Erik Grönwall, a 21-year-old finalist in the 2009 season of "Idol", Sweden's annual reality show and singing competition, performed a cover version of the IRON MAIDEN classic "Run To The Hills" earlier today (Friday, December 4) during the contest's final week. Watch the video below.
Grönwall, born 1988, previously auditioned for "Idol" in 2007, but reportedly didn't make it to the qualifying rounds.
In early 2008, VBS.tv heard faint rumblings of a remote Aboriginal township with a heavy metal gang problem. According to reports, Wadeye (population 2,232) was basically run by violent, spear-wielding gangs with names like the Judas Priest Boys and Evil Warriors. Metal fans from way back, members of the VBS.tv crew dropped everything else they were working on and went to see it for themselves. They stayed there for a week and befriended some of the gangs who took the VBS.tv crew hunting, to church and even invited them into their homes. The resulting video footage can be viewed in two parts below.
Riff Magazine has uploaded video footage of TEXTURES' performance at this year's Ilha do Ermal festival, which was held August 28-30 in Vieira do Minho, Portugal. The 10-minute clip, which can be viewed below, also includes an interview with the band.
TEXTURES will make its Indian live debut at the Deccan Rock Festival on December 5, 2009 at Palace grounds in Bangalore, India. Co-headlining the event will be AMON AMARTH.
The band is excited to finally play India as there have been a lot of rumors the past year of the group touring this metal-loving country. This will be TEXTURES' last performance before hitting the studio to record a new album, which will be released in the fall 2010 on Nuclear Blast.
TEXTURES took India by storm earlier this fall in an unprecedented manner. Despite having never setting foot in the country, and without ever officially releasing a record there, the band was featured on the cover of the nation's biggest rock magazine, the Rock Street Journal (see image below). The mag contained a five-page interview with the band as well as a poster and a CD with three TEXTURES tracks. Within three days, every single one of the 50,000 copies of the magazine were sold out, and a re-print of the magazine was set to hit the shelves to feed the demand.
The vinyl version of "Silhouettes", the latest album from TEXTURES, was released in November 2008 through Garden of Exile Records. The LP was limited to 500 copies and pressed on 180-gram vinyl. The artwork was printed on extra-thick cardboard gatefold jacket with golden foil print.
"Silhouettes" was released in North America on September 30, 2008 via Listenable/Koch.
The album entered the Dutch chart at position No. 100. This was the band's first chart showing ever.
"Silhouettes" was recorded at Split Second Sound with Jochem Jacobs in the producer's chair. Jacobs previously oversaw the recording process for TEXTURES' last CD, "Drawing Circles".
StAndrewsRadio.com recently conducted an interview with Michael Waters (bass) and Paul Mahon (guitar) from the Irish hard rock band THE ANSWER. The chat is now available for streaming using the audio player below. Also posted is a review of the group's November 27, 2009 concert in Edinburgh, Scotland, along with some exclusive pictures.
THE ANSWER will be IRON MAIDEN frontman Bruce Dickinson's guests on Friday, December 18 during Bruce's weekly BBC 6 Music radio program, dubbed "The Bruce Dickinson Friday Rock Show". Listen to the broadcast live via the Internet between 9:00 p.m. and 12:00 a.m. (midnight) U.K. time at BBC.co.uk.
THE ANSWER recently completed another run as the only opening act for the final North American encore leg of AC/DC's Black Ice world tour.
THE ANSWER's mammoth sound is often compared to THE BLACK CROWES and FREE, and is fully primed for stadium and arena shows. In Europe, they've opened concerts for THE ROLLING STONES, THE WHO and AEROSMITH, and have headlined tours in the U.K., Europe, Japan and Australia.
"Everyday Demons", the new album from THE ANSWER, was released digitally on March 10 exclusively at iTunes. The digital copy includes two bonus studio tracks — the Celtic thumper "Lost" and "Revolutions", along with a live version of "Under The Sky" and a digital CD booklet featuring an alternate cover. The album was released in physical retail outlets March 31 on The End Records, distributed through RED. The CD was produced by John Travis (KID ROCK, STATIC-X, etc.) and mixed by Tim Palmer and Mike Fraser (who recently mixed AC/DC's "Black Ice").
Michael Waters and Paul Mahon interviewed on StAndrewsRadio.com (click on player below to launch audio):
The Pulse of Radio reports: The current issue of Rolling Stone magazine features an in-depth look at the rift between AEROSMITH singer Steven Tyler and the rest of the band, including interviews with guitarists Joe Perry and Brad Whitford, plus drummer Joey Kramer, in which they speak openly about their relationship with Tyler and their plans for the group's future. The most surprising comment, however, may come from former Geffen Records executive John Kalodner, who oversaw AEROSMITH's late Eighties comeback and some of their biggest albums, such as "Permanent Vacation" and "Pump".
When asked who could possibly take over as lead singer in the band, Kalodner says, "I was talking to Marti Frederiksen about this because he co-wrote 'Jaded' and worked with them for ten years or so. We were talking about how no one can replace Steven Tyler, but the only person he said — and I agreed with — that could even make AEROSMITH anything would be Lenny Kravitz."
But, Kalodner added, "If you're asking me, is there AEROSMITH without Steven Tyler, my answer is no. And if Steven Tyler goes solo, my answer is no."
