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3 ôåâ 2020
Is SLAYER Truly Done Touring? LAMB OF GOD's MARK MORTON Weighs In
 Having toured extensively with SLAYER in the last few years, LAMB OF GOD guitarist Mark Morton was asked during a recent appearance on "That Jamieson Show" if he thinks the California thrash metal veterans are truly "done" playing live or if he thinks we haven't seen the last of them. Morton responded (see video below): "I'm probably out of pocket here, but if I had to bet, I'd bet somewhere there's gonna be another show. But that's not inside information. They're saying they're done. But, man, we've just seen this happen so many times that… I'll put it this way: I hope we see another show. I hope we do."
SLAYER played its final concert on November 30, 2019 at the Forum in Los Angeles. One day later, Ayesha King, wife of SLAYER guitarist Kerry King, said that there is "not a chance in hell" that the thrash metal icons will reunite for more shows following the completion of their farewell tour.
Back in April 2018, Tom Araya's wife said that he had not questioned his decision to embark on one final SLAYER tour before the band called it quits.
Sandra Araya, who has been married to the SLAYER frontman for more than 20 years, told the Metal Pulp And Paper web site that the announcement that the band was pulling the plug on its nearly four-decade-long career didn't come as a surprise to her. "Not to me," she said. "I can't comfortably go into too much detail. I'll just leave it with a no."
Asked if the decision to end SLAYER was a difficult one for Tom and Kerry to make, Sandra said: "Tom never second-guesses any decision he makes. I have no idea about Kerry."
Sandra also confirmed that she and Tom had "some ideas and plans" for how they plan to spend their post-SLAYER years, although she did not offer any details.
When SLAYER first announced that it was embarking on its final tour back in January 2018, Ayesha assured fans that they would "always get music" from her husband.
King has said in previous interviews that his post-SLAYER musical efforts would not be much different from the sound fans have grown accustomed to hearing from him.
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3 ôåâ 2020
KOBRA AND THE LOTUS Frontwoman 'Wasn't Sad' To See REVOLVER's Hottest Chicks In Hard Rock' Issue Go Away
 In a recent interview with the "Talk Toomey" podcast, KOBRA AND THE LOTUS frontwoman Kobra Paige was asked about her previous appearances in Revolver magazine's "Hottest Chicks In Hard Rock" issue and calendar. Asked if she thinks it's time for those kinds of lists to be retired or if she views them as a vehicle to get her band heard, Kobra replied: "It's an interesting question, actually, because I think, of course, people did find the music legitimately through those things in the past — like Revolver's ['Hottest Chicks In Hard Rock']. And I heard that they shut that down.
"Some women are very proud of being in these things, and it's part of their platform as well," she continued. "And I feel like I'm not one to judge or step on their toes or say, 'You should believe this' or 'not believe this' and 'this is the right way,' 'cause it's really a personal choice how you want to publicly represent yourself and what the focus is gonna be on. 'Cause you choose — you choose, really, ultimately what the focus is gonna be on as much as possible.
"For myself, it did expose us to some people that ended up helping us with shows down the road, when I was in that magazine a long time ago.
"It's a double-edged sword," she added. "I'm not a really big fan of this kind of thing, and I wasn't sad to see it go. I was kind of, like, 'Great. Let's focus on the music.' But at the same time, some people love 'em, and I feel like it's not my place to judge that."
In the past, Revolver's "Hottest Chicks In Hard Rock" list was criticized by publications like the Houston Press for defining women in body-shaming terms by excluding musicians who don’t make the "hottest" cut, as well as creating unnecessary competition among women that has nothing to do with the music they make.
KOBRA AND THE LOTUS's latest album, "Evolution", was released in September via Napalm Records. For the new record, KOBRA AND THE LOTUS enlisted the services of producer Michael "Elvis" Baskette, who has previously worked with ALTER BRIDGE, SLASH and SEVENDUST, among others.
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3 ôåâ 2020
AEROSMITH Bassist Praises DIRTY HONEY's Cover Of 'Last Child'
 Earlier this month, DIRTY HONEY, one of the hottest new bands in rock today, offered up a brand new Amazon Original, a soul-and-swagger-filled cover of AEROSMITH's "Last Child", written by Steven Tyler and Brad Whitford and originally released on the iconic band's 1976 album "Rocks". Today, Amazon Music makes available the full music video of the band in-studio recording the song. Check it out below.
On January 19, AEROSMITH bassist Tom Hamilton took to his Twitter to write: "Just heard Dirty Honey's version of Last Child. Really good!!"
DIRTY HONEY — Marc LaBelle (vocals), John Notto (guitars), Justin Smolian (bass) and Corey Coverstone (drums) — recorded the track on December 21 at the historic RCA Studio B in Nashville, Tennessee, the same studio where The King of Rock & Roll himself, Elvis Presley, recorded more than 250 songs. Six-time Grammy-winning producer Dave Cobb (Chris Stapleton, Brandi Carlile, John Prine, and the Lady Gaga/"A Star Is Born" six-million selling "Always Remember Us This Way") produced the track. Also available is in-studio, behind-the-scenes video footage of the recording, as well as Labelle discussing the track, DIRTY HONEY's connection to AEROSMITH, and working with Cobb.
Said Labelle: "AEROSMITH has been a huge influence on our band, and 'Last Child' is a staple in our live set, so to be tipping our hat to the band is really special. Plus, we're all big fans of the way Dave makes records. He does it live, he tracks live, he does minimal overdubs, and we love that. Our goal has always been to make music that has soul, that has a live feel, and has a performance element to it instead of perfectly in-tune vocals and perfectly played guitar solos. That's our philosophy for everything we do, we're trying to capture performance, not perfection."
Launched in September 2019, Amazon Music HD provides customers with the highest quality, with more than 50 million songs in High Definition, millions of songs in Ultra HD, and a growing catalog of 3D Audio. DIRTY HONEY's "Last Child" is available in Ultra HD, (better than CD quality), with a bit depth of 24 bits and a sample rate of 96 kHz.
Amazon Music listeners can find "Last Child" on the Rock Scene playlist. Customers can also simply ask, "Alexa play the Amazon Original by DIRTY HONEY" in the Amazon Music app for iOS and Android and on Alexa-enabled devices. In addition to "Last Child", Amazon Music listeners can access hundreds of Amazon Originals featuring both emerging and established artists across numerous genres, available to stream and purchase only on Amazon Music.
Last week, DIRTY HONEY embarked on the first leg of its 2020 "Rolling 7s" North American tour. The 25-date, coast-to-coast trek kicked off in Austin, Texas at The Parish and will wrap up six weeks later on February 28 at the El Rey Theatre in Los Angeles.
Holy shit!!! ??? https://t.co/DNgdJMosyE
— Dirty Honey (@DirtyHoneyBand) January 23, 2020 | +1 | |
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3 ôåâ 2020
Georgia’s IRIST Joins Nuclear Blast; New Single Streaming
 Georgia heavy metal powerhouse Irist has joined Nuclear Blast and will release their debut, full-length album, Order Of The Mind, on March 27. Today, the band has unveiled a monstrous new song titled “Burning Sage,” with an accompanying music video that can be viewed below.
The framework for Irist began in the summer of 2015 when South American born friends Pablo Davila (guitar) and Bruno Segovia (bass) conspired on a dream of finding success in music outside their native lands as iconic metal band Sepultura had done decades before. After relocating from their homelands to Atlanta, the duo brought on Adam Mitchell (guitar) and Jason Belisha (drums) and began writing music. Their demos eventually made their way to Nuclear Blast executive Monte Conner who saw massive potential in the band. After the addition of vocalist Rodrigo Carvalho, the group’s creative cohesion and songwriting improved immensely and after new demos were made, Conner inked a deal with them for Nuclear Blast and Irist was officially born.
On the debut Irist’s skillful songwriting is jaw droppingly impressive, and although only together for a relatively short period of time, they sound years ahead of a “debut” record and more like a well-seasoned band in the prime of their career. While there are vestiges of the group’s pan-South American heritage (from Andean music to Sepultura) throughout Order Of The Mind, the band’s collective influences come from all parts of the heavy spectrum. From The Melvins, Ratos de Porão, and Alice in Chains to The Dillinger Escape Plan, Soundgarden, and Converge, Irist fold in, twist fervently, and scorch their faves until they’re decidedly protean and uniquely a product of the fivesome’s songwriting prowess. In many respects, Order of the Mind is itinerant, introspective, portentous, indefatigable in its attack, but that’s not all it is either. Irist’s angst-powered thrusts are distinctly advanced utilizing opposing forces, textures, and layers, so no single sonic model fits perfectly, as heard on the band’s first single “Burning Sage.”
