamed below. A few excerpts follow (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).
On the origins of LAST IN LINE:
Vinny: "Viv [guitarist Vivian Campbell] called up and said, 'Hey, I'm here with Jimmy [Bain]. Would you be into having a play?' I went, 'Yeah, that would be great.' The three of us went into the rehearsal place and we jammed on all those old DIO songs. We decided it was so much fun, we would do it again, and when we did it again, Andy Freeman — a good buddy of mine — was in town. I said, 'Why don't you come down? You know these songs. Do you want to sing?' He came down and sang, and he blew everybody away. We said, 'That was so good, it sounded like a band. Why don't we do some gigs?' That's what we did, and then our manager got us a deal on Frontiers, and that's how we started with the first album."
On Ronnie James Dio's split with BLACK SABBATH:
Vinny: "We were doing the 'Mob Rules' tour. Then we did 'Live Evil'. By the time that happened, they weren't getting along. Ronnie had a record deal for a solo record, which he was going to do — just, like, friends, everybody playing on it, things like that. He decided, 'I'm going to use this deal to put my own band together,' and that's when he said, 'I'm going to leave the band and put a new band together. Do you want to join me?' That's how we started."
On the early days of the DIO band:
Vinny: "SABBATH, that was so exciting to play with Tony [Iommi] and Geezer [Butler]. When it came down to [DIO], it was an exciting thing, because I was asked by Tony and Geezer to stay in the band, and then I was asked by Ronnie to form a new band. I had a choice, but Ronnie and I got along so well, and we both lived in California, [so] it was a lot easier to do something together. It sounded exciting — a whole new band. 'This could be great, with one of the great singers.' I decided to stay with Ronnie, and then we just took it from there. We went over to England and waited for Jimmy to come off tour. He came back and recommended Vivian, so we called Viv, and Viv came over the next day. We jammed in London, and it was like magic."
On Phil Soussan joining LAST IN LINE following Bain's 2016 death:
Vinny: "We got the [first LAST IN LINE] album done, and then we played probably six [to] eight gigs together, and then Jimmy passed. We took some time off to decide what we want to do, and then we decided eventually, 'Jimmy would want us to continue. He wouldn't want us to stop because of him.' Jimmy's a rocker — a big rocker, actually. We decided to do some bass audition. We had a number of people come down. Phil's a good friend, so we knew Phil, but we didn't know how he sounded in the band. When Phil came down [and] played with us, it just sounded great. He joined the band, and then we did a lot of gigging — a lot of gigs in 2016 and 2017. We became very tight, and Phil and I have done [other] projects together too, and I've played with him on numerous things, so we really fit well together. It was a good fit — a natural thing."
On the writing process for "II":
Vinny: "With any of the bands — SABBATH from 'Mob Rules' on, DIO from 'Holy Diver' and this band, nobody came in with songs that were written already. Everything was built in the room. Everything was jammed out. Nobody said, 'Hey, I've got this songs called 'Mob Rules', and here's how it goes.' Tony never did that. It was more of a natural thing for bands like this to just play, sweat it out, record the stuff, listen to it and start building on things we liked. That's how we wrote all those songs, all three bands."
On the differences in playing with Campbell and Iommi:
Vinny: "With Tony, I would keep it more steady and just lay it down. With Vivian, I'm able to maybe direct it a little more, like, go to a different feel and Viv will follow, or sometimes Viv will go to a different thing and I'll follow. We move a lot quicker. Iommi is just such a big, massive guitar sound and approach... Viv's got an amazing feel, an amazing approach. He's fast, and he's kind of wicked. Me and him just lock in like a bastard."
LAST IN LINE's sophomore album, "II", will be released February 22 via Frontiers Music Srl.
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19 ôåâ 2019


ROB HALFORD Comments On OZZY OSBOURNE's Latest Health ScareJUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford has commented on Ozzy Osbourne's latest hospitalization.
The legendary British heavy metal band was scheduled to tour Europe with the BLACK SABBATH frontman before Ozzy canceled the trek when he was admitted to the hospital due to complications from the flu.
Asked by Australia's Heavy if Ozzy's latest health scare makes him question his own mortality, the 67-year-old Halford said (hear audio below): "We love Ozzy to death. Oh my God! When you say 'Ozzy,' your head is full of this remarkable man's career and all the wonderful things he's done for rock and roll, for metal. He's touched so many millions of people's lives, and we're really, really happy that he's recovering.
"It's gonna be fantastic — isn't it? — when we're all together again," Rob continued.
"Life is life. And you do what you can to deal with the adversity that puts itself in your path. We're going through that with Glenn [Tipton, JUDAS PRIEST guitarist]. Let me just rephrase that — Glenn's going through that himself with his great battle against Parkinson's [disease] that he's dealing with. And he's a wonderful example — a really, really strong, powerful example — of somebody that's fighting back and pushing back and still living an active life with this challenge.
"Glenn comes out and joins us when he can. He's still an active, full member of JUDAS PRIEST. If he's not able to make [the upcoming] Download [festival appearances in Australia], he's with us in spirit, in the songs that he's written, and he's up on the big screen.
"So, yeah, it is what it is. We're all getting on. But we're absolutely determined to keep going and live our lives in metal and share it with our fans."
Ozzy's wife Sharon first broke the news of his hospitalization on February 6. Since then, she and son Jack Osbourne have kept a close eye on the singer, with his condition improving with every passing day.
Tipton, who was diagnosed with Parkinson's disease five years ago — after being stricken by the condition at least half a decade earlier — announced in early 2018 that he was going to sit out touring activities in support of PRIEST's latest album, "Firepower". The guitarist, who is now 71 and has performed on every PRIEST record since the band's 1974 debut set, "Rocka Rolla", is not quitting the band, but simply cannot handle the rigorous challenges of performing live. He is being replaced on tour by "Firepower" album producer Andy Sneap, also known for his work as the guitar player in NWOBHM revivalists HELL and cult thrash outfit SABBAT.
PRIEST will return to the United States in May for a run with fellow classic heavy rockers URIAH HEEP.
Listen to "Bringing the Firepower with JUDAS PRIEST" on Spreaker.3
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19 ôåâ 2019


