Jeremy Lafrentz of Backstage Entertainment conducted an interview with former ANTHRAX and current VOLBEAT guitarist Rob Caggiano at this year's Lazerfest, which took place on Friday, May 10 at the Central Iowa Expo in Boone, Iowa. You can now watch the chat 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".
Metal Rules! TV recently conducted an interview with guitarist Dino Cazares of Los Angeles cyber metallers FEAR FACTORY. You can now watch the chat below.
FEAR FACTORY will perform its classic 1995 sophomore album, "Demanufacture", in its entirety aboard the 2014 edition of the world's biggest heavy metal cruise — 70000 Tons Of Metal — which will sail January 27-31.
FEAR FACTORY's video for the title track of their new album, "The Industrialist", was directed and edited by James Zahn. The clip utilizes live footage of the band from last June's Graspop Metal Meeting in Dessel, Belgium against a visual backdrop that pulls topical subjects from the story written by vocalist Burton C. Bell that served as inspiration for the group's latest CD.
A part of "The Industrialist" video was revealed in 2011 leading up to the release of the album. Now with the full video, the visual door to the concepts presented on the album are available for music fans to experience. Bell said, "We allowed James to take his time to create the video so that he could match his expertise with the conceptual imagery that was written in 'The Industrialist'. Being that he has been a longtime fan of FEAR FACTORY, he understood the nature of the FF machine; the concepts, imagery, and history. I believe he achieved a new era for FEAR FACTORY video concepts."
As a longtime fan of FEAR FACTORY, Zahn knew his work on "The Industrialist" would be enhanced by his extensive knowledge of the band.
"Growing up listening to FEAR FACTORY and being captivated with the heavy industrial scene of the 1990s, the one thing that always stuck with me was the accompanying visual aspect," he said. "Those videos that featured stock footage intercut with live performance clips were such a staple of the time and helped in editing 'The Industrialist'. Broken technology working alongside machinery in the midst of social change served as inspiration."
"The Industrialist" sold 9,300 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 38 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's previous CD, "Mechanize", opened with 10,000 units back in February 2010 to land at No. 72.
Guitarist Daniel "DL" Laskiewicz (pictured below), who has been writing music for Massachusetts metallers THE ACACIA STRAIN but hasn't toured with the band for several years, will not be part of the creative team on the group's future albums.
Says Laskiewicz in a posting on his Facebook page: "Well, if you haven't noticed, I haven't played a show with THE ACACIA STRAIN in years and I've just been writing the music for them. I've been informed today that they will continue on without me, meaning shows and writing albums. This is totally understandable and I wish the band the best. I'll be around, as I'm still recording and producing and also have another project in the works. So once again, I WILL NOT be writing for THE ACACIA STRAIN anymore. It's been fun tas, later!"
During THE ACACIA STRAIN's tenure with Prosthetic Records, the band released four acclaimed studio albums — two of which, 2008's "Continent" and 2010's "Wormwood", cracked the Billboard chart — as well as a Top 10 live DVD. To commemorate the end of an era, Prosthetic has assembled "Money For Nothing", a compilation of rarities, B-sides and previously unheard tracks by the band. The six-track release, which was released on February 19, was made available as a specially priced digital EP and a limited-edition digipak.
"Death Is The Only Mortal", the latest album from THE ACACIA STRAIN, sold 8,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 50 on The Billboard 200 chart. Released on October 9, 2012 via Rise Records, the CD was produced by Laskiewicz at his Western Massachusetts studio.
Nashville, Tennessee's 102.9 Buzz radio station conducted an interview with guitarist Keith Nelson of Californian rockers BUCKCHERRY backstage at this year's Rock On The Range festival, which is taking place May 17-19 at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. You can now watch the chat below.
BUCKCHERRY's sixth studio album, "Confessions", sold 18,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 20 on The Billboard 200 chart.
The band's previous CD, "All Night Long", opened with around 28,000 units in August 2010 to debut at No. 10.
BUCKCHERRY's fourth studio effort, titled "Black Butterfly", premiered with around 47,000 copies back in September 2008 to enter the chart at No. 8.
"Confessions" was produced by Keith Nelson and Marti Frederiksen (AEROSMITH, OZZY OSBOURNE) and features eclectic CD artwork by graffiti artist Ewok. The songs on "Confessions" merge punk grit, gutter attitude, honest storytelling, and razor sharp hooks, while the lyrics are tied together by the underlying theme of the Seven Deadly Sins.
