Amp Rock TV recently posted an episode of "The Spotlight" featuring singer Lzzy Hale of Pennsylvanian rockers HALESTORM. Check it out below.
HALESTORM has released a new version of the song "Here's To Us", featuring an all-star lineup of guest performers. Joining the band on this edition of the song are guitarist Slash, SHINEDOWN frontman Brent Smith, ALTER BRIDGE vocalist Myles Kennedy, Tyler Connolly from THEORY OF A DEADMAN, DEVICE/DISTURBED singer David Draiman and IN THIS MOMENT's Maria Brink. HALESTORM is also offering fans a chance to record their own shout-outs for the song, and the band intends to take some of the best ones and work them into a new "fan edit" of the track.
The original version of "Here's To Us" is featured on HALESTORM's 2012 album "The Strange Case Of…"
The song was previously covered on a February 2012 episode of the hit television show "Glee". Lzzy Hale told The Pulse Of Radio at the time why the band let it happen. "It's pretty much the strangest thing we've done so far as a band and also, I think, the most exciting," she said. "There's a little bit of controversy because, obviously, 'Glee' is very pop culture, it's very kind of Broadway, and personally I think it's really good for us, only because here's an outlet for us that it's gonna expose us to so many people that would not normally be seeking us out."
HALESTORM has just completed the HardDrive Live tour with BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE and YOUNG GUNS.
ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian recently spoke to ESPN's "Mint Condition" about being featured in the "Heavy Metal Autographs" insert set as part of the 2013 Topps Archives baseball set.
The 10-card autograph set will be one of three additional insert sets to the previously announced 2013 Topps Archives release. There will be a standard version of the cards as well as one that will be limited to 25 copies and printed on metal.
"I was definitely excited," Ian said. "I collected cards as a kid and years ago, in the late '80s, they did these rock cards and I thought that was cool, but to find out I had an actual Topps card, the only way I can describe it is like going from the minors to the majors. I finally made it to the big show."
"Heavy Metal" insert set features:
* Sebastian Bach (ex-SKID ROW) * Tommy Lee (MÖTLEY CRÜE) * Kip Winger (WINGER) * Reb Beach (WINGER, WHITESNAKE) * Lita Ford * Stephen Pearcy (RATT) * Scott Ian (ANTHRAX) * Dee Snider (TWISTED SISTER) * Bobbie Brown (WARRANT's "Cherry Pie" video) * Axl Rose (GUNS N' ROSES)
2013 Topps Archives Baseball is slated for release on May 29.
The August 2011 issue of Revolver magazine contained limited-edition baseball cards of the "Big Four" bands of thrash metal — METALLICA, SLAYER, MEGADETH and ANTHRAX — who played the historic first metal show ever at Yankee Stadium on September 14, 2011. The cards were modeled after the classic Topps baseball cards from 1986, the same year these four bands released their metal masterpieces.
Lithium Magazine conducted an interview with Welsh metallers BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE on May 7 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. You can now watch the chat below.
BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE's fourth album, "Temper, Temper", sold 44,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 13 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD arrived in stores on February 12 via RCA.
BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE's previous effort, 2010's "Fever", opened with 71,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at No. 3. It was also a Top 10 release in the U.K., Japan, Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany and Switzerland.
The Welsh quartet changed the way they approached making an album this time around, with guitarist/vocalist Matt Tuck and drummer Michael "Moose" Thomas traveling to Thailand to do the initial writing and recording for the album. Tuck told The Pulse Of Radio why they made the trip. "It was just nice being in a studio 24/7, really, you know, with no distractions from home and stuff," he said. "So that was kind of the main reason why we went there and it just worked out well, you know, because we didn't have any pressures from having to travel, having to cook your own food — just all the stuff that is an everyday process obviously takes a lot of time out of the day to be creative. So just being there, being able to write 24/7, was a huge advantage."
The first single from "Temper, Temper" is called "Riot".
BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE is currently headlining the fifth edition of the "HardDrive Live" tour, which kicked off on April 12 in Denver. Joining them are main support HALESTORM, plus special guests YOUNG GUNS and openers STARS IN STEREO. The trek is sponsored by "HardDrive".