Nevertheless, the rest of AEROSMITH have publicly announced their intentions to look for a new singer while Tyler takes his proposed two-year break to work on "Brand Tyler." Whitford told The Pulse of Radio that the band is open to taking a new direction. "You're never gonna fill the shoes of Steven Tyler," he said. "Not even possible. So we're not even thinking in terms of filling his shoes. But there may be some people willing to try, and hopefully we do something creative with it, you know, and not just go out there and be like an AEROSMITH cover band, you know what I mean?"
Tyler has been estranged from the band since August, when he fell from a stage in South Dakota and forced the group to cancel the rest of its summer tour.
The other members have revealed that Tyler has his own management, and that none of them have had any contact with him in months. Whitford and Kramer have hinted that they think Tyler might be using drugs again.
The Rolling Stone article also hints at musical differences between Tyler, who prefers to record radio-friendly pop hits, and the rest of the band, who want to get back to their harder-rocking roots.
Joe Perry is touring with his own band, THE JOE PERRY PROJECT, and will perform on CBS-TV's "Late Show With David Letterman" on Friday, December 11.
GuitarWorld.com has uploaded video footage of UFO shredder Vinnie Moore talking about his influences and showing the viewer how to play the song "Fly" from his new solo album, "To The Core", and UFO's "Too Hot to Handle". Moore also offers instruction on open-string licks, hybrid picking, Jeff Beck-style bending and vibrato, and wide-stretch diminished-seven arpeggio licks.
Vinnie Moore released "To The Core" in North America on May 26 via Holland's Mascot Records.
"To The Core" recording lineup:
Vinnie Moore - Guitar Van Romaine - Drums John "J.D." DeServio - Bass Tim Lehner - Keyboards
Moore spent the last several years on tour with UFO. Once off the road, Moore took his time meticulously laying down the tracks to his newest guitar instrumental masterpiece.
Choosing a very retro-contemporary rock style mixed with many other styles and influences, Moore decided he would make it a good old-fashioned rock 'n' roll instrumental album. It's just Vinnie Moore, his guitar, and his raw guitar talent — all the ingredients that make this album a work of art.
"The only plan I had when making this record was to do some things I have never done before," explained Moore. "I am into many types of music and wanted to make a record where I could just let it all pour out without limitations. I am basically a rock guy but all these other influences that filter into my music. You can hear many styles from an R&B/hip hop vibe to one that is heavy but has an indian vibe with lots of exotic percussion. I even have a couple tunes with techno elements, some funk, some blues and some bepop. Hell, there is even some motorcycles on it and I even played slide guitar on 'Jigsaw', which is fairly new for me. The common thread that ties it all together is probably the fact that it's me playing guitar through it all."
Ernest A. Jasmin of The News Tribune recently conducted an interview with MÖTLEY CRÜE frontman Vince Neil. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
The News Tribune: I read in Revolver that you're not doing the next Crüe Fest until 2011.
Vince: That's not necessarily true, either. There's no plans to do Crüe Fest at all, as far as I know. If there is, it would be in '11, but there's no plans for it right now.
The News Tribune: Oh, I just wondered if you guys made a conscious decision to take some time off.
Vince: We toured for 18 months, which included Crüe Fest 1 also. So, I mean, we did the U.S. three times, including Canada, every country in Europe, Malaysia, Japan, South America and Mexico. I think it's time to take a break.
The News Tribune: Did it become a grind toward the end?
Vince: No, it has nothing to do with that. … Some cities we played three or four times. You can't keep playing over and over again. The band's still ready to go, but there's nowhere else to play.
The News Tribune: It's been awhile since you've done a solo record. What felt right about now?
Vince: MÖTLEY's not gonna do anything, and the timing is just great. So it's time for me to put out a record. It should be out in about March. I'll do a nice summer tour following it and carry on.
I'm not on tour with my solo band right now. We're just doing some one-off shows just to play and have some fun and just kind of keep busy. But the real tour will actually start after the album drops in March.
The News Tribune: Are you gonna road test some of the new songs that you're workin' on?
Vince: No, not yet. … We really have no kind of set set list. We play, of course, some MÖTLEY hits, you know, people wanna hear; and play some obscure MÖTLEY stuff that MÖTLEY never plays, and just some stuff off the "Exposed" album and some cool cover songs.
The News Tribune: Where in the process are you with the solo CD?
Vince: We start laying down tracks the first week of December, and we'll have the first single out in January.
The News Tribune: What's it called?
Vince: "Tattoos n' Tequila".
The News Tribune: That sounds like a CRÜE song.
Vince: Yeah, well, it's rock 'n' roll. That's it. It has nothing to do with MÖTLEY CRÜE. Tattoos and tequila is basically my life.
Welsh metallers ANTERIOR have announced a short run of dates in December to close the year and air some of the new songs they've been busy working on over the past few months.
"After being confirmed on the Garage show with SYLOSIS, we decided to add a short string of dates in some new places and venues that we haven't hit before," the band said in a statement. "We are using these shows to play some new songs for you guys so you can let us know what you think!
"We are all very excited to play some new material live as we have been writing for the album and have not been near a stage since August. Playing live is always what we have loved the most and we cant wait to get back out and see in the festive season in some new cities; it's gonna be a blast!"
The dates are as follows:
Dec. 12 - Pontyridd, UK @ Club Y Bont Dec. 13 - Colchester, UK @ The Twist Sec. 15 - Bournemouth, UK @ Champions DEc. 16 - London, UK @ Garage
ANTERIOR is planning to enter the studio in early 2010 with producer Scott Atkins (SYLOSIS, ROMEO MUST DIE, MADMAN IS ABSOLUTE) to begin recording the follow-up to 2007's "This Age Of Silence" for a late 2010 release via Metal Blade Records.
