Guitarist Craig Locicero of the reunited San Francisco Bay Area thrashers FORBIDDEN has issued the following update:
"What a great night we had at Slim's [in San Francisco on Friday, September 12]! Everything about the experience was pretty f'n satisfying. I guess you could say it was full circle, closure and a new beginning all in one night.
"When we took the show one, we barely had three weeks to get the word out there. It didn't seem to matter because the show was still comfortably packed. This time there was a little room to breathe as opposed to when we did the two gigs with DEATH ANGEL, that was claustrophobic! But that was good too.
"When the word got out about [former FORBIDDEN drummer] Paul [Bostaph; SLAYER, TESTAMENT, EXODUS] playing with us again it sent some electricity around the Bay. But we already had a lot we wanted to prove on our own. The most important thing was for Russ [Anderson, vocals] just to be able to go out there and perform at his best, and he did! I'm not trying to make excuses for the guy, but he never got to put his best foot forward with our local gigs and the Euro tour we did back in June. Singers are sometimes victims of circumstance. When your a band that hasn't toured in over 12 years and you get nine shows in nine days in a row, somebody's gonna suffer. Russ did take one for the team then, but he didn't bitch (too much)! Haha. So, needless to say, he kicked ass on Friday night! Hit the highs and brought all the power big-time. I just think that some folks forget how hard it is to be a real singer in this genre. We don't have any kind of cushy situation here. Just five hard-working dudes making the music they love.
"Now for the rest of the evening. The crowd was on fire! It must have been cool for Mark [Hernandez, drums] to finally get to play for his home town after the last few months. He was great and everyone treated him accordingly. Mark really does fit the band wonderfully. He and Paul got along great and helped each other a ton. Paul was even showing him some old tricks he had to re-remember. That was priceless!
"The moment when Paul got behind the kit was deja vu! For me, the thing I love most about Paul's work with FORBIDDEN is how innovative his material really was. The beats, fills and groove were all so unique. It's any wonder why SLAYER sought him out in 1991! And he's a really nice human being as well. We really enjoyed that interaction again. Thanks to TESTAMENT for letting us borrow Paul for these few nights. Good times!
"That's not all that happened. Even Robb Flynn [MACHINE HEAD, ex-VIO-LENCE, FORBIDDEN], the original counterpart guitarist to myself, got up and sang 'Chalice of Blood' with Russ and Mark! That was great! Here we have our Paul Bostaph and Robb Flynn and Mark Hernandez all sharing the stage with us all at the same time! It was killer to have our old friend, Robb, step onto the same stage with us after all of those years. He was super-cool too! We're all very proud of Robb and MACHINE HEAD for what they represent for modern Bay Area metal. They know were it all began because they lived it.
"All of this was a big part of the dream. What we need next is Tim Calvert and Steve Jacobs to be available and make an appearance and the circle will be complete. All of these guys were all integral to the long history of FORBIDDEN. And that history is still being written today and in the future!
Thank you from the bottom of our hearts!
"Next stop...Japan!"
Video footage of the Slim's concert can be viewed below.
Upcoming FORBIDDEN shows:
Sep. 20 - Club Citta - Kawasaki, Kanagawa, JPN *
Sep. 21- Club Citta - Kawasaki, Kanagawa, JPN *
* With VOIVOD, TESTAMENT
FORBIDDEN's last studio LP, "Green", was released in 1997 on the G.U.N. label.
For more information, visit the band's official MySpace page.
FORBIDDEN live at Slim's in San Francisco – September 12, 2008:
With over 50,000 albums sold, 700,000+ monthly Spotify listeners, and more than 100 million streams, American hard rock experts, Throw The Fight, have already developed impressive numbers throughout their band history.
Three years after the release of their latest album, Settle Your Sins, the band marks their return as they officially announce the release of their upcoming full-length, entitled Strangeworld, out June 30 via Long Branch Records. Produced by Josh Gilbert and Joseph McQueen (As I Lay Dying, Bad Wolves, Light The Torch, Upon A Burning Body), the record is a potent distillation of the strengths of their catalog and a huge step forward to the future.
In conjunction with this announcement, today, the band released their new single, "Hourglass," alongside a brand new video - marking the second track released off Strangeworld - following the single, "Cover Your Tracks". Watch both videos below.
Singer Kade Katz comments: "An hourglass resembles the passage of time and serves as a reminder that time and moments are precious. It's a reminder to embrace life and be grateful for our limited time on this planet."
With a diehard audience earned the old-school way, and modern rock anthems suited for the digital age, Throw The Fight celebrates two decades of passion and perseverance. Mixing soaring melodicism and heavy bombast without ever sacrificing hooks, this Minnesota outfit was built to last.
Strangeworld will be released as LP Edition incl. transparent vinyl with blue streaks, CD Edition, Stream and Download. Exclusive T-Shirt+CD/LP Bundles are available for pre-order at the Long Branch Records Shop. Pre-order Strangeworld here:
Strangeworld tracklisting:
"Cover Your Tracks"
"Obey"
"Lost Without You"
"Sorry, Not Sorry"
"Hourglass"
"Shadow Self"
"Lost In The Lies"
"Snake Mountain"
"Wake Up!"
"Hourglass" video:
"Cover Your Tracks" video:
Throw The Fight are:
Kade Kastelitz - Vocals
Ryan Baustert - Guitar/Vocals
Kris Weiser - Guitar
Jeff Baustert - Drums
Columbus, OH based rock band South Of Eden has issued their newest, classic rock gem "Lone Riders". Vocalist Ehab Omran talks about the ferocious, guitar-driven single:
“We chose ‘Lone Riders’ as our first single because we felt the high-energy music and down to earth lyrics encapsulate everything about this band. It’s about being broke, overlooked, and over being on the outside looking in. You deal with it by getting high and watching life go by because you can’t afford to keep up with it.
It’s a mixture of a lot of things. We’re ‘classically rock’ influenced, but listen to so many different genres and eras that there are a lot of different feelings in our music. When you hear us, I want you to walk away thinking, ‘That was honest and different'. We’re just doing what we do. We’re proof you can do anything you want and shouldn’t compromise your dreams.”
“We’re a band that writes, records, and plays like the pioneers of rock before us. We aren’t looking to bring anything back, but instead to remind people what rock n roll means. No rules. This music represents what we believe is real, raw music.”
“Our goal is to help open the doors for rock in the modern era. We want to sound the way we hear rock n roll in our heads; vintage with a sprinkle of today. The objective is to give listeners the feeling of discovering the genre for the first time. We think now is the moment to be a rock band.”
On their previous record, The Talk, the musicians headed to Los Angeles to record with Grammy Award-winning producer Greg Wells (Adele, Twenty One Pilots, Deftones). “When I first heard the band, it had its own original identity,” explains Greg. “That was something I had waited years to find. I emailed them back saying, ‘I want to be your Mutt Lang’.”
When it came to recording, South Of Eden honor the methods of those who come before them and “tape in a vintage way, with no click track, pitch correction, copy-paste, or any of that nonsense” and have kept the same approach on their newest release, "Lone Riders", produced by Ehab and Jakob Mooney.
In live news, South Of Eden will be playing The Southgate House Revival in Newport, KY on February 18th.
ÑØÀ
Machine Head![=]](/img/news-bord-shr.gif){kind=small}