In a recent interview with Loudwire.com, singer Josh Todd elaborated on the album's subject matter. Josh explained, "There was a point in my life when I was a youth when I lost a family member and I acted out in my grieving process through the deadly sins, so that's kind of what the story's about on the record. I think the seven sins are timeless and that everybody struggles with them in their daily lives all the time."
The provocative video for the album's first single, "Gluttony", was directed by Billy Jayne and filmed in a North Hollywood church.
A two-disc deluxe version of the "Confessions" CD is also available and features the bonus tracks "Give 'Em What They Want" and "When The Fire Starts". In addition, a bonus DVD includes the "Gluttony" music video and lyric video, behind-the-scenes footage and band interviews from the set of the "Gluttony" video shoot, and "The Story Behind Confessions" featurette.
The fourth in a series of video clips featuring behind-the-scenes video footage of the making of "Ritual Zombi", the long-awaited sixth full-length album from Spanish death metal veterans AVULSED, can be seen below. The CD was recorded at Madrid's La Casa del Ruido Studios with Dani Blanco. A conceptual effort dealing with zombies, the CD will contain nine new songs, including three instrumentals, plus a cover version of the DEATH classic "Zombie Ritual". The first AVULSED album to feature new drummer Osckar Bravo was mixed in Barcelona at Moontower Studios by Javi Félez. Mastering duties were handled by Dan Swanö (EDGE OF SANITY, BLOODBATH, NIGHTINGALE) at Unisound studios in Örebro, Sweden. The cover artwork, which can be seen below, was created by Juanjo Castellano, who worked on the latest PUTREVORE album and is said to be "the perfect choice to conceive the most putrid transcription of AVULSED's sound."
"Ritual Zombi" is scheduled for release on August 31 via Xtreem Music in Europe and Sevared in the U.S.
AVULSED parted ways with drummer Ricardo "Riky" Mena in March 2012 "due to differences on how to deal with different internal issues within the band."
AVULSED in 2011 scrapped plans to release a 20th-anniversary CD, "Fleshcube", due to "several problems regarding the recording sessions that delayed the whole project, to the point that it was going to be impossible to release it [in 2011]."
Behind-the-scenes video footage of the making of the cover artwork for "13", the first BLACK SABBATH record in 35 years to feature singer Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler all playing together, can be seen below. The CD is due out June 11 on Vertigo/Republic. This marks BLACK SABBATH's return to Vertigo, their original label, and the group's first studio album together since 1978's "Never Say Die!"
Details of the album's deluxe edition surfaced on April 19, with the band revealing that the eight-song effort will be accompanied by three bonus tracks called "Methademic", "Peace Of Mind" and "Pariah".
Several versions of "13" are available for pre-order, including a standard CD, a double CD that includes a second disc of exclusive bonus audio, a heavyweight vinyl album in a gatefold sleeve and a "Super Deluxe Box Set" containing the double CD, the vinyl album, an exclusive DVD documentary on the band's reunion, 13 photographic prints and hand-written lyrics.
"13" track listing:
01. End Of The Beginning (8:05) 02. God Is Dead? (8:52) 03. Loner (4:59) 04. Zeitgeist (4:37) 05. Age Of Reason (7:01) 06. Live Forever (4:46) 07. Damaged Soul (7:51) 08. Dear Father (7:20)
Deluxe-edition bonus tracks:
09. Methademic (5:57) 10. Peace Of Mind (3:40) 11. Pariah (5:34)
Total running time (with bonus tracks): 68 minutes, 42 seconds
The drum tracks on the album were laid down by RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE sticksman Brad Wilk following original drummer Bill Ward's decision to bow out of the reunion.
Scott Kara of The New Zealand Herald has written a track-by-track review of "13". Check it out at this location.
Osbourne went on the BBC in England to discuss the band's new single, "God Is Dead?" and the inspiration behind the track. Ozzy explained, "I was in somebody's office and there was a magazine on a table and it just said, 'God Is Dead', and I suddenly thought about 9/11 and all these terrorist things and religion and how many people have died in the name of religion. When you think about the tragedy that's happened throughout time, it just came in my head. You'd think by now that their God would have stopped people dying in the name of, so I just starting thinking that people must be thinking, 'Where is God? God is dead' and it just hit me."
Ozzy added that the question mark at the end of the title is his way of showing that he's not sure about the answer himself, saying, "At the end of the thing, there's still a bit of hope because there I sing that I don't believe that God is dead. It's just a question of when you see so many dreadful people killing each other with bombs, and blowing the tube trains up and the World Trade Center."
