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31 июл 2024
OVERKILL To Use Stand-In Bassist For Some Shows In September, Says BOBBY 'BLITZ' ELLSWORTH
 In a new interview with Portugal's Caminhos Metálicos, OVERKILL frontman Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth spoke about the band's touring schedule, having played around 50 gigs during 2023 and early 2024. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "If you're in shape for it, you're in shape for it. It doesn't matter. When it ends, it ends. That's the thing. Something's gotta break. And so far nothing's broken. I mean, you can hear it on the on the [latest OVERKILL] record [2023's 'Scorched']. I'm talking about me personally. But then, to the contrary, D.D.'s [Verni, OVERKILL bassist] got a shoulder issue that's been going on for this entire time, even back to the last record, [2019's] 'The Wings Of War', it was beginning back then. So I think that the amount of shows that we did was actually a light amount. We would normally do more shows, if he was healthy enough to do them. And he's gotta rehab that shoulder, so he can only do so much, put so much stress on it… Then we do another tour coming up in September, and he's only gonna do — I think he's gonna do maybe 10 shows and then he's gonna go home and we're gonna have a replacement for him. So I suppose unless it breaks, in my situation, I can just keep going. My voice is clean. It's powerful. You can hear it on the record. I can bring that to the live stage. I can still move around. No broken bones. [Laughs] So let's play. This is what we do."
He added: "If you listen to 'Scorched', you can tell that we're in this for life, that we're lifers, that it's a lifestyle as opposed to just a career. So, to not be able to play 100 shows a year, it's a little bit disappointing because that's what I'm used to doing."
Verni sat out OVERKILL's April 2024 Latin American tour as he was recovering from shoulder surgery. Filling in for him on the trek was former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson. Verni returned to the live stage on May 17 at the Milwaukee Metal Fest at The Rave/Eagles Club in Milwaukee, Wisconsin.
OVERKILL's 10-date "Scorching Latin America 2024" tour kicked off on April 11 in Guadalajara, Mexico and included stops in Costa Rica, Chile and Peru before closing on April 28 in Sao Paulo, Brazil.
OVERKILL will support KING DIAMOND on a North American tour this fall. The "Saint Lucifer's Hospital 1920" trek will commence on October 15 in San Antonio, Texas and run through December 6 in Dallas, Texas. Additional support on the tour will come from NIGHT DEMON.
"Scorched" was released in April 2023 via Nuclear Blast Records. The LP offered a new recording environment for OVERKILL as all members were able to record on their own. The mixing of the record was handled by Colin Richardson and his assistant engineer Chris Clancy. Johnny Rodd helped with producing vocals, and finally, Maor Appelbaum took over mastering and adding finishing touches. The band returned to artist Travis Smith to create the album cover art.
Richardson previously worked with OVERKILL on 1997's "From The Underground And Below", 2000's "Bloodletting" and 2003's "Killbox 13" albums.
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31 июл 2024
UNDEATH Announces New Album, 'More Insane'
 Rochester, New York's UNDEATH will release its third album, "More Insane", on October 4 via Prosthetic Records. The music video for the LP's lead single, "Brandish The Blade", which was directed and edited by Errick Easterday, can be seen below.
UNDEATH comments: "'More Insane' is the biggest, baddest, nastiest UNDEATH record yet by every conceivable metric. It's a fucking sick death metal record for sick death metal freaks and anyone out there who can appreciate the transcendent power of a good riff played fast on distorted electric guitars. No bullshit whatsoever — not even for a second. Ten tracks of death metal earworms crafted by five guys who shower just irregularly enough to invoke the spirits of the death metal ancient ones.
"Follow me on this one for a sec: In weightlifting terms, if our last record, 'It's Time...To Rise From The Grave' was our cut cycle record, where we trimmed the fat and honed things down to the raw essentials, 'More Insane' is us entering our bulk cycle, where we built a big, filthy record on top of a canvas of pure death metal muscle. We co-produced it with Mark Lewis, who engineered, mixed and mastered the whole thing and made the best sounding album we've ever made. It'll sound absolutely killer on literally anything you play it on, and it'll sound even better if you turn it way the fuck up. There's songs about advancing armies of the undead, demonic bounty hunters, homicide, perverse experiments gone horribly awry, dead people screaming and crying tears of blood, homicide (again),and so much more. Matt [Browning, drums] painted the cover art and this marks the end of the trilogy of paintings starting back with 'Lesions Of A Different Kind', where we've zoomed out far enough now to reveal that the entire fucked up universe of these covers has taken place entirely within the collapsed and bursting skull of a rotting godhead floating in a soulless void.
"To put a bow on it all: 'More Insane' is the sickest shit we've ever done, full stop. Death metal reigns supreme forever and we are but its humble servants. Enjoy and smoke em if you've got em."
The band adds: "'Brandish The Blade' was one of the first songs that came together for 'More Insane' and it's easily one of the most anthemic songs that we've ever written. Specifically it's about a conquering army (probably of the undead, as is our M.O.) moving from battlefield to battlefield and annihilating anything and anyone who gets in their way, but broadly speaking I've always felt that it was a call to arms for all those who believe that death metal in all its unadulterated glory is something worth fighting for. The chorus repeats the line 'The time is now', and I see that as a natural evolution from the chorus of 'Rise From The Grave', which was the first single from our last record. We've risen from the grave, and now it's time to brandish the fucking blade."
UNDEATH's previous album "It's Time...To Rise From The Grave" caught a wave of acclaim on TheNeedleDrop's YouTube channel, earned "Best New Music" from Pitchfork, and, most impressively, rocketed to the top of Decibel magazine's "Top 40 Albums Of 2022", along with a coveted cover feature. On "More Insane", UNDEATH — featuring Kyle Beam (guitars),Alexander Jones (vocals),Tommy Wall (bass),Jared Welch (guitars) and Matt Browning (drums) — feast on the rotten flesh of brutality, complexity, and depravity.
If the gross-out teenage hallucinations of "It's Time..." rattled death metal's caved-in cranium, "More Insane" explodes with even sicker vistas. Lyrically, UNDEATH pick up, in part, where "Necrobionics" and "Enhancing The Dead" left off. Indeed, the undead armies (from space) cause more carnage in "Sutured For War" and "Dead From Beyond". Elsewhere, the New Yorkers summon nightmares from video games ("Bloodborne", etc.) on "Cramped Caskets (Necrology)", turn to high fantasy on "Brandish The Blade", and man-eating laboratory demons on "Disattachment Of A Prophylactic In The Brain". Unifying themes of murder, weirdos, psychotic people (who kill others),and more lunacy prevail on "More Insane". Browning's eye-catching cover art of a splayed head atop an optic white background engulfs all in graphic, blood-soaked glory.
The recording of "More Insane" was hearsed over to American studio wizard Mark Lewis (CANNIBAL CORPSE, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER) at Mark Lewis Audio in Nashville, Tennessee.
UNDEATH and Lewis met after a gig in Alabama. They became fast friends. With the basics out of the way, the group set up a month-long residency at Lewis's studio to nail down "More Insane". UNDEATH and Lewis co-produced, while Lewis handled engineering, mixing, and mastering.
"More Insane" track listing:
01. Dead From Beyond
02. More Insane
03. Brandish The Blade
04. Disputatious Malignancy
05. Sutured For War
06. Cramped Caskets (Necrology)
07. Bounty Hunter
08. Wailing Cadavers
09. Disattachment Of A Prophylactic In The Brain
10. Bones Clattering In The Cave
UNDEATH is:
Kyle Beam - guitars
Alexander Jones - vocals
Tommy Wall - bass
Jared Welch - guitars
Matt Browning - drums
Photo credit: Nick Karp | +1 | |
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31 июл 2024
VENDED Feat. COREY TAYLOR's And SHAWN CRAHAN's Sons: Debut Album Announced
 VENDED, the band fronted by Griffin Taylor, the 21-year-old son of SLIPKNOT singer Corey Taylor, will release its self-titled debut album on September 20.
Since VENDED's inception in 2018, the band came out swinging with singles replete with relentless energy and unparalleled ferocity that lit a firestorm of excitement. Now, the five-piece is ready to unleash a level of fury unseen in modern metal. This band gives no fucks; just pure unrestrained mayhem.
Today, VENDED reveals the details of the forthcoming record arriving in the midst of their North American tour dates with SLIPKNOT and KNOCKED LOOSE and subsequent headline run with WRISTMEETRAZOR and LIE.
Commenting on their debut full-length, Griffin says: "There’s a level of aggression and emotion that's missing from music right now, and we aim to fill that void on this album. It represents everything that VENDED are about. 'Fuck your ignorance, just grab ahold of it.' You're either with us or against us. VENDED is a unit aimed at world domination, and this album is the first step. Welcome to VENDED."
VENDED's LP was produced by Chris Collier (KORN) and features 13 rage-fueled tracks, including previously released singles "Am I The Only One", "The Far Side" and "Nihilism", that restores some faith in the metal scene.
"Vended" track listing:
01. Intro
02. Paint The Skin
03. The Far Side
04. Am I The Only One
05. Going Up
06. Nihilism
07. Pitiful
08. Serenity
09. Disparager
10. Where The Honesty Lies
11. Ones'...
12. Downfall
13. As We Know It
VENDED's lineup is completed by Simon Crahan (son of SLIPKNOT percussionist Shawn "Clown" Crahan) on drums, Connor Grodzicki on rhythm guitar, Jeremiah Pugh on bass and Cole Espeland on lead guitar.
In an interview with Andy Hall of the Des Moines, Iowa radio station Lazer 103.3, Corey spoke about Griffin's work with VENDED, saying: "I cannot tell you how proud I am of that boy. And, of course, being a typical Taylor, on one hand I'm super proud of him, but I still can't get him to clean anything, dude; he's just such a nightmare.
"The funny thing is you and I were talking the day after he was born. And I keep going back to that night, going, 'What's he gonna be? Who's he gonna be in life?' And now [21] years later, , and he is this crazy metal pirate, just like I was," Corey continued. "And I'm just, like, 'Oh, I failed as a father. What did I do?' I kept trying to push him to be anything other than what I do. And, yeah, dude, he's crushing.
"I've heard the new stuff that he just recorded with [producer] Chris Collier, and it is so good," Corey added. "VENDED, their new stuff is so rad. Not only Griffin, man, but Simon's [Crahan] drumming sounds incredible. All of the guys — Cole [Espeland] and Grod [Connor Grodzicki] sound great [on guitar]. The guitars have just gone above and beyond. J.J.'s [Jeremiah Pugh] crushing it on bass. I'm really, really proud of those guys, man. And then to be able to watch my boy get out there and just be himself and crush. It's so easy for him, and it just makes me angry. Because he's got all the great stuff that I never had when I was… He can wear anything. It's just criminal. I'm just, like, 'You don't know how good you've got it, kid. The carbs haven't caught you yet.'"
VENDED's five-track debut EP, "What Is It / Kill It", arrived at DSPs in November 2021. The collection was recorded with Griffin Landa of THE ACACIA STRAIN. The two singles bookended VENDED's first U.S. headline tour, after which the band went on to open the day's proceedings at the huge Knotfest Los Angeles show at the Banc Of California Stadium, playing alongside SLIPKNOT, BRING ME THE HORIZON, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, FEVER 333, CODE ORANGE and CHERRY BOMBS.
Formed in February of 2018 in Des Moines, Iowa, VENDED had its first mainstream exposure in 2020 when they performed as part of Knotfest.com's virtual "Pulse Of The Maggots" festival.
VENDED played its first headlining show in March 2020 at the iconic local club Vaudeville Mews in Des Moines, Iowa.
Griffin, who looks a lot like his father, previously showcased his skills when he joined Corey onstage during STONE SOUR shows in 2017 and 2018. He's also played cover tunes with Simon Crahan, while Clown's daughter Alexandria Crahan-Conway has snapped some of VENDED's previous press pics.