Hugh of ThrashHits.com conducted an interview with ANTERIOR at this year's Bloodstock Open Air festival, which was held August 14-16, 2009 at Catton Hall in Derbyshire, England. Watch the chat below.
Lorenzo Antonucci (guitar, vocals) of the Queens, New York-based hardcore/metal act SWORN ENEMY has announced his departure from the band. He will focus his efforts on his new endeavor SMASHFACE, who will soon begin recording its debut effort at Rockhard Studios in Austria with acclaimed producer Daniel Castleman (DESTROY THE RUNNER, WINDS OF PLAGUE).
Commented Antonucci: "After a decade of being in SWORN ENEMY, I've come to an extremely hard decision: parting ways with the band and longtime friend/partner Sal LoCoco (vocals).
"This band has allowed me the opportunity to see the world and provided many countless, good memories that I will never forget. SWORN ENEMY has been my baby since the beginning in 2000 and I've put everything that I had into it, giving it my all.
"It took me a long time to think this through, but after a grueling 75-day tour in the States, I just lost it and had had enough.
"I will always love the band and will always be a part of SWORN ENEMY, as well as try to write as much as I can for the band if they continue on without me.
"I will continue on with music and as some of you may have heard already, I have a new project with Chris Storey (ex-ALL SHALL PERISH) and another amazing shredder Sean Swafford. The band is called SMASHFACE and I'm handling all the vocal duties. I also have a recording studio with my girlfriend (Lidija Lychee) and am also taking guitar lessons from Chris Storey, the man that got me shredding."
According to The Associated Press, TWISTED SISTER guitarist Eddie Ojeda is recuperating from emergency back surgery that forced him to miss the band's concert near Philadelphia.
Ojeda experienced intense pain that prevented him from standing or sitting, went to a hospital and had surgery to repair a ruptured disc, according to bandmate Jay Jay French. Dan McCafferty, who played guitar in singer Dee Snider's solo band, was pressed into duty as a last-minute replacement at the Keswick Theater in Glenside, Pennsylvania on Wednesday night (December 2). (See video below)
Reid and Glover stopped by Billboard.com's studios recently to talk about the new album, "The Chair In The Doorway", how the music business has changed since they began recording as a band, and how the their classic track "Cult of Personality" can be reconsidered in the age of Obama.
"We were talking about the cult of personality around Ronald Reagan, so it's always weird when people talk about the Age of Obama and 'Cult of Personality' and the Cult of Personality around Barack Obama," explains Glover. "You could look at it at in so many different ways and from so many different perspectives that it loses its meaning after a while. And for us, when we play it, we're not thinking about the Age of Obama, we're thinking about us."
Watch the chat below.
"The Chair In The Doorway" sold around 2,800 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 159 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was written and recorded at Sono Studios outside of Prague in the Czech Republic during the fall of 2008 and spring of 2009. The results stretch from the modern soul anthem "Behind The Sun" to the politically-charged, heavy rock of "DecaDance" to the sacred steel blues of "Bless Those".
Having helped to pave the way for a number of contemporary African-American artists to follow in their wake, ranging from RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE to LENNY KRAVITZ to BEN HARPER, with a multi-dimensional sound that drew equally from JIMI HENDRIX, BAD BRAINS, TALKING HEADS and ORNETTE COLEMAN, the success of LIVING COLOUR broke down the color barriers in rock music. Guitarist and founding member Vernon Reid also founded the Black Rock Coalition to use his influence to further this cause.
Discovered by Mick Jagger who produced their first demo and later offered them an opening slot with THE ROLLING STONES, LIVING COLOUR would go on to create a repertoire that includes a multitude of classic songs, including "Cult Of Personality", "Elvis Is Dead", "Open Letter To A Landlord", "Glamour Boys" and "Love Rears Its Ugly Head". With "The Chair In The Doorway", the fifth album of the band's storied career, LIVING COLOUR expands the scope of its timeless body of work and, in the process, proves vital as ever.
Legendary Swedish guitarist Yngwie Malmsteen will release a new album called "High Impact" on December 8 (one day earlier internationally). The set is described as "a mind-boggling, high-paced compilation record" featuring a "surprise" bonus track — Yngwie's never-before-released interpretation of the MICHAEL JACKSON mega-hit classic "Beat It", which contains Malmsteen's own magical touch and ex-JUDAS PRIEST/ICED EARTH frontman Tim "Ripper" Owens on vocals.
"High Impact" track listing:
01. Caprici Di Dablo 02. Brothers 03. Blitzkrieg 04. Trilogy Suite 05. Red House 06. Finale 07. Magic City 08. Arpeggios From Hell 09. Far Beyond The Sun 10. Cantabile 11. Blue 12. Overture 1622 13. Fugue 14. Beat It (MICHAEL JACKSON cover)
Audio samples of all the songs that appear on the CD are available for streaming at the guitarist's web site.
Rising Force Records has begun releasing rare archival concert footage that many Malmsteen collectors will want to have. The first is Yngwie in Korea, which was madea available on October 13, 2009. This is the raw footage that was shot by the Korean media, and it features no bells and whistles.
Malmsteen in March released an all-instrumental acoustic album, "Angels Of Love", which contains rearrangements of his ballad songs played on acoustic guitar and string and choir arrangements only. It is a masterpiece showing the tender, delicate version of his classic songs as well as a new composition. Yngwie also released two DVDs via Rising Force Records in March — "Live Animal" and "Live In Budokan".