Order Of The Mind is full of waves of rhythms and emotions and no track echoes this more than “Burning Sage.” It begins by catching you off guard with an intense and chaotic verse, coming in without warning. Then it breathes for a few seconds allowing a calm as a clean percussive break blasts itself into a straightforward pulsating chorus. Bruno Segovia attributes this sonic styling as being "what we thought made ‘Burning Sage’ the right song to introduce our sound.”
“Burning Sage” is accompanied by music video directed by Mount Emult (Pixies, Dying Fetus) who paints an intensely chaotic picture with a frenzied deluge of imagery on a canvas that synchs perfectly with the song’s torrential soundscape.
“'Burning Sage’s’ frantic rhythmic patterns and ritualistic imagery made our choice to work with Mount Emult rather easy,” says vocalist Rodrigo Carvalho. “We wanted to convey this song’s dark atmosphere. Mount Emult’s exciting collage work allowed us to do just that. ‘Burning Sage’ is about overcoming negative emotions - the process is represented as a ritual in which these emotions are purged. It made sense to use imagery that were a part of different cultures to illustrate how universal this theme is.”
Order Of The Mind was engineered, produced, and mixed by Lewis Johns at the Ranch Production House in Southampton, UK and mastered by Grammy Award-winning engineer Ted Jensen (Metallica, Mastodon, Deftones) at Sterling Sound.
(Photo by: Susy Irais Reyes)
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3 ôåâ 2020
STATIC-X On Stand-In Singer XER0: 'His Professionalism And Attention To Detail' Is 'Second To None'
 STATIC-X has thanked fans for their support, saying that "the amount of love and respect" that the band felt from them on its ongoing tour "far exceeded" its widest dreams.
STATIC-X's current trek celebrates the 20th anniversary of the band's platinum-certified "Wisconsin Death Trip" album and pays homage to STATIC-X's frontman Wayne Static, who died five years ago.
While the identity of STATIC-X's touring singer has not been officially revealed, strong rumors suggest that DOPE frontman Edsel Dope is performing alongside bassist Tony Campos, drummer Ken Jay and guitarist Koichi Fukuda.
Earlier today, STATIC-X posted the following year-end message on social media:
"It's genuinely difficult for us to put into words how unbelievable 2019 was for STATIC-X and our families. Countless SOLD OUT SHOWS around the world filled with incredible STATIC-X fans celebrating our little debut record and honoring our dear friend / brother Wayne Wells. We couldn't have imagined a more honorable, electrified, and healing experience. The amount of love and respect that we felt from all of you each night far exceeded our widest dreams.
"There is no handbook or manual for how to go about doing what we did. We simply followed our hearts and our creative spirits and with the support of Waynes family and all of our fans, we were able to create something incredibly unique and memorable.
"Our friend Wayne has never been more on the mind or in the hearts of our fans. We know that he would be absolutely blown away to see how much we all continue to love and miss him.
"We would like to thank Waynes family for believing in us and for supporting our vision for how to best celebrate WDT and to memorialize Wayne each night with the STATIC-X fans around the globe.
"We would like to also thank Xer0 for his unbelievable effort, humility and selfless commitment to STATIC-X, Wayne, and our fans over the last 18 months. His delivery was haunting at times and his professionalism and attention to detail was second to none.
"We are incredibly excited to be back home so we can now finish up the recording and mixing for our new album 'Project Regeneration', which will be released on May 29th, 2020.
"We would like to thank each and every one of you for participating. We will treasure these events in our hearts for the rest of our lives.
"Thank you all so much! We will never forget!
"Tony, Ken, Koichi, and of course Wayne"
"Project Regeneration" will feature the last recordings of Static. The rest of the group's original lineup will also be featured on the album and in the music videos, including the promotional clip for the single "Hollow", which was released in October. The teaser, which was directed by Xer0 and co-directed by Matt Zane, also features a snippet of the band's hit song "Push It", re-recorded in 2019 with Xer0.
Originally scheduled for release in spring of 2019, the new STATIC-X album was first intended to feature several guests vocalists, along with the original "Wisconsin Death Trip" band lineup of Campos, Jay and Fukuda.
During the recording sessions for "Project Regeneration", one of STATIC-X's producers uncovered several additional unreleased and unfinished tracks, many of which contained isolated vocal performances by Static. Because of this incredible find, the new STATIC-X album will now feature lead vocals by Wayne on virtually every song.
Static died in November 2014 after mixing Xanax and other powerful prescription drugs with alcohol, according to the coroner's report. The 48-year-old, whose real name was Wayne Richard Wells, was found dead in his Landers, California home.
Static founded STATIC-X in 1994 and achieved commercial success with "Wisconsin Death Trip", which included the rock radio hit "Push It".
It's genuinely difficult for us to put into words how unbelievable 2019 was for Static-X and our families.
Countless...
Posted by Static-X on Wednesday, January 1, 2020 | +5 | |
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3 ôåâ 2020
DAVE MUSTAINE Underwent 51 Radiation And Nine Chemotherapy Treatments Before Being Declared Cancer-Free
 MEGADETH leader Dave Mustaine says that he has been "100 percent" cancer-free since last October.
The 58-year-old MEGADETH guitarist/vocalist revealed his throat cancer diagnosis last June on social media, saying the doctors had given him a 90 percent chance of beating the illness. Five months later, he gave an interview to Rolling Stone in which he said that he wasn't officially in remission but that he had finished the necessary treatment and had started rehabilitation. He also credited his faith for getting him through the ordeal.
Mustaine addressed his cancer battle during MEGADETH's concert Friday night (January 31) at The SSE Arena in London, England. Speaking to the crowd before launching into the title track of MEGADETH's latest album, "Dystopia", he said (see video below): "About a year ago, we were working on our new album back in Franklin, Tennessee, and I started to feel some pain over here [points to his throat]. So I went to the doctor and he said, 'Dave, you have cancer.' And I went, 'Fuck! I have cancer.' And I was so shocked."
He continued: "At first, I thought, 'Am I afraid?' And then I said, 'No. I'm fucking pissed.' And we stopped the record; we stopped everything. I went into treatment for cancer. It was 51 radiation treatments and nine chemo treatments. And when it was all said and done, every day I would think, 'I can't face not playing again. I can't face not playing again.' So I would pray. I know a lot of you guys know that I pray. I say that in [the MEGADETH song] 'Peace Sells'. I pray every day. I say that in the song. I've said it since the second record. But I thought about you guys every day too. And I thought about my family. And I got this power from you guys. And I just kept thinking about it. And on October 16th, I went to go see the doctor, and he said, 'You're 100 percent free of cancer.'"
When he spoke with Rolling Stone last fall, Mustaine said that he was "on the other side" of the majority of the treatment. He added: "After the radiation, the guy said all of my test results looked amazing. 'You look like you're in a stage 1 and you're supposed to be in stage 3 right now.' And then the oncologist said the same thing: 'You look really strong.' So we kept moving through the process."
Mustaine also credited the support he received from fans and friends with getting him through the treatment. He said: "A lot came from people that I knew but I didn't know cared. Most notably, I got a text message back from my old brother, James Hetfield [METALLICA], and I was so, so happy to hear from him. Contrary to what anybody says and contrary to any of the act that we put on, I love James and I know that James loves me and cares about me. You can see that when the moment of truth is here and I'm telling the world that I've got a life-threatening disease. Who comes to stand next to me? James. And I got a text message from Ozzy [Osbourne], and one from Paul Stanley [KISS]. It was great to get one from Ozzy; I didn't expect it from Paul Stanley. That was super bitchin' because in the beginning, when KISS first came out, I was just a kid and I loved them.
"I'm really grateful for everybody. Even the people who have a hard time with my behavior and my big mouth, I'm just so grateful for them showing care for me. Like they say, at the end of the day, all we've got is each other here in this crazy metal community."
MEGADETH's 16th album is not expected to arrive before early next year.
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3 ôåâ 2020
BILLY CORGAN Is Working On 21 Songs For 'Pretty Different' New SMASHING PUMPKINS Album
 SMASHING PUMPKINS frontman Billy Corgan has told 102.9 The Buzz in a new interview that he is hard at work on the band's new studio album. The upcoming disc will be the follow-up to 2018's "Shiny And Oh So Bright, Vol. 1 / LP: No Past. No Future. No Sun." , which was SMASHING PUMPKINS' first in over 18 years to feature founding members Corgan, Jimmy Chamberlin and James Iha, along with longtime guitarist Jeff Schroeder.
Speaking about SMASHING PUMPKINS' next LP and the band's touring plans for the coming months, Corgan said (see video below): "It's currently 21 songs. I've been working on it for over a year. It's pretty different — in a good way, I think. Everybody that's heard it likes it a lot, so that's a good sign. We're gonna do some touring. We're playing a big festival in Atlanta — I think in April or May — Shaky Knees. I'm not sure we're playing Nashville this year. Actually, I think we might. I might be giving a secret away. We might be doing a little 'surprisey' gig soon."