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31 июл 2024
NEIL FALLON Says CLUTCH Will 'Hopefully' Begin Recording New Album In March 2025
 In a new interview with Neil Jones of TotalRock, CLUTCH frontman Neil Fallon spoke about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the band's follow-up to the "Sunrise On Slaughter Beach" album, which was released in September 2022. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "Well, we've been getting together, on and off this year, just writing. And then that sometimes that just means writing a riff, not necessarily a song. But right now, as we speak, behind me, [producer] Tom Dalgety, he flew in from Bristol [United Kingdom] a couple nights ago and he's done a load of albums, he did our last record, 'Sunrise On Slaughter Beach'. We're doing a pre-production session this week. We'll do another one probably in January. And then again, right before we record, hopefully in March. And what that means is we're just kind of fleshing out these demos. So when it comes time to record them, we know them and don't have an excuse to say, 'I don't know how to play this song.'"
Asked how far back the musical ideas on those demos were originally captured, Fallon said: "I think maybe the first ones are maybe from March of last year, but it was pretty piecemeal 'cause we'd go out on the road and then no one really wants to get together after a show and say, 'Hey, let's jam.' So, it was kind of piecemeal, like I said. But there's a riff that Tom said we did on the last session almost three years ago that he'd like to kick around that was actually from — I think we've been kicking that riff around since [2015's] 'Psychic Warfare'. It's sort of like this orphan riff that — it's good; it just needs to find some friends to live with."
Regarding how he comes up with the themes for his lyrics, Fallon said: "I wish I knew there was a very succinct system on doing this. But I'll come up with lyrical ideas. I'll jot 'em down in a notebook or in a voice memo on my phone and I'll come up with an idea for lyrics. And sometimes they seem to write themselves. Other times I'll say, 'Well, they don't really sound that good. Let's try it on this song.' And eventually, it's like… I don't know. You whittle away at stuff until you find its final form. I find that songs that have stood the test of time are the ones that were the quickest to write. The ones that take months, but usually those don't last very long as far as live rotation on stage."
Asked if he and his CLUTCH bandmates are thinking at all, while they are working on new material, about how the songs are going to go down in a live setting, Fallon said: "No. And I think that's one of the things that CLUTCH fans like about us. I think there's a sincerity. If you kind of premeditate it, then it becomes less of an artistic enterprise and more of a marketing scheme. And I think because if we like it, then by extension CLUTCH fans like it, because that's what we're all here for, as far as this band goes. There's been occasions where we've had songs and I've listened to it, and I said, 'I don't know. I don't know about this thing.' And then that became to be some of the most popular songs that we put out. And so I'm not a good judge of that."
Earlier this month, CLUTCH drummer Jean-Paul Gaster told Colombia's El Expreso Del Rock about his relationship with his bandmates: "We see each other all the time… Typically, we will finish a tour and maybe take a week, maybe two weeks off. We just kind of go home and do home stuff, but then we're back in the jam room again, and it's usually three times a week. And usually when we get together, we're writing new music. Unless there's a show coming up, we just start playing riffs. And we have all the equipment always mic'd up, the computers, they're ready to go. So the minute somebody has an idea, boom, I go push 'record' and we document that idea. And sometimes that idea becomes a song, and sometimes that idea is just something that we did for an hour. But it's okay, because you have to keep playing."
He continued: "Sometimes I play with musicians in projects and stuff, and they become sort of very focused on one idea: 'Oh, this is the song and this is the idea, and this is the only one that there is.' We try not to do that. We try to come up with many ideas. 'Okay, that idea is cool. Great. Let's try something else. Let's see what this idea will be like.' And we just try to put as many of these things together. And then when it comes time to make a record, then we go through those things. We say, 'Oh, well, that thing we did last month was really cool.' And then, 'Neil, you have this new riff. Okay, well, let's put those together. That might be cool.' And that's the way it works. It's very organic. There's not a set way that things come together."
In a separate interview earlier this month, CLUTCH bassist Dan Maines told Chile's iRock that he and his bandmates were "in the middle of some deep writing sessions. We've been getting together quite a bit, but it's all focusing on new material, trying to write songs for a new album," he revealed. "It's going really well. We get together in a studio and we are just recording every single idea that we have. If it gets to the point where we've got two parts together that kind of resemble a verse and a chorus, and everyone's happy with it just music-wise, we'll record those ideas. And then we put that aside and move on to something else. And we upload those files so that all four of us can listen to them at home. And Neil will take a good hard listen to them and think about vocal ideas for those parts. And we start piecing together things. Sometimes he'll listen to something from one day that he thinks might work really well with something from the previous week. And if it requires tempo changes or key changes to kind of blend those two parts together, we'll work on that. But, yeah, it's kind of a very organic process. Right now I would say we have probably about a solid 10 ideas that you could call songs, but they definitely need a little more fleshing out. But, yeah, it's exciting."
Offering a rough timetable for the rest of the writing sessions for CLUTCH's next LP, Maines said: "We'll go down to South America for the week's worth of shows [in late July 2024] and then come back and try to do some more writing before we get into full kind of tour mode, which is summertime. We're heading over to Europe for European festivals, and then we have a lot of touring that picks back up in the fall here in the U.S. So we're trying to get all of our writing done now as much as possible. And it's going pretty good."
Asked what music inspires him and his CLUTCH bandmates these days, Dan said: "Anything, everything. Between the four of us, we kind of draw from a lot of different sources and we try to take those influences, whether it's blues or something more heavy, doom-oriented or something funky, and just kind of put it in a blender and create something new out of it. But sometimes, like the last time we got together, we were thinking, 'Well, let's try to write something uptempo, something above 100 beats per minute.' And at the end of the day, we came out with something that we all thought was great, but the tempo was, like, 70. So you can go in with one idea or one direction, but at the end of the day, what you end up with could be completely different. You just never know what's gonna come out."
"Sunrise On Slaughter Beach", which was recorded at the The Magpie Cage Recording Studio in Baltimore, Maryland, was produced and mixed by Grammy-nominated producer Tom Dalgety (GHOST, ROYAL BLOOD, PIXIES),with additional engineering by J Robbins (JAWBREAKER, AGAINST ME!, THE SWORD).
This past April, Fallon confirmed to TotalRock's "Hobo On The Radio" show that he and his bandmates were working on new music. "I am definitely the slowest out of the bunch as far as writing lyrics, 'cause I try the same lyrics on different songs and try to find out where they can live," he said.
He continued: "We probably — we won't be recording until next year. And I'm gonna say hopefully the album will come out in the third quarter or fourth quarter of 2025. Which sounds like it's far away, and I guess it is, to a degree, but that's gonna come around pretty quick for us. We're gonna do it with Tom Dalgety again. He was awesome. But that never stops us from playing these [new songs] live, which they'll inevitably will be everyone's favorite version and they'll hate the record's version, but that's just the way it goes."
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31 июл 2024
STITCHED UP HEART Is 'Already About 20 Songs Into The Next Record'
 In a new interview with TotalRock's "Louder With Ore B" radio show, STITCHED UP HEART frontwoman Alecia "Mixi" Demner spoke about the band's plans for the follow-up to 2023's "To The Wolves" album. She said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think the more we create music, the happier we wanna go. Part of it is [guitarist Merritt Goodwin's] fault, and my fault. 'Cause I feel so brutal — I feel so brutal when I scream. But now the next record — we're already about 20 songs into the next record. We're just going for it. And I'm just, like, 'Just write a breakdown after a breakdown after a breakdown.'"
Added Merritt: "I grew up like listening to melodic death metal from Sweden and Finland and stuff. So, back in America when people are, like, 'Oh yeah, this is metal,' but it's just, like, AC/DC or whatever, I'm, like, 'No, no, man.' We have to really, really downtune and do all the cool pedal notes and stuff.
"But yeah, so the next album, we're just trying to get it the next step to go a little bit heavier and a little bit heavier," he explained. "We're just gonna continue to try to push that boundary a little bit."
Elaborating on when fans might be able to expect new music from STITCHED UP HEART, Mixi said: "Yeah, we're just writing [right now]. We were writing before the record came out. We were ready. [Merritt's] super inspired, and we've got a home studio set up. And so we're just having all the pre-production done now. We haven't decided on a full-on producer yet, but as soon as we figure out who's gonna fully produce the record, then we're just gonna go for it."
"To The Wolves" arrived on September 1, 2023 via Century Media Records.
Formed in Los Angeles, California in 2010, STITCHED UP HEART has gained recognition for its intense live performances and deeply personal songwriting.
Mixi is joined in STITCHED UP HEART's core lineup by James Decker on drums, Merritt Goodwin on guitar and Randy Mathias on bass. They released their album titled "Never Alone", which debuted in the Top 10 of both the Billboard Heatseekers and Hard Rock charts. With their single "Finally Free" organically gaining hyper rotation on active rock radio the band paved the way to success for the next two singles "Monster" and "Catch Me When I Fall".
In 2020, STITCHED UP HEART released its sophomore album, "Darkness". Produced by Matt Good, the LP delved further into the band's introspective songwriting and showcases their growth as musicians. Tracks like "Lost" (featuring Sully Erna of GODSMACK) and "My Demon" highlighted the band's ability to blend heavy guitar riffs with anthemic choruses, making a lasting impact on the rock genre.
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31 июл 2024
SYSTEM OF A DOWN's SHAVO ODADJIAN On SEVEN HOURS AFTER VIOLET: 'It Started Off As A Passion Project'
 SYSTEM OF A DOWN bassist Shavo Odadjian spoke to RIFF Magazine about his new band SEVEN HOURS AFTER VIOLET, in which he is joined by vocalist Taylor Barber (LEFT TO SUFFER),WINDS OF PLAGUE guitarist Michael Montoya (a.k.a. Morgoth Beatz, a producer and songwriter who has previously collaborated with Travis Barker, JuiceWrld, Lil Xan, Jonathan Davis, ISSUES and many more),guitarist/backing vocalist Alejandro Aranda (a.k.a. Scarypoolparty, "American Idol") and Josh Johnson (WINDS OF PLAGUE). Asked how SYSTEM OF A DOWN came about, Shavo said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It was funny. My number's 22, so that's why I have the [cannabis] brand 22Red. So on February 22nd, 2022, we threw a party and the day of the party, I did a live radio show on KROQ here in Los Angeles. And that evening, we were throwing the party for 22Red, but I did that show before and I invited the host to the party. He asked me if he could bring a friend. I said, 'Sure.' He brought his friend. It was Morgoth Beatz who ended up being the producer and now my rhythm guitar player in the band and co-songwriter in some of them songs and stuff. So he and I decided we can write music that day together. So we exchanged numbers and we got together like a month later, wrote a song, and then we did another one a week later. And then it just became this thing where it was gonna be like one song we were going to sell to another artist, 'cause that's what he does; he writes a lot of music and he passes it on. But it became this thing. And he mentioned, he's, like, 'Man, why don't you do a Shavo record? Like something with all of the songs that you wrote instead of just one or two songs. These are coming out great.' And at that point, I wasn't really thinking about doing my own record like that, 'cause I've done so many other projects. And another thing is I've never done heavy music outside of SYSTEM. It's been heavy, but never the same genre. I've always tried to stay against the grain, and I've done EDM, I've done hip-hop, I've done rock-metal shit, but I haven't really just focused on that, which actually is my forte. I close my eyes and it just happens, which is how we did this."
Shavo continued: "So I was at his studio. I have my own studio. I gave him the key. I said, 'Come through. We're gonna start working on this record.' And a year and a half later, we have a full record, plus another half a record for album two. We have a full band. I started my own label and I signed it to Sumerian, who has worldwide distribution to Virgin, which is amazing for me. That's what I kind of wanted with the control. I've been doing this for 30 years, so I kind of knew how I wanted it, and I'm building it. And that's how it started. And that's where we're at right now. It started off as a passion project [and it] became my thing."