"Perpetual Flame", the latest full-length studio album from Malmsteen, was the first-ever Yngwie effort to be issued via Rising Force Records, It marked the debut of Malmsteen's new singer, Tim "Ripper" Owens.
Swedish metallers THE HAUNTED have signed a new worldwide deal with Century Media Records.
Commented THE HAUNTED frontman Peter Dolving: "So once again we've decided to sign with Century Media Records. It feels good to get continuation, and truly having worked hard on communication on both ends over these last years, has brought us together in ways that I believe a lot of bands/managements/labels only dream of. Long-term goals, open agendas, and a Norse/German stubborn attitude seem so be something we find a mutual trust and strength in and we're really looking forward to a continued cooperation with our friends/partners at Century Media.
"It is a strange thing this, the business of music, but like everything else, it seems to come down to hard work, earnestness, straight talk and respect. So here's to many more years of churning out metal to the masses."
The band's last three albums — "rEVOLVEr", "The Dead Eye" and "Versus" — were released through Century Media.
Dolving recently told the German edition of the Metal Hammer magazine that the band has commenced the songwriting process for a new album. "Looking at the ideas that we're coming up with, looking at the stuff that we're doodling around with, it's gonna be a very heavy and it's gonna be a very strange record," he said. "It's gonna be like a continuation of what we started experimenting with both on 'rEVOLVEr' [2004] and on 'The Dead Eye' [2006], so it'll be eclectic and hard. 'Cause around the time of 'The Dead Eye', we felt that we really needed to do something that we hadn't done that we really wanted to do, and we got a lot of critique for it; a lot of people didn't like it. We loved it, and the songs that we're playing off that record are going over really well with the audience and we're really enjoying to play them. So we figure, why the fuck shouldn't we play and continue to try and evolve as musicians and songwriters?! And that's what we'll do."
THE HAUNTED is continuing to tour in support of its latest album, "Versus", which entered the Swedish chart at position No. 14 and the Finnish chart at No. 12.The CD was recorded in part at PUK studio in Denmark with producer Tue Madsen (HEAVEN SHALL BURN, DARK TRANQUILLITY, MOONSPELL, etc), who previously worked with the group on its two previous LPs, "rEVOLVEr" and "The Dead Eye".
Roadrunner Records has announced the signing of Swedish heavy rockers GRAND MAGUS.
GRAND MAGUS is a three-piece band featuring "JB" Christofferson (guitar, lead vocals), Fox Skinner (bass, backing vocals) and Sebastian "Seb" Sippola (drums).
During the band's 10-year history, GRAND MAGUS has released two demos, one split EP and four full-length albums, and has received overwhelmingly positive reviews throughout. Their last opus, "Iron Will", was voted "Album of The Month" in the German Metal Hammer and Rock Hard magazines.
Drawing hefty influences from the hand-on-heart grandeur of the NWOBHM and the inspirational mythology of their forbears, GRAND MAGUS is steeped in pre-Christian tales of triumph, vengeance, betrayal, wisdom and death. But GRAND MAGUS also stands for energetic live performances, as seen at this year's European festivals such as Sweden Rock, Hellfest, Wacken, Summer Breeze and on tour in Europe with bands like AT THE GATES, CATHEDRAL, CANDLEMASS, TYRANT, SERPENTCULT and ELECTRIC WIZARD.
Roadrunner Records will release GRAND MAGUS' new album, "Hammer Of The North", in spring/early summer of 2010. On this CD, GRAND MAGUS has perfected its own style of full-on metal assault with fantastic heavy riffing and stomping songs, strong hook-lines, epic vocals/lyrics and rousing solo guitars.
Commented GRAND MAGUS: "We are thrilled with working with Roadrunner Records. We regard this both as a great sign of recognition and most importantly a chance for us to really push ourselves and the music to the point of perfection. We are confident that the team of us and Roadrunner will be something really special."
Henk Hakker (MD, Roadrunner Records/Germany): "It is very exciting for Roadrunner Germany to sign excellent European bands like GRAND MAGUS, in order to prove that not only American metal can be successful worldwide. I am confident that we will be able to create the right infrastructure around GRAND MAGUS in order to support the best records in their career and to get them on to the next level."
Chris Klimek (A&R, Roadrunner Records): "I'm very happy and proud about the fact that this fantastic band has finally signed to Roadrunner, as we haven't been the only label grabbing at them. All members in GRAND MAGUS are fantastic musicians: JB is a marvellous singer and guitarist. Seb and Fox are great instrumentalists and the steam-rolling backing in this band. The natural, organic and timeless sound of GRAND MAGUS, plus their 100% eager, authentic and passionate heavy metal attitude and coolness marks them out as absolutely special in the whole scene! I'm really looking forward to a mutually rewarding future with these great guys!"
Rich Lopez of Dallas Voice recently conducted an interview with JUDAS PRIEST frontman Rob Halford. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
Dallas Voice: Your voice is legend in the genre. Was it restrained at all covering some traditionals [for HALFORD's "Winter Songs" album]?
Halford: I've always counted my blessings. This voice can do many things and I see it as a gift. I just finished reading Adam Lambert's review and it appears to be a fantastic record. First, thank God for Adam Lambert. We need someone like this in music and the gay community. His voice does many great things.
Dallas Voice: Do you have a particularly gay audience?
Halford: I have my gay metalhead fans all over the world. Sometimes they are so obvious from stage but it's still a wonderful surprise.
Dallas Voice: How cool is that?