Ozzy told an Australian radio station that "13" is "mind-blowing," adding, "It's better than my wildest dreams; it's so good."
SABBATH kicked off its world tour in support of "13" on April 20 in Auckland.
The Front Row Report conducted an interview with KORN bassist Reginald "Fieldy" Arvizu on May 17 at the Rock On The Range festival at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. You can now watch the chat below.
KORN played its first full concert since 2005 with guitarist Brian "Head" Welch in the lineup on Wednesday night (May 15) in Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania, where the group kicked off a string of spring North American dates. Welch joined the group onstage for one song last year at the Carolina Rebellion festival, sparking rumors that more shows together and even a full reunion were in the pipeline. The band has also just finished recording its first studio set with Welch since 2003's "Take A Look In The Mirror".
Asked how he felt about the hitting the stage again with Welch for a full show after being apart for so long, Fieldy said: "[I felt] excitement. Excitement, but in a different way. Because a lot of times when I feel excited, I kind of feel nauseous; I don't really know what to do with it. But I was excited with contentment. I knew it was gonna be good, I knew it was gonna be how it used to be, so there was no insecurity in my being excited. So it was a different emotion than I've ever had."
Fieldy also spoke about the upcoming KORN album, due out in late summer, which will follow up 2011's "The Path Of Totality", a record that found the group experimenting with dubstep.
"I guess we were just going in knowing this time that we were gonna be doing what we do, what KORN does," the bassist said. "And it probably [turned out to be] the easiest [album to make], but the most challenging too. Because you've gotta just try to be ourselves and just do what we do. And it came out as probably the best KORN CD that we've ever done."
Wednesday night's 21-song set drew heavily from the band's early years.
KORN has used a variety of touring guitarists since Welch's departure, without ever permanently replacing him.
Welch left KORN in 2005 to embrace Christianity and embark on a solo career.
On May 14, AndrewHaug.com, Australia's first-ever dedicated 24/7 rock and metal online radio station launched by Andrew Haug, the former host of Triple J Australia's "The Racket" radio show (originally "Full Metal Racket"; 2001-2011), conducted an interview with vocalist Dani "Filth" Davey of British extreme metallers CRADLE OF FILTH. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below.
As previously reported, Dani has completed work on a poetry book, "Across The River Bedlam", for release later in the year. The book, which will contain "poems that [Dani has] written from time to time over the years," will include illustrations by Sam Araya, the artist responsible for CRADLE OF FILTH's "Thornography" and "Harder, Darker, Faster" releases as well as various COF t-shirt designs.
Artwork that will be included in the book can be found at this location.
In other news, CRADLE OF FILTH is working on an adult comic book, the story for which has been scripted by the comic writer Kurt Amacker (with assistance from Dani Filth). Several artists are in the process of mocking up some example pages for the prospective publishers. Dani states: "I am very excited about this venture, as it promises to be a very adult story woven straight from the CRADLE OF FILTH universe, featuring a liberated Oscar Wilde, the Demoness Lilith, nefarious sexual magickal practices and an errant Suffolk Lord who is in the unenviable process of being charged under 19th-century blasphemy laws, discovering himself engaged in a nightmarish occult netherworld."
CRADLE OF FILTH's tenth studio album, "The Manticore And Other Horrors", sold 4,500 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 96 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's previous full-length effort, "Darkly, Darkly, Venus Aversa", opened with 5,800 units in November 2010 to land at No. 99.
Beyond The Watch recently conducted an interview with guitarist/vocalist Alexi Laiho of Finnish metallers CHILDREN OF BODOM. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
Beyond The Watch: You guys are set to release your eighth studio album, "Halo Of Blood" (via Nuclear Blast on June 11). Can you tell us a little bit about the record and what went into the making of the album?
Alexi: I started writing, I think, last September maybe, when we got off the road. I took a month off or something and I started writing and then we went hit the studio late December and the whole thing was mixed and mastered by the end of February.
Beyond The Watch: You guys seem to have reverted back to some familiar old sounds that have a very "Hate Crew Deathroll" vibe. Was it your goal to try and bring your sound back to that era of CHILDREN OF BODOM? Especially having Mikko Karmila as your recording engineer on "Halo Of Blood" (who worked on "Hatebreeder", "Follow The Reaper", "Hate Crew Deathroll")?
Alexi: No, actually we never actually plan stuff ahead. We never talk about what we should sound like or what we should do next. When I start writing music, I just clear my head let go of everything and just kind of let it flow. To me, it's the only way to write music — just let everything come out spontaneously; that's how you keep it fresh and genuine. 'Cause I think that it needs to sound that it came straight from your heart as opposed to trying to please everyone.