Regarding how the songwriting process for SYSTEM OF A DOWN was different from how he approached his previously projects, Shavo said: "Yeah, usually I'll write at home and then I'll bring it to the band. Or my other projects, I've just written at home and then brought it to the rest of the guys. This one, I would just have him play a beat that he made, or even just a 4/4, or even a loop or something, and then I just kind of… I mean, I just started strumming and the music just came out of me. So we just recorded everything I did. And whenever something was amazing, we knew it. I was, like, 'Okay, make that a thing.' So we highlighted that moment. And then afterwards I wrote a part that goes with that, and then kind of arranged it, wrote it all in the studio. So artistically it was really refreshing. There was no boundaries, no law, no rules. I just did it. It just came out so organically. Everything about it has been organic and not planned. And that's what the beauty of SEVEN HOURS AFTER VIOLET."
On the topic of how he came up with the name of the SEVEN HOURS AFTER VIOLET, Shavo said: "He [Morgoth Beatz] wanted to call it SHAV or SHAVO, so people know it's me, and I wrote 95 percent of it. But still, I always like a unit, I like a band. I think it's cooler. And plus he helped me a lot. These guys, they came in and did their part, and it just works perfectly. So I like the collaboration. I've never had the ego, where it's, like, 'me, me, me.' I've never done that. I've never said that. So I like it. It's us. And it became a band. And SEVEN HOURS AFTER VIOLET, the acronym, is S.H.A.V. So that's cool. So they got what they wanted and I got what I wanted. I got a band, the cool name mysterious, but it also has a meaning, but I'm never gonna explain the meaning. It's kind of one of those things. There's many meanings you can think of what 'Violet' is — it could be a female, it could be a thing, the color, an event, it could be anything, and it's kind of cool. So there is some deep meaning to it and maybe one day we'll explain it, but at the moment, I like it where we are."
Shavo also talked about the first single from SEVEN HOURS AFTER VIOLET, "Paradise", which was made available last month. The release marked the launch of Shavo's new joint label venture 1336 Records in partnership with Sumerian Music Group.
"That's one of the heaviest songs on the record," Odadjian said. "I have a few really heavy ones. But I wanted to release something brutal first, 'cause… I don't know… I just kind of like the heaviness of it, and I think the world needs to hear really heavy music from me right now. They've heard a lot, so I kind of wanted to drop that first. I feel like after that we can move into the other stuff, because it does have the melodic, it has the grooves, it has the heavy, heavy stuff."
Regarding the other members of SEVEN HOURS AFTER VIOLET, Shavo said: "My singer, Taylor Barber, he comes from the world of deathcore and the growling. His voice is an instrument, and he's a wonder. He's like the new wonder of the world that no one knows yet that's there. He does have a following and he comes from another band called LEFT TO SUFFER, which is a grindcore band. But he sings like a canary as well. His range is so huge. He's the perfect member. He's the perfect singer that came in and can do all the parts. And then also we got Alejandro Aranda, who, he is just this musical genius who came in. He was the last member, and I didn't even know I needed that member, but, now it's, like, of course I needed him. Of course he fit perfectly. He does side vocals. He sings along with Taylor perfectly. So it's like a two-vocal band now, two-vocalist band. And we got Josh Johnson on the drums, and he's amazing. He hails from a band called WINDS OF PLAGUE; he used to play with them. So he's talented as hell. So, yeah, I'm honored and lucky to have these guys around me and for us to be able to do this music together."
SEVEN HOURS AFTER VIOLET will make its live debut at this year's Mayhem festival, set to take place on October 12 at the Glen Helen Amphitheatre in San Bernardino. "And we are gonna do some shows around it, and then we do have some outside-of-the-U.S. stuff already planned," Shavo explained. "So, yeah, this will be a touring band. 'Cause that's kind of the purpose why I put the band together the way I did. The original idea was to make the music and then have like a DJ Khaled kind of album, but rock and metal, where I have features, guest vocalists coming on; each song has somebody else. But when the songs started developing, I was, like, 'This should be a tour. This should be a touring road band as well.' But you could never do that with guest vocals, so we needed someone to be the singer. So that's why we went ahead and searched for the singer. And that's how we got Taylor. So, yeah, we got the Mayhem coming up. That one's announced, but we are booking a little U.S. thing around it. 'Cause you don't wanna just do one show, but that would be the big one. We're on the main stage. I can't wait. And then we've got some outside-of-the-U.S. ideas too. So yes, more coming."
The music video for "Paradise" is a collaborative effort with creative direction being overseen by Shavo and Adam Mason, who also shot the video. Editing was handled by Arben and Kuj Durollari of BOND, who are also working with the band to design their creative assets.
When the universe aligns, magic happens. This was certainly the case when Odadjian, the legendary bass player of SYSTEM OF A DOWN, crossed paths with platinum-selling producer, songwriter and guitarist Morgoth at a party on 2.22.22. Their initial sessions were a spontaneous combustion of creativity, transforming from a potential solo venture into a full-fledged band. Shavo recalls: "We wrote a song right away. It wasn't like any writing session I had been part of before; riffs were just flowing out of me without me even having to try. Every time I felt like I couldn't write anything. Morgoth would hand me a guitar and say, 'Go, go, go'. I needed that, you know? I needed someone to push me when I wasn't pushing myself. "
As music continued to pour out in torrents, with Shavo writing and performing all the guitar and bass parts and Morgoth producing and providing the beats, atmospherics and FX, Morgoth suggested they turn it into a Shavo solo project. However, with his eye now firmly set on the live arena, Shavo decided to create a full band.
Finding the right vocal talent to complement the musical landscape created by Shavo and Morgoth was crucial. Morgoth's recommendation of Taylor Barber from LEFT TO SUFFER was a game changer. Shavo was blown away. "He was singing in falsetto one minute and growling the next — it was ridiculous," the bassist states. "He became the singer because he knocked every song out of the park."
With Shavo on bass and Morgoth on guitar, the band also brought in Morgoth's WINDS OF PLAGUE bandmate Josh Johnson on drums and Alejandro Aranda, known for his solo project SCARYPOOLPARTY and as runner-up on "American Idol", as lead guitarist and backing vocalist.
Once the new music was complete, mixed by Zach Jones and mastered by Maor Applebaum, Shavo partnered with Avildsen to create 1336 Records, with SEVEN HOURS AFTER VIOLET being the first signing.
SEVEN HOURS AFTER VIOLET is:
Taylor Barber - Vocals
Morgoth - Guitar, Production
Shavo Odadjian - Bass
Alejandro Aranda - Guitar/Backing Vocals
Josh Johnson - Drums
In April 2023, Odadjian spoke to the 96.7 KCAL-FM program "Wired In The Empire" about his solo LP, saying: "I started this solo project with Morgoth Beatz; he's my producer and he's also the guitar player for the group. And it's heavy. I'm back to my roots — no hip-hop. I think it's the heaviest I've ever been, and it's just flowing out of me.
"We have a track with — I'm gonna say it — Jonathan Davis [of KORN]," Shavo revealed. "I'm working on that one right now. We have the choruses and the first verse, and I'm gonna do a little breakdown, and I think we've got one. That's 12 — number 12. So we're 12 songs into the solo record. I'm very excited about that."
Photo credit: Max McGuire | +3 | |
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31 июл 2024
Watch: GENE SIMMONS Kicks Off Summer 2024 European Solo Tour At Finland's KUOPIOROCK Festival
 Gene Simmons and his solo band kicked off their summer 2024 European tour on Saturday, July 27 at the Kuopiorock festival in Kuopio, Finland. Fan-filmed video of the entire performance can be seen below.
Featured songs:
00:00 Are You Ready
05:15 I Love it Loud (KISS cover)
12:53 Ace Of Spades (MOTÖRHEAD cover)
18:30 Communication Breakdown (LED ZEPPELIN cover)
29:59 Parasite (KISS cover)
35:14 Never In My Life (MOUNTAIN cover)
40:12 Shout It Out Loud (KISS cover)
44:26 Rock And Roll All Nite (KISS cover)
50:38 Deuce (KISS cover)
59:59 War Machine (KISS cover)
1:05:04 House Of Pain (VAN HALEN cover, Gene Simmons demo version 1976)
The current lineup of Simmons's solo band features guitarists Brent Woods (SEBASTIAN BACH, VINCE NEIL) and Jason Walker plus drummer Brian Tichy (WHITESNAKE, FOREIGNER).
The GENE SIMMONS BAND played its second concert of 2024 on April 26 at the Summer Breeze festival at Memorial Da América Latina in São Paulo, Brazil. The setlist included a number of KISS classics alongside covers of MOTÖRHEAD's "Ace Of Spades" and LED ZEPPELIN's "Communication Breakdown".
Three days earlier, the GENE SIMMONS BAND performed at the grand opening of the Rock & Brews restaurant at the Ilani dining and entertainment destination in Ridgefield, Washington. It marked the KISS bassist/vocalist's first live appearance since the legendary rock act concluded its "End Of The Road" farewell tour at New York's Madison Square Garden in December.
Back in 2017 and 2018, the GENE SIMMONS BAND played a number of shows with a lineup that consisted of Simmons alongside guitarist/bassist Jeremy Asbrock, guitarist Ryan Cook, guitarist Phil Shouse and drummer Brent Fitz.
Six years ago, Simmons stated about his solo shows: "Doing these smaller concert halls, which hold a thousand to three thousand people, means they get filled up by real diehard fans. They don't want to hear the 'same old, same old.' They want to hear nuggets, as they say. It's a hoot for me because I've never really had a chance to do this stuff live. It's been a lot of fun." Gene told the Chicago Sun-Times: "By the end, I get the chance to bring as many people from the audience as we can fit on the stage to sing with me."
Regarding how the idea for a solo tour came about, Simmons told Australia's Advertiser in a 2018 interview: "The GENE SIMMONS BAND was not a plan or anything. About a year ago, a corporate event asked me to be keynote speaker … then they said, 'Won't you get up and sing a few tunes?' I explained that you can't just do that, you've got to have a band and rehearse and all that. They said, 'Well, we'll pay you X dollars more,' and I said, 'I like you!' "So I put together a band from Nashville — these guys back up Kid Rock and lots of other people — and without a single rehearsal, I just told them which songs I wanted to do and they learned them. It just sounded natural — there is such a thing called chemistry. They don't teach that anywhere — I mean, they do teach 'chemistry' but not the kind I'm talking about. It felt right and as soon as the videos went on YouTube and such, people were calling. This little GENE SIMMONS BAND never tried to be KISS… It was just a little bit of fun and stuff. Now all of a sudden, we're headlining festivals in the Czech Republic, Canada, Germany… It's crazy."
KISS played the final concert of its "End Of The Road" farewell tour on December 2, 2023 at Madison Square Garden in New York City.
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31 июл 2024
Watch: SEETHER Performs New Single 'Judas Mind' At SiriusXM Studios
 Video of SEETHER performing the band's new single, "Judas Mind", live at the studios of SiriusXM Octane can be seen below.
"Judas Mind" is taken from SEETHER's ninth studio album, "The Surface Seems So Far", which will arrive on September 20 via Fantasy Records.
"'Judas Mind' is a song about reaching an understanding that there are bad actors in our lives that are trying to force an outcome for us that we don't see as our destiny," SEETHER frontman and songwriter Shaun Morgan said. "It's about rising up against people who have a vision for you that you don't share."