Halford: Some of these songs get into the Pride spirit and could even be a gay anthem like "Light of the World".
Dallas Voice: It's been more than 10 years since you came out. How has it been since?
Halford: It gives me a lot of comfort and it was a weight off my shoulders. There is a lot of phobia in metal music, but me coming out chips away at that wall, bit by bit. It just crossed my mind that I had no negative feedback. Fans were cool, and that speaks volumes for the better world we're in. We have come forward by leaps and bounds.
Dallas Voice: What would surprise us about Rob Halford?
Halford: People think with my leather and studs look that I'm part of that community. It's just a look — I've never been involved with the leather community personally, but I respect and support people's choices and decisions. Oh, and I can be a diva. I just wanna show up and record. I have my episodes, too. Sometimes the band just thinks, "Oh, she's having a drama moment."
Death metal butchers ABORTED have announce their new lineup, featuring Sven De Caluwé (also of SYSTEM DIVIDE) on vocals, Dirk Verbeuren (SOILWORK) on drums, Eran Segal (ex-THEY SWARM/WHORECORE) and Ken Sorceron (ABIGAIL WILLIAMS) on guitar and Cole Martinez (SYSTEM DIVIDE) on bass.
This bandhas been working on new material for the past few months and has recorded a brand new five-track EP entitled, "Coronary Reconstruction". The effort will be released digitally before the end of the year via Century Media, and in a limited run of 1,000 copies by the bandmembers themselves exclusively through Indiemerch.
"Coronary Reconstruction" track listing:
01. Coronary Reconstruction 02. From A Tepid Whiff 03. Grime 04. A Cadaverous Dissertation 05. Left Hand Path (ENTOMBED cover)
Commented Sven De Caluwé: "It has been quite a ride so far with ABORTED. The band always had to deal with numerous lineup changes and this time it is no different. Previous drummer Dan left to play for TRIGGER THE BLOODSHED and bass player Svenchi left to focus on his recording studio he just opened.
"After a tough year with major differences in how the band should evolve musically, and the touring plans of the band, I decided working with Peter and BST would simply not work and move along with new people who are thinking in the same direction and are motivated to lift this band up.
"I still do this band for fun and it is intended to be intense, and a hobby to me, and I do not have expectations to make a living solely from playing death metal as I am realistic that touring 10 months a year with a band like ABORTED is simply a financial hazard. Everyone in the new lineup is aware of this and have been personal friends of mine for nearly a decade.
"The material we have excreted is simply shredding and brain-melting and takes the band back to the 'Goremageddon' and 'Archaic' era with some new twists, which is exactly what I wanted to do.
"I could not be more thrilled to welcome Dirk again in the band, who had a big part in the signature sound of 'Goremageddon'. It has been a blast to work back together on what I think is without a doubt the most exciting ABORTED release since 'The Archaic Abattoir'. Everyone in the band poured heart and soul into the material and you will undoubtedly hear it, THE GORE IS BACK, MOTHERFUCKERS!!!!”
Added Dirk Verbeuren: "Let me start off by saying that I had a total blast recording drums for the 'Goremageddon' album and 'The Haematobic' EP back in 2003/2004. Hanging out with those guys was tons of fun and a memorable experience. As for the musical results, they remain some of my favorite death metal ever — and the fact that the band hails from Belgium just like myself only makes it better!
"Sven and I stayed in touch over the years, and many of you may not know this, but during a common gig with SCARVE somewhere in France, then-ABORTED drummer Gilles and I actually traded places for a live rendition of 'Sanguine Verses'! (In turn, Gilles performed an ENTOMBED cover with SCARVE). A total blast yet again, and in my mind also my swansong with ABORTED...
"Fast forward to October 2009. A common friend tells me the band may be looking for a drummer to help them out on an upcoming recording, so I drop Sven an email. Turns out half the new lineup lives right by my house, and just over a month later, here I am yet again tracking drums for a brand new batch of face-ripping death metal the way it was meant to be made!
"I know it may sound cliché, but the 'Coronary Reconstruction' EP is a true return to form. It has the reckless speed, intensity and creativity (plus another classic ENTOMBED cover!) that ABORTED became known for in the first place, as well as horrifying artwork and odious poetry such as only Sven's insane brain could conjure. I'm very proud and happy to be a part of this extremely talented line-up and I know we're gonna deliver the gory goods on the upcoming album, which I promise WILL be 100% pure brutal ABORTED! ALL HAIL BELGIAN DEATH METAL!!!"
Stated Ken Sorceron: "I'm very pleased to have joined forces with ABORTED as I have long thought of them as one of the best at what they do. I think we are all very dedicated to deliver some of the most brutal ABORTED material yet while staying true to the classic ABORTED sound."
Said Eran Segal: "Having the opportunity to join ABORTED has been one hell of an honor for me. I have been a fan of the band ever since 'Engineering The Dead' and still loved it even after getting to know Sven around 2002. (I know, weird, right?) So in a way I feel like Chris Cole when he joined STEEL DRAGON.
"So far the work with the band has been flat-out wicked. Everybody was being extremely professional and creative which isn't surprising when you look at their impressive credentials.
"Our aim was to revisit the bands earlier brutality while keeping the modern approach presented in its latter era, and if I may say so myself I do believe we hit the target dead on. I'm totally stoked about all of this and can't wait to hit the road."
The artwork for "Coronary Reconstruction" was created by Justin Osbourn from Slasher design and comprises the most gruesome and disgusting art the band ever had.