How ROBERT PLANT Influenced The Soundtrack To Oscar Nominated Green BookAccording to Forbes, Led Zeppelin legend Robert Plant had a key role in building the soundtrack to the five Oscar nominated movie, Green Book, the film based in 1962 which was inspired by the true story of a tour of the Deep South between African-American classical and jazz pianist Don Shirley (Mahershala Ali) and Tony Vallelonga (Italian-American bouncer/driver played by Viggo Mortensen).
Green Book director/co-writer and co-producer Peter Farrelly went out to dinner with Plant to pick his musical brain. "I said, 'Robert, tell me some songs that you listened to in the late '50s and early '60s that nobody plays anymore. I want to hear the cool songs to you but that you haven't heard on the radio in 50 years.'"
Plant suggested songs like "Pretty Lil' Thing," by Sonny "Golden Boy" Williamson and "Goodbye, My Lover, Goodbye," by Robert Mosley, among many others.
"It was an amazing night. We were on YouTube and he was pulling up song after song after song and I was sitting there like a crazy student writing down all the stuff."
Read more at Forbes.
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19 ôåâ 2019


BLACK SABBATH Guitarist TONY IOMMI's "Sabbath Bloody Sabbath" Riff Is "Mighty, Epic, Crushingly Heavy... Immortal!," Says CANDLEMASS Legend LEIF EDLINGIn celebration of the release of "Black Sabbath", and 50 years of Black Sabbath, Crystal Logic pay tribute to Tony Iommi with a long look at the legacy of his riffs, adding contributions and exclusive comments from musicians inspired by his music, including members of Candlemass, Solitude Aeturnus, Sorcerer, Psychotic Waltz and more.
Leif Edling of Candlemass, having Tony Iommi as a guest on the song "Astorolus - The Great Octopus" from the new Candlemass album, The Door To Doom, states: "Very hard to decide what riff is the best of all the mighty and wonderful Iommi riffs. There's a whole pile of them... best riffs ever created! So I'll just make it easy for me... go for the 'Sabbath Bloody Sabbath' one. So mighty, epic, crushingly heavy... immortal! The perfect start to the best heavy metal album ever, that just happens to have the coolest (and best) cover of all records released through time."
Read the full article at Crystal Logic.
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19 ôåâ 2019


BRING ME THE HORIZON Singer's Ruptured Vocal Cord Forces Concert CancelationsBritish rockers BRING ME THE HORIZON have canceled the last two shows of their U.S. tour. The concerts in Phoenix, Arizona and Las Vegas, Nevada were called off due to singer Oli Sykes's "ruptured right vocal cord."
Openers THE FEVER 333 also tweeted about the cancelation, but referred to the shows as being "postponed."
Sykes issues a statement earlier today saying: "I'm gutted to announce we have to cancel the remainder of our American out. I've ruptured my right vocal cord, and I've been told if I don't rest it immediately, I'm in serious danger of doing permanent damage. I've been trying my best to fulfill our commitments as I really hate letting you guys down, not to mention these shows have been literally the most fun ever. But at this point, me singing would be the equivalent of a footballer running on a broken leg. Once again, I'm so sorry. I hope you all understand."
Refunds for the canceled shows can be obtained at the points of purchase.
BRING ME THE HORIZON recently scored its first No. 1 album in the U.K. with its latest effort, "Amo". The disc had combined first-week units of 27,000, with 61% of its sales on CD or vinyl.
The band's previous best album chart showing was No. 2 with 2015's "That's The Spirit".
The record failed to crack the Billboard 200 album chart's Top 10 however, settling for a No. 14 debut with sales in North America of just over 26,000 units — close to the U.K. tally. Around 16,000 of those were physical copies.
"Amo" was released on January 25 via Columbia Records. The band spent last summer writing and recording in Los Angeles, with Sykes and keyboardist Jordan Fish handling production.
pic.twitter.com/UYMqOfpzJU— Bring Me The Horizon (@bmthofficial) February 15, 2019
Due to unforeseen circumstances our show in Las Vegas on Saturday February 16th has been cancelled. Refunds are available at point of purchase— Bring Me The Horizon (@bmthofficial) February 15, 2019
pic.twitter.com/8shqIaahY1— FEVER 333 (@fever333) February 15, 201911
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19 ôåâ 2019


GUNS N’ ROSES, METALLICA Dominate Billboard’s Boxscore ListDon't fear, rock n' roll ain't dead! Billboard have listed their Top 50 Current Boxscore list dominated by Guns Roses and Metallica. Check out the multi-million dollar stats below:
#3
Artist: Guns N' Roses
Venue: Hong Kong, China - AsiaWorld-Arena
Date: November 20-21, 2018
Gross Sales: $4,068,475
Attendance/Capacity: 22,233 / 22,233
Ticket Prices: $317.69, $87.85
#6
Artist: Guns N' Roses
Venue: Taipei, Taiwan - Taoyuan International Baseball Stadium
Date: November 17, 2018
Gross Sales: $2,923,439
Attendance/Capacity: 20,360 / 20,360
Ticket Prices: $220.32, $25.92
#9
I Am the Highway: A Tribute to Chris Cornell
Venue: Inglewood, CA - The Forum
Date: January16, 2019
$2,602,894
Attendance/Capacity: 13,179 / 13,179
Ticket Prices: $356.50, $226.50, $176.50, $99.50, $75.50
#10
Artist: Metallica, Jim Breuer
Venue: Cleveland, OH - Quicken Loans Arena
Date: February 1, 2019
Gross Sales: $2,463,702
Attendance/Capacity: 18,515 / 18,515
Ticket Prices: $145, $75
#12
Artist: Metallica, Jim Breuer
Venue: Raleigh, NC - PNC Arena
Date: January 28, 2019
Gross Sales: $2,409,015
Attendance/Capacity: 19,361 / 19,361
Ticket Prices: $135, $65
#13
Artist: Guns N' Roses
Venue: Manila, Philippines - Philippine Arena
Date: November 11, 2018
Gross Sales: $2,235,518
Attendance/Capacity: 24,638 / 30,220
Ticket Prices: $295.26, $15.91
#15
Artist: Guns N' Roses
Venue: Honolulu, HI - Aloha Stadium
Date: December 8, 2018
Gross Sales: $2,113,556
Attendance/Capacity: 22,485 / 23,000
Ticket Prices: $250, $60
#16
Artist: Metallica, Jim Breuer
Venue: Cincinnati, OH - U.S. Bank Arena
Date: January 30, 2019
Gross Sales: $2,060,625
Attendance/Capacity: 17,070 / 17,070
Ticket Prices: $135, $65
#22
Artist: Metallica, Jim Breuer
Venue: Birmingham, AL - Legacy Arena at the BBJC
Date: January 22, 2019
Gross Sales: $1,713,460
Attendance/Capacity: 17,462 / 18,003
Ticket Prices: $135, $39.50
#23
Artist: Metallica, Jim Breuer
Venue: Little Rock, AR - Verizon Arena
Date: January 20, 2019
Gross Sales: $1,679,923
Attendance/Capacity: 17,432 / 17,859
Ticket Prices: $135, $42.50
#31
Ozzfest
Venue: Inglewood, CA. - The Forum
Date: Dec. 31, 2018
Gross Sales: $1,219,740
Attendance/Capacity: 12,465 / 12,465
Ticket Prices: $179.50, $129.50, $99.50, $69.50, $49.50
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19 ôåâ 2019