Known for their enduring anthems like "Broken", "Fake It" and "Words As Weapons", SEETHER returns with "The Surface Seems So Far", showcasing their trademark blend of aggression and introspection. The track list for the new album — the follow-up to 2020's "Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum", which boasted three No. 1 hits — sets the tone for an honest and exhilarating journey through themes of melancholy ("Regret"),self-reflection ("Same Mistakes"),and raw emotion ("Dead On The Vine"),with catchy hooks and driving bombast emphasizing its many twists and turns. Adding to SEETHER's impressive catalog, Morgan and his bandmates — Dale Stewart (bass),John Humphrey (drums) and Corey Lowery (guitar) — sound alternately confident and confessional, full of vitriol and vulnerability throughout "The Surface Seems So Far", which Morgan produced with veteran producer Matt Hyde (DEFTONES, SLAYER) as engineer and mixer.
SEETHER, known for their authentic and electrifying live show, will support the release of "The Surface Seems So Far" on the road this fall on a co-headlining tour with SKILLET. The 18-date outing launches September 17 in Asheville and will travel across the U.S. stopping in such cities as Baltimore, Boston, Pittsburgh, Chicago, Kansas City, St. Louis, Houston, Dallas, Albuquerque, Denver, Omaha, and more before wrapping October 20 in Minneapolis. SEETHER is also set to perform at Louder Than Life and Aftershock festivals during the fall tour.
With five gold and platinum albums and two dozen Billboard Rock Airplay Top 10 hits including 20 No. 1s at U.S. radio throughout a career spanning over two decades, SEETHER is as vibrant and relevant as ever. Hailing from South Africa, Shaun Morgan proudly draws inspiration from his grunge and hard rock roots, crafting a unique sonic identity that propelled the band's gold-certified American debut and continues to resonate deeply with fans worldwide. The rock quartet, who also founded the annual Rise Above Fest for nearly ten years to raise awareness for suicide prevention and mental illness, remains a beacon of integrity on "The Surface Seems So Far", which promises to captivate both loyal fans and newcomers alike with its blend of memorable hooks, driving rhythms, and unapologetic rock spirit.
"The Surface Seems So Far" track listing
01. Judas Mind
02. Illusion
03. Beneath The Veil
04. Semblance Of Me
05. Walls Come Down
06. Try To Heal
07. Paint The World
08. Same Mistakes
09. Lost All Control
10. Dead On The Vine
11. Regret
This past May, Morgan explained to Ronni Hunter and Lewis of the 99.7 The Blitz radio station why he and his SEETHER bandmates weren't ready to perform any of the material from their follow-up to the "Si Vis Pacem, Para Bellum" album. He said: "We live in such a horribly overconnected world that even the smallest things that make life slightly more exciting, even for us, I think it's cool. So, if we played [the first single] live, it would be all over the Internet by the next day, and then it kind of blows the surprise. And maybe we should, so we don't talk it up too much. And [people will be], like, 'Oh, this is what it was about.' But I think anticipation is a good thing.
"We finished this in January, we mastered it in the beginning of February, so we've been sitting with us for a long time too," he explained. "So we're also excited to get out and play it. But, again, I think anticipation is not to be underestimated as far as just how much it can mean when you finally get to the day… You used to wait for album releases, like, 'Oh, my God. Finally we can go to the store and we can buy the album. We can go home. We can read the lyrics,' all those kinds of things. Those don't exist anymore. More often than not, albums just kind of arrive and [you'll] be, like, 'Oh, they have a new album? I had no idea.' And that's kind of a sad world. We used to all line up around the block to go get a new album when it came out, so any bit of anticipation we can [build is what we intend to do]."
Asked if there is an increased amount of pressure every time he and his SEETHER bandmates go into writing a new album, Shaun said: "The idea is not to put any pressure on yourself with a deadline. And when it's ready, it'll be ready and you'll know. So if you had a deadline, you'd panic and you'd write stuff for the sake of writing it. But I think, at the end of the day, as long as you understand that once it's finished, it'll present itself as finished, and then you can go, 'Okay, it's finished,' and you can move on. But, having said that, then you get into recording, and you're done recording, and you're, like, 'Ah, I should've changed that,' and now it's too late. You can't change those words anymore. So it's always evolving, and it's always a process. But I think, as far as from, 'All right, we're done with that tour. Let's take a couple months off, and then we'll start again.' It's always a thing of, like, 'All right, well, let's see what happens.' And the first three months might be garbage, but at least it's starting to get the gears moving again. And then eventually there's a stride that you find yourself in. And then, again, it'll complete itself and you'll know when it's done. And then it's, like, 'Hey guys, label guys, we've got this album for you.' And, thankfully, they're not a very intrusive A&R company; they pretty much leave us to our own devices. And that's great too, 'cause you don't have some guy breathing down your neck and trying to put his thumb on the scale to make you sound a certain way or do a certain thing." | +1 | |
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31 июл 2024
MARK OSEGUEDA Explains Why Term 'Supergroup' Doesn't Apply To KERRY KING's New Band
 SLAYER guitarist Kerry King has launched the sixth in a series of interview videos to promote his recently released debut solo album, "From Hell I Rise". Check it out below.
Joining Kerry in his new band are Mark Osegueda (vocals; DEATH ANGEL),Phil Demmel (guitar; MACHINE HEAD, VIO-LENCE),Kyle Sanders (bass; HELLYEAH) and drummer Paul Bostaph (SLAYER, TESTAMENT, EXODUS).
Asked about the term "supergroup" as it relates to King's solo band, Osegueda said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I think [that term has] been overused, and for this band, I don't feel it's that. I think Kerry knew what he wanted on his record, and he knew what he wanted it to sound like, and he basically handpicked the people that he thought could do it. Sure, we all have pedigrees for being in other bands, but it's just because we're good at our craft and we take it seriously. And we also all get along really well, so that helps. And when you're living on a bus for weeks or months at a time, you wanna be surrounded by people that you enjoy their company, but you also wanna respect how good they are at what they do. And there's definitely a mutual respect between all of us for what we do. And we do get along well. So I don't think 'supergroup' applies to this. I think it's a group that just brings it."
Regarding how he got involved with Kerry's new band, Mark said: "I wanted the gig when I knew it was put out that Kerry was putting together a band. And when SLAYER said they were calling it quits, Kerry made it very well known right off the bat that he wasn't done. And I sent him a random text one time, I cold texted him that 'I know that you're putting together a project. I just wanna let you know that I'm very interested in this. I'm throwing my hat, or hat-slash-throat, into the circle.'"
On the topic of his vocal approach on "From Hell I Rise", Mark said: "I came in with confidence. I have to say, I came in with confidence. And I had to. And I wanted to deliver original vocal performances, and let it be known that this record's gonna be the best record it could be, vocally, for me. And I know people didn't know what to expect, 'cause people started getting inklings of who else was in the band. And vocals were like a big, big secret kind of thing. And when I came in, I wanted to make him confident that he picked the right guy. He picked the right guy. And my approach to this was just aggressive and intense. And also I know live we're gonna be doing probably some SLAYER songs. Is that daunting to me? It's not. It's not. Because I love the band so much. And I know people will be critical about it, but I'm also confident enough that I will do those songs justice. I will definitely do them justice, to say the least. So, I think when people see this, when they hear this whole album, it's gonna have its own identity, for sure. And when we get out there live, the energy's gonna be undeniable. And I'm confident that everyone in this band is gonna make it a live force to be reckoned with."
Kerry told Rolling Stone about Osegueda's addition to the band: "With Mark, he was on board early on. I just didn't pull that trigger. I was like, 'Let's see what happens.' Say for instance, [JUDAS PRIEST's] Rob Halford calls me and says, 'Hey, I would love to be your singer,' I'd have to go that way."
King also confirmed that PANTERA's Philip Anselmo was "considered" as a possible singer for his new project. "My management, my promoter, my record label all wanted Phil," Kerry said. "Phil's a good friend of mine, but I always thought he's not the right guy. That has nothing to do with his ability; I just knew he wasn't the right guy. When you hear Mark on this record, you know that's the guy.
"I had to do due diligence, because at the end of the day, had Philip been the guy, we'd be in arenas immediately because we could play new stuff, we could play PANTERA, we could play SLAYER, and fans would've been happy. It ended when the PANTERA thing came up.
"I saw Mark a few years back singing covers of MINOR THREAT and cameo in THE WEDDING BAND with members of METALLICA," King added. "It was different from what he does in DEATH ANGEL, and he sounded great. He's super versatile. He took steps to make this different than DEATH ANGEL. I don't touch on probably 50 percent of what he can do on the album.
"Mark knew how I expected the songs to be performed. On my demos, I sing with very good conviction, but I don't have pipes; that's why I don't sing. With 'Residue', he sounded so good I had to ask him, 'Is this sustainable? I don't want you to blow your load on this record and then blow your voice out every third show.' And he swore up and down he could do it. He went on to some of the harder ones and did the same thing on those, so I went, 'Okay.'"
The SLAYER guitarist's solo band played its first concert as the support act for LAMB OF GOD and MASTODON on July 19 at the Texas Trust CU Theatre in Grand Prairie, Texas.
The six-week "Ashes Of Leviathan" tour will wrap on August 31 in Omaha, Nebraska.
In early May, the KERRY KING band performed its first live show at Reggies in Chicago. In the days following, the band went from playing an intimate venue to performing at the huge U.S. festivals Welcome To Rockville (Florida) and Sonic Temple (Ohio).
KERRY KING launched a European tour on June 3 — King's 60th birthday – in Tilburg, The Netherlands. The trek combined headline shows in the U.K., The Netherlands, Germany, Italy and Spain but also festival appearances such as Rock Am Ring, Hellfest, Tuska, Download, Sweden Rock Festival and many more.
"From Hell I Rise" was released in May. All material for the LP was written by the 60-year-old SLAYER guitarist. Helming the sessions at Henson Recording Studios in Los Angeles last year was producer Josh Wilbur, who has previously worked with KORN, LAMB OF GOD, AVENGED SEVENFOLD and BAD RELIGION, among others. | +5 | |
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31 июл 2024
STEVE ALBINI Gets Chicago Street Named In His Honor
 Steve Albini has been honored with a street in his longtime hometown of Chicago.
Thanks to an ordinance passed by Alderman Carlos Ramirez-Rosa, the 2600-2700 block of West Belmont Avenue in Avondale, between North Rockwell Avenue and North California Avenue, will officially be declared "Steve Albini Way." Not coincidentally, this stretch of land is where the legendary producer and engineer's recording studio Electrical Audio, which was founded in 1997, stands.
Albini died on May 8, 2024 of a heart attack at the age of 61.
Though he was born in Pasadena, California, and raised in Missoula, Montana, Albini has been deeply embedded in Chicago's music scene ever since he moved there in 1980 to attend Northwestern University.
In addition to fronting underground rock acts SHELLAC and BIG BLACK, Albini produced albums by NIRVANA, PIXIES, PJ Harvey and Jimmy Page and Robert Plant. He was an aggressive critic of musicians and others who he felt were in it for the money or popularity rather than the music and he famously refused to take royalties from the recordings he produced for other artists.
In 2004, Albini estimated that he had engineered the recording of around 1,500 albums. According to Mix With The Masters, he continued to work almost entirely in the analog domain, being known for recording "live in the studio" as much as possible. He also placed particular emphasis on the selection and use of microphones in achieving a desired sound, and to best capture the ambience.
"A lot of people making records don't have a grasp of the process," he once told Billboard. "They do it thinking that it's some abstract art form that doesn't need to be comprehended on a technical procedural level. [In those cases] you'll end up with a record that isn't formally completed, but that's finished when the bell rings."
In a separate interview with Musician, Albini lamented what he called the industry's assembly-line mentality. "The sound of contemporary rock records, especially those made with big budgets, is so homogeneous," he said. "You hear exactly the same mix balance, the same dynamic, the same production techniques brought to bear on every single band."
Albini also pointed out that the quality of his own records had improved, largely because he had resisted the "fiddling impulse" with the music.