The Metal Army recently conducted an interview with guitarist Robert Vigna of New York death metal veterans IMMOLATION. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below.
IMMOLATION's ninth full-length album, "Kingdom Of Conspiracy", was released on May 14 in North America, both digitally and physically, via Nuclear Blast Records. The follow-up to 2010's "Majesty And Decay" was recorded at Sound Studios in Millbrook, New York with longtime producer Paul Orofino, and mixed and mastered once again by Zack Ohren (ALL SHALL PERISH, DECREPIT BIRTH, SUFFOCATION).
The "Kingdom Of Conspiracy" cover imagery was brought to life this time by Pär Olofsson, who has previously worked with IMMORTAL, THE FACELESS and ABYSMAL DAWN, among others.
"The figures in the artwork have all been bound and chained and have their eyes and mouths sewn shut symbolically, showing the chilling of speech and the intentional blinding of the masses," explains IMMOLATION guitarist Robert Vigna. "They all make up the huge ominous structure behind them, which is symbolic of the growing security state as well as our failing structures today, and how they are slowly and methodically consuming and controlling us all. It has a very Orwellian feel to it, which is what we were going for since the album is very dark in a slightly different way."
In regards to "Kingdom Of Conspiracy"'s lyrical content, Vigna says: "The album deals with the world today and the slow unraveling and breakdown of our societies and the systems and structures behind them. It speaks of the human side to all this and how we have all lost our way and have fed into these very systems that are slowly coming apart. This is the common thread running throughout the album and the cover paints a very dark picture of the future, where these systems have completely absorbed our world, and our freedoms and we have become a part of the very fabric of these structures that we have created. Each song is a symptom of this mass sickness that has brought the world to the point it is at now, and we paint a very bleak picture of this slow and gradual breakdown and the human failures that sped this process along. This is the 'Kingdom Of Conspiracy'."
"Kingdom Of Conspiracy" track listing:
01. Echoes Of Despair 02. Keep The Silence 03. Kingdom Of Conspiracy 04. Serving Divinity 05. The Great Sleep 06. Indoctrinate 07. A Spectacle of Lies 08. God Complex 09. Bound To Order 10. All That Awaits
Catch the band on the Decibel Magazine Tour this spring with CANNIBAL CORPSE and NAPALM DEATH.
Former ANTHRAX and current VOLBEAT guitarist Rob Caggiano was interviewed on the May 15 edition of "The BJ Shea Morning Experience" show on the Seattle radio station KISW 99.9 FM. You can now listen to the chat using the audio player below.
VOLBEAT will take part in this summer's Monster Energy's Rock Allegiance Tour alongside HIM, ALL THAT REMAINS and AIRBOURNE.
"The fans have made our North American visits thus far this year great fun and truly memorable," Poulsen said in a statement. "We are looking forward to headlining Monster Energy's Rock Allegiance festival tour this summer, and sharing the stage with HIM, ALL THAT REMAINS and AIRBOURNE."
VOLBEAT's fifth studio album, "Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies", sold 39,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 9 on The Billboard 200 chart. The record arrived in stores on April 9 via Universal Republic
Caggiano, who was a producer on the new disc, recently joined the band as its new guitarist. He replaces guitarist Thomas Bredahl, who was given his walking papers in November 2011.
The new disc follows up 2010's "Beyond Hell/Above Heaven", which featured three No. 1 rock radio hits, "A Warrior's Call", "Still Counting" and "Heaven Nor Hell".
Steve Baltin of GRAMMY.com recently conducted an interview with ALICE IN CHAINS guitarist Jerry Cantrell. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
GRAMMY.com: One of the things I like about "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here" is there's a real griminess and grittiness to it.
Cantrell: I keep hearing that from people, comparatively to the last record, and I think that last record was pretty hard too. So it's nice to hear that it's coming across. I think the songwriting is very strong on this record and I thought it was on the last record too. [I'm] really proud of the body of work and all that all four of us put into it.