Beyond The Watch: How does "Halo Of Blood" compare to CHILDREN OF BODOM's discography? What's different about this new album compared to the rest?
Alexi: I would say it's more diverse, 'cause it's got the old-school CHILDREN OF BODOM vibe, but also a lot of new shit in it too. Some songs are very different from anything we have done in the past, like the title track — that's the fastest song in the history of the band — and we got a track like "Dead Man's Hand On You", which is the slowest song we've ever done. It's different on almost every single level from anything we've done before. So there's stuff like that in there that makes it different. Diversity, you know.
ANTHRAX's Frank Bello took part in a bass clinic on May 13 in San Isidro, a residential suburb of Buenos Aires, Argentina. Video footage of his appearance can be seen below.
Asked about his increased number of clinic tour dates in recent years, Bello told Legendary Rock Interviews: "Man, I just love doing those things. Man, I don't know why, but it really appeals to me to get out there and talk and show some things to kids or adults or anyone who's just really interested in learning bass or getting into music. It honestly feels good to go and do stuff like that and I can't emphasize that enough."
ANTHRAX's May 10 concert at Teatro Caupolican in Santiago, Chile was professionally filmed for a live DVD. The show consisted of a special extended set featuring tracks from the band's whole catalog.
SHADOWS FALL guitarist Jon Donais, who has been touring with ANTHRAX since Rob Caggiano's departure in January, handled the lead-guitar parts at the Santiago show.
ANTHRAX has just completed the "Metal Alliance Tour", which also featured EXODUS, HIGH ON FIRE, MUNICIPAL WASTE and HOLY GRAIL.
"Anthems", ANTHRAX's long-awaited, eight-track EP that pays tribute to the classic songs by some of the band's favorite acts from the 1970s, sold around 8,500 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 52 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was released in North America on March 19 (MRI/Megaforce), and on March 22 in Europe (Nuclear Blast).
A teaser for "Honor Never Dies", the new video from Connecticut hardcore/metal masters HATEBREED, can be seen below. The full clip will make its online debut on Monday, May 20. The song comes off the band's latest album, "The Divinity Of Purpose", which sold 17,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 20 on The Billboard 200 chart.
The band's previous, self-titled CD opened with 15,000 units back in 2009 to enter the chart at No. 37.
HATEBREED's "Supremacy" album premiered with around 27,000 copies in September 2006 to land at No. 31. This number was roughly in line with the first-week tally registered by its predecessor, "Rise Of Brutality", which shifted more than 32,000 copies in November 2003 to debut at No. 30.
HATEBREED's covers album, entitled "For The Lions", sold around 10,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release in May 2009 to debut at position No. 58 on The Billboard 200 chart.
"The Divinity Of Purpose" was released on January 29 in North America via Razor & Tie and on January 25 in Europe through Nuclear Blast. The CD was co-produced by HATEBREED, Chris "Zeuss" Harris (SUICIDE SILENCE, ALL THAT REMAINS, SHADOWS FALL) and Josh Wilbur (LAMB OF GOD, AVENGED SEVENFOLD), with Wilbur also handling mixing duties. The cover artwork was created and illustrated by Eliran Kantor (TESTAMENT, ATHEIST, SIGH, ANACRUSIS, GWAR) and can be seen below.
Last night (Saturday, May 18), the three non-singing members of STONE TEMPLE PILOTS made their first public appearance since firing vocalist Scott Weiland at the 2013 KROQ Weenie Roast in Irvine, California, where they were joined on stage by LINKIN PARK frontman Chester Bennington. The group played a surprise set during the event and also took the opportunity to debut a new track called "Out Of Time".
A teaser video featuring Bennington in the studio with STONE TEMPLE PILOTS can be seen below. Also available is a full-song stream of "Out Of Time".
STONE TEMPLE PILOTS guitarist Dean DeLeo told KROQ: "Chester has a one-of-a-kind voice that we've admired for a long time. We know LINKIN PARK will always be his priority, but we thought it would be cool to try something together. We managed to find the time to record a song and we're all really happy with the result."
Added Bennington: "I've loved STP since I was 13 years old and they've had a huge influence on me. When the opportunity came up to do something creative with them, I jumped at the chance. The guys in LINKIN PARK have been incredibly supportive of me undertaking this project while I've continued to work on new music with LP."