"In quest of a distinctive sound, people endlessly process things," he told Billboard back in 1995. "But because so many people use that method, those sounds have become quite commonplace. In the last few years, I've learned to leave things alone. Now when I set up a microphone and like the way it sounds, I consider the job done."
SHELLAC's first album in a decade, "To All Trains", was released a week after his death.
Tomorrow it will be official: In Steve Albini’s honor, Chicago’s Belmont Avenue will be named “Steve Albini Way” on the...
Posted by Maureen Herman on Sunday, July 28, 2024
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31 июл 2024
THE HALO EFFECT's Second Album To Arrive In Early 2025
 In a new interview with Finland's Chaoszine, THE HALO EFFECT frontman Mikael Stanne spoke about the status of the band's sophomore album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "It's been done for a while. Yeah, I think that's the hardest part for our labels, in order to squeeze stuff in and have room enough to promote and make sure that everybody knows about it. So, we pushed the release until early next year. But the singles are gonna start coming out after the [new album from Mikael's main band DARK TRANQUILLITY] is out. So that's the idea. But it's really cool. I'm incredibly proud of it. It sounds awesome. Niclas [Engelin, THE HALO EFFECT guitarist] and Jesper [Strömblad, THE HALO EFFECT guitarist] have written some incredible songs that are very — like a different level of confidence, I think. Because the first album, we were just going, 'Yeah, let's see what can happen.' It feels like a more confident band. Everybody knows exactly what to do now, so the album sounds awesome. And it's gonna be cool. Yeah, it's coming out early next year. And then we're gonna tour in Europe as well after that. So busy times ahead, as always. But it's cool. I think it's gonna be announced in the end of September."
Stanne was also asked if Strömblad, who has been battling addiction for more than a decade, will be part of THE HALO EFFECT's lineup when he and his bandmates return to the road or if THE HAUNTED's Patrik Jensen will continue to fill in for him. Mikael said: "Most likely [Jensen will continue to tour with us]. Whenever Jesper wants to, we want him, so we're always ready. If he's up to it, then he will join us. But it's always up to him. And we always said, 'Yeah, we're there. Jensen's always gonna be there. If Jesper wants to play, then we're here.' So that's kind of the deal we made early on."
THE HALO EFFECT's current lineup is rounded out by Daniel Svensson (drums) and Peter Iwers (bass). Niclas Engelin (guitar) and Mikael Stanne (vocals)
This past May, THE HALO EFFECT announced its first headlining tour of Europe for early 2025. Fans can expect a packed set with fan favorites from THE HALO EFFECT's debut album, "Days Of The Lost", which came out in 2022, and also some new tunes from the band's upcoming sophomore effort. Special guest on this tour will be industrial outfit PAIN, as well as Finnish melo-death shooting stars BLOODRED HOURGLASS.
Asked in an interview with A Swedish Fika With about the musical direction of the new THE HALO EFFECT songs, Peter said: "I think it's definitely the same type of music, but as an artist, you don't obviously wanna repeat yourself. But I guess what we did on the first one, we just went in and we took the ideas and what was written and made it into songs. And without thinking of, 'This is gonna sound like this or that.' And now with the second album, we know how it's gonna sound. But I guess we kept on still doing it the same way. So there's no real change. It's THE HALO EFFECT. It's not gonna be a big change in a different direction. We're gonna keep on trying to do what we started to do."
Last August, Peter told Australia's "Everblack" podcast about THE HALO EFFECT's mindset while writing the new material: "What we've done with this one and the last one was basically we just went into the studio with some ideas. Niclas had many, many ideas, some finished songs, and then he invited us, everybody else, in the songwriting process. So we went in without having a clear plan on how it's gonna sound, but obviously, it's in the fingers and it's in Mikael's voice. Whatever comes out is the way that it sounds now. So the next record is — you always wanna evolve, obviously, but it's not different; it's definitely the same type of genre. And, like I said, we went in and we played what we felt like. And Niclas had written a bunch of songs together with Jesper, and we went in the studio on this one and just did our thing on them."
He continued: "A lot of times some bands evolve all the time and it's always different from record [to record]. But I think we feel more comfortable than we did before. We had no pressure by doing [the first THE HALO EFFECT album] 'Days Of The Lost', and we had no pressure [on the follow-up album]. But at the same time, we've been out playing, we're together in an even stronger way than we were before. So, it's definitely the same type of music. But it's — I don't know; it's hard to describe."
Also in August, Stanne told Finland's Chaoszine about THE HALO EFFECT's upcoming LP: "It's done, and it sounds awesome. But, yeah, we were [originally] supposed to do an EP [instead of a full-length album] — we had that kind of plan — but then we realized, 'Ah, maybe not.' … So it's been — not stressful, but we did a lot during a short period of time, which ended up being fantastic just because it turned out a much more confident album, I think. It's very focused and you can, you can probably tell — at least from the people that I've played it to — that whereas the first time was kind of, like, 'Hey, let's figure out what we wanna do,' whereas this is kind of, like, 'This is exactly what we wanna do.'"
He added: "So it's, it's gonna be interesting. I can't wait to have people hear it because I'm incredibly proud of it."
Asked if the second THE HALO EFFECT album is a "continuation" of "Days Of The Lost", which came out in 2022, Stanne said: "Yeah, I think so. I think Niclas and Jesper were more confident in terms of their songwriting, where it's, like, 'Yeah, this is gonna work.' And there are some cool experimentation on the album as well, but some of the songs are just like straight up, like there's no questions. It's just so easy and so to the point, you know. So it's kind of fun when I get the demo version of a song, and I start thinking about lyrics and vocals, it's, like, it just makes sense. I just know this by heart. It's so easy. Which is — it is weird, but it's just, like, it speaks to me in a way that where I go like, 'Okay, I know exactly what to do and I can finish it in a matter of days.' That's sometimes how it feels. You just hear a song and you go, like, 'Yep, I know this already. I know exactly what to do. And it's gonna be great."
In February, THE HALO EFFECT released the official music video for the song "Become Surrender". The track, which has been a staple of THE HALO EFFECT's live shows for a while now, is not expected to appear on the band's upcoming second album.
THE HALO EFFECT debuted "Become Surrender", which was recorded at the same time as "Days Of The Lost", during its February 2023 Swedish tour.
In May 2023, THE HALO EFFECT released a visualizer for the song "Path Of Fierce Resistance". The track, which was previously released as a Japanese exclusive on "Days Of The Lost", was finally made available in the rest of the world.
"Days Of The Lost" entered the official chart in Sweden in the summer of 2022 at position No. 1. This was believed to be the first time a debut LP from a metal act had ever topped the chart in Sweden in its first week of release. "Days Of The Lost" also landed at No. 6 in Germany.
Photo credit: Markus Esselmark | +3 | |
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31 июл 2024
MYLES KENNEDY Shares New Single 'Nothing More To Gain' From Upcoming 'The Art Of Letting Go' Album
 Myles Kennedy — known for his work with rockers ALTER BRIDGE and SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS — has released the second single, "Nothing More To Gain", from his upcoming third solo album, "The Art Of Letting Go". The LP marks the return of Myles, backed by his band comprised of Zia Uddin on drums and Tim Tournier on bass. The album is scheduled for release via longtime label home Napalm Records on October 11, 2024, and is available for pre-order in multiple configurations.
In a recent interview with the I-Rock 93.5 radio station, Myles stated about the lyrical themes covered on "The Art Of Letting Go": "The first two solo records were, they were kind of concept records. The first, 'Year Of The Tiger' [2018], was a record kind of dealing with the loss of my father as a child. And then the second record, 'The Ides Of March' [2021], was dealing with kind of the state of the world about three years ago. But with this record, I wanted it to be a collection of songs and with a narrative that shifted from song to song. I really like that, because then for one thing there were a handful of tunes I had sitting around for a few years that just didn't have a home and didn't fit the storyline. So I was, like, 'Oh, I can pull that now and use that in this batch of tunes.' But it also just made it so that… I feel like because it's more of a riff-based record, it's more about the intensity of the music. I didn't feel like it lived or died as much by the narrative of the lyric. So it's really about just making a compelling riff and a good vocal melody first and then filling in the blanks with the words. But with that said, I never phone it. I'm not the guy who's like… I hear these stories about really good songwriters who are, like, 'Yeah, he sat in his truck for 20 minutes before he had to cut the vocal and wrote the lyrics.' I'm, like, I'm not that guy. I will obsess and rewrite and re-edit. 'Cause I have to know that if I'm gonna sing and I'm going to go tour it that I'm believing it night after night that it's honest. And I'm happy with the cadence and the rhymes and it's not just a bunch of hoo ha ha."
From the opening guitar riff of the title track "The Art Of Letting Go" to the haunting melody of album closer "How The Story Ends", Myles Kennedy is back with a collection of songs that is sure to cater to old and new fans alike. Songs like "Mr. Downside", "Miss You When You're Gone" and "Saving Face" showcase the memorable storytelling that has become synonymous throughout all of Myles's projects. The debut single — currently impacting radio around the globe — is the upbeat rocker "Say What You Will". The song is now available via all DSPs.
The "Say What You Will" music video was directed by Gordy De St Jeor (MAMMOTH WVH) and tells the story of a bullied and timid student who breaks out of her shell with the help of a teacher, janitor and lunch person portrayed by Kennedy, Uddin and Tournier in the school talent show.
The track listing for "The Art Of Letting Go" is:
01. The Art Of Letting Go
02. Say What You Will
03. Mr. Downside
04. Miss You When You're Gone
05. Behind The Veil
06. Saving Face
07. Eternal Lullaby
08. Nothing More To Gain
09. Dead To Rights
10. How The Story Ends
To celebrate the release of "The Art Of Letting Go", Myles Kennedy and his trio will be hitting the road in support of the new album. A six-date U.K. run with support from Devin Townsend recently went on sale for November and December. Twenty more newly announced dates are being added to "The Art Of Letting Go" tour 2024 all across Europe starting in October. The additional European dates will feature support from BLACK RIVER DELTA and CARDINAL BLACK. The band will also be bringing the tour to North America with dates set for January and February 2025. The 2025 dates will feature special guest Tim Montana.
As a prolific songwriter, powerhouse vocalist, and proficient guitar player, Kennedy tunes into the rhythm of his surroundings and goes with the flow. Fronting ALTER BRIDGE, his soaring vocals, open-hearted lyrics, and airtight riffs have fueled the group's global impact as a gold-certified, arena-filling force of nature over two decades-plus. On the microphone for SLASH FEATURING MYLES KENNEDY & THE CONSPIRATORS, his towering range has consistently stunned audiences since 2010. Becoming a celebrated collaborator, he's the rare presence just as comfortable on a track with DISTURBED, HALESTORM and SEVENDUST as he is with GOV'T MULE and Darryl "DMC" McDaniels. It's why he's generated over one billion cumulative streams, earned gold and platinum certifications worldwide, uplifted countless fans, and Kerrang! christened him "one of rock's finest vocalists." It's also why he's carved out his own lane. 2021 saw him deliver his acclaimed sophomore opus, "The Ides Of March". It impressively notched a total of four No. 1 debuts across three countries, toppling the Billboard U.S. Top Current Hard Music chart, the U.K. Official Rock & Metal chart and Official Independent Album chart, and Canada's Hard Music Albums chart. Beyond generating 10 million-plus streams, it incited unanimous critical applause from American Songwriter, Guitar.com, Loudwire, Guitar World and more. RIFF hailed it as "a fantastic and must-listen record," while Classic Rock magazine awarded it "4.5 out of 5 stars," going on to attest, "'The Ides Of March' confirms Myles Kennedy as a musical powerhouse."