John Corabi (MÖTLEY CRÜE, THE SCREAM, UNION) frontman is stepping out on his own with his newly formed solo band. The group is performing three shows in the U.S. starting on December 3.
Remaining dates:
Dec. 04 - Schaumburg, IL – Chicago City Limits Dec. 05 - South Bend, IN – Blarney Stone
Corabi is performing songs from throughout his career, some of which have not been played live since his days with THE SCREAM and MÖTLEY CRÜE. Among the songs fans can expect to hear are "Hooligan's Holiday", "I Don't Care", "Outlaw", "Til Death Do Us Part", "Power To The Music", "Uncle Jack", "Love (I Don't Need It Anymore)", "Shine" and "Father, Mother, Son".
"Mine", the new video from Swedish hard rockers MUSTASCH, can be viewed below. The song comes offthe band's self-titled album, which will be made available outside Scandianavia on January 8, 2010 via Nuclear Blast Records.
MUSTASCH was featured on the September 30 edition of the "Nyhetsmorgon" program on Sweden's TV4. The band performed two songs ("Mine" and "Damn It's Dark") and took part in an interview.
MUSTASCH's self-titled album was released on September 30 in Finland and Sweden and October 5 in Denmark and Norway via Regain Records. The follow-up to 2007's "Latest Version of the Truth" was recorded at Bohus Sound Studios in Sweden with producer Tobias Lindell.
Drummer Mats "Dojan" Hansson recently left MUSTASCH "due to his chronic muscle ruptures." He has since been replaced by Danne McKenzie.
MUSTASCH released a "best-of" album, entitled "Lowlife Highlight", in February 2008 through Regain Records. The CD features 18 songs from the band's back catalogue originally issued by EMI.
The first downloadable SLIPKNOT pack for Rock Band will be released next week. It will feature three songs — "Psychosocial", "Duality" and "Sulfur".
Individual tracks are available for only $1.99 or you can get the whole pack for $5.49.
The tracks will become available for download starting December 8 on Xbox 360 and Wii and December 10 on Playstation 3.
Rock Band continues to satisfy music fans' and gamers' voracious appetite for rock with more than 60 million paid downloads since its launch on November 20, 2007.
The Rock Band Music Store allows players to preview and purchase downloadable individual music tracks and packs from the vast selection of offerings available to date without ever leaving the game as they build their own custom Rock Band library.
GORGOROTH and OBITUARY are the first confirmed bands for the Tomahawk Festival, set to take place March 13, 2010 at the Alfred Fischer Halle in Hamm, Germany.
GORGOROTH's ninth album, "Quantos Possunt ad Satanitatem Trahunt", was released on October 21 in Europe and November 11 in the U.S. via Regain Records. The CD was recorded at Tomas Asklund's Monolith Studio and features Infernus on guitar, Frank Watkins (OBITUARY) on bass, Pest on vocals and Tomas Asklund on drums.
"Quantos Possunt ad Satanitatem Trahunt" was produced by Infernus and co-produced/engineered by Tomas Asklund. It was mastered at the Cutting Room in Stockholm.
"Quantos Possunt ad Satanitatem Trahunt" track listing:
01. Aneuthanasia 02. Prayer 03. Rebirth 04. Building a Man 05. New Breed 06. Cleansing Fire 07. Human Sacrifice 08. Satan-Prometheus 09. Introibo ad Alatare Satanas
Since Infernus wrote all the music for the album and extensive rehearsals and a pre-production recording had also been completed before second guitarist Tormentor rejoined the band last year, it was decided that it would be more convenient for Infernus to record all the guitars on the LP.
Twilightheart of Sheol-Magazine.com and Zero Tolerance visited GORGOROTH in Stockholm, Sweden in June while they were recording "Quantos Possunt ad Satanitatem Trahunt". You can read her report, which includes a number of photos, at this location.
"Aneuthanasia" sample (click on player below to launch audio):
"Prayer" sample (click on player below to launch audio):
The cover artwork for "The Underworld Regime", the forthcoming debut album from OV HELL, the new black metal project featuring DIMMU BORGIR vocalist Shagrath and ex-GORGOROTH bassist King, can be viewed below. The cover was created by the Brazilian graphic designer Marcelo Vasco, who has previously worked with such bands as SATYRICON, ENSLAVED, KEEP OF KALESSIN, BORKNAGAR, GORGOROTH, BELPHEGOR and JOB FOR A COWBOY.
"The Underworld Regime" is scheduled for a February 8, 2010 release via Indie Recordings. The CD was recorded at Earshot Studio and features Shagrath on vocals, King on bass, Frost (SATYRICON) on drums, Ice Dale (ENSLAVED) on guitar and Teloch (NIDINGR, GOD SEED) on guitar. The album was produced by Herbrand Larsen and mastered at the Livingroom studios by Espen Berg and Shagrath in November 2009. King composed all of the music for "The Underworld Regime", while Shagrath wrote all lyrics, with contributions from Silenoz and Sarah Owens.
"The Underworld Regime" track listing:
01. Devil's Harlot 02. Post Modern Sadist 03. Invoker 04. Perpetual Night 05. Ghosting 06. Acts of Sin 07. Krigsatte Faner 08. Hill Norge
Commented Shagrath: "The majestic OV HELL has become a band that reflects our roots — raw, ugly, arrogantly blasphemous — with uncompromising truth from two influential Norwegian musicians needing to express our primitive side, straight out OV HELL."
Added King: "It's been a little hell to actually see this music form into a band, but when I'm now listening to the final result, it has been worth the hard work we have put into this album!"