Formed in Chicago, Illinois in 1988, SMASHING PUMPKINS released its debut album, "Gish", in 1991 and found mainstream success with 1993's multi-platinum "Siamese Dream" and 1995's "Mellon Collie And The Infinite Sadness". With over 30 million albums sold to date, the two-time Grammy, MTV VMA and American Music Award-winning band remains one of the most influential alternative rock acts in the world.
The seminal group embarked on the 2018 "Shiny And Oh So Bright Tour", which sold over 300,000 tickets across North America and saw them playing sold-out arena shows at venues, including The Forum, United Center and Madison Square Garden. The tour was the band's first in nearly two decades to feature Corgan, Chamberlin and Iha, alongside Schroeder, bassist Jack Bates and keyboardist Katie Cole.
Corgan released his latest solo album, "Cotillions", in November via his own Martha's Music label. Like 2017's "Ogilala", the disc was issued under his full name, William Patrick Corgan. | +2 | |
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3 ôåâ 2020
MACHINE HEAD: Pro-Shot Video Of New York City Concert
 Professionally filmed video footage of MACHINE HEAD's February 1 concert at Webster Hall in New York City can be seen below.
The North American leg of MACHINE HEAD's 25th-anniversary tour for the band's debut album, "Burn My Eyes", kicked off in Phoenix on January 16 and will continue across Toronto, Chicago and Denver, wrapping up at the legendary Fox Theater in Oakland, California on February 21 and House Of Blues in Anaheim, California on February 22. Each show on the trek consists of two parts: part one sees frontman Robb Flynn and bassist Jared MacEachern performing alongside new recruits, Polish guitarist Wacław "Vogg" Kiełtyka (DECAPITATED) and British drummer Matt Alston (DEVILMENT, EASTERN FRONT); while part two features "Burn My Eyes" played in its entirety for the first time ever, with original drummer Chris Kontos and guitarist Logan Mader joining in.
Flynn told France's HEAVY1 about Kiełtyka and Alston's addition to MACHINE HEAD: "We were doing auditions for a while, and Vogg's audition just fucking blew my mind — it was so fucking tight and fucking accurate. He sent over [a recording of] 'Imperium' as his first song just as a test. We always had all the dudes do a sound test, just to make sure the levels are good and stuff. I was, like, 'Oh my God! This dude is playing 'Imperium' better than I can right now.' [Laughs] It was crazy. And we ended up talking. Super-nice guy. Matt, same thing. We flew him out, jammed with him, and he killed it."
Asked how all the musicians are getting along and whether they are traveling together, Flynn told HEAVY1: "We're all in the band together — we all live together. The band's all on the bus — all six of us. And it's a great ride, man. Everybody is very respectful; everybody knows their role and just kind of doing it here and enjoying it. Everybody is out here having a blast. It's so nice to have people who are in a positive frame of mind, 'cause it wasn't like that in the past. And now it is, and it's fucking awesome."
Kontos left MACHINE HEAD before the release of the band's second album, 1997's "The More Things Change", and was replaced by Dave McClain.
Mader contributed to two MACHINE HEAD albums, the aforementioned "Burn My Eyes" and "The More Things Change", before exiting the group and being replaced by Ahrue Luster and, later on, Phil Demmel.
Demmel and McClain exited MACHINE HEAD in the fall of 2018. | +3 | |
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3 ôåâ 2020
MICHAEL SCHENKER Says He 'Tried' Collaborating With DAVID COVERDALE In Early 1980s: 'I Didn't Really Want To Do It'
 UFO and MSG legend Michael Schenker has revealed for the first time that WHITESNAKE frontman David Coverdale wanted the German in his band — and the two musicians even jammed together with a view to forming a group.
Speaking to Rock Candy magazine for the cover story of the latest issue, Schenker told writer and editor Howard Johnson: "Back in the early '80s, when I had the MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP, my manager at the time, Peter Mensch, believed we needed a new singer to replace Gary Barden. I'd picked Gary for a reason, but Peter wanted to take the band to the next level and he wanted David Coverdale to work with me.
"Coverdale probably asked Mensch to get me and [drummer] Cozy Powell and [bassist] Chris Glen over to WHITESNAKE to replace Bernie Marsden and Micky Moody and whoever else was in that band at the time. I think that was the idea, but I didn't want to let go of MSG. I said, 'No, you ask Coverdale to join us.'
"You know that song 'Dancer' from the MSG 'Assault Attack' album? I actually jammed that song with Coverdale. I already had the music and he sung it differently, with some different words. So we tried something, but I didn't really want to do it."
The Schenker/Coverdale collaboration didn't work out, and Michael eventually recruited former RAINBOW singer Graham Bonnet to front MSG. But the idea of these two rock greats forming a band together can only leave rock fans wondering about the potential of what might have been.
Read the whole of this revealing article in issue 18 of Rock Candy magazine, available in shops worldwide or direct online at this location.
Schenker had previously claimed that he turned down an opportunity to join Ozzy Osbourne's group after the death of Randy Rhoads. "I was tempted to do it," the German guitarist said in a 2019 interview. "I said, 'How can I get away from this?' And then Cozy [Powell, then-MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP drummer] was saying, 'You can't do this. We're doing 'Assault Attack' now. We just got Graham Bonnet.' And I thought, 'I'll just ask him for the impossible. He [will] say no.' And that's what I did. So I asked for the impossible with the hope that he would say no. And then I was off the hook."
Schenker had also said that he was asked by Lemmy to join MOTÖRHEAD as the band's first guitarist and was approached by AEROSMITH to replace Joe Perry in 1979. He also claimed that he was asked to audition for THE ROLLING STONES shortly after he arrived in London to join UFO in 1973.
He told The Bigfoot Diaries in a 2011 interview: "AEROSMITH, Ozzy Osbourne or any other band with history was not good for me. It would always mean that I would have to learn other guitarist's riffs. And that was not what I wanted. I was born to create and invent."
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3 ôåâ 2020
FEAR FACTORY's DINO CAZARES: 'We've Always Talked About Basic Futuristic Concepts That Pretty Much Came True'
 Alex Haber of Heavy New York conducted an interview with guitarist Dino Cazares of veteran industrial metallers FEAR FACTORY at this year's NAMM show in Anaheim, California. You can watch the entire chat below. A few excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).
On his 2020 plans:
Dino: "Definitely ASESINO [his grindcore side project]. We're working on a new record. We have a lot of it already written. We're going to put it ourselves. We just got to get it done by this summer."
On songwriting inspiration:
Dino: "It comes out of nowhere. Sometimes it can be from watching a movie, sometimes it can be from sitting on the couch, coming up with a cool riff, a 'couch riff.' Sometimes it could be talking to somebody and somebody says something fucking cool and I'm, like, 'Oh, shit.' For some reason, that could inspire me to write something. It comes from everywhere."
On the evolution of FEAR FACTORY's sound:
Dino: "We definitely tried to experiment with our sound. If you look at 'Demanufacture', it's much more cold — [it] had a killer, sleek, cold production to it. Whereas 'Obsolete', we wanted it to be groovier, more organic. So we've always tried to take different approaches on each record."
On whether FEAR FACTORY's lyrics try to be informative or are open to interpretation:
Dino: "Both. Some it is however you want to interpret it. Some of it is very specific. Obviously, FEAR FACTORY is a band that always sang about futuristic technology and how technology is going to become a part of our day-to-day life, which it has. We've always talked about those futuristic concepts that pretty much came true."
On whether some of FEAR FACTORY's lyrics have ended up predicting the future:
Dino: "We were also reading a lot of books, a lot of magazines, a lot of stuff online. A guy like Ray Kurzweil. We followed him a lot, listened to him a lot, and a lot of his futuristic ideas. Him predicting the future and that's kind of like where we got our inspiration from, lyrically."
In a November 2018 interview, FEAR FACTORY singer Burton C. Bell said that the band had completed a new album tentatively titled "Monolith". He also said that "legal technicalities" needed to be sorted out before the record could be released. The effort, which is expected to once again be made available via Nuclear Blast, will mark the Californian band's first collection of new music since 2015's "Genexus" LP.
FEAR FACTORY has been largely inactive since the completion of a 2016 U.S. tour on which it performed its classic second album, "Demanufacture", in its entirety.
The band was the subject of breakup rumors in May 2017 when the band's former bassist-turned-guitarist Christian Olde Wolbers posted a since-deleted eulogy for FF on his Instagram. He wrote "RIP Fear Factory" and appended that post with the hashtag #GrownAssMenThatCantWorkOutShit.
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3 ôåâ 2020
TESTAMENT's ALEX SKOLNICK On NEIL PEART: He Was 'A Huge Inspiration," And 'Not Just To Drummers'
 TESTAMENT guitarist Alex Skolnick has paid tribute to Neil Peart, who died on January 7 in Santa Monica, California after a three-year battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. The iconic RUSH drummer was 67 years old.