GRAMMY.com: Did the delay resulting from your shoulder surgery affect the album at all in terms of writing?
Cantrell: We don't start until we're ready, you can't really start unless you've got ideas to work on. [laughs] Usually there's a period of accumulating riffs and ideas and generally a lot of the stuff happens in odd places and on the road, dressing rooms, soundchecks, [and] warming up before a show. There's always a camera or an iPhone and anytime something happens where you perk up or somebody perks up, then you put that down and what you're doing is depositing it in the account for later withdrawal. So by the time the tour was done there was a good 20 or 30 little riffs or ideas to go through and "Black Gives Way To Blue" was exactly the same way. It's fairly similar, it's just a couple years later. We couldn't have been prouder of how ["Black Gives Way To Blue"] played out, so we decided to do it again. I think we took a step up, maybe even two.
GRAMMY.com: Was there a moment in the writing process where you felt like the album was taking a step up?
Cantrell: Yeah, before I had the surgery I think I demoed "Voices" really quick, that was a kind of quick song and came together within a couple of days of just me messing around here at the house. It was right after tour and it was a good, strong song and so I sent it around to everybody and everybody liked it and I thought, "Fuck, that's good." That was the first thing that came together on the record, so I knew there was a good song there. And then during the process of rehab, the riff for "Stone" [developed] — I still have the voice recording, it's hilarious. I didn't write that on guitar, I just started hearing something in my head. [I was] watching TV, and my arm's all fucked up, so I grabbed the phone and started humming the riff into the phone and that's where that song came from. So once I was able to demo that and fill that one out, I knew that one was pretty strong too. We got into a couple of different studios and we just sat up and recorded jams, worked through the shit we had, and [producer] Nick [Raskulinecz] was involved in that process as well, even though he was working on the RUSH record ["Clockwork Angels"] and a bunch of other stuff.
GRAMMY.com: Were there songs that really morphed and became much stronger in the evolution from idea to reality?
Cantrell: Absolutely, and on the flip side of that coin there's also stuff that you think is great and later on down the road you're like, "Ah, it's not very good." Actually, "Voices" was the first song, [but] the first riff was "Hollow". I was warming up in the room in Vegas, our very last show of the tour, and I remember our manager, Beno, was in the room and they were sitting there talking and they were worried about me because I was pretty close to having pneumonia. I was so ill. I started playing that riff and I recorded that riff. I saw Nick bobbing his head. I dug it too, so I recorded it. That's actually the first riff that happened. So that song, "Stone", "Voices", the title track — that song is amazing — those [are] all cornerstone tracks on the album. And also you have stuff you think is good and get proven wrong, so it doesn't just end up in there. It's not just you, you're working in a band and there's a very healthy thing to have to pass all those filters, not just yours. It's gotta go through Sean, Mike and Will [too]. It's gotta survive all that and be something everybody can get behind. That's generally what you end up with on a record. It's pretty much no different than it's ever been in this band, whatever works is the idea.
Finnish/Dutch symphonic metallers NIGHTWISH kicked off their Japanese tour this past Tuesday, May 21 at Namba Hatch in Osaka.
The band's setlist was as follows:
01. Dark Chest Of Wonders 02. Wish I Had An Angel 03. She Is My Sin (performed for the first time since 2007) 04. Ever Dream 05. Storytime 06. I Want My Tears Back (with Troy Donockley) 07. Nemo (with Troy Donockley) 08. Last Of The Wilds (with Troy Donockley) 09. Bless The Child (with Troy Donockley) (performed for the first time since 2005) 10. Romanticide 11. Amaranth 12. Over The Hills And Far Away (GARY MOORE cover) (with Troy Donockley) 13. Ghost Love Score 14. Last Ride Of The Day
Fan-recorded audio clips of the concert can be streamed below.
NIGHTWISH keyboardist and main songwriter Tuomas Holopainen told Finland's MTV.fi in November that he was pleased with the addition of Dutch singer Floor Jansen to the group and that she was only getting better with each performance. "We have done 13 shows with her [so far] and every concert has been better than the last," he said. "We are taking it day by day as much as we can. The vibe in the band is marvellous. We are enjoying every moment."