Photo credit: Chuck Brueckmann | +1 | |
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31 июл 2024
AARON LEWIS: 'I Feel Like God's Had His Hand On My Shoulder My Whole Life'
 During a recent solo concert, STAIND frontman Aaron Lewis spoke about the inspiration for the deeply confessional nature of his lyrics. While introducing the song "Lost And Lonely", Aaron told the audience (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I write songs about shit that's fucking with me at the time. It's always been my outlet. When I was younger, I just didn't know. And I used to do shit like write poems for English class. And my teacher thought I was fucked up because of the shit that was the content of my poems. As beautifully as they were put together, she had her concerns. It's where I always, where I always put my shit.
"I had a pretty fucked up childhood," he continued. "I went through a lot of shit that no child should ever have to endure. And I've questioned God on many occasions in my life as to why that he felt that I needed to go through that in order to get right here. Some days I have a better grasp on that, some days I don't. I guess the shit that absolutely destroyed me as a child, it also gave me the strength to persevere through anything, which is why I feel like I'm still here. Which is why I feel like God's had his hand on my shoulder my whole life. Ever since. That maybe he didn't allow me to go through what I went through, maybe he was there to protect what was left. I don't know. These are things I think about every day.
"So I wrote this song, 'cause I was going through some shit," Lewis added. "And happy songs usually don't come out of that. I had decided that in that moment, the one thing that I could do to try to save my entire life from just completely collapsing before I die. So I checked myself into rehab.
"And with that I say cheers. Cheers to successfully making it through another day in this fucked up world, in this fucked up life."
Aaron's latest solo album, "The Hill", debuted at No. 175 on the Billboard 200 with first-week sales of 8,133 equivalent units, a combination of pure album sales and on-demand streams. It marked the lowest-charting record on the Billboard 200 of Lewis's solo career so far.
Notably, "The Hill" had 6,826 pure album sales in its first week, enough to land the LP at No. 5 on Billboard's Top Album Sales chart, which ranks the top-selling albums of the week based only on traditional album sales.
According to Forbes, Lewis previously reached the Top 10 of the Billboard 200 twice as a solo artist, with his "Town Line" EP, which reached No. 7 in 2011, and with "Sinner", which peaked at No. 4 in 2016. He also landed in the Top 40 of the Billboard 200 with "The Road" (No. 30 peak),"State I'm In" (No. 19) and "Frayed At Both Ends" (No. 39).
One of the songs on "The Hill" is "Made In China" — written by Lewis and Bobby Pinson — which offers the loud-and-proud declaration that some things are still made in the USA. The song features such lyrics as "I ain't made in China / From all the cheapest parts / I ain't one for driving them imported foreign cars / I'm more like American muscle from 1966 / I ain't made in China / I'm American as it gets / I ain't made by Uyghur kids for pennies on the dollar / I'm made in the USA / It says so on my collar / Tried and true, red, white and blue / My roots run way too thick / yeah, I ain't made in China / 'Cause I'm American as it gets."
"The best songs come from a place of authenticity," explained Lewis. "This one started as a conversation with friends as we picked up items around the room with 'Made In China' stamped on the bottom. And we put pen to paper."
The "Let's Go Fishing" lyrics find the 52-year-old Lewis — an outspoken conservative rocker who reinvented himself as a solo country artist in the last decade — singing about "making America great again", "turning off CNN" and using the "Let's Go, Brandon!" catchphrase, which was coined by American conservatives to criticize President Joe Biden.
Lewis made headlines in September 2021 when he urged his fans to chant "Fuck Joe Biden" during a STAIND concert in Pennsylvania.
In March 2022, Lewis told the Los Angeles Times that he doesn't blindly listen to information that is delivered by the mainstream media.
"I'm not uneducated; I'm actually really smart, and I look for myself. I seek other options of information," he said. "I refuse to believe that a huge, gigantic corporation has our best interest in mind."
Asked where he gets his news, Lewis said: "I have news feeds and people that I follow on Telegram. Dan Ball. Andrew Wilkow. Mark Levin. If I'm gonna watch any sort of news source on television, it's Tucker Carlson."
At some of his solo concerts, Lewis has been taking the stage while wearing a black hat with white mesh and white lettering on the front clearly stating "FUJOE," an expletive directed toward Biden.
Photo credit: Jim Wright | +1 | |
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31 июл 2024
Was GOJIRA's Performance At 2024 Olympics Opening Ceremony 'Satanic'? 'It's None Of That', Says JOSEPH DUPLANTIER
 Joseph Duplantier of French metallers GOJIRA has defended his band against accusations that they were "perpetuating satanism" with their performance at Friday night's (July 26) Olympic Games opening ceremony.
GOJIRA performed a surprise rendition of "Ah! Ça Ira", a popular song during the French Revolution, alongside opera singer Marina Viotti as well as a number of beheaded figures representing the slain Queen Marie Antoinette.
But the fiery display angered some Christians online, who quickly branded it "satanic". Even the controversial social media influencer Andrew Tate accused the West of "worshipping the devil".
Posting a clip of GOJIRA's performance, Tate wrote: "Satanists control the west and they show you that they worship the devil. It's not a conspiracy theory. They literally show you. Are you blind?"
Asked in a new interview with Rolling Stone about Tate's criticism that GOJIRA's performance was "satanic", Duplantier said: "It's none of that. It's French history. It's French charm, you know, beheaded people, red wine, and blood all over the place — it's romantic, it's normal. There's nothing satanic. [Laughs]
"France is a country that made a separation between the state and religion during the revolution. And it's something very important, very dear to the foundation of republican France. We call it laïcité. It's when the state is not religious anymore, so therefore it's free in terms of expression and symbolism. It's all about history and facts. We don't look too close closely at symbolism in terms of religion."
Asked if he and his GOJIRA bandmates thought much about the responsibility of representing metal on the world stage, Joseph said: "I try not to think too much about that because it continues to blow my mind. [Laughs] The Olympic Committee could have asked literally anybody to play. I'm thinking of bands like METALLICA or AC/DC that are household names and powerhouses in our genre that we all revere and are our heroes. We never considered ourselves the biggest band in the world that would be worthy to play the Olympics or anything like that. It's so weird.
"The way I think about it is it's a challenge in 2024 to give hope to people, to show something original. People have seen everything from landing on the moon to A.I. So it was a challenge for Paris and the Committee to express something fresh, new, and original [by booking us] and also show what France is all about.
"At least for our part, the fact that metal and opera had never been seen together on TV and in front of so many people before is a statement for the country of France. It's saying, 'Hey, look. We're still pushing the boundaries in the world.' So congrats to France for putting this together."
Regarding who picked the song "Ah! Ça Ira" for GOJIRA, Joseph said: "That wasn't us at all. That was the team of young people and composers and designers that decided the whole theme. We were in the dark when it came to the whole ceremony; we were just concentrating on that picture and that moment of Marie Antoinette. We didn't know how it was going to look or how it would fit in with a whole performance. I didn't know Lady Gaga or Celine Dion were going to be there. We were in [the Olympic Committee's] confidence, and we weren't allowed to tell our people that we were going to do this. We didn't know what was going to happen at all. We just went back and forth with the composer of the Olympic ceremony, Victor le Masne. He threw us a tempo and a guideline. And then we did our thing."
GOJIRA is considered a standard-bearer for French rock and bringing French rock to an international audience. Metal Hammer declared GOJIRA "metal's most important band" in 2016.
GOJIRA has been nominated for a Grammy Award three times — twice in 2017, for "Best Metal Performance" and "Best Rock Album" ("Magma") and once in 2022 for "Best Metal Performance".
GOJIRA's latest album, "Fortitude", entered Billboard's Top Albums chart at No. 1 in May 2021, while also claiming the No. 1 spot on Billboard's Top Current Albums, Current Rock Albums and Current Hard Music Albums tallies. The release also marked a career high debut on the Billboard 200 for GOJIRA, arriving at No. 12, with several career high chart positions and Top 10 debuts in countries around the globe including: France (No. 2),United Kingdom (No. 6),Australia (No. 3),Germany (No. 8),Belgium (No. 2),Netherlands (No. 4),Denmark (No. 3),Portugal (No. 4),Finland (No. 2) and Norway (No. 10).
Furthermore, GOJIRA concluded a month-long fundraising initiative in support of the indigenous-owned NGO The Articulation of Indigenous Peoples of Brazil (APIB) who advocate for environmental and cultural rights of indigenous tribes in the Amazon. Working with the social good-focused digital platform Propeller, the charitable campaign raised over $300,000 through an auction and raffle of one-of-a-kind items from the band and their friends in METALLICA, TOOL, SLIPKNOT, SLAYER, Slash and more. All proceeds were donated to APIB to support their work aiding the indigenous tribes of the Amazon who have suffered immensely — victims of deforestation, land loss, forced labor, violence, and harassment.
Recorded and produced by Joseph Duplantier at Silver Cord Studio — GOJIRA's Ridgewood, Queens, New York headquarters — and mixed by Andy Wallace (NIRVANA, RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE),"Fortitude" is GOJIRA's first album in five years and the follow-up to 2016's Grammy-nominated LP "Magma". A collection of songs urging humanity to imagine a new world and then make it happen, "Fortitude" has been earning widespread critical praise with Rolling Stone naming it one of their best albums of April 2021 and remarking "It's all the rage of death metal mixed with the conscience of punk rock and the musicality of progressive rock." NPR hailed "Another World" as "an apocalyptic banger," and Paste called "Into The Storm" a "much-needed revolutionary anthem." Stereogum declared, "hearing this band operating at their peak is a life-affirming thing," while Revolver attested "Fortitude" "could spark a revolution."
Gojira steals the show at the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony 🇫🇷
Gojira steals the show at the Paris 2024 Opening Ceremony 🇫🇷🤘 #Olympics #olympics2024 #olympicgames #gojira #gojiraband #gojiraofficial #ParisOlympics2024 #Paris2024 #ParisOlympics #paris #parisfrance #Paris2024Olympics #olympicgames2024 #OlympicGamesParis2024 #olympiccerimony #olympicopening #rock #rocknroll #metalmusic #metalmusic #rockmusic #deathmetal #deathcore #parisconcert
Posted by Tune talk on Friday, July 26, 2024
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31 июл 2024
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30 июл 2024
BRUCE DICKINSON Releases Music Video For 'Resurrection Men'
 IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson released the limited-edition CD of his new solo single, "Resurrection Men", last week, featuring two live bonus tracks. The accompanying video has been unveiled today and is a joyous look at life on the road which started in Los Angeles on April 12 and finished in Athens, Greece on July 21, playing to a combined total of over 350,000 people.
"The tour was one of the very best," says Dickinson. "The band were just so pumped and on it every night that it was a joy. The audience reactions everywhere for songs old and new were pretty overwhelming and I already can't wait to go back out again!
"The video is my thank you to everyone that came to see us at festivals, clubs, theatres and arenas.
"Who said a metal audience can't appreciate a theremin, bongos and 'Dick Dale-esque' surfer guitars? Mine certainly do!!"
The three-track CD comes in gatefold digi-sleeve and includes the bonus songs "Afterglow Of Ragnarok" and "Abduction", both of which were also recorded live at Dickinson's show in São Paulo, Brazil as part of his world tour for "The Mandrake Project". That tour, which concluded last week, saw Dickinson and his HOUSE BAND OF HELL play almost 50 shows across the U.S., Europe and Latin America to a rapturous response.
"The Mandrake Project" album has been a huge critical and commercial success, topping charts around the world and receiving some of the best reviews of Dickinson's illustrious solo career.
Joining the IRON MAIDEN singer on the trek was his current backing band, featuring Dave Moreno (drums),Mistheria (keyboards) and Tanya O'Callaghan (bass),alongside the group's latest additions, Swedish guitarist, songwriter and multi-platinum-credited producer Philip Näslund and Swiss session and touring guitarist Chris Declercq (who played on Dickinson's "Rain On The Graves" single). Bruce's longtime guitarist and collaborator Roy "Z" Ramirez is not part of the touring lineup.