Speaking to "The Blairing Out With Eric Blair Show" at the NAMM show in Anaheim, California, Skolnick stated about Peart's passing (see video below): "It just came out of nowhere. I never knew him personally. Those who knew him personally knew for a while [that he was sick], so it wasn't that much of a shock, although, I tell you, how could it not be a shock?
"I had just recently started listening to RUSH more and intensely — more focused on the drums," he continued. "It was strange — I had this extra urge to airdrum. And then this happened.
"I'm just grateful for the music. I'm grateful I got to see them on the 'Clockwork Angels' tour. I had seen them only once before — back in high school. When I saw them, they were just in full form. And you would never know.
"I'm just thankful for the music and for him," Skolnick added. "What an amazing person, lyricist, thinker. A big inspiration. For those of us that don't always fit in, he's a huge inspiration — not just to drummers."
RUSH announced Peart's passing on January 10, setting off shockwaves and an outpouring of grief from fans and musicians all over the world.
RUSH's final show took place at the Forum in Los Angeles on August 1, 2015. Peart indicated at the time that he wanted to retire while he was still able to play well, along with a desire to spend more time at home with his young daughter.
Peart joined RUSH in 1974. He was considered one of the best rock drummers of all time, alongside John Bonham of LED ZEPPELIN; Keith Moon of THE WHO; and Ginger Baker of CREAM. Peart was also RUSH's primary lyricist, drawing inspiration from everything from sci-fi to Ayn Rand. | +7 | |
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3 ôåâ 2020
KILL THE LIGHTS Feat. Ex-BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE Drummer: 'Shed My Skin' Music Video
 Fearless Records has announced the signing of KILL THE LIGHTS, the band featuring former members of BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, STILL REMAINS and THROW THE FIGHT.
The official music video for the song "Shed My Skin" can be seen below.
"'Shed My Skin' is about accepting the 'real' you and being comfortable with yourself," says singer James Clark. "It's about understanding that we are all broken and we are all flawed. We need to stop struggling in silence and need to reach out and ask for help before it's too late. I personally struggle with anxiety, depression, and self-esteem issues, and some days life can be too much and I'm okay admitting that — because that is the true me. As the lyrics say, 'I'm not bleeding. I'm just broken, and ready to shed my skin.' We are all the same — I am you."
As a founding member of Welsh metal titans BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE, Thomas lived a rock'n'roll dream that few ever get to see with their own eyes — winning awards, selling millions of albums, touring with his idols, and playing numerous sold-out headline shows, becoming one of the biggest metal exports in U.K. history. After parting ways with the band he formed to focus on his family four years ago, 2020 sees the drummer extraordinaire back where he belongs in international new band KILL THE LIGHTS.
"I'm super grateful and excited to be back. I can't wait for everyone to hear this," grins Moose, of the new project completed by Clark (THROW THE FIGHT), guitarists Jordan Whelan (STILL REMAINS) and Travis Montgomery (THREAT SIGNAL).
"When I parted company with the old band, musically I was just sitting around doing fuck-all and realized I had worked too hard and come too far to turn around," continued Moose. "I thought I'd get in touch with Jordan and sent him a text asking, 'Got any riffs or what?!' Before I knew it, he had sent me 30 or 40 songs. I was like, 'Erm, okay!' I couldn't believe it."
"I'm a hobby songwriter," explained Jordan, "which means I'm writing every day, whether it's for a band or not. I've known Moose since I was a 19-year-old kid. Funnily enough, his first tour in the States was opening up for my band, then he said we should jump on a tour with them through the U.K. — which ended up being the Kerrang! Tour of 2006. The chemistry was there right off the bat and I knew right away this could be something that takes over the world."
Frontman James Clark joined after auditioning on a demo of what would become the group's debut single, "The Faceless".
"We all want to do something fresh, and for me it was about exploring some of the throwback metal more like [IRON] MAIDEN or [JUDAS] PRIEST that I felt had gotten lost over the years, but in a new way," said the singer.
KILL THE LIGHTS has been confirmed to perform at U.K.'s Download festival on June 14.
KILL THE LIGHTS is:
James Clark (ex-THROW THE FIGHT) - Vocals
Jordan Whelan (ex-STILL REMAINS) - Guitar
Michael "Moose" Thomas (ex-BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE) - Drums
Travis Montgomery (ex-THREAT SIGNAL) - Guitar | +2 | |
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3 ôåâ 2020
RATT's STEPHEN PEARCY: 'I Wasn't Really Into RUSH'
 RATT singer Stephen Pearcy has commented on the passing of Neil Peart, who died on January 7 in Santa Monica, California after a three-year battle with glioblastoma, an aggressive form of brain cancer. The iconic RUSH drummer was 67 years old.
Pearcy spoke about Peart's passing in a new interview with "The Blairing Out With Eric Blair Show" conducted at the Metal Hall Of Fame event in Anaheim, California. Asked how influential RUSH was on him musically, Stephen said (see video below): "Not at all, really. I wasn't really into RUSH. I came from school of [LED] ZEPPELIN and AEROSMITH, BLUE ÖYSTER CULT, ALICE COOPER… But they were an amazing band — there's no denying. It's a bummer. Anytime we lose anybody, it's a drag. Like losing [RATT guitarist] Robbin [Crosby] — that was the end of that era for us. It's never gonna be duplicated, and that's why we've had so much dysfunction. But we're not the most dysfunctional band on the planet."
RUSH announced Peart's passing on January 10, setting off shockwaves and an outpouring of grief from fans and musicians all over the world.
RUSH's final show took place at the Forum in Los Angeles on August 1, 2015. Peart indicated at the time that he wanted to retire while he was still able to play well, along with a desire to spend more time at home with his young daughter.
RATT's current lineup includes Pearcy and bassist Juan Croucier, along with drummer Pete Holmes (BLACK 'N BLUE) and guitarists Jordan Ziff and Chris Sanders (BRITNY FOX, KNIGHT FURY). | +3 | |
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3 ôåâ 2020
YES And KING CRIMSON Members Collaborate On New Album By PETER BANKS & DAVID CROSS; Audio Sampler Streaming
 David Cross was a member of King Crimson during the 1970s and the late Peter Banks was the original guitarist in YES. The guitar and violin parts for this new studio album were recorded on August 10, 2010 in an afternoon of improvisation.
Of the release David Cross said, “The response from the guest musicians was truly wonderful in the way that they gave their time and talent to this project and I would like to thank them on behalf of Pete and myself. They were asked to ‘interpret the music as freely and creatively as you wish’ and they have turned in incredibly skilled and inspiring performances which were not easy given the improvised nature of the starting material and the spontaneity of the structures.”
The resultant album was produced by Tony Lowe and David Cross and the guest appearances were recorded during 2018 and 2019 and Crossover features:
Pat Mastelotto
Tony Kaye
Billy Sherwood
Randy Raine-Reusch
Andy Jackson
Oliver Wakeman
Jay Schellen
Jeremy Stacey
Geoff Downes
David Cross added: “When I recall the original recording session with Pete I remember his fresh almost naïve approach, his positive energy and his constant and restless search for something new. It was a joy to know Pete Banks and an honour and a privilege to play with him: I think he would be pleased with the way our album turned out.”
This is the last new album of material from the late Peter Banks, who passed away in 2013, and had wanted to see this material released.
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3 ôåâ 2020
KIRK WINDSTEIN Would Rather Make New Full-Length Album With DOWN Than Release Another EP
 In a brand new interview with "The MetalSucks Podcast", Kirk Windstein was asked about the possibility of new music from DOWN, the band that he recently rejoined in time for the upcoming shows celebrating the 25th anniversary of its "NOLA" album. Asked if he would like to make a new album with DOWN or continue putting out EPs to follow up the two efforts that arrived in 2012 and 2014, Windstein said: "If we ever did anything as far as writing and recording a record, I'd rather just do a full record. Because with everybody, it becomes easy.
"When I think of a band like KISS, of course, Gene [Simmons] and Paul [Stanley] are main songwriters, but on some of these early albums, you might have nine songs," he continued. "Ace [Frehley] would throw one in, or occasionally Peter [Criss]. And it's easy to write a record when you have a lot of songwriters that can write complete songs, almost.
"What happened with the EP thing is it took so long to do [2007's] 'Over The Under' [album] that were kind of, like, 'Man…' Like I said, it took five or six months of traveling back and forth from L.A. to New Orleans. And I'm totally happy with the way it came out, but I think that was our whole mindset: 'You know what? Why don't we just do six songs?' Everybody's got main riffs on a couple of these songs. We worked together, we put 'em all together, and boom, there you go. So I think that was the whole mindset of that."
A founding member of DOWN, Windstein left the band in 2013 in order to focus on CROWBAR and his family life. He was replaced by Bobby Landgraf, DOWN's former guitar tech who was previously in GAHDZILLA MOTOR COMPANY, a 1990s outfit also featuring Jason McMaster (DANGEROUS TOYS, WATCHTOWER), and HONKY.