Holopainen has known Jansen, who is Dutch, for more than 10 years already, having previously toured with her former band, AFTER FOREVER.
"We are very much on the same wavelength and we have a similar sense of humor," Holopainen said of his new bandmate.
Stepping into NIGHTWISH was made easier for Jansen by the fact that she has extensive experience in both classical and rock music.
Following AFTER FOREVER's split, Jansen launched a brand new project called REVAMP, which has thus far released one album and recently entered the studio to record a follow-up effort.
"We have been in the same circles since the late '90s," says Tuomas. "She has toured a lot and has spent a lot of time recording and performing this genre of music. So it was easier for her to come into the band."
Jansen made her live debut as the frontwoman of NIGHTWISH on October 1, 2012 at Showbox Sodo in Seattle, Washington following the abrupt departure of the band's lead singer of the past five years, Anette Olzon.
"[Floor is] a vocal coach herself, so she's very professional," said Tuomas. "The fact that she had about 40 hours to learn 15 songs is quite revealing. She practically learned our tour set on the flight from Amsterdam to Seattle. We're talking about a high-level professional and her attitude is fabulous as well. It can be seen in her stage presence. She clearly enjoys what she does."
Asked about the reasons for Olzon's sudden exit from the group, Tuomas told U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine: "I'm sure it came as a shock to everybody. We came out with a statement [regarding the split], which pretty much says it all. It still is a private matter, and that's all we wanna say about it, like, ever. It was an amicable divorce, so to say, and made in good spirit, and we are just looking to the future. There really is no reason to go back into all the details and all that. I mean, this is not politics, this is a rock band."
Regarding whether there is a chance that Floor will become the official new NIGHTWISH lead singer, Tuomas said: "The way that we have decided is that we're gonna continue with her until the end of the festival season in 2013 — just have fun, just do the shows the best we can. I mean, the atmosphere in the band is so good at the moment, [we want to] just enjoy this what we have right now. They try not to think about NIGHTWISH at all for a few months. Everybody take a little vacation. And we already have the rehearsal place for the next album booked in 2014 — from July to September. So that's how far we have planned. But when we do the last festival show next August, after that, it's gonna be total nothing for a few months. So I would say everything is possible, but that's really not the thing that we want to be thinking about right now, because there's absolutely no reason to."
Fan-filmed video footage of the current touring lineup of Geoff Tate's QUEENSRŸCHE — which includes bassist John Moyer (DISTURBED, ADRENALINE MOB) and backing singer Sass Jordan (who sings the duet with Tate in "Suite Sister Mary") — performing on May 17 at Arcada Theatre in Saint Charles, Illinois can be seen below.
"Frequency Unknown", the new album from the Geoff Tate-fronted version of QUEENSRŸCHE, sold around 5,500 copies in its first week of release in the United States to land at position No. 82 on The Billboard 200 chart.
As previously reported, Deadline Music/Cleopatra Records is making available the "new and improved" mixes of "Frequency Unknown" to any customers who have purchased the original mix version and are dissatisfied with the audio. Simply e-mail the label a scan of your actual receipt for the physical CD to Queensryche@cleorecs.com and they will happily send you a replacement disc — at no charge whatsoever. No questions asked!
"Frequency Unknown" was released on April 23. The CD was produced by Jason Slater at a studio in Northern California.
Asked about the decision to remix "Frequency Unknown" shortly before the album's release, Tate told "The Continental Breakfast With James & Raina": "We were a little rushed on the mixing end of it, so after listening to it back, we're having some of the songs remixed now before the album comes out. But that's typical with records — you have to have them in on time. So sometimes you compromise in areas. Luckily, with this situation, we get to go back and correct some areas in the sound where we thought it was kind of lacking. So that's fine. I've done that on… gosh… probably three quarters of the records I've ever made. It's no new thing, but it's a luxury when you get to fix it."