STP officially fired Weiland in February after weeks of rumors about his status, issuing a terse statement that read, "STONE TEMPLE PILOTS have announced they have officially terminated Scott Weiland." No further details have since revealed.
This was the second time that the band has parted ways with its often troubled frontman, following a split in 2002.
Weiland, who was about to launch a solo tour at the time of his dismissal, denied at first that he had been fired, saying that STONE TEMPLE PILOTS legally could not exist or use that name without all four members of the group in the lineup.
He reiterated that view during an interview with a Nevada radio station, saying, "I started the band . . . there's things in place, like certain clauses that are in place that keep that from happening."
On March 25, HeavyMetalArtwork.com conducted an interview with Austrian/Greek symphonic metallers VISIONS OF ATLANTIS in London, England. You can now watch the chat below.
VISIONS OF ATLANTIS released its new album, "Ethera", on March 22 via Napalm Records. The CD was produced and mixed by Frank Pitters and Jakob Grabmayr at the Wildonemusic Studios. The mastering duties were handled by Mika Jussila at Finnvox in Helsinki, Finland.
Regarding the new album title, VISIONS OF ATLANTIS said, "'Ethera' is a word mix out of 'ether' as the quintessence of this band, the energy between the five band members, the fifth album and 'era,' leading VISIONS OF ATLANTIS to some new and interesting musical and lyrical shores while still remaining typically VISIONS OF ATLANTIS!"
"Ethera" track listing:
01. The Ark 02. Machinage 03. Avatara 04. Vicious Circle 05. Hypnotized 06. Tlaluc's Grace 07. Burden Of Divinity 08. Cave Behind The Waterfall 09. A.E.O.N. 19th 10. Bestiality Vs. Integrity 11. Clerics Emotion
A preview of the new album is available in the YouTube clip below.
VISIONS OF ATLANTIS' "Maria Magdelena" EP was released in October 2011.
Louder Than Hell recently conducted an interview with vocalist Mark "Barney" Greenway of British grindcore pioneers NAPALM DEATH. You can now listen to the chat using the SoundCloud widget below.
NAPALM DEATH is currently taking part in Decibel magazine's second annual national tour alongside the preeminent gore institution CANNIBAL CORPSE and New York death metal stalwarts IMMOLATION.
NAPALM DEATH's latest album, "Utilitarian", sold around 2,200 copies in the United States in its first week of release, according to Nielsen SoundScan. The CD debuted at No. 14 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.
NAPALM DEATH's previous album, 2009's "Time Waits For No Slave", opened with around 1,800 units to land at No. 19 on the Heatseekers chart.
"Utilitarian" was released on February 27, 2012 in Europe and February 28, 2012 in North America via the band's longtime partner, Century Media Records. The cover artwork perfectly fits the album's theme and was created by the Danish artist Frode Sylthe, who is also responsible for THE HAUNTED's "rEVOLVEr" artwork.
Neuweltmusic conducted an interview with New York death metal veterans SUFFOCATION on May 16 at The Pint in Dublin, Ireland You can now watch the chat below.
SUFFOCATION has recruited John Gallagher (DYING FETUS) to handle lead vocals on a number of shows this spring. Gallagher is filling in for SUFFOCATION's regular vocalist, Frank Mullen, who is unable to make the dates due to personal commitments.
"I'm stoked to be performing on several shows with longtime friends and my brothers in metal, SUFFOCATION," said Gallagher a couple of monts back. "It's going to be a blast and since I'll JUST be singing the vocals, they are going to be super sick and guttural. So make sure to come out and party with us and witness the brutality!"
"Pinnacle Of Bedlam", the new album from SUFFOCATION, has entered the German Media Control chart at position No. 58. The CD was released on February 19 via Nuclear Blast Records. The artwork was handled this time around by Raymond Swanland and can be found below.
As previousy reported, "Pinnacle Of Bedlam"sold 3,200 copies in the United States during its first week of release to land at position No. 152 on The Billboard 200 chart. The effort landed at position No. 2 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.
"Pinnacle Of Bedlam" was produced by the band at Full Force Studios in New York with longtime collaborator Joe Cincotta. The mixing and mastering of the effort was handled by Chris "Zeuss" Harris (HATEBREED, ARSIS, SUICIDE SILENCE).
"Pinnacle Of Bedlam" features 10 genre-defining-bone-crushing tracks and also marks the return of drummer Dave Culross, who previously played on the "Despise The Sun" EP. Founding member and former drummer Mike Smith also makes a special guest appearance on the re-recorded "Breeding The Spawn" track "Beginning Of Sorrow".