Last month, Windstein confirmed that he will rejoin his DOWN bandmates to celebrate "NOLA"'s quarter-century milestone.
"I'm in, 100 percent," Windstein told Revolver. "The quote from Pepper [Keenan, guitar] was, 'If you ain't doing it, I ain't doing it.' Phil, Pepper and Jimmy [Bower, DOWN drummer and EYEHATEGOD guitarist] are my three of my oldest, closest friends, so this is a no-brainer for me."
When asked if this means he's back in DOWN for good, Windstein replied: "As far as I know, I'm back in the band. Bobby Landgraf did a fantastic job, and he's a very good friend of mine. But once again, DOWN is back to what it started out as, which is a 100 percent complete side project. Everyone's other bands are the priority and that's that. But it's been six and a half years since I jammed with those guys, so I'm excited. It's gonna be fun."
DOWN has several shows scheduled in 2020 so far, including appearances at the Graspop Metal Meeting festival in Dessel, Belgium, and at the Copenhell festival in Copenhagen, Denmark.
DOWN was forced to cancel a number of shows in 2016 after Anselmo was filmed giving a Nazi salute and shouting "white power" at a California concert.
Keenan later offered his take on what transpired, telling Metal Wani that DOWN was "far from done" after the controversial incident. "You know, DOWN didn't do anything wrong," he said. "I mean, we were just guilty by association on that one. That was Phil's mistake. I've spoken to Phil and told him to get his shit together, and he is. He knows he made a mistake and was being stupid."
He continued: "I've known the guy [most of my life]. He's not what that whole thing framed him to be at all. But, yeah, there's definitely a future for DOWN. I wouldn't throw all the shit we've done, beautiful music we've done on one stupid moment that was caught on camera, and he apologized for. [So we are] far from done."
DOWN's last live appearance took place in August 2016 at the Psycho Las Vegas festival in Las Vegas, Nevada.
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3 ôåâ 2020
CORROSION OF CONFORMITY Pays Tribute To REED MULLIN: He Was 'A Badass Drummer'
 The remaining members of CORROSION OF CONFORMITY have paid tribute to their drummer Reed Mullin, who died on Monday, January 27. He was 53 years old.
Earlier today, the CORROSION OF CONFORMITY social media channels were updated with the following message: "A badass drummer: Reed could play all of the metal stuff, cymbal grabs, proto blast beats with only one bass pedal. He could cop one hundred different styles and reference them in his own way. Everything from Earl Hudson and Clive Burr to Neil Peart (RIP) to Mitch Mitchell and Bill Ward. From John Bonham to Phil Taylor and Nicko McBrain. All the while he was creating his own thing, odd times and polyrhythms played nonchalantly, powerful, simple, deliberate sections, all of the possibilities were in fact possible but utilized thoughtfully, in the proper place, for the proper effect, as the song demanded. Musically speaking, what more could you ask for?"
Mullin, who co-founded CORROSION OF CONFORMITY in 1982 as a hardcore punk act alongside bassist Mike Dean and guitarist Woody Weatherman, had missed a number of shows in the past four years due to a variety of health issues, including an alcohol-related seizure he suffered back in June 2016.
Last summer, Dean said that Mullin needed "to take care of himself and get his shit together" before rejoining the band. "And if that happens, the door's open for him," Mike told the "Talk Toomey" podcast. "And if it doesn't, well, that's how it is. People need to wanna help themselves. You can't just push them to get help — they've gotta wanna help themselves."
When Mullin suffered his alcohol-related seizure four years ago, Dean said in a statement that the episode had been "preceded by prolonged, extreme and unhealthy levels of alcohol consumption, not taking care of himself and who knows what else." Mike went on to say that he and his bandmates would "not enable Reed to continue killing himself on our watch."
A badass drummer:
Reed could play all of the metal stuff, cymbal grabs, proto blast beats with only one bass pedal. He...
Posted by Corrosion Of Conformity on Wednesday, January 29, 2020 | +1 | |
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3 ôåâ 2020
O'KEEFE MUSIC FOUNDATION Students Cover PANTERA's "Drag The Waters"; Official Video Available
 Music teacher Aaron O'Keefe - who works with his students under the O'Keefe Music Foundation (OMF) moniker - has posted an official video for their cover of Pantera's "Drag The Waters". It features students between the ages of 8 and 17. Check it out below.
Aaron O'Keefe: "FYI... the biker gang was going to set that pile of trash on fire until it became a raging inferno so the kids could run around, howl at the moon and then eventually make s'mores. But the wind was over 20 mph that day and it was too dangerous....even for OMF :)
OMF is a non-profit music organization with a mission to help talented young musicians record and film their performances for FREE. Why? Because art gives voice to our dreams – and live music performance is becoming a dying art. You can read more about us on our website, view other great vids, and even apply to be an OMF rockstar! You can also buy some cool merch, or support us in recording more great songs and videos in the future. Please let us know your thoughts below. Any great songs you think our students should cover? No, Chad K. from Canada, no Nickelback – stop, just stop! Oh, and a like and subscribe would be greatly appreciated!"
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3 ôåâ 2020
STONE TEMPLE PILOTS Release Title Track Of First-Ever Acoustic Album, 'Perdida'
 STONE TEMPLE PILOTS have released "Perdida", the title track of their forthcoming first-ever acoustic album. You can check it out below.
"Perdida" will be released on February 10. The band recorded the disc at drummer Eric Kretz's Bomb Shelter Studios. STP utilized a variety of instruments that haven't been associated with the group in the past, including flute, alto saxophone, guitarrón, viola, cello and vintage keyboards. STONE TEMPLE PILOTS will also launch an acoustic tour next month.
"You have to live it to write it," says guitarist Dean DeLeo. "And this record is a reflection of where we've been recently."
Bassist Robert DeLeo says "Perdida" (Spanish for 'loss') shows how music has helped them process grief, search for meaning and, ultimately, create something beautiful from the pain. "When I've gone through things in my life, I've found that sitting down and having an honest conversation with my guitar is the best therapy."
"Recording an acoustic album like 'Perdida' is something the band has wanted to do for many years," says drummer Eric Kretz. "We performed on 'MTV Unplugged' in 1993, and we usually play acoustic mini-sets on tour, so when Robert and Dean started playing their new songs for us during our tour last year, we knew right away they would be perfect for an acoustic album."
Writing lyrics for an introspective album like "Perdida" meant exposing himself like never before, says singer Jeff Gutt, who joined the band in 2017. "It's an emotionally honest album and I needed to approach it that way for these songs to resonate. I had to let myself be as vulnerable writing the lyrics as Dean and Robert were writing the music."
To record "Perdida", the quartet assembled at Kretz's Bomb Shelter Studios in February 2019. The key to making the album, Dean explains, was finding a way to say more with less. "Everything you hear serves a purpose, from the space in the arrangements to the different instruments. We only added things that served the songs."
As a result, there are instruments on "Perdida" that you don't normally hear on an STP record, like flute ("I Didn't Know The Time") alto saxophone ("Years") guitarrón ("Miles Away") and enough vintage keyboards to make Rick Wakeman jealous. "We've done similar things before — like the trumpet solo on 'Adhesive' from 'Tiny Music' — but never on such a large scale," Robert says. "Working with other musicians on this album was such a joy because it gave us a rare opportunity to hear our songs through someone else's ears."
That approach shines on the title track, where a nylon-string guitar takes the lead as keyboard, violin, viola and cello ebb and flow behind Gutt's soaring vocal on the chorus: "Oh perdida come and go/Stay with me tonight/But in the morning please be gone."
"She's My Queen" is another highpoint on the band's sonic adventure. Built around an Indian drone and carried along by a gently pulsing beat, the song casts a hypnotic spell that's punctuated by background singers, flute and Marxophone — a special kind of hammered dulcimer from the 1920s.
The songs that open and close "Perdida" — "Fare Thee Well" and "Sunburst", respectively — are fitting bookends, Gutt says. "They really capture the emotional journey that takes place on this album. It starts with saying goodbye on 'Fare Thee Well' and ends with a new beginning on 'Sunburst'. It's a melancholy record, but it ends on a hopeful note."
As it happens, those two tracks also spotlight facets of the DeLeo brothers' distinctive songwriting voices. "Fare Thee Well" by Robert pulls you in from the first strum of the guitar and has you singing along after one listen. In Dean's "Sunburst", the melody unfolds gradually, rising and falling multiple times before building to a cathartic guitar-fueled crescendo.