Prior to the April 12 Whisky A Go Go show, Bruce last performed with his solo band on in August 2002 at the legendary Wacken Open Air festival in Germany.
During an appearance on the April 16 episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Bruce was asked if there are plans for him to stage a full U.S. tour in support of "The Mandrake Project". He responded: "I brought the [booking] agents and the promoters, and everybody came down and saw the Whisky show [in West Hollywood, California over the weekend], and now they know what they've got to deal with in terms of doing a U.S. tour. So, we're looking at it, we're planning it.
"I absolutely wanna do a full U.S. tour with 'The Mandrake Project'," he added. "I obviously can't do one for the rest of this year [due to commitments in other parts of the world and MAIDEN's upcoming touring activities], but there's '25 and there's numerous opportunities that will crop up. So the answer to that is yes, of course, we wanna come and do the U.S."
Roy played guitar on Dickinson's 1994 album "Balls To Picasso" and went on to produce, co-write and perform multiple instruments on Bruce's subsequent three solo albums, "Accident At Birth" (1997),"The Chemical Wedding" (1998) and "Tyranny Of Souls" (2005).
O'Callaghan is an Irish musician who joined WHITESNAKE in 2021 and toured with the David Coverdale-fronted outfit the following year. She also hit the road with Dickinson last year as part of a performance of Jon Lord's "Concerto For Group And Orchestra" on nearly a dozen dates in Europe and South America.
Californian drummer Moreno previously played on "Tyranny Of Souls" and has worked with BODY COUNT, Jizzy Pearl, Dizzy Reed and Steve Stevens, among others.
Italian keyboard wizard Mistheria has collaborated with an array of artists live and in the studio, including Rob Rock, Mike Portnoy, Jeff Scott Soto and Joel Hoekstra.
"The Mandrake Project" arrived on March 1 via BMG.
Bruce and Roy recorded "The Mandrake Project" largely at Los Angeles's Doom Room, with Roy doubling up as both guitarist and bassist. The recording lineup for "The Mandrake Project" was rounded out by Mistheria and Moreno, both of whom also featured on Bruce's last solo studio album, "Tyranny Of Souls", in 2005.
Dickinson made his recording debut with IRON MAIDEN on the "Number Of The Beast" album in 1982. He quit the band in 1993 in order to pursue his solo career and was replaced by Blaze Bayley, who had previously been the lead singer of the metal band WOLFSBANE. After releasing two traditional metal albums with former MAIDEN guitarist Adrian Smith, Dickinson rejoined the band in 1999 along with Smith.
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30 июл 2024
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30 июл 2024
See Multi-Camera Video Of NICKO MCBRAIN Performing 'Alexander The Great' With TITANIUM TART
 BLANDINI videos by Eric Hutcheson has uploaded multi-camera video of IRON MAIDEN drummer Nicko McBrain's TITANIUM TART project performing the MAIDEN classic "Alexander The Great" on July 13 at The Barn in Sanford, Florida. Check it out below.
In a recent interview with 98.7 The Gater's Franny, McBrain, who has lived in Florida for three and a half decades, stated about the TITANIUM TART gigs: "It's weird because my manager came up to me and said,' Oh, we're not doing Florida this year [with IRON MAIDEN], Nick. I hope you don't mind.' I said, 'Well, I do mind.' And he said, it's just the logistics of getting down there and doing the shows, the way the tour is scheduled from when they had the tour worked out last year. So, I thought, well, I'll get my TITANIUM TART lads, the TARTS, get the TARTS together. And we're playing the same set that I'm doing with MAIDEN. And it's kind of a two-fold thing. One is it gets me back into the vibe of doing the show and gets my hand working. And we've got three dates coming up."
Asked how long TITANIUM TART has been going for, Nicko said: "It's been a few years… I call it a celebration band of IRON MAIDEN, not a tribute band, 'cause I'm still playing with the guys. So, we have had shows at the restaurant [Rock N Roll Ribs, the barbecue restaurant owned by McBrain and close friend Mitch Tanne, in Coral Springs, Florida] where I've had the TITANIUM TART band together, the same guys, playing IRON MAIDEN's music, but we only came up with this idea to call it TITANIUM TART a couple of years ago."
Joining Nicko in TITANIUM TART are Rob Stokes on bass, Eldad Kira on keyboards, Mike Rivera and Mitch Tanne on guitar, and Paolo Velazquez on vocals.
McBrain was born in Hackney, East London, on June 5, 1952. His first experience of music came via his father's love of traditional jazz. Young Nicko's hero was Joe Morello, the late, great drummer with the legendary THE DAVE BRUBECK QUARTET. Nicko would often take to the kitchen, using forks and knives to beat on anything he could find at home. Fed up with him bashing up the kitchen utensils, his parents finally bought him his first drum kit when he was 12.
By the time he left school at 15, he was already a veteran of several part-time pub groups. Musically, however, his tastes had broadened to include more contemporary sixties sounds from THE SHADOWS, THE ANIMALS, THE BEATLES and THE ROLLING STONES. On the recommendation of another drummer he knew, he began to take on session work, playing on countless different recordings.
In 1975, Nicko joined STREETWALKERS, the band formed by ex-FAMILY members, vocalist Roger Chapman and guitarist Charlie Whitney. From the late seventies until 1982 when he joined IRON MAIDEN, Nicko had spent his time in session work, most memorably with the PAT TRAVERS BAND on their 1976 "Makin' Magic" album, and also appeared in the band MCKITTY in the early 1980's. It was during a MCKITTY gig in Belgium that he first met IRON MAIDEN bassist Steve Harris.
He officially joined IRON MAIDEN in December 1982 for the 1983 "Piece Of Mind" album and tour, replacing Clive Burr, after McBrain's previous band TRUST had supported IRON MAIDEN during the U.K. leg of the "Killers" tour in 1981.
With 14 studio and eight live albums currently under his belt with MAIDEN, Nicko's role as the driving force behind the band's sound has served as a major influence to many of today's top drummers and solidified his place in music history.
McBrain and his wife still live in the same Boca Raton, Florida home they bought in 1989 when Nicko relocated from England.
In January 2023, Nicko suffered a stroke with partial paralysis.
When Nicko first went public with his stroke in August 2023, the drummer said in a statement that the episode left him "paralyzed" down one side of his body and "worried" that his career with the band was over.
Four years ago, McBrain was diagnosed with stage 1 laryngeal cancer and opened up about it in a single interview in 2021 but otherwise kept it mostly under wraps.
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30 июл 2024
AREJAY HALE Hopes To Release Next HALESTORM Album In 2025
 During an appearance on the latest episode of The VORTX Podcast with host Ethan Jackson, HALESTORM drummer Arejay Hale was asked when fans can expect to hear new music from the band. Arejay responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): "I'm hoping next year… We always say the same thing. It's, like, it'll be out when we're done with it [laughs] and the whole process after it — getting it mixed, getting it mastered, getting the promotion campaign together and all that. There's a lot to it. But the experience has been great 'cause we're doing it in Savannah with [producer] Dave Cobb, and Dave Cobb is absolutely killing the game right now."
Regarding HALESTORM's decision to work with Cobb this time around, Arejay said: "It's always good for a band to, if you want your sound to evolve, bring in some fresh minds into it. And the cool thing about Dave is that he's a total hard rock and metalhead at heart. A lot of his most successful projects have been a lot of country, a lot of alternative — I mean, he's all over the spectrum — so when works with us, you can tell… There's a really great mutual respect between [us], 'cause we've been doing this long enough and he's been doing it for so long. We've been a huge fan of his as well, so there's a lot of mutual respect between the two of us, and you can feel it in the room."
Asked if he and his HALESTORM bandmates set a date for themselves for when they want to be done with a record, Arejay said: "It used to be a lot more stringent in the early days. 'Cause when you're trying to get the band off the ground, you really wanna kind of keep that momentum going. But our last couple of records have been a little bit more laid back, which is nice. It kind of gives it room to breathe. It gives us time to like really assess where we wanna go. And definitely COVID changed everything."
On the topic of whether the HALESTORM members do more work remotely now or if they still all get together in the studio and collaborate on ideas in one room, Arejay said: "Oh, it's so much more effective for us to be in the same room. I think it kind of forces you to just… I guess we work well under pressure, 'cause, going back to your last question… We definitely feel the pressure to get the album out at a certain time, but what really cranks up the pressure is the fact that we're leaving Nashville and going to Savannah for only a set period of time, 'cause Dave [only has certain] windows [of availability]. And it really forces us to just dig into your gut and just pull things out. And when we're all together in the room and Joe [Hottinger, HALESTORM guitarist] starts playing around with the riff and I start jamming with them, things just come out, things just happen. There's a magic there."
Last month, HALESTORM frontwoman — and Arejay's sister — Lzzy Hale was asked by Decker of the rock station Razor 94.7/104.7 (WZOR) about the progress of the writing and recording sessions for the follow-up to 2022's "Back From The Dead". Lzzy said: "We've been in the studio with Dave Cobb for some time now, and it's been different this time. It's been very sporadic. It isn't like we mapped out, like, eight weeks of time and we're gonna get a record done. We started going to him — first it was three days to test him out and we wrote a song together from scratch. And everyone was, like, 'Wait. What is this?' And then we went back — we went out on tour, we came back, had another session with him for about two weeks, and then we had another one for three weeks. It keeps getting a little more. And so we have one more session fully booked for August after this tour to kind of finish up everything. But it's really exciting."
Elaborating on HALESTORM's working relationship with Cobb, Lzzy said: "The process has been very like A.D.D., which I really love, because all of us are a little touched by [it] [laughs], if anybody has noticed over the years. But it was a great challenge, because this is Dave Cobb. He's worked with RIVAL SONS and AIRBOURNE, but that's like the rock world that he's in. He's made most of his name from Brandi Carlile and Chris Stapleton and Jason Isbell, whom I love, all three of those artists, so much."
Lzzy went on to say that she and her HALESTORM bandmates initially "got a lot of pushback" from their team about the prospect of working with Cobb. She recalled: "We were saying, 'Oh, wouldn't it be cool to do a record with Dave Cobb? Because that would be something that nobody would really expect from us. And I bet you he would come up with some crazy ideas. Don't know the guy, but let's figure it out.' And everybody on our team was, like, 'No, no, he's too busy. That's not you. He's got this stuff going. He's got, like, nine Grammys with Chris Stapleton. That's not your scene.' And so we kept pushing back. We're, like, 'No, no, no. Just ask him. Just ask him. We can handle rejection, but just ask him.' And so finally, our A&R guy at our label is, like, 'Fine, I'll reach out. Whatever. Just stop bugging me.' And so he reached out, and then he called me, like, the next day. He's, like, 'Hey, I heard back from Dave Cobb. And guess what? Not only does he absolutely know who you are, but he's been wanting to make a record with you for, like, seven years. And he has a plan already of how he wants to do it.' And we're, like, 'What? This is sick.' So anyway, we went to go test the waters, and we go into the studio. And look, I write every day. When I die, there's gonna be so much that everyone has to sift through, just gibberish songs, all that. So I always have, like, a bank with me, like, 'Here's riffs, here's songs, here's subject titles, here's poetry.' And he was, like, 'No, no, no. We're not gonna do anything that you already have. Nothing.' I'm, like, 'Uh. What?' And he's, like, 'No, we're just gonna start.' Everyone's sitting in a circle and we're, like, gonna kumbaya. So everyone got an instrument, like, 'All right. So what are we feeling today?' I'm, like, 'Is this a therapy session?' And we ended up — it's crazy, 'cause then we'll like grab on to something 'cause of that pressure of, like, 'Well, I was thinking about this as this is happening.' 'Cool. Let's go there.' And so he has this amazing instincts that are very, like, you can't see it when you're in it. And then, as soon as we start like putting stuff together, we kind of zoom out and, like, 'Oh, wait a minute. This is so wild and awesome and exactly what we do.' So it's very strange. But we're all very free. And then the other thing is that while we're writing it, we're recording it at the same time. So these tracks are, like, us discovering the song for the first time as well as we're performing them. There are some things that we're performing them all at the same time. There's one track in particular that we completely forgot to put the click track on, and we did like three takes like that, and then we're, like, 'Oh, wait. We don't even have a click going.' Arejay [Hale, HALESTORM drummer and Lzzy's brother] said something, like, 'Were we supposed to have like a click track so we all are on time together?' And everyone's, like, 'We didn't even notice it was gone.' And so we did another take with the click. We're, like, 'No, we like that other one better.' So there's stuff like that. A lot of weird surprises. There's a lot of space. And we're really excited because we're not going country or anything like that, or Americana. This is such a new — it's got so much teeth, and it's so different than what we just did with 'Back From The Dead', but in this almost weightier, heavier way. And the lyrics are — I'm tackling subjects I've never tackled before because I'm having the freedom to do so. So I'm very excited."