ROBB FINLAYSON Streaming New Single "The Killing" Featuring IMONOLITH Members JON HOWARD And RYAN VAN POEDEROOYENCanadian multi-instrumentalist Robb Finlayson has checked in with the following update:
"Here is the official YouTube link to the song 'The Killing' from my soon to be released album, The Beauty Of Rage. On August 9th, 2018 I saw the news report about the senseless killing of 40 Yemen children on their school bus, and took the next two days to write this song. Probably the most important song I will ever write; it’s sad, it’s angry and hopefully something people can connect to. Please read the lyrics with the song.
Thanks to Jon Howard (Imonolith, Threat Signal) for vocally representing this song the way I envisioned. I got a little choked up when I first heard the vocal track. Ryan van Poederooyen (Imonolith, Devin Townsend Project) for the epic drumming,Jay Van Poederooyen for the amazing mix and Brett Reid for the production."
Hate, on and on just a war machine
Paint, the earth with your crimson shade
Straight, from the womb to your suffering
Love, only lies whispered in your ear
No kiss good-bye, your life looks to the sky
Your heaven awaits
Their bombs and their guns, and their hate, their devotion
It’s your twisted fate
Mother and Father will we dance again
At the golden gates
Their bombs and their guns and their hate, their devotion
The world, we help create
Eyes, open wide there’s no clarity
Dreams, only thoughts that soon disappear
Change, only moments that don’t survive
Death, guaranteed too numb to feel
No kiss good-bye, your life looks to the sky
Your heaven awaits
Their bombs and their guns and their hate, their devotion
It’s your twisted fate
Mother and Father will we dance again
At the golden gates
Their bombs and their guns and their hate, their devotion
The world, we help create
Suffering through relentless vile, I don’t sleep
All sounds the same, don’t hurry
I grow colder wait for the sun
To rise again
Suffering through relentless vile, I don’t sleep
All sounds the same, don’t hurry
I grow colder wait for the sun
To rise right now
No kiss good-bye, your life looks to the sky
Your heaven awaits
Their bombs and their guns and their hate, their devotion
It’s your twisted fate
Mother and Father will we dance again
At the golden gates
Their bombs and their guns and their hate, their devotion
The world, we help create
No kiss good-bye
Look to the sky
Mother Father
We won’t dance again
We won’t dance again
Finlayson recently spoke with BraveWords scribe Carl Begai about the follow-up to his Winter's Apprentice album, which is currently in the works, and his Skye Asylum project.
Finlayson: "My second solo album, The Beauty Of Rage, is in the middle of being mixed right now and is a much heavier album than my first one, with Jon Howard (Threat Signal, Imonolith) doing the majority of the vocals. Ryan Van Poederooyen (Devin Townsend Project, Imonolith) plays drums on all the tracks. I went all out as I felt the material I wrote was strong and needed the best I could find to support the music. Plus, Ryan is good friend of mine. I don’t have a release date yet but I'm sure it'll be some time in March. I recorded The Beauty Of Rage at the famous Sunset Sound Studio in Hollywood in Studio 2, which was used by Led Zepplin, Slipknot, Van Halen and Rage Against the Machine.
I created Skye Asylum, which again is just me doing the songwriting and playing. I created a different name so I can explore the symphonic / cinematic music with a metal edge; something along the lines of Nightwish and some of the gaming music from things like Skyrim, etc. It’s going to be heavy in spots, symphonic throughout, and follow a strict storyline. One song I have called 'Eberron' is almost 20 minutes long. I will start recording mid-next year as I have most of the material written and scored but needs arranging and lyrics added.
My 'solo' stuff will remain heavy metal and the Skye Asylum stuff will have elements of that but be more experimental and symphonic."
Check out snippets from The Beauty Of Rage and Skye Asylum below.
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19 ôåâ 2019


NAPALM DEATH's BARNEY GREENWAY Is 'Halfway Through' Recording Vocals For Band's Long-Awaited New AlbumVocalist Mark "Barney" Greenway of British extreme metal veterans NAPALM DEATH spoke to Metal Underground about the progress of the recording sessions for the follow-up to the 2015 album "Apex Predator - Easy Meat".
"Most of the music is done," he said (see video below). "I've been working on vocals. I'm more or less halfway through. So there's a bit more to do. But, of course, then we've gotta look at things like artwork and all the various things.
"The thing with NAPALM is after this many albums, it can't just be something you just throw out there," he continued. "Like the artwork, for example, you've gotta use your imagination a little bit and try to express it in different ways.
"The last couple of album sleeves were fucking great, to be honest. I mean, I really liked them a lot. They really expressed what we wanted to say in different ways. So I'd definitely like to do that with the next one.
"To me, [the cover art] has to be confrontational, and it has to be extreme. So it requires a bit of thought. We've been speaking with Frode [Sylthe], the ['Apex Predator - Easy Meat'] artist — he's gonna do the next one. It's a matter of where we go from here, really. Because we've looked at a hundred different things so far to try to get some ideas, and nothing is jumping off the page yet. Something will come in the end."
Greenway also once again addressed the status of NAPALM DEATH guitarist Mitch Harris, who has been taking a leave of absence from the band since late 2014 to focus on his family life.
"It's the same thing, really, as I've been saying for the last couple of years," he said. "Nothing has really changed. Mitch played on the [new] album. Whether Mitch comes back and plays live with the band again, we just don't know. Because the situation now is, because of the catalog of events that happened in his life, he had to sort things out a little bit. So now he's on that path…
"The thing is the door is always open to Mitch," he added. "It's whether he can do it. That's the thing. There's definitely no gulf between Mitch and NAPALM DEATH. He had two family deaths in the space of a month, so it was really traumatic for him. He had a lot of other stuff going on, and it was just a really bad time for him. So he had to get his life sorted out. So we'll see what happens, really. Like I said, he came over and played on the album. I didn't see him while he was here. But Shane [Embury, bass] most of the 10 days [with him] and said he was great."
According to Greenway, guitarist John Cooke, who has been touring with NAPALM DEATH, on and off, for more than four years, "is part of the live band, but he's not a NAPALM DEATH member, per se. He's a live guitarist," Barney said. "Which is not at all in any way to minimize his contribution or to be disrespectful. It's not. It's just that's the situation."
Last summer, NAPALM DEATH supported SLAYER on the second U.S. leg of the latter band's final world tour. The 20-date trek featured additional support from LAMB OF GOD, ANTHRAX and TESTAMENT.
NAPALM DEATH released a special 2CD, 2LP and digital-download compilation titled "Coded Smears And More Uncommon Slurs" in March 2018 via Century Media Records. This special collection includes a total of 31 songs with a playing time of over 90 minutes, compiling rarities and exclusive earworms spanning 2004-2016. 3
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19 ôåâ 2019