Two rough-mix sample tracks from "The Underworld Regime" can be heard on the band's MySpace page.
In a recent interview with MetalNews.pl, King stated about OV HELL's debut album, "It is always hard to describe your own music and it usually ends up like meaningless self-promotion of your own album. It will, however, contain music most people would define as black metal. I'm not claiming we have reinvented the wheel, but I don't think have heard any band to date we could be seen as copycats of. I have not heard all the bands in the world and can, of course, be mistaken.
"The album will contain a mixture of our different musical preferences and the personalities involved, which hopefully will lead to something original and new. I have to say, though, that I am more occupied of developing myself spiritually and musically than strive to be viewed as original by fans."
"The will to relive 1994 in black metal these days should be against all that black metal is all about. Presenting others' art and ideas almost 15 years later, mostly based on nostalgic reflections, show that you don't have the capacity to adapt to your own chaos and so on develop to a strong individual unique being. Recycling your own ideas will show that you are not capable of change and in other words should be viewed as dead.
"A person who is not able to change opinions, learn from his mistakes and have the ability to grow and change should not shout for people's attention but be quiet.
"I am grateful that I have had musicians with me on this record that do NOT possess these qualities."
Swedish/German extreme metallers ARCH ENEMY have been confirmed for next year's edition the Wacken Open Air festival, set to take place August 5-7, 2010 in Wacken, Germany.
The festival billing is shaping up as follows:
ARCH ENEMY CORVUS CORAX DIE APOKALYPTISCHEN REITER IMMORTAL THE DEVIL'S BLOOD U.D.O.
In 2008, Wacken Open Air festival was honored with a Live Entertainment Award in the "Festival Of The Year" category. This award recognizes distinguished achievements in live entertainment and is given out by Live Entertainment Award (LEA) committee. The winners were announced on March 11, 2008.
"Live Xecution - Party.San 2008", the new concert DVD from Florida death metal veterans OBITUARY, will receive a U.S. release in January 2010 via Regain. The footage for the disc was filmed at last year's Party.San Open Air festival, which was held August 7-9, 2008 in Bad Berka, Germany.
Commented bassist Frank Watkins: "We did over 30 festivals last [year] and the Party.San festival was the very last and best one for OBITUARY... Fortunately, the show was filmed."
The track listing is as follows:
01. Find The Arise 02. On The Floor 03. Chopped In Half 04. Turned Inside Out 05. Forces Realign 06. Insane 07. Face Your God 08. Dethroned Emperor 09. Evil Ways 10. Drop Dead 11. Contrast The Dead 12. Second Chance 13. Stand Alone 14. Slow Death 15. Slowly We Rot
Check out a trailer for the DVD below.
Night Of The Vinyl Dead Records recently released a limited-edition vinyl version of OBITUARY's "Left To Die" EP. Only 500 hand-numbered copies were made available on hand-splattered bloody vinyl, including an insert.
"Left to Die" contains four songs: two new originals ("Forces Realign" and "Left To Die"), a 2008 studio recording of "Slowly We Rot", and a cover of "Dethroned Emperor" by CELTIC FROST.
"Darkest Day", the new album from OBITUARY, landed at position No. 32 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.
Swedish melodic rockers M.ILL.ION have announced the addition of keyboardist Angelo Modafferi from Australia to the group's ranks.
Commented M.ILL.ION's B.J Laneby: "Angelo is exactly what we were looking for: great musician, rock' n roll attitude and he's singing backing vocals. And we have already had some good laughs, not the least important thing in this gang. He's been involved in the music industry for quite some time including touring and recording and has also been a piano teacher for 10 years. We clicked musically and socially right away."
Added Modafferi: "Totally wrapped to be a part of M.ILL.ION! It's great! They're a cool bunch of guys and I'm really looking forward to working and rocking out with them."
M.ILL.ION's sixth studio album, "Thrill Of The Chase", was released in May 2008 via Metal Heaven. The CD was recorded between November 2007 and January 2008. Mixing was done in February at the world-class Bohus Studio (ABBA, STATUS QUO) in Sweden by Tobias Lindell and B.J Laneby.
AMARANTHE (formerly AVALANCHE), the new project featuring Olof Mörck (NIGHTRAGE, DRAGONLAND), Jake E (ex-DREAM EVIL, DREAMLAND), Andy Solveström (WITHIN Y, EVILDOER, CIPHER SYSTEM) and Morten Lowe Sorensen (THE ARCANE ORDER, SUBMISSION), has announced the addition of bassist Johan Andreassen (ex-ENGEL) to the group's ranks.
Commented Mörck: "At last the lineup is completed and rock solid! Johan brings a lot of experience, a great stage performance and an immaculate imitation of drunken Irishmen to the band!"
AMARANTHE recently posted a new song, entitled "Hunger", on the band's MySpace page. Unlike the band's previously released music, this track is professional-album quality and was mixed at Studio Fredman in Västra Frölunda, Sweden.
IN FLAMES bassist Peter Iwers and EVERGREY keyboardist Rickard Zander are among the guest musicians who will appear on the upcoming AMARANTHE CD.
Mörck previously stated about the band: "AMARANTHE has for long been an idea between me and Jake E to break out of the mold of our past projects and create something new and fresh entirely and to give room for ideas not appropriate for the other acts and projects we are part of. The result is an onslaught of soaring melodies, heavy riffing and guttural screams from the netherworld, a result of having three singers in the band; Jake E on clean vocals, cabaret virtuoso Elize on female vocals and Andy on screams. The result is a quite distinct sound, especially combined with the music itself that draws upon influences from a varied spectrum of genres, all to create a thrilling experience for the listener. Another defining feature of AMARANTHE is the idea of a collective — everyone from superstars of the industry to just generally talented people will lend their unique skills to AMARANTHE on the coming album. This, however, won't stop AMARANTHE from being a tour de force in live shows and tours, since the core of this metal machinery is based primarily on the regular members."