"Perdida" track listing
01. Fare Thee Well
02. Three Wishes
03. Perdida
04. I Didn't Know The Time
05. Years
06. She's My Queen
07. Miles Away
08. You Found Yourself While Losing Your Heart
09. I Once Sat At Your Table
10. Sunburst
Photo credit: PR Brown | +3 | |
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3 ôåâ 2020
ALTARIA's Divinity Album To Be Remastered And Released On Vinyl LP For The First Time; CD Version To Feature Bonus Tracks
 Altaria, the melodic metal legends from Finland, are back. The band celebrates its resurrection with a new edition of the successful album, Divinity, from 2004, which has been remastered and will be released on vinyl for the first time on March 27th via Reaper Entertainment.
The band presents the first digital single from the album, "Unchain the Rain". The song is now available on all streaming platforms. You can watch the official lyric video below.
Altaria has issued the following statement:
"Divinity, our second album, has been sold out for years. The fans keep asking us when the album will be available again. Now we got some good news for you. Not only will the Divinity album be released again, it will be remastered and it will be released as a limited edition vinyl and CD. The CD version will also include two bonus tracks. We are so stoked about the release and the remastered version of Divinity kicks ass! The first release of the album will be the opening track, 'Unchain The Rain'. The song has over 1.2 million views on YouTube, so we are very happy to get the song released as the first single from the upcoming re-release!"
Pre-order Divinity remastered here.
Altaria - current line-up:
Taage Laiho - vocals
Marko Pukkila - bass
J-P Alanen - guitar
Petri Aho - guitar
Tony Smedjebacka - drums
Altaria - Divinity line-up:
Taage Laiho - vocals
Jani Liimatainen - guitars
Marko Pukkila - bass
Tony Smedjebacka - drums
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3 ôåâ 2020
Listen To GEORGE LYNCH, KEITH ST. JOHN, CHRISTOPHER AMOTT, GÖRAN EDMAN On Dutch Instrumentalist RON COOLEN's Rise Album
 Dutch multi-instrumentalist, Ron Coolen, will release his debut album, Rise, through RC Music on March 1. The album features a great lineup of world class guest musicians: George Lynch, Keith St. John, Christopher Amott, Göran Edman, Stéphan Forté, Joey Concepcion, Thorsten Koehne, Chris Clancy, Johannes Persson, Daniël Verberk, Steve Lamb and Sam Walters.
Rise contains 12 tracks in the best style of classic hard rock and heavy metal, with some prog and thrash here and there. All music is written by Ron, and he played all rhythm guitars, drums, bass and keyboards.
For complete audio samples visit this location.
Rise will ONLY be available through roncoolen.rocks. The CD (including a beautiful 20-page booklet) can be pre-ordered from today onwards. In digital format the album will be available on March 1.
For every album sold, Ron will donate 1 USD to Jason Becker, who is suffering from ALS. Jason needs any financial support to pay for his medical bills. Jason has been a huge inspiration to Ron throughout his musical career, and Ron has done charity work for Jason before. Follow this link for more information on the charity for Jason.
Tracklisting:
"Big Devil Data"
"White Summer"
"Too Late To Surrender"
"Sin City"
"Gotta Shoot Your Devils Down"
"Ashes To Ashes"
"Paradise"
"Kill Kill Kill"
"Rise"
"Stories"
"From Your Mouth"
"Selfishness"
"Big Devil Data":
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2 ôåâ 2020
Former ACCEPT Members UDO DIRKSCHNEIDER And PETER BALTES To Reunite On Stage This Summer?
 ACCEPT fans, rejoice! It appears that three former members of the band will reunite on stage this summer.
Founding ACCEPT singer Udo Dirkschneider and bassist Peter Baltes were photographed with longtime drummer Stefan Kaufmann late last month while they were apparently preparing for Dirkschneider's upcoming concerts at the 2020 edition of the Wacken Open Air festival.
Udo is scheduled to play two shows at this year's Wacken: the first will see his band DIRKSCHNEIDER perform ACCEPT's classic 1985 album "Metal Heart" in its entirety to celebrate the LP's 35th anniversary, while the second will pair Udo's main band U.D.O. with Das Musikkorps der Bundeswehr, the military band of the German federal armed forces. U.D.O. and the 100-plus musicians of Das Musikkorps der Bundeswehr previously teamed up for the 2015 edition of Wacken and then for another concert in Elspe in 2018.
Several pictures of last month's rendezvous were posted on Twitter by Ulrich Fonrobert, spokesman for Das Musikkorps der Bundeswehr in Siegburg. In the accompanying caption, he wrote: "1st meeting for the next heavy metal session of UDO and the Bundeswehr Music Corps in Siegburg. After Navy Metal Night 2014, Wacken 2015 and Elspe 2018, the next project: CD, Wacken, Tour ... Orchester-Metal as it's best"
Udo previously promised "a big surprise" for the 2020 Wacken show. He also said that a "joint album" with Das Musikkorps der Bundeswehr featuring "exclusively new songs" would be released in mid-2020.
Last November, ACCEPT guitarist Wolf Hoffmann told Powermetal.cl that he no longer kept in touch with Baltes after the bassist exited the group a year earlier. "Unfortunately, when somebody leaves the band, they're always kind of out of sight, out of mind," Wolf explained. "It's very sad. I wish it wasn't that way, because we've been friends for so long. But the reality is I haven't really heard from him — even though I reached out a couple of times. He's almost like he wants to disappear or he wants to leave the music business altogether. It's sad and I still don't quite understand what really happened. But it is what it is, and we move on."
Kaufmann was the drummer for ACCEPT on nine albums but was forced to give up drumming towards the end of the band's initial run after sustaining a serious injury to his back.
Stefan joined U.D.O. as a guitar player in 1996, following ACCEPT's second breakup, and recorded nine albums with them, including his most recent release with the group, 2011's "Rev-Raptor".
In 2018, Udo told Greece's Rock Overdose that he would no longer perform any ACCEPT songs live once he has completed his current touring obligations with his DIRKSCHNEIDER project. "I did now the DIRKSCHNEIDER thing for nearly three hundred shows — I played only ACCEPT songs," he said. "If [the fans] wanna hear some ACCEPT classic stuff, what can I say? Then please go to [see] ACCEPT; they're still touring.
"I would say as long as ACCEPT is existing, I don't play any ACCEPT songs anymore," he explained. "If they maybe split up and I'm still continuing to tour, then it's a possibility to play some ACCEPT songs. But at the moment, they're still going on tour and they play also a lot of old ACCEPT classic stuff, so here we go. I mean, I have now 16 U.D.O. albums out and I think we have enough songs to do a setlist without ACCEPT songs."
Back in 2015, Hoffmann dismissed Dirkschneider's comment that the band's then-lineup — which included Baltes and ACCEPT's singer of more than a decade, Mark Tornillo — performed live "without any emotion," "It's just hilarious at this point," Wolf said. "It's just a big joke in our lives. And we just go on about our lives, and we do our thing, and we just… We let these things go by and laugh about it. He's actually sort of our press agent, in a way. He keeps us [in the news]."
1. Treffen für die nächste Heavy Metal-Session von U.D.O. und dem Musikkorps der Bundeswehr in Siegburg. Nach Navy Metal Night 2014, Wacken 2015 und Elspe 2018 jetzt das nächste Projekt: CD, Wacken, Tour... Orchester-Metal as it's best ??. #Wacken #metal #dirkschneider pic.twitter.com/l4BtlaIziI
— Ulrich @ Queen Games (@UFonrobert) January 26, 2020
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2 ôåâ 2020
GUNS N' ROSES Pays Tribute To KOBE BRYANT During BUD LIGHT SUPER BOWL MUSIC FEST (Video)
 GUNS N' ROSES paid tribute to basketball star Kobe Bryant during their concert last night (Friday, January 31) at the second Bud Light Super Bowl Music Fest at AmericanAirlines Arena in Miami, Florida. The NBA legend and his daughter were among nine people killed in a helicopter crash in Calabasas, California, on January 26. Bryant was 41.
Prior to launching into GUNS' cover version of the Bob Dylan classic "Knockin' On Heaven's Door", singer Axl Rose told the crowd: "The other night, coming home from rehearsal, I was, like, 'Is it just me or is that really weird?' It was this fog bank, like a thunder cloud over the trees. It was really white with a slight pink and this light coming off the ground. It was really weird. It looks formidable. By morning, apparently, it was much worse. That's what [Kobe Bryant's] helicopter flew through. It was pretty scary. I want to dedicate this to Kobe and his daughter and everyone on the flight and everyone in the families and everyone impacted by this terrible event."
While GUNS performed the track, the gigantic video screen behind the stage cycled through a slideshow of images of Kobe and his family.
Bryant and his 13-year-old daughter Gianna Bryant were on their way to a travel basketball game with when the helicopter crashed. According to the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, there were no survivors of the crash. The incident occurred before 10 a.m., and the fire made it difficult for firefighters and emergency personnel to get to the aircraft, according to the Los Angeles Times.