IN THIS MOMENT Is About To Begin Recording New AlbumIN THIS MOMENT is preparing to enter The Hideout Recording Studio in Las Vegas, Nevada with producer Kevin Churko to begin recording its new album.
On Sunday, a short video of guitarist Chris Howorth and singer Maria Brink driving in a car was posted to the IN THIS MOMENT Instagram account, along with the caption: "On our way to the @thehideoutlv #newalbum #mother #nextchapter #snuff"
Last year, Howorth told Guitar Interactive magazine that IN THIS MOMENT would start tracking the follow-up to 2017's "Ritual" in February.
IN THIS MOMENT will head out on the road this spring with SEVENDUST, LIGHT THE TORCH and HYDE.
Brink told New York's Q103 radio station that IN THIS MOMENT is riding a wave of energy by continuing to play shows while finding ways to stay musically inspired. "We're so grateful and lucky that in our career… We're like the slow tortoise that could — we're really slow, but we have this slow, steady uphill [climb]," she said. "'Cause we're six albums in and we have the highest sales that we've ever had, we're getting the biggest offers we've ever had, we're climbing up to the top, we're headlining certain festivals. We can't believe it — we're the strongest we've ever been — so we don't wanna ruin our momentum and all of a sudden disappear for a really long time. We feel really empowered, we feel really creative and kind of excited. So we just wanna dive into it, we wanna start creating, we wanna start bringing all these things alive so that next summer we can be coming back out and just keeping this strength growing. And we love it and we live for it. So it kind of keeps us feeling alive."
"Ritual" included an eerie cover of Phil Collins' "In The Air Tonight", and Brink told KLAQ's Lisa Sanchez that there is a good chance the follow-up effort will see the band tackling yet another classic song.
"I don't what we're gonna do yet, but I definitely wanna do [a cover]," Maria said. "I love doing covers. Labels always like 'em anyway, cause they use 'em for other things and stuff too. So I'm actually on the hunt right now [for] what to cover."
View this post on Instagram On our way to the @thehideoutlv ? #newalbum #mother #nextchapter #snuff A post shared by In This Moment (@inthismomentofficial) on Feb 17, 2019 at 4:27pm PST 1
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19 ôåâ 2019


BLACK VEIL BRIDES Singer ANDY BLACK To Release 'The Ghost Of Ohio' Album In AprilAfter 45 million YouTube views, 25 million Spotify streams and an AP "Song of the Year" award for hit single "We Don't Have To Dance", BLACK VEIL BRIDES singer Andy Biersack (a.k.a. Andy Black) has returned with "Westwood Road", the first track and video off his much-anticipated sophomore album, "The Ghost Of Ohio" (Lava/Republic). The Martin Landgreve- and Magnus Jonsson-directed clip can be seen below.
Black will support the long-awaited new album with "The Ghost Of North America Tour", a headlining run that will kick off April 7 at Ace of Spades in Sacramento, California.
Due on April 12, "The Ghost Of Ohio" sees Black re-teaming with Grammy-nominated producer John Feldmann (BLINK-182, PANIC! AT THE DISCO), who helmed 2016's acclaimed debut "The Shadow Side". "Westwood Road" was mixed by Grammy winner Neil Avron (TWENTY ONE PILOTS, THIRTY SECONDS TO MARS). The new album is semi-autobiographical, mining the haunted history of Black's hometown to tell a story that explores his childhood anxieties and obsessions.
Black, who's always had a reverence for the magical convergence of sight and sound, created the diverse album to also serve as a soundtrack for its graphic novel counterpart, marrying melancholy themes with upbeat rock and pop to tell the tale of someone who died young and whose spirit inhabits an area for a hundred years looking for ways to connect. The album's artwork was painted by Eliran Kantor (ICED EARTH, TESTAMENT).
Black, born Andy Biersack, left Cincinnati for Hollywood at age 18. He lived out of his car, broke, and as Rolling Stone once put it, "subsisting on visions of what would become his wildly successful glam-metal outfit, BLACK VEIL BRIDES." By his early 20s, he led BLACK VEIL BRIDES on extensive world tours, released a string of Billboard Top 10 and 20 albums and was splashed across the covers and pages of magazines ranging from AP to Italian Vogue.
On "The Shadow Side", Biersack stretched his creative wings beyond the blueprint of the vintage-Sunset-Strip-meets-modern-hard-rock-vibe of BVB. "That album was the beginning of a return to who I've always wanted to be," he says. "A rediscovering of my deepest roots.
"'The Ghost Of Ohio' is the next step. It's a full embrace of my long-held passion for imagination, stretching back to when I discovered my dad's KISS trading cards in the basement and walked my neighborhood streets dressed up like Batman."
Andy told Rock Sound about "Westwood Road": "'Westwood Road' is about being so fucking miserable while sitting in a hotel room and absolutely hating where I am now. It's thinking 'this doesn't represent me at all, this is not who I am' and thinking of going back to being a kid and enjoying going to football games with my dad and all that sort of stuff. Now as an adult, I actually do all that stuff."
Speaking about the tie between his graphic novel and the album, Andy said: "In many ways, the comic book is a more stylized and heightened version of these stories, because it has to be. When I went to the company who is printing [the novel], I asked them if they could help me shape all of this into a way where it would make sense. I have written concept albums before, but this is my first time putting together a graphic novel. Then the record went from there."
Last fall, Biersack released the official music video for his cover of "My Way", the Paul Anka-penned timeless classic made famous by Frank Sinatra, then infamous by Sid Vicious. Both versions seem to get a nod on Biersack's take. The clip was filmed with director Patrick Fogarty.
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19 ôåâ 2019