Karagiannidis Panagiotis of Metalpaths conducted an interview with bassist Sharlee D'Angelo of Swedish/German extreme metallers ARCH ENEMY when the band played in Greece at the end of November. Watch the chat below. The interview is also available in text format at this location.
ARCH ENEMY's "The Root Of All Evil" album sold around 1,500 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to Nielsen SoundScan. It features re-recorded versions of songs from the band's first three LPs — "Black Earth" (1996), "Stigmata" (1998) and "Burning Bridges" (1999). Acclaimed British producer Andy Sneap (MEGADETH, TESTAMENT, EXODUS) mixed and mastered the CD, which was recorded at a few different locations in Sweden and produced by ARCH ENEMY with Daniel Erlandsson and Rickard Bengtsson handling the engineering.
The Japanese edition of "The Root Of All Evil", which was made available on September 30, features five bonus tracks, including cover versions of "Wings Of Tomorrow" (EUROPE) and "Walk In The Shadows" (QUEENSRŸCHE).
ARCH ENEMY is currently taking part in a European headlining run with support from DESTRUCTION, ABIGAIL WILLIAMS and TRIOSPHERE.
Holland's FaceCulture recently conducted an interview with vocalist Mark "Barney" Greenway of British grindcore pioneers NAPALM DEATH. Watch the chat in four parts below.
"Time Waits For No Slave", the latest album from NAPALM DEATH, entered the German Media Control chart at position No. 95. The CD, which was released in the U.S. on February 10 via Century Media Records, was recorded with producer Russ Russell. Drums were tracked at Parlour Studios in Kettering and guitars, bass and vocals were done at Foel Studios in Wales. The band then returned to Parlour for the mixing sessions.
Greenway told Rock Sound magazine about "Time Waits For No Slave", "Each album appears to have got progressively better and better. There was no great master plan, really. We're just a very organic band, very spontaneous, and we just try to write the best songs possible. If there is anything in the back of our minds, then I think it's that we always try to make each album differ without losing the thread of what should be there and I think we've done that with this album."
Nijmegen, Netherlands-based death metal band VICTIMIZER has inked a deal with Deity Down Records. The group's new full-length album, "Tales Of Loss And New Found Serenity", is slated for release in July 2010. The CD will be recorded in April at Split Second Sound in Amsterdam, Netherlands and it will be mixed and mastered by Dan Swanö at Unisound in Örebro, Sweden. The album's artwork will be designed and created by filmmaker, photographer and graphic designer Richard Spierings.
VICTIMIZER is:
Chris - Bass Andrew - Guitar Niels (TOXOCARA) - Vocals Richard (THE BULLHAMMERS) - Guitar, Backing Vocals Romeo (TOXOCARA) - Drums
Roxx Records has revealed the cover artwork (see below) for the strictly limited-edition, two-disc, gold-letter edition of "Break The Curse", the classic 1990 album from Australian Christian metallers MORTIFICATION, to celebrate the LP's 20-year anniversary.
Disc one will include the full remastered release of "Break The Curse" as well as eight bonus tracks. The bonus tracks will consist of the sought-after MORTIFICATION release "Noah Sat Down And Listened To The Mortification Live EP While Having A Coffee". Two more specially added bonus tracks will be included that have not been made available since their original release. For the first time ever on a MORTIFICATION disc, the studio version of "Time Crusaders" will be made available, as well as the long-out-of-print version of "Eyes Of Destruction", originally recorded by LIGHTFORCE.
Disc 2 will be a very special DVD release of a show that has never been released in its entirety. This was the very first MORTIFICATION live show ever captured in Melbourne, Australia at the Harvest Centre. Recorded on June 15, 1990, it was completely remastered and restored.
The first 100 copies only will come with what is to be the first in a series for Roxx Records: a limited-edition signature guitar pick.
Full track listing:
Disc 1 - CD: "Break The Curse" 20th-Anniversary Expanded Edition
01. Blood Sacrifice 02. Brutal Warfare 03. Impulsation 04. Turn 05. New Beginnings 06. Break The Curse 07. Illusion Of Life 08. Your Last Breath 09. Journey Of Reconciliation 10. The Majestic Infiltration Of Order 11. Time Crusaders (studio version taken from "Godspeed" Australian Christian metal compilation) (bonus track) 12. Envision A Beginning ("Noah" EP) 13. Buried Into Obscurity ("Noah" EP) 14. Steve Talks ("Noah" EP) 15. Noah Was A Knower ("Noah" EP) 16. Interview With Steve ("Noah" EP) 17. Eyes Of Destruction (1987 LIGHTFORCE recording) (bonus track)
Disc 2 - DVD: Live On June 15, 1990 at the Harvest Centre in Melbourne, Australia:
01. Blood Sacrifice 02. Brutal Warfare 03. Illusion Of Life 04. Break The Curse 05. Journey Of Reconciliation 06. Searching 07. Infectious Growth 08. City Streets 09. Impulsation 10. Bathed In Blood 11. Eyes Of Destruction 12. Your Last Breath 13. New Beginnings 14. The Majestic Infiltration Of Order/Turn
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