Bryant played for the Los Angeles Lakers for 20 years and is considered one of the greatest basketball players of all time. He won five NBA championships, was an 18-time All-Star, was the NBA's Most Valuable Player in the 2007-2008 season and is fourth on the NBA's all-time scoring list. He retired after the 2015-16 season, having spent his entire career with the Lakers. The franchise retired his No. 8 and No. 24 jersey numbers in December 2017.
Guns N Roses respectfully paying tribute to #KobeBryant and the other helicopter crash victims. @gunsnroses @richardfortus @DizzyReed @Slash @DuffMcKagan @FrankFerrer66 @axlrose @TheMelissaReese #RIPKobe #RIPKobeBryant #GunsNRoses pic.twitter.com/880omycpo1
— del james (@deljamesgang) February 1, 2020 | +8 | |
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2 ôåâ 2020
LORNA SHORE Releases Music Video For 'King Ov Deception'
 LORNA SHORE's music video for the song "King Ov Deception" can be seen below. The track is taken from the band's latest album, "Immortal", which was released on January 31 via Century Media.
Austin Archey (drums) comments: "To celebrate the release day of 'Immortal', we have for you the official music video for 'King Ov Deception'. The video was shot in late 2019 by our longtime collaborator Joey Durango. He worked hard to make us a beautiful visual for this song, and we hope you enjoy it."
After touring North America with FIT FOR AN AUTOPSY, RIVERS OF NIHIL, THE LAST TEN SECONDS OF LIFE and DYSCARNATE, LORNA SHORE will embark on a European tour shortly after the release of the album.
Formed in 2010, LORNA SHORE were quick to surpass "local band" expectations with 2012's "Bone Kingdom" EP and its follow-up, 2013's "Malificium" EP. Through each release, LORNA SHORE continues to prove itself to be an increasingly formidable force and a ferocious live proposition. 2017's sophomore LP "Flesh Coffin" showed a band that had moved beyond mere "deathcore" trappings and had evolved into a modern metal band, as uncompromising and accomplished as any of their contemporaries or influences.
"We became the band we wanted to be, rather than just the product of our early influences," says guitarist Adam De Micco. "'Immortal' is the latest chapter of that story of us as a band, as players and as people."
This past December, LORNA SHORE parted ways with vocalist C.J. McCreery — who appears on "Immortal" — after he was accused of sexual misconduct and mental abuse by several women. A replacement singer has not yet been announced.
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2 ôåâ 2020
Watch MEGADETH's Entire London Concert
 Fan-filmed video footage of MEGADETH's entire January 31 concert at The SSE Arena in London, England can be seen below.
The band's setlist was as follows:
01. Hangar 18
02. The Threat Is Real
03. Wake Up Dead
04. Sweating Bullets
05. Trust
06. Tornado Of Souls
07. Dystopia
08. Symphony Of Destruction
09. Mechanix
10. Peace Sells
Encore:
11. Holy Wars... The Punishment Due
MEGADETH is currently on the road in Europe as the support act for FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH. The trek kicked off on January 20 in Helsinki, Finland and will conclude on February 22 in Sofia, Bulgaria. The Helsinki concert was MEGADETH's first since frontman Dave Mustaine was diagnosed with throat cancer and its first live appearance in 15 months.
The 58-year-old MEGADETH leader revealed his cancer diagnosis last June on social media. Five months later, he gave an interview to Rolling Stone in which he said that he wasn't officially in remission but that he had finished the necessary treatment and had started rehabilitation. He also credited his faith for getting him through the ordeal.
"I've been praying for a long time, and when this whole thing went down, I prayed a lot," he said. "I don't force it on anybody; I never would do that. But I prayed about it, and I believe that that was the whole reason I got healed so fast. A lot of people's asses are probably going to grow together right now that I said this, but the truth of the matter is, everybody has their own things that they believe. And I believe that taking good care of myself and being physically fit, as well as spiritually fit, got me back to this point."
Mustaine said that his positive mindset also helped him through this most testing of journeys.
"I'm not letting the cancer get me down," he said. "I have to thank the fans and obviously my family and God but there was no way I was going to let this take me down. When [BLACK SABBATH guitarist] Tony Iommi got cancer, I thought, 'Oh, my God, he's gonna die.' And I actually cried. I wept, because they had said it was stage 4 cancer. And then, when I got it, I thought, 'Oh, my God. I'm gonna die.' Because I didn't know how bad it was. I thought of the fans and how sad everybody was gonna be. And I thought, 'I have to beat this.' No matter what, there's no way I'm gonna act like I can't do this. I can do anything if I set my mind to it."
MEGADETH has been working on its 16th album, which bassist David Ellefson said is due out early next year.
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2 ôåâ 2020
Original BLACK SABBATH Drummer BILL WARD Releases Solo Song 'Powder On The Moon'
 Original BLACK SABBATH drummer Bill Ward has released the official lyric video for a solo song called "Powder On The Moon". The track, which is credited to the BILL WARD BAND, can be streamed below.
According to Ward's official web site, "Powder On The Moon" is one of the songs that were originally intended for inclusion on "Beyond Aston", the still-unreleased solo album he has worked on in bits and pieces since the late 1990s. The track is described on the site as: "Cross fades from end of Everybody Loves Me, about obsession to be liked at all costs, even when dead."
"Powder On The Moon" arrives more than two months after the release of another BILL WARD BAND song, "Once This Was A Road". A month before that, he issued the track "Arrows" to mark the second anniversary of the Las Vegas mass shooting.
Ward was on board for the SABBATH reunion when it was first announced eight years ago, but backed out soon after. The drummer later claimed that he sat out the recording and touring sessions because of unfair contractual terms, although the members of SABBATH have hinted in other interviews that he wasn't physically up to the task.
All four original members of SABBATH were present when the band announced its reunion in late 2011. But Ward split from the group in 2012, citing an "unsignable" contract, and singer Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler carried on with their Rick Rubin–produced "13" LP and extensive international touring without him.
Ozzy told The Pulse Of Radio during SABBATH's last tour that Ward was not in shape to participate. "Bill Ward has got the most physically demanding job of the lot of us, 'cause he's the timekeeper," he said. "I don't think personally he had the chops to pull it off, you know. The saddest thing is that he needed to own up to that, and we could have worked around it, whether we had a drummer on the side with him or something."
It was rumored that SABBATH wanted to bring a second drummer on the road to share duties with Ward, something that Iommi confirmed in 2017 during a question-and-answer session about SABBATH's "Ten Year War" box set.
In 2015, Ward released his first solo album in 18 years. Titled "Accountable Beasts", the record can be purchased on iTunes.
In November 2017, Ward's band DAY OF ERRORS released its first two songs, "Day Of Errors" and "Blaspheming At Creation", via iTunes, Spotify, Amazon MP3 and Google Play. Two more tracks, "Dark" and "Ghost Train", followed last fall.
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2 ôåâ 2020
EPICA Completes Pre-Production For New Album
 According to EPICA singer Simone Simons, the band has completed pre-production for the follow-up to 2016's "The Holographic Principle" album. The new disc will once again be recorded at Sandlane Recording Facilities in Rijen, Netherlands with producer Joost Van Den Broek.
This past October, EPICA guitarist Mark Jansen told That Drummer Guy that there was a simple explanation for why the band has taken this long to begin work on new material.
"It's three years ago that 'The Holographic Principle' got released, so by the time the new album gets released, yeah, that must be about four years," he said. "It's longer than usual, but in the meantime, we also released an EP, and a second EP, and also this ['Design Your Universe'] re-release, and also a book — we worked on a book. So there's a lot of stuff still that happened in the meantime. But if you just take a look at the albums, then it's longer than it usually has been. So I think the fans are really eager to hear new material. And as eager are we about writing the stuff.
"When I started writing myself, I felt really a big motivation again to write a new album," he continued. "And that's exactly what we needed. We didn't want to start writing an album at the point that we felt like we just had to write an album. We only want to write an album when we really feel hungry to write an album. And that's the case now… It has to be one hundred percent or nothing; there's nothing in between. I wouldn't be happy with an album that has just a few good songs and the rest are fillers. I would feel ashamed about it. There's no one that's gonna be happy about such an album. It has to be as good as we can get it."
Lat fall, EPICA celebrated the 10th anniversary of its milestone album "Design Your Universe". To mark this special occasion, EPICA re-released this fan-favorite LP as a "gold edition" on October 4 through Nuclear Blast. This edition contains the album remixed and remastered by Joost Van Den Broek with updated artwork and a second disc containing newly recorded acoustic versions of "Design Your Universe" songs.
November 2019 saw the release of "The Essence Of Epica", a lavishly designed and fully illustrated, high-quality hardback which tells the story of EPICA in bandmembers' own words. The book is available in two distinct editions: the Classic is a 208-page, hardback with foil detailing, filled with over 200 images; the Signature hardback is signed by the band and comes in a deluxe clamshell box with three exclusive, original art prints created by Stefan Heilemann.