MÖTLEY CRÜE Teases Trailer For 'The Dirt' FilmA teaser for the first trailer for the film adaptation of MÖTLEY CRÜE's biography, "The Dirt - Confessions Of The World's Most Notorious Rock Band", is available below. The full trailer will make its online debut tomorrow (Tuesday, February 19).
Due on March 22, the movie, which was helmed by "Jackass Presents: Bad Grandpa" director Jeff Tremaine, was picked up by Netflix after being previously developed at Focus Features and before that at Paramount.
MÖTLEY CRÜE recently recorded four new songs for "The Dirt" movie. Bassist Nikki Sixx described the recordings as "real and raw. Everybody is playing like mad and the songs crush," he wrote on Twitter. "[Producer] Bob Rock brought the sounds."
One of the new songs — a collaboration with rapper Machine Gun Kelly — will receive its premiere on the February 21 edition of SEX PISTOLS guitarist Steve Jones's radio show, "Jonesy's Jukebox", on the 95.5 KLOS station in Los Angeles. The program will also see Sixx sitting down for an interview with Jones on the KLOS Subaru Live Stage.
Machine Gun Kelly — whose real name is Colson Baker — plays MÖTLEY CRÜE drummer Tommy Lee in the movie. "The Dirt" also stars Daniel Webber ("The Punisher") as singer Vince Neil, Douglas Booth as Sixx and Iwan Rheon ("Game Of Thrones") as guitarist Mick Mars.
Machine Gun Kelly told Billboard that he got his part in the movie after "a six-audition process. The first two, I was auditioning for Nikki Sixx, and then the last four for Tommy Lee, over the course of two and a half years," he said.
In 2015, MÖTLEY CRÜE completed "The Final Tour", closing the book on the band's iconic career after performing a total of 164 shows in 72 markets, grossing over $100 million.
To cement the sense of finality, the four members of MÖTLEY CRÜE in 2014 publicly signed a "cessation of touring" contract that prevents any of them from performing under the CRÜE name in the future.
A tour film about MÖTLEY CRÜE's final shows, "The End", came out in 2016.
Based on a Crüe Story. #TheDirt
Based on a Crüe Story. #TheDirtPosted by Motley Crue on Monday, February 18, 2019 1
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19 ôåâ 2019


THE QUIREBOYS To Release 'Amazing Disgrace' Album In AprilU.K. rockers THE QUIREBOYS will release their new album, "Amazing Disgrace", on April 5 via Off Yer Rocka. The disc's first single and video will arrive on March 20.
On their essential new album, THE QUIREBOYS amazed themselves. "The new music has surpassed all of my expectations," admitted longtime guitarist Guy Griffin. "It's the most diverse album we've ever done," added fellow six-stringer Paul Guerin. And for a band celebrating its 35th anniversary in 2019, that's saying something.
"Amazing Disgrace" is the sixth QUIREBOYS album in seven years but quality over quantity remains the mantra. Twelve typically frank and familiarly evocative rock and roll classics soundtrack a band at the peak of its creative powers.
And the decision to lay down "Amazing Grace" at the world famous Rockfield Studios turned out to be an inspired decision as the weight of history created a unique pressure on a band determined to evolve.
"Getting everyone together at one of the most iconic studios in the world has definitely given the new music a different vibe," said Griffin. "Everyone was a lot more up for it because each band member felt so involved in the process.
"I was actually more apprehensive than usual going in to the studio. I didn't know how things would turn out but the music we came out with was better than anyone could have expected.
"We're at the point in our career where we don't really give a shit what anyone else thinks! I don't mean that in a negative way but we write songs that we can play with freedom within a live show.
"As Paul says, 'Amazing Disgrace' is one of our most diverse records yet. I don't think there's anything we can't do or that we wouldn't try. The last few records have proved that."
Guerin conceded that treading in the revered footsteps of Freddie Mercury, Brian May et al across the hallowed Rockfield turf was an unforgettable experience in its own right. Emerging from the studio with an album prepped to take on all-comers in 2019 was the icing on the cake.
"You come out of the front door and on the right handside you can see up to the window of the room where Freddie Mercury wrote 'Bohemian Rhapsody'," added Guerin. "Look up again and you can see the weather vane referenced in the song.
"If you're of a certain vintage, it's just mind-blowing. I was like a kid in a sweetshop. And if you can't draw inspiration from recording in that environment, then you're probably in the wrong job!"
Guerin is clearly in the right job. And the job satisfaction will surely spike again when THE QUIREBOYS headline a special one-off show celebrating 35 years as self-styled rock and roll rebels.
The band returns to London's O2 Kentish Forum on September 14 and the two-hour 35th-anniversary special will feature iconic album "A Bit Of What You Fancy" played in its entirety for the first time ever. Fans will be treated to the best of "Amazing Grace" and choice cuts from a bulging back catalog of hits and masterpieces.
"It's always time for a party where THE QUIREBOYS are concerned," said frontman Spike. "But even by our standards, this looks like being one hell of a party!"
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19 ôåâ 2019


Watch IN FLAMES Perform With Ex-MEGADETH Guitarist CHRIS BRODERICK For First TimeFan-filmed video footage of IN FLAMES' February 2 concert at the House Of Blues in Houston, Texas can be seen below.
On doctors' orders, guitarist Niclas Engelin is sitting out IN FLAMES' current North American tour and is being temporarily replaced by former MEGADETH and current ACT OF DEFIANCE axeman Chris Broderick.
Prior to the trek's kick-off, IN FLAMES said in a statement: "We're extremely sad to inform that, due to strong medical advisement to stay home, Niclas will not be joining the tour. Luckily, ex-MEGADETH guitarist and longtime friend Chris Broderick was able to step in at the last minute for the full run.
"Please wish Niclas the best as he stays home to rest. We can't wait to see you soon."
IN FLAMES' tour with ALL THAT REMAINS and ALL HAIL THE YETI launched in Houston. A North American run with WITHIN TEMPTATION will start at the end of the month.
IN FLAMES' new album, "I, The Mask", will be released on March 1 via Nuclear Blast (worldwide, excluding North America) and Eleven Seven Music (North America). The 12-track disc reunites IN FLAMES with Grammy-nominated producer Howard Benson (MY CHEMICAL ROMANCE, MOTÖRHEAD) who also produced 2016's "Battles". Additionally, the album was mixed by Grammy Award winner Chris Lord-Alge (CHEAP TRICK, LINKIN PARK) and mastered by Grammy-winning mastering engeneer Ted Jensen (PANTERA, EAGLES, GUNS N' ROSES).
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18 ôåâ 2019