"Frequency Unknown" is packaged with bonus tracks — four QUEENSRŸCHE classics, newly recorded, including the smash hit single "Silent Lucidity". Guest musicians on the CD include K.K. Downing (JUDAS PRIEST), Chris Poland (MEGADETH), Ty Tabor (KING'S X), Paul Bostaph (SLAYER, TESTAMENT, EXODUS), Lita Ford, Brad Gillis (NIGHT RANGER), Dave Meniketti (Y&T) and Craig Locicero (FORBIDDEN).
Although a lineup for Tate's QUEENSRŸCHE was originally announced in the fall of 2012, things have changed. The band now features Tate along with guitarist Kelly Gray (QUEENSRŸCHE 1998-2001), keyboardist Randy Gane and new additions, guitarist Robert Sarzo (QUIET RIOT, HURRICANE) and drummer Simon Wright (AC/DC, DIO, RHINO BUCKET).
Images below courtesy of Arcada Theatre Facebook page
The official lyric video for "Freeze Frame", the new single from the Swedish "pop/metal" band DEAD BY APRIL, can be seen below. The song comes off the group's forthcoming third studio album, due to be released this September via Spinefarm Records.
"Freeze Frame" will be available, digitally, on all the usual platforms (iTunes, Amazon, Spotify, etc.) from May 26.
DEAD BY APRIL's new CD is the follow-up to 2011's "Incomparable" and is the first to feature brand new vocalist Christoffer Andersson (SONIC SYNDICATE, BY NIGHT) following Jimmie Strimell's departure earlier this year.
DEAD BY APRIL issued a statement in March blaming the split with Strimell on "Jimmie's personal problems." The band added: "His problems has affected the band for many years and we have basically tried everything we could to make this work. We have even gone through group therapy lately to get honesty and sincerity into the group. As nothing changed, we had to realize that if we want to move forward with this band, there's, unfortunately, no other way but to continue without Jimmie. We're sick of not knowing whether he'll turn up for shows, recordings and sick of having such bad environment within the band — at all times. It came to a point where we could not be in the same vehicle. We also want to strongly declare that DEAD BY APRIL is against drugs — an important statement for us to make in a time were we know a lot of our fans are young."
A photo of the new DEAD BY APRIL lineup can be seen below.
EMG Pickups pickups recently hosted the Los Angeles post-metal prog phenomenon INTRONAUT in the studio to showcase both the band's choice in pickups as well as three brand new cuts off their latest record, "Habitual Levitations". Check out the footage below.
INTRONAUT's fourth full-length album, "Habitutal Levitations", was released on March 19 in North America. The album artwork and layout was created by David D'Andrea, who has worked with the band on previous releases.
"Milk Leg", the first song to be revealed from the new album, caused a stir amongst INTRONAUT fans, with MetalInjection.net declaring, "The track is everything that rules about a 'naut song" and MetalSucks.net stating, "If you don't love it, you should probably go bang your head against a wall for an hour, as you appear to have gone stupid."
Drums for "Habitual Levitations" were recorded by producer John Haddad (EXHUMED, PHOBIA) and Derek Donley (BEREFT) handled recording for all other elements on the record.
INTRONAUT's previous studio album, "Valley Of Smoke", was met with vast critical acclaim and the band toured extensively in support of the album. In addition to landing a slot as direct support for TOOL, INTRONAUT toured with ANIMALS AS LEADERS, CYNIC, THE OCEAN, HELMET and more.
MONSTERS SCARE YOU, the post-hardcore/electro band from Seattle, Washington, will release its debut album, "Die A Legend", on July 9 via Century Media Records.
Formed in the winter of 2008, MONSTERS SCARE YOU has created an enthusiastic fan base with the combination of pop, metal and electronica. Their sound has been compared to ATTACK ATTACK!, ASKING ALEXANDRIA and ENTER SHIKARI.
In 2010, MONSTERS SCARE YOU went into the studio with engineer/producer Joel "Casey Jones" to record the "Teratophobia" EP. In support of the release, the band embarked on a West Coast tour consisting of 23 shows in 25 days. With increasing crowds and buzz, MONSTERS SCARE YOU was named the #2 unsigned band in Alternative Press magazine.