HALESTORM and I PREVAIL recently embarked on summer 2024 co-headlining tour. Produced by Live Nation, the trek kicked off on July 9 in Raleigh and will run through August 17 in Las Vegas. HOLLYWOOD UNDEAD and FIT FOR A KING are serving as support. The tour is also the catalyst and the creative spark for HALESTORM and I PREVAIL's collaborative track "Can U See Me In The Dark?", which was released last month.
HALESTORM has partnered with mental health organization Sound Mind Live to engage fans to pledge support that will provide free-to-the-community mental health programming across the country for fans and the broader community.
"Back From The Dead" has tallied over 100 million streams worldwide. Rolling Stone called the title track "a biting but cathartic howler about overcoming all obstacles," and that song as well as "The Steeple" marked their fifth and sixth number ones at rock radio, respectively. Associated Press said the album "will definitely be in the running for best hard rock/metal album of the year." Their previous album, "Vicious", earned the band their second Grammy nomination, for "Best Hard Rock Performance" for the song "Uncomfortable", the band's fourth #1 at rock radio, and led Loudwire to name HALESTORM "Rock Artist Of The Decade" in 2019.
Fronted by Lzzy with Arejay, Joe and bass player Josh Smith, HALESTORM's music has earned multiple platinum and gold certifications from the RIAA, and the band has earned a reputation as a powerful live music force, headlining sold-out shows and topping festival bills around the world, and sharing the stage with icons including HEAVEN & HELL, Alice Cooper, Joan Jett and JUDAS PRIEST. Additionally, Lzzy was named the first female brand ambassador for Gibson and served as host of AXS TV's "A Year In Music".
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30 июл 2024
DEF LEPPARD Shares Video Recap Of Chicago And Detroit Stops Of Summer 2024 Stadium Tour With JOURNEY
 Legendary rockers DEF LEPPARD have shared a recap video of the fourth and fifth shows from the band's summer 2024 stadium tour with JOURNEY: Chicago, Illinois (July 15) and Detroit, Michigan (July 18). Check it out below.
DEF LEPPARD and JOURNEY kicked off their co-headlining North American tour on July 6 at Busch Stadium in St. Louis. Support at the gig came from fellow rock legends CHEAP TRICK.
13 of the 18 songs in DEF LEPPARD's set were culled from the band's two biggest albums, the diamond-certified "Pyromania" and "Hysteria". Among the tracks featured in the set were "Pyromania" opener "Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)" and DEF LEPPARD's latest single, the recently released "Just Like 73".
Regarding the setlist for the current tour, DEF LEPPARD guitarist Phil Collen told Ultimate Classic Rock: "We changed the whole set. You know, there’s a whole screen [production] and we've been using pretty much the same stuff for like 12 years. So we've changed it completely. The stage show is drastically different. It's going to take a lot of energy. There's going to be a lot of running around. So I'm working out, trying to get the stamina up and all of that. Vocally, too. You know, I'm having to sing every single day."
DEF LEPPARD's setlist was as follows:
01. Rock! Rock! (Till You Drop)
02. Rocket
03. Foolin'
04. Armageddon It
05. Animal
06. Love Bites
07. Just Like 73
08. Comin' Under Fire
09. Too Late For Love
10. Die Hard The Hunter
11. Two Steps Behind
12. This Guitar
13. Bringin' On The Heartbreak
14. Switch 625
15. Rock Of Ages
16. Photograph
17. Hysteria
18. Pour Some Sugar On Me
DEF LEPPARD's 23-city trek with JOURNEY will continue through September 8 in Denver, Colorado. Along the way, the two Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductees will bring their show to stadiums in major cities like Nashville, Boston, Toronto, New York City, Los Angeles, San Francisco and more. CHEAP TRICK played two shows at the beginning of the tour and will return for two concerts at the end of the trek, while STEVE MILLER BAND will join the bill for the majority of shows.
DEF LEPPARD frontman Joe Elliott previously shared that the band's set on the 2024 tour will celebrate specific parts of the rockers' history. "We may even have a surprise or two up our sleeves," he said in a statement.
JOURNEY recently completed a number of dates as part of its 50th-anniversary "Freedom" tour.
The DEF LEPPARD/JOURNEY tour is being promoted by AEG Entertainment.
Both bands are offering VIP packages through their respective web sites.
DEF LEPPARD's VIP experiences include a premium seat, personal photo with the band, exclusive merchandise and more.
During an appearance on the June 20 episode of SiriusXM's "Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk", Collen stated about "Just Like 73": "We started it when we were doing [2022's] 'Diamond Star Halos' [album], and anyone who doesn't know, that's a line from a Marc Bolan song [from] T. REX. He says 'hubcap diamond star halo'. And me and Joe [Elliott, DEF LEPPARD singer] have always used that phrase to describe the time that we got really baptized into music. I remember seeing [David] Bowie on 'The Old Grey Whistle Test' and 'Top Of The Pops' and was, like, 'Oh my God. This is my guy.' I was, like, 14 or 15. I'd already seen DEEP PURPLE; it my first concert, which was amazing. So, then all of a sudden this glam stuff came out. So we would always describe that as 'Diamond Star Halos'."
Phil continued: "I was writing a song with Dave Bassett, who I wrote 'Kick' with. And the same deal — I really want to put a SLADE slant on the backing vocals and just make it very much about '72 or '73. And Joe heard the demo and he's, like, 'Why can't you have both?' So we did, and then Joe started writing some lyrics because he's obviously really tapped into that, and all the verse lyrics and all the imagery from exactly that 'Diamond Star Halos' period ends up on this song. We actually hadn't finished it, so the rest of the band hadn't even heard the demo, and we played it to everyone and they all loved it. They all put their stuff on it. Viv [guitarist Vivian Campbell] played guitar, Sav [Rick Savage] did [his bass tracks], Rick [Allen, DEF LEPPARD drummer] put his part on and then we had some vocals — everyone had sung on it — and before you know it, it came out like this. So, we're really thrilled. It actually sounds better than the stuff on 'Diamond Star Halos', to my ears. So I'm really excited about that. And it seems that everyone really digs it as well."
Asked if this is a one-off single or the seed of another DEF LEPPARD full-length album, Phil said: "Oh, it's absolutely the seed of another DEF LEPPARD record. I mean, it was a leftover from the album before, but it was also the start of a new album. So, without a doubt. [Joe and I] write all the time. We send each other things. Sav gets in on there. Just between the three of us, there's just a lot of stuff floating around already. So we've, yeah, got a bunch of stuff. It's really exciting. And it's a great place to be. It's never that thing where, 'Well, we've got to sit down and write an album.' It's, like, 'Wow, I can't wait to play this to the guys and see what the reaction is.' And we keep pushing the boat out even further."
Regarding whether he envisions a new DEF LEPPARD full-length album coming out this year, Phil said: "This year would be pushing it, I think this year. But once we kind of get into the groove, I think — yeah. Who knows? Next year [or] early the year after. But you know how these things go. We have these tours and everything, but we've got a new song. So that's really exciting. So that'll be on the go pretty soon."
"Just Like 73" will arrive on seven-inch vinyl on August 2, 2024 and will be available in a special color variant only through the band's D2C store and in black at all retailers.
"Just Like 73" notably marks the first collaboration between the iconic rock titans and the legendary guitarist, sonic innovator and co-founder of RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE and AUDIOSLAVE. The single revolves around a classic DEF LEPPARD stomp fueled by a robust stadium-size beat, thick riffing, and a signature chant, "Rock with me, just like 73!" Meanwhile, a knockout gang vocal gives way to a signature fret-scorching solo from Morello. The instantly recognizable whammy bar wheezes as he shreds at lightspeed into one last head-nodding hook.
DEF LEPPARD's 12th studio album, "Diamond Star Halos", came out in 2022. A year later, the band followed it up with "Drastic Symphonies", a collection of reimagining of some of DEF LEPPARD's greatest hits with London's Royal Philharmonic Orchestra at Abbey Road. The album spent 15 weeks at No. 1 on the Billboard Current Classical chart.
DEF LEPPARD's 2022 stadium tour across North America with MÖTLEY CRÜE reportedly sold more than 1.3 million tickets.
Photo credit: Ross Halfin
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30 июл 2024
OZZY OSBOURNE Apologizes To BRITNEY SPEARS: 'I Love You And I Think You're Beautiful'
 Ozzy Osbourne has apologized to Britney Spears after the legendary heavy metal frontman and his family criticized the pop singer's social media videos.
After a recent episode of "The Osbournes" podcast in which the BLACK SABBATH frontman said he was "fed up of seeing poor old Britney Spears on YouTube," the pop star retaliated with an Instagram post telling "the most boring family known to mankind to kindly fuck off." Now, Ozzy says that he regrets making his original comment.
In a short video clip posted to Osbourne's social media, Ozzy said: "Britney, I really owe you an apology. I'm so sorry for making that comment. However, it would be better if you didn't do the same fucking dance every day. Change a few movements… I love Britney Spears, but it's the same dance every day!"
Ozzy added: "I really do apologize. I love you and I think you're beautiful."
On last week's episode of "The Osbournes" podcast, the BLACK SABBATH frontman and his family described clips of Spears dancing as "very sad".
The Osbourne family spent some of the time on the episode by answering listeners' questions. The first question was directed to Ozzy and Sharon's daughter Kelly, asking whether or not she would ever post TikTok dances.
"I don't know how to do TikTok dances. I don't know where anybody would ever think that I would," she said.
Sharon stated: "It seems to me that TikTok when it first started, were people doing silly dances, but now it's developed into so much more." Jack Osbourne added, "You're just saying that because you're the biggest TikTok junkie, and you're just trying to be, like, 'But there's more to it than that.'"
"There is," Sharon replied.
"I'm fed up of seeing poor old Britney Spears on YouTube," Ozzy said before Sharon clarified he was discussing her "dancing."
"Every fucking day," Ozzy added. "It's sad, very, very sad."
"Save Britney," Jack commented, apparently referencing Spears's former conservatorship. Kelly offered: "I know. I feel so sorry for her."
"Poor little thing," Sharon said, with Jack quickly adding, "Very sad indeed." Sharon continued, "It's heartbreaking."
On July 17, Spears addressed the Osbournes' comments in a lengthy Instagram post. She wrote: "I'm gonna … tell the Osbourne family who is the most boring family known to mankind to kindly fuck off!"
Spears has been mostly inactive in the entertainment world since the end of her controversial 13-year involuntary conservatorship in 2021.
In her tell-all memoir, Spears revealed how she quietly rebelled against the conservatorship through which her father controlled her life for nearly 14 years. One form of rebellion took place on social media, with Spears letting people know that she "was still a real person … by sharing more of my life on social media."
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A post shared by Ozzy Osbourne (@ozzyosbourne)
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30 июл 2024
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30 июл 2024
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30 июл 2024
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Overkill