WHITESNAKE's DAVID COVERDALE Has No Plans To Retire: 'I'm Very Reinvigorated, Energized And Very Inspired'David Coverdale has once again said that he is not planning to retire anytime soon, despite his previous comments.
Back in 2016, the WHITESNAKE leader announced that he was looking to pull the plug on his career after touring in support of "The Purple Album", the 2015 tribute record to Coverdale's time as the lead singer for DEEP PURPLE.
But now Coverdale, who will release a new album with WHITESNAKE this spring, says that he has no intention of discontinuing his touring activities.
"Well, I wanna keep going," he told SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation". "It's the passion. I really felt that we owed the WHITESNAKE fans a new original record. That was very primary on my thought process of doing this. But, yeah, obviously, I'm 67 years old now. But I had a blast out there.
"The guys were telling me — and they certainly don't have to — [they] were very complimentary about my performances through last summer. It's really up to me to stay as healthy and as in shape as I can. It was hard to get into shape for me regarding what I've been through and my body had been through at my age in 2017, but I so love performing. You're gonna have to get me off with one of those shepherd's crooks — pull me off to the side. But, yeah, I'm very reinvigorated, energized and very inspired to give it everything I have. For how long, I don't know."
Coverdale also talked about his heavy touring schedule for 2019, including a U.S. trek that is scheduled to launch in early April.
"I had both knee replacements after suffering years of debilitating arthritis," he said. "And I only went out for two months last year — with my friends FOREIGNER and Jason Bonham — to see how they worked. I didn't dare commit to a world tour that particular time. And, thankfully, they worked perfectly. And blessings on my doctor, Brad Penenberg. I just spoke to [ex-WHITESNAKE bassist] Marco Mendoza this morning. He's gonna be doing something soon. [I was] giving him a good talking up, that Brad Penenberg is the absolute best. Steven Tyler sent me to him. We're all getting those issues. But I'm really excited to be going out and doing full shows. It's gonna be a ridiculously busy year for us. We've got that month-long U.S. tour, which was a total surprise to me, 'cause we toured so recently. But promoters were very, very high on the idea of it. And then we're over to Europe."
In April 2016, Coverdale said that he was "looking at retiring" the following year, on the 30th anniversary of the band's self-titled 1987 album. But he later admitted that "it was kind of a foolish thing for me to say." He also credited the the tour in support of "The Purple Album" with "re-energizing" him. "I was totally honest. I thought, 'This is probably it,'" he said. "But I had an incredibly good time on tour with my musicians. It just makes it more inspiring to look at the future with these guys. I have no desire to hang up my rock 'n' roll sneakers just yet."
WHITESNAKE's new studio album, "Flesh & Blood", will be released on May 10 via Frontiers Music Srl. Joining the singer on the disc are Reb Beach and Joel Hoekstra on guitar, Michael Devin on bass, Tommy Aldridge on drums, and Michele Luppi on keyboards. 3
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18 ôåâ 2019


TODD LA TORRE Says SCOTT ROCKENFIELD 'May Not' Ever Come Back To QUEENSRŸCHEQUEENSRŸCHE singer Todd La Torre says that it was "logical" for him to lay down the drum tracks on the band's upcoming album, "The Verdict" after original drummer Scott Rockenfield made himself unavailable.
"I'm friends with Scott," Todd said during an appearance on "The MetalSucks Podcast" (hear audio below). "I toured with him for five years. I did two records with him. I'm very familiar and very aware of some of the things that he does — a lot of the things that he does. So I recorded the drums, and I decided to show more reservation than to overplay. There's a lot of things I would have done more, but I didn't want to try to show off more drumming and do things just because I knew that everyone would hear it, and what will they think of my drumming, so I need to show it off. I wanted to just write drum parts that make sense for the songs, play fills that are appropriate, show the dynamics with some hi-hat work and some of the cymbal work that Scott would do — the double china, the alternating between the ride and the hi-hat. Certain things that are just very unique to the sound of QUEENSRŸCHE on the drums. And some things I did that I know he would never play, but that was just me having a little fun with a few things. But otherwise, I really tried to maintain the integrity of what I think sounds appropriate for QUEENSRŸCHE. And I wanted to create memorable parts that people can learn. I didn't wanna make it complicated. I didn't wanna play a drum fill every time there's a space to fill it with drums. I thought that too many are overplaying these days, and some of my favorite songs don't have a lot of overplaying. I mean, 'Empire' and '[Operation:]Mindcrime', those are very deliberate drum parts. And everything on this record that was played was done with a purpose. And until you peel the layers back to the songs and see where the kick drum is placed in relation to the vocal, in relation to the guitar riff, only then would you really understand and probably appreciate the placement of where the drum parts are the way they are — where they went and why. So I'm sure I'll catch a lot of criticism for what I did, but I'll also hopefully catch some promising positive words for what I did. And all I can say is I did double duty on the record, and no one can fault me for putting in the hard work and showing up."
For the past 22 months, Rockenfield has been taking time off from QUEENSRŸCHE's touring activities to spend time with his young son, who was born in early 2017. Filling in for him has been former KAMELOT drummer Casey Grillo.
Todd, who has played drums since the age of 13, admitted that Rockenfield "may not [ever] come back" to QUEENSRŸCHE. "I don't know, 'cause I don't talk to him," he said.
The singer also addressed disapproval from some fans over the fact that QUEENSRŸCHE's current lineup only features guitarist Michael Wilton and bassist Eddie Jackson from the band's original incarnation.
"Some people go, 'Oh, they're only down to two [original] members right now.' Well, so what?" Todd said. "We wish that Scott would have come back earlier. But ALICE IN CHAINS has two [original] members. ACCEPT has one member. JUDAS PRIEST has two members. FATES WARNING has one member. There's a lot of bands still putting out really great music that are kicking ass. It's not about one person. It's not about me. It's not about Michael or Scott or anybody else; it's about the collective. I think that this record shows that the strength lies in all of us participating and pulling all of our creative elements to share with each other."
He continued: "If people say, 'Well, what is QUEENSRŸCHE gonna sound like without Scott?' 'The Verdict' is exactly what QUEENSRŸCHE sounds like without his participation at all. However, Scott is a great songwriter; he's a cool guy; he's a great drummer; he has a lot of great ideas. That being said, this record, in my opinion, is better than some records that had the entire original lineup in the band. This is a way better record — in my opinion — than '[Operation:]Mindcrime II' or 'Dedicated To Chaos' that had outside writers. So, I think that there's a little too much emphasis placed on having this all-original thing. I mean, yeah, we still have two very important, crucial, original founding members of this band playing in QUEENSRŸCHE."
Todd added: "The music will speak for itself, and if people give the music a chance without their biases, I think that they'll be happy. If you didn't know that Scott didn't play on the record and he said that he played on it, people would hear those drums totally different. They would say, 'Man, this kicks ass.' They would never question it — because they [would] know it's Scott. They would never question it."
"The Verdict" will arrive on March 1 via Century Media Records. The disc was produced, mixed, and mastered by Chris "Zeuss" Harris (ROB ZOMBIE, ICED EARTH, HATEBREED) at Uberbeatz in Lynwood, Washington; Planet-Z in Wilbraham, Massachusetts; and Watershed Studio in Seattle, Washington.
QUEENSRŸCHE's spring U.S. headline tour with special guests FATES WARNING will kick off on March 2 in Orlando, making stops in major markets such as New York, Atlanta, Chicago, and Los Angeles, and will wrap on April 3 in Seattle. THE CRINGE will join both bands on select dates. 3
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18 ôåâ 2019