"Die A Legend" track listing:
01. Legends And Legions 02. Brohemian Rap City 03. Elephant Graveyard 04. Smiling's My Favorite 05. Wolfman's Got Nards 06. Give Me Some Sugar Baby 07. 1080p HD 08. I'm Gonna Sleep Real Good Tonight 09. Shut Up! Our Song Is On! 10. I Wish I Could Quit You 11. Shirts Vs. Skins 12. Suck It 13. The Light That Only Lasted So Long
The official lyric video for the song "Smiling's My Favorite" can be seen below.
Fan-filmed video footage of SLIPKNOT performing at the first-ever Ozzfest Japan — which debuted on Saturday, May 11 and Sunday, May 12, 2013 to capacity crowds and wide critical acclaim — can be seen below. The two-day music festival — the first major international music festival to ever travel to the country — drew sold-out crowds of 20,000 fans on each day.
Ozzfest Japan — a collaboration between Sharon Osbourne and Japanese promoter Hayashi International Promotion (H.I.P.) — included Ozzfest alumni BLACK SABBATH, SLIPKNOT, TOOL, DEFTONES, SLASH and STONE SOUR. Other bands on the bill included MAXIMUM THE HORMONE, DIR EN GREY, MAN WITH A MISSION, MOMOIRO CLOVER Z, STEEL PANTHER, NINGEN ISU, GALNERYUS, NAMBA69, AA=, FEAR AND LOATHING IN LAS VEGAS, MUCC, THE TREATMENT, ANTHEM, CROSSFAITH, COLDRAIN, KNOCK OUT MONKEY, HEAD PHONES PRESIDEN, ARTEMA, and FADE.
"It was an extreme honor to have been invited to play the first show of two shows at the first-ever Ozzfest in Japan," says Clown from SLIPKNOT. "It's always a beautiful thing to be a part of something that is brand new for the fans. As always, our love for the Japanese people goes without saying, and we are relieved that we finally got back to Japan. Everyone went off at the show, making it completely incredible…but it’s always like that when we go to Japan. Thank you to everyone for having us and you can rest assured we will always be back. We love you."
For a long time, SLIPKNOT singer Corey Taylor seemed the most hesitant to get back into the studio and make a new album following the 2010 death of bassist Paul Gray. But with three years having passed since Gray's death, and with Taylor making three albums with STONE SOUR since then, the singer told The Pulse Of Radio that he thinks 2014 will finally be the year of the KNOT. "I know everybody is pretty keen on getting together and seeing what happens next year, so I mean, if it takes us a year to write an album, so be it," he said. "The main goal is to just get us in the room and just see what happens, you know. If we can get past that first day, I think it'll come together. Now that we're all kind of in better places in our lives and whatnot, it's making it a little easier to be excited about it again. It's just starting to feel like it's time."
SLIPKNOT has performed live over the past two years but has not recorded a new album since 2008's "All Hope Is Gone".
SLIPKNOT plays the Download festival in the U.K. on June 14 and the Graspop Metal Meeting festival in Belgium on June 29.
BUTCHER BABIES will release their debut album, "Goliath", on July 9 via Century Media Records.
The Los Angeles-based band — frontwomen Carla Harvey and Heidi Shephard, guitarist Henry Flury, bassist Jason Klein and drummer Chris Warner — wrapped its tour with MARILYN MANSON in late February and went straight into the studio with producer Josh Wilbur (GOJIRA, LAMB OF GOD, HATEBREED).
"Working with Josh Wilbur was an incredible experience because he helped us explore ourselves as musicians and further develop the unique sound that is the BUTCHER BABIES," says the band of their recording experience. "Being a debut album, this has been in the works since we were young, and we are so proud to have created a collaboration of all our personal influences into one complete sound."