View this post on Instagram
Don‘t mind me, I‘m blending in with the furniture ? Preproduction is a wrap. Let the recordings begin! ?? @epicaofficial #newalbum #metal #epica8
A post shared by • S I M O N E S I M O N S • ? (@simonesimons) on Feb 1, 2020 at 3:30am PST | +2 | |
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2 ôåâ 2020
KISS Kicks Off Winter 2020 North American Leg Of 'End Of The World' Tour In Manchester: Video, Setlist
 KISS kicked off the winter 2020 North American leg of its "End Of The Road" Saturday night (February 1) at the SNHU Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire. The band's setlist included the addition of two songs, "Tears Are Falling" (from KISS's 1986 album "Asylum") and "Parasite" (from KISS's 1974 album "Hotter Than Hell"), and the removal of "Hide Your Heart" and "Let Me Go, Rock 'N' Roll".
Fan-filmed video footage of KISS performing the two newly added songs can be seen below.
The setlist for the concert was as follows:
01. Detroit Rock City
02. Shout It Out Loud
03. Deuce
04. Say Yeah
05. I Love It Loud
06. Heaven’s On Fire
07. Tears Are Falling
08. War Machine
09. Lick It Up
10. Calling Dr. Love
11. 100,000 Years (with extended drum solo)
12. Cold Gin (with extended guitar solo)
13. God of Thunder
14. Psycho Circus
15. Parasite
16. Love Gun
17. I Was Made For Lovin’ You
18. Black Diamond
Encores:
19. Beth
20. Crazy Crazy Nights
21. Rock And Roll All Nite
In a recent interview with BackstageAxxess, KISS guitarist Tommy Thayer spoke about the current North American leg of "End Of The Road". The trek features VAN HALEN vocalist David Lee Roth in the support slot.
"First of all, this is a must-see show," Tommy said. "If you haven't ever seen KISS, this is definitely your last opportunity to come to see the show. It's something you never want to miss. At least once in your lifetime, you've gotta see the show. This show is built, as you've seen, it's the biggest one we've ever done and I'm not just hyping it. It's really incredible. We put a lot of time and effort into preparing for this in the first place. It's really paid off. The reviews, the response from fans, everybody across the board has been phenomenal. The shows have been sold out or close to sold out. I think we've played for almost two million people in 110 shows in 2019. The tour is going to go through 2020 and into '21. Our last show is going to be in New York City on July 21, 2021, but we're not announcing what venue it is yet. We have an end date now that we're going to work toward, so that gives a little more perspective to really this is the end of the road and everybody can see this is the schedule moving forward. Now is the time to come see the show. Even if you saw it last year, we're going to come out with new songs in the set starting February 1 on this leg, and revamping and freshening it up for 2020."
In a 2018 interview with Billboard, frontman Paul Stanley suggested it would be unlikely for KISS to play any obscure songs during their farewell tour.
"For all the audience saying 'When are you going to record a new album or will you play a deep cut?' Why? We have 'Detroit Rock City', 'Love Gun', 'Rock And Roll All Nite', 'Shout It Out Loud', 'Firehouse', 'Hotter Than Hell' and the list goes on and on…. There isn't room for some obscure song. Songs that are obscure are obscure for a reason."
He added, "And if we're going to please a handful of diehards, the real crazy diehards, and have 20,000 other people go, 'What's that?' or "Let's go out and get a Coke,' then we are failing the masses. We wouldn't do that."
KISS's current lineup consists of original members Stanley and Gene Simmons, alongside later band additions, Thayer (since 2002) and drummer Eric Singer (on and off since 1991).
Formed in 1973 by Stanley, Simmons, drummer Peter Criss and lead guitarist Ace Frehley, KISS staged its first "farewell" tour in 2000, the last to feature the group's original lineup.
In its 46-year career, KISS has accumulated 23 gold and platinum albums — more than any other U.S. band. | +1 | |
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2 ôåâ 2020
Watch DAVID LEE ROTH's Entire First Concert As Support Act For KISS
 VAN HALEN singer David Lee Roth played his first show as the support act for KISS last night (Saturday, February 1) at the SNHU Arena in Manchester, New Hampshire. His eight-song set consisted primarily of his old band's biggest hits, plus "Just Like Paradise", which was the lead single from Roth's second solo album, 1988's "Skyscraper".
David's setlist was as follows:
01. You Really Got Me (THE KINKS cover) (from VAN HALEN's "Van Halen", 1978)
02. Just Like Paradise (from "Skyscraper", 1988)
03. Unchained (from VAN HALEN's "Fair Warning", 1981)
04. Jamie's Cryin' (from VAN HALEN's "Van Halen", 1978)
05. Panama (from VAN HALEN's "1984", 1984)
06. Dance The Night Away (from VAN HALEN's "Van Halen II", 1979)
07. Ain't Talkin' 'Bout Love (from VAN HALEN's "Van Halen", 1978)
08. Jump (from VAN HALEN's "1984", 1984)
Fan-filmed video footage of the entire concert can be seen below.
Roth told Van Halen News Desk that his band is recreating the sound of VAN HALEN's albums and his own solo work, not VAN HALEN's live performances.
"We do not sound like VAN HALEN live," he said. "You have not heard this. VAN HALEN live is lead guitar, bass, drums, sing. Here, we bring it the way a record brings it. To do that requires two or three guitars. We have five people hollerin'. It's a big rock sound. It's not [1985's] 'Just A Gigolo'. It's not brass band. That was a quickie vacation."
Roth's "Rocks Vegas" Las Vegas residency kicked off in early January and is scheduled to play six more dates in March at the House Of Blues. Backing the 65-year-old singer are lead guitarist Al Estrada from the VAN HALEN tribute band ERUPTION, rhythm guitarist Frankie Lindri, bassist Ryan Wheeler, keyboardist Danny Wagner and drummer Mike Mussleman.
This isn't the first time David has set up shop in Sin City. Back in 1995, Roth completed a Las Vegas engagement at Bally's Hotel and Casino and another short run at MGM Grand.
VAN HALEN has been inactive since it completed its U.S. tour in October 2015 at the Hollywood Bowl in Los Angeles, California.
Roth recently launched Ink The Original, a skin-care line specifically made to preserve, protect, and highlight tattoos and keep them from fading. | 0 | |
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2 ôåâ 2020
GOJIRA's MARIO DUPLANTIER Releases 'Minotaur' Drum Composition
 Drummer Mario Duplantier of French progressive metallers GOJIRA has released a drum composition he recently created. Dubbed "Minotaur", the solo "has been composed around a drum pattern I particularly love, the alternate single stroke roll 'between the hands and the feet,'" he explained. "I've never used it with GOJIRA, but this effect can be spectacular."
The "Minotaur" video, which was directed by Anne Deguehegny, can be seen below.
In a 2014 interview with U.K.'s Rhythm magazine, Mario revealed that METALLICA's Lars Ulrich was "maybe the only influence" he had when he first picked up a pair of drum sticks. "I started playing drums at 12 years old," he said. "At that time my big brother was in a band and was a big influence on me. He introduced me to music and spontaneously I wanted to play drums.
"Maybe the first time I saw a video with the big thing called drums was Lars Ulrich with his white Tama drums," he continued. "That was a big shock for me and right away I wanted to try. Lars was my biggest influence, maybe the only influence I had starting out. After that, I started listening to more metal and got into SEPULTURA with Igor Cavalera on drums, Igor and Lars were my biggest influences and then I discovered more extreme music."
GOJIRA has spent the last couple of years touring and working on the follow-up to 2016's "Magma" album.
"Magma" earned GOJIRA its first-ever Grammy nominations for "Best Metal Performance" and "Best Rock Album." GOJIRA's crushing track "Silvera" received a nomination for "Best Metal Performance", while "Magma" was nominated for "Best Rock Album" at the awards.
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2 ôåâ 2020
HEAVY PETTIN’ To Release 4Play EP On Valentine’s Day
 Heavy Pettin' have announced the release of their first new EP 4Play on Valentine’s Day - February 14th. The first batch of new Heavy Pettin' songs recorded in over 30 years.
4Play tracklisting :
“Get Back To You”
“Tell Me Why”
“Who We Are”
“Hard to Hold”
4Play was recorded at SOR Studios Great Linford in Autumn 2019. Produced and mixed by Gordon Albert Bonnar.
Hamie has said: “…the demand and support for new Heavy Pettin' material has been so overwhelming, we are excited to say we’re now working on brand new HP Album and other projects will also be released later in 2020… and it’s going great!"
Heavy Pettin' is:
Stephen (Hamie) Haymen - vocals
Gordon Bonnar - guitars, vocals
Mick Ivory - drums
Jez Parry - bass, vocals
Dave (Davo) Aitken - guitars, vocal
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Slayer