Original ARCH ENEMY Members Record Two New Songs Under BLACK EARTH BannerBLACK EARTH — the project featuring former and current members of ARCH ENEMY performing material from the latter band's first three albums live on stage — has recorded two new songs that will be included on an upcoming collection of remastered tracks from those early LPs.
Speaking to Japan's "Masa Ito's Rock TV", ARCH ENEMY guitarist and main songwriter Michael Amott explained how the new music came about. "Together with Trooper Entertainment, we've put together a compilation of our favorite tracks from the first, second and third album that featured these guys — with Johan [Liiva on vocals] and Chris [Amott on guitar] and everything," he said (see video below). "And we've put together a compilation album of that '90s material. It's been remastered here in Japan. I actually attended the mastering session last week, and it sounds incredible. It really brought the old tracks… it gave them a new life. And then we actually recorded two new songs in Sweden. So we've been quite busy with that."
He continued: "It's quite complicated getting everybody together to do that. But we wrote these two new songs. I wrote one with Chris, and then I wrote one myself. They're called 'Burn On The Flame' and 'Life Infernal' — two brand new tracks that are kind of in the style of what we used to do, I think. And they turned out really amazing too. We actually went back to Fredrik Nordström's studio, Fredman, where we made the first three records. So we worked with the original producer. And he mixed it, and it sounds really powerful — very cool."
According to Michael, the BLACK EARTH recording sessions turned out to be a "very, very strange" experience, "because we just picked it up where we left off. After about an hour or so, we were doing the same kind of jokes and the same kind of chemistry," he explained. "And the sounds as well. I was thinking maybe it was gonna sound very different. Also because of us — we all progress and change over the years, and develop. And also Fredrik, of course. He had a new studio now, with some different equipment. But actually, he just managed to get that old-school sound. And it was a lot of fun. Kind of a little bit nostalgia."
ARCH ENEMY recorded three albums with Liiva: "Black Earth" (1996), "Stigmata" (1998) and "Burning Bridges" (1999).
Liiva was replaced by German singer Angela Gossow as ARCH ENEMY's lead vocalist in 2000. Gossow exited the band in 2013 and was succeeded by former THE AGONIST frontwoman Alissa White-Gluz, while remaining as the group's manager.
Christopher Amott first left ARCH ENEMY in 2005, only to return to the group two years later. His second, and apparently final, departure came in March 2012.
BLACK EARTH completed its first Japanese tour in May 2016 and will return this coming May to celebrate the 20th anniversary of "Burning Bridges".
"When we did the tour in 2016, the reaction was incredible — we had so many sold-out shows, and [we got] very, very strong feedback and a lot of love from the Japanese audience," Michael told "Masa Ito's Rock TV". "So that was really an incredible time for us and a wonderful experience — one of the highlights of my career, I think. So we decided to come back and do it again three years later. And now we're doing it in more cities. So we're looking forward to visiting these places and bringing the music to the fans that normally maybe could not travel to Tokyo or to Osaka to see a show."
BLACK EARTH is:
Michael Amott - guitar
Christopher Amott - guitar
Johan Liiva - vocals
Daniel Erlandsson - drums
Sharlee D'Angelo - bass
Weekend warriors mixing some cool songs for Black EarthPosted by Studio Fredman on Sunday, December 2, 201811
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18 ôåâ 2019


ERIK RUTAN On Playing Guitar For CANNIBAL CORPSE: 'I'm Honoring PAT O'BRIEN In The Way He Deserves To Be'Erik Rutan says that he is "more than honored and proud to be able to play" with CANNIBAL CORPSE as the temporary replacement for guitarist Pat O'Brien. Rutan will appear live with the band for the "Decibel Magazine Tour" and the upcoming U.S. leg of SLAYER's final tour happening this May alongside LAMB OF GOD and AMON AMARTH.
This won't be the first time these death metal powerhouses have worked together; Rutan has produced four albums with CANNIBAL CORPSE ("Kill", "Evisceration Plague", "Torture", "Red Before Black") and is uniquely equipped to fill the role — he is one of the death metal's most acclaimed guitarists and is known for his time as part of MORBID ANGEL (who are co headlining the "Decibel" tour alongside CANNIBAL) throughout the '90s and early 2000s, as well as handling vocals/guitars and production duties for his current band HATE ETERNAL.
Rutan told Metal Insider that he "found out right before the holidays" that he would be needed to step in for O'Brien. "So it's been a lot of work, obviously, to learn a headlining set with CANNIBAL CORPSE," he said. "But I've been working my tail off. I've been playing guitar eight hours a day and working with the guys. Everything's going great actually. I just learned the last song of the set, which I've learned 15 songs in three or four weeks, so I've really been working my ass off to make sure that, one, I know the songs. The good thing is, one, I've produced four CANNIBAL CORPSE records; two, I know all the records because I'm a fan of the band; and then three, these guys are like family to me. They're friends of mine for a long, long time. So a lot of the songs I already kind of knew in my head, but just not on the guitar. I just have to apply it. But I've been working my ass off because, obviously, Pat O'Brien is one of the best guitar players in death metal, in metal period, and a really good friend of mine, and all the guys are."
He continued: "I knew that when things happened that I might be needed, and if I was, I was gonna make damn sure that I was there to help the guys in every way I could, and also be the best I can to go out there and play my ass off because that's what I do. I play guitar. I've been playing guitar for 30 plus years, and I love doing this shit. I wake up. I work on CANNIBAL CORPSE songs. I go to bed thinking about CANNIBAL CORPSE songs. That's all I've been doing for the last four weeks. But I'm feeling good."
Rutan went on to say that it's "a very unique situation" filling in for O'Brien, who was arrested in Florida more than two months ago on charges of aggravated assault on a law enforcement officer and burglary of an occupied dwelling with assault. Deputies say he burglarized a house and charged at a deputy with a knife.
"Listen, if someone had said… I don't know how to describe the feeling actually, because I care about Pat and the CANNIBAL guys tremendously, and of course want what's best for them, individually, collectively, in every regard," he said. "And in this situation, I'm more than honored and proud to be able to play with CANNIBAL CORPSE and fill in for Pat, but, of course, my thoughts are on playing the CANNIBAL CORPSE songs. On my friend Pat, I will be thinking positive thoughts for him as well. It's a very unique situation for me. I'm excited, motivated, honored and concerned. There's a lot of emotion involved in this. The one thing I know is that I'm gonna go out and be at my utmost best playing these songs with CANNIBAL: touring with MORBID ANGEL, and then touring with SLAYER. It's kind of overwhelming a little bit. The whole thing is massive. I've been putting down and practicing my ass off, making sure that I'm on point. Anybody that knows me knows that everything I do I put 110 percent into it and certainly CANNIBAL CORPSE I'm doing everything I can to make sure that I'm honoring Pat O'Brien in the way he deserves to be."
O'Brien allegedly broke into a Northdale, Florida home on December 10 and shouted that "the rapture is coming" before pushing a woman to the ground. He ran toward a responding deputy with a knife and was subdued with a stun gun.
Less than half a mile from where O'Brien was arrested, a fire broke out at the house he was renting, sending flames billowing into the night sky from the roof. Fire marshals found a large cache of weapon, locked safes and potential explosive devices inside O'Brien's home.
The owner of the home where O'Brien was arrested wouldn't go on camera but told ABC Action News he thought the guitarist was hallucinating when he spoke to him and claimed "someone was after him." The homeowner added O'Brien seemed scared and at one point even hid in his closet.
The 53-year-old musician was released from Hillsborough County jail on December 14, after posting a $50,000 surety bond.
Erik Rutan photo credit: Alex Morgan Imaging 3
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18 ôåâ 2019