"Goliath" track listing:
01. I Smell A Massacre 02. Magnolia Blvd. 03. C8H18 (Gasoline) 04. Grim Sleeper 05. Goliath 06. In Denial 07. Give Me Reason 08. The Mirror Never Lies 09. Dead Poet 10. The Deathsurround 11. Axe Wound
In a recent interview with Rock Confidential, Carla said: "We're really excited for our full-length album through Century Media. We've been in the studio every single day writing. We're like little kids now, we're so excited." Heidi added: "To have it released through a label is going to be so awesome for us, especially a label we all looked up to. Century Media has always been like family to us. For them to take us on board and give us such high hopes and good support is really great." Carla continued: "We needed a label to take us to that next level. We're very proud of what we did on our own, but it was time to give the reins to someone else. We're very hands on. We run everything, but we need that machine behind us as well."
Despite the fact that Heidi and Carla often perform topless with nothing but nipple tape on, they believe that what they do is actually empowering to women. "I think we can definitely touch on that regardless of what we wear," Heidi said. "We can empower women or people in general to do what they want. Female empowerment is obviously where it started, but it can be about anybody that has a dream and a goal they really want to go for. It's never too late. We're not 21-year-old girls. We wish we were! We've had different careers, different paths in life. I got married once. We've done different things. We thought every time that was the end-all-be-all. It's never too late to follow your dreams. That's something that both of us really stand for."
BUTCHER BABIES will celebrate the album's release as part of this summer's Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival, where they will be a mainstay on the Jägermeister stage and spend the summer alongside heavyweights ROB ZOMBIE, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, MACHINE HEAD, MASTODON and AMON AMARTH. The tour kicks off June 29 at the San Manuel Amphitheatre in San Bernardino, California and runs through August 4 in Dallas, Texas.
Singer Mark Tornillo's pre-ACCEPT band TT QUICK reunited for a performance at Rock N' Roll Heaven and the Old Bridge Metal Militia's reunion concert and fundraiser to benefit the victims of Superstorm Sandy. The event took place on May 11 at Encore Event Center in Freehold, New Jersey. Also appearing on the bill were TWISTED SISTER, ANVIL, RAVEN, THE RODS and LORDS OF MERCY.
Fan-filmed video footage of TT QUICK's performance can be seen below.
TT QUICK was a popular club band during the 1980s in the New York and New Jersey area and was known for the guitar work of David Dipietro and the powerful vocals of Mark Tornillo. Dipietro's skills were especially singled out as he had given lessons to both Zakk Wylde of the OZZY OSBOURNE band and SKID ROW's Dave Sabo.
TT QUICK disbanded and later reunited sporadically and released a few more albums, including a live CD from one of their reunion gigs ("Thrown Together Live") and a studio effort, "Ink", which came out in 2000.
Robert Plant and his SENSATIONAL SHAPE SHIFTERS recently added 16 new stops to their summer itinerary, which now makes 21 gigs spread over five weeks in late June and July. Plant and the band — who have recently been playing a LED ZEPPELIN-heavy setlist, kick things off on June 20 in Dallas, Texas and eventually wind the trek down in Brooklyn, New York on July 27.
On March 23 in Australia, Plant and the SHIFTERS' 14-song opening night setlist featured nine ZEPPELIN classics, with Plant tackling "Heartbreaker", "Friends", "Black Dog", "Going To California", "Four Sticks", "Ramble On", "Bron Y Aur Stomp", "Whole Lotta Love" and "Rock And Roll".
An exclusive clip that shows footage from Robert Plant and SENSATIONAL SHAPE SHIFTERS' Australian and South American shows, as well as audio of Plant and company performing the song "Tin Pan Valley" from Plant's 2005 solo album, "Mighty ReArranger", can be seen below.
Robert Plant told The Pulse Of Radio that in his solo career, the music he tends to cover traces a different historical path than ZEPPELIN's tried and true blues reinterpretations. "LED ZEPPELIN played quite a lot of tunes which we took from the Chicago genre, and this is me taking tunes from perhaps an area which I probably wasn't able to touch on quite so much, previously," he said. "In '68, '69, we were looking directly back into one particular, physical area of music, whereas this is a kind of a reflection — or I'm seeing the reflection — of so much, so many of my early inspirational sources."