SPIRITS OF FIRE Feat. TIM 'RIPPER' OWENS, CHRIS CAFFERY, STEVE DIGIORGIO And MARK ZONDER: 'It's Everywhere' Video"It's Everywhere", the new video from SPIRITS OF FIRE, can be seen below. The song is taken from the band's self-titled debut album, which will be released on February 22 via Frontiers Music Srl.
Frontiers Music Srl is known for building new bands/projects featuring musicians of outstanding quality and who come from unique backgrounds. After an intense brainstorming session, a dream team of renowned metal musicians including Tim "Ripper" Owens (ex-JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH), Chris Caffery (SAVATAGE, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA), Steve DiGiorgio (TESTAMENT, DEATH) and Mark Zonder (ex-FATES WARNING, WARLORD) was born and put together under the direction of renowned Los Angeles-based producer Roy Z. (BRUCE DICKINSON, HALFORD, TRIBE OF GYPSIES).
SPIRITS OF FIRE was named after the title of one of the band's songs and its music can best be described as "classic JUDAS PRIEST meets SAVATAGE."
Caffery said: "My influences for writing on this record were the bands that we were and are still in! I wanted to write songs that PRIEST, SAVATAGE, TESTAMENT and FATES WARNING fans would like. But I wanted them to have a personality of their own as well. To give it a vibe that was SPIRITS OF FIRE! I grew up listening to JUDAS PRIEST and spent 30-plus years working with Jon Oliva and Paul O'Neill with SAVATAGE and TSO. Many years playing Criss's music. These influences for me came naturally! Especially because I'm a fan of all of our bands!
"This was the first time that I ever worked with Roy and it was so much fun. I have been a huge fan of his work for a long time. He's written music, played on, and produced some of my favorite metal albums ever. He had a difficult job bringing this all together and I can't think of anyone that would have been a better producer and co-worker for this album!"
Added Owens: "I always just sing to the song, whatever I feel it should be. It's like a character thing! I like layers! This music is really perfect for me and in my natural wheel house. I like to sing all over the place and change it up and this all happens on this album. This is just the start of an amazing band, I mean sky is the limit and I actually can't wait to record the next album, because this one is so great and perfect."
Zonder stated: "I am the kind of player that plays what I think fits best with the music. With SPIRITS OF FIRE, the music was more aggressive and hard hitting which I really liked. Again, I tried to be very mindful of the song and the vocals, but tried to add parts that were interesting and creative for the listener."
"Spirits Of Fire" track listing:
01. Light Speed Marching
02. Temple Of The Soul
03. All Comes Together
04. Spirits Of Fire
05. It's Everywhere
06. A Game
07. Stand And Fight
08. Meet Your End
09. Never To Return
10. The Path
11. Alone In The Darkness
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18 ôåâ 2019


ALEXISONFIRE Releases First New Song In Almost 10 Years, 'Familiar Drugs'ALEXISONFIRE has released "Familiar Drugs", its first new song in almost ten years. The track was produced by the band, longtime friend Karl Bareham (CITY AND COLOUR), and mixed by Grammy Award-winning Jacquire King (Tom Waits, KINGS OF LEON, MODEST MOUSE).
A special vinyl pressing is available for pre-order today starting at 10:00 a.m. EST as a single-sided seven-inch vinyl with a laser-etched b-side. A limited-edition glow-in-the-dark variant will be randomly inserted throughout the entire pressing of black vinyl stock. Along with the seven-inch, ALEXISONFIRE will have new "Familiar Drugs"-inspired merchandise on its official storefront.
ALEXISONFIRE has announced select headline shows this June kicking off in London, with stops in New York, Los Angeles, and wrapping up in Toronto at Budweiser Stage. Tickets for all show dates go on sale on Friday, February 22 at 10:00 a.m. local time. Fans can sign up to the band's mailing list to receive a password for the pre-sale. The pre-sale will be live Tuesday, February 19 at 10:00 a.m. local time. ALEXISONFIRE has partnered with PLUS1 so that $1 from every ticket sold will be donated to Indspire to build a brighter future for Indigenous students.
Tune in to the band's Facebook page tonight for a special live stream performance from the House Of Strombo in Toronto. ALEXISONFIRE will perform "Familiar Drugs" for the first time along with selections from its award-winning catalogue.
Says vocalist George Pettit about the new track: "'Familiar Drugs' is about recognizing you need to make a change in your life, being presented with the opportunity to make that change, and then choosing to do the same thing you always do. It's about something very specific to me but it can be taken literally or interpreted in any number of ways. Most people have something in their lives they can't quit, substances, unhealthy relationships, lethargy, self righteousness, a job they hate. 'Familiar Drugs' is about choosing comfort over self betterment."
Hailing from St. Catharines, ALEXISONFIRE rose up out of the Southern Ontario underground in late 2001 to become one of the most successful indie bands out of Canada. The band's success also reached far beyond Canada's borders. ALEXISONFIRE released four hugely successful studio albums, "Alexisonfire" (2002), "Watch Out" (2004), "Crisis" (2006) and "Old Crows / Young Cardinals" (2009).
ALEXISONFIRE's sold-out "10th Year Anniversary Farewell" tour in December 2012 touched down on four continents in 24 days, illustrating how meaningful the band still is to its legion of fans around the world.
ALEXISONFIRE 2019 show dates:
June 01 - London, UK @ Alexandra Palace
June 08 - New York, NY @ Terminal 5
June 13 - Los Angeles, CA @ The Wiltern
June 15 - Toronto, ON @ The Budweiser Stage
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