Swedish hard rockers EUROPE have released the following statement:
"So! A Swedish band called SABATON has gone platinum in Sweden, selling 40,000 units [of their latest album, 'Carolus Rex']. Nice one, lads! However, the media statement suggesting they are the first Swedish hard rock band ever to do so is a little ill-advised! Or, could it be we were 'punk'd' back in the '80s when presented with platinum discs for 'The Final Countdown'? No, wait! Ashton Kutcher wasn't even born back then!
"Ah, the 80's! The days when stonewashed denim was cool, and platinum meant 100,000...!"
The International Federation of the Phonographic Industry (IFPI) in Sweden has revised the sales requirements for albums to reach platinum status in the country three times in the last 17 years — from the pre-1996 level of 100,000 to the current 40,000.
EUROPE's ninth studio album, "Bag Of Bones", was certified gold in the group's home country for sales in excess of 20,000 copies. According to the band, the CD entered the official chart in Sweden at position No. 2 and "has since then continued to sell steadily." The group added, "'Bag Of Bones' is fast becoming the most successful record since the reunion."
Drummer Jean-Paul Gaster of Maryland rockers CLUTCH has uploaded a new video update from the band's current European tour. Check it out below.
Says Gaster: "The European tour is going great. Over here, I play my silver sparkle GMS drum kit. I purchased this kit just in time to take on tour to support SEPULTURA on the U.S. leg of their 'Chaos A.D.' tour. Since then, I've played about 1600 shows on these drums. They have also appear on our self-titled album, 'Elephant Riders', 'Pure Rock Fury' and 'Blast Tyrant'. The shells are 8 maple with 45 degree edges. The tone is boomy and has good deal of thuddy attack. The entire kit now resides in the U.K. Before these drums arrived in the U.K., I had to rely on rental gear. It's a great feeling to get to the first gig of a European tour and pull these trusty old drums out of their cases. They sound great even if they have been sitting for months untouched."
CLUTCH's new album, "Earth Rocker", sold 22,000 copies in its first week of release to debut at position No. 15 on The Billboard 200 chart.
Released via CLUTCH's own Weathermaker Music label, "Earth Rocker" entered the German Media Control chart at No. 71. In the U.K., the CD landed at No. 50 on the regular chart, No. 3 on the Rock/Metal Albums chart and No. 11 on the Independent Albums chart.
Produced by Machine (LAMB OF GOD, FOUR YEAR STRONG, FALL OUT BOY) at the Machine Shop studio in Belleville, New Jersey, "Earth Rocker" was described by CLUTCH vocalist Neil Fallon in a recent interview with DCHeavyMetal.com as "probably faster than most of our recent albums. Maybe compared to some other bands, it's not the fastest thing on planet Earth. For us it was definitely a step up in the tempo. And I think the other thing that kind of stands out about this one is the blues influences that we've been flirting with over the past couple records is more or less absent in this record, which didn't really happen intentionally until we looked back at it. As a whole, it's just much more of a straight-up rock and roll record."
The artwork for "Earth Rocker" was created by Nick Lakiotes, longtime CLUTCH art director, who has worked on previous efforts, including "Robot Hive/Exodus" and "Strange Cousins From The West".
Vocalist Mark "Barney" Greenway of British grindcore pioneers NAPALM DEATH was interviewed on the latest edition of the "Maximum Threshold" radio show. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below.
NAPALM DEATH recently took 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.
MOTÖRHEAD guitarist Phil Campbell was interviewed last night (Monday, June 17) prior to his band's performance at this year's Metal Hammer Golden Gods, which was held at London, England's Indigo2. Check out the chat below.
MOTÖRHEAD recently entered Maple Sound Studios in Santa Ana, California with producer Cameron Webb to begin recording its next album, scheduled for release later this year. Songtitles set to appear on the follow-up to 2010's "The Wörld Is Yours" include "Outsider" and "Silence When You Speak to Me".
MOTÖRHEAD released "The Wörld Is Ours – Vol 2: Anyplace Crazy As Anywhere Else" in Germany on September 21, 2012, three days later in the rest of Europe and October 9, 2012 in North America via UDR/EMI. The follow-up to 2011's "The Wörld Is Ours – Vol 1: Everywhere Further Than Everyplace Else" features the band's 2011 Wacken Open Air headline appearance as well as highlights from Sonisphere (United Kingdom) and Rock In Rio (Brazil) shows.
MOTÖRHEAD's latest album, "The Wörld Is Yours", sold 7,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 94 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's previous effort, "Motörizer", premiered with 6,400 units back in 2008 to debut at No. 82, while 2006's "Kiss Of Death" registered a first-week tally of 3,500.
Metal Blade Records has announced the signing of Monte Pittman, the guitarist known for his work with metal legends PRONG and the illustrious pop star Madonna. A release date for his new solo album will be announced shortly.
Metal Blade Records founder and CEO Brian Slagel comments: "We are so happy to welcome Monte Pittman to the Metal Blade family. He is a tried and true metalhead and has recorded a crushing album! METALLICA producer Flemming Rasmussen produced a devastating metal record with Monte and we could not be happier that we are working together on this!"
Pittman adds; "I'm beyond excited to be working with Brian Slagel and all of the wonderful team at Metal Blade. I can't think of anyone I can put my faith and trust in more with my new album and where my career is headed.
"Metal Blade's track record has stood the test of time. Brian has been responsible for a majority of bands that have influenced me and gotten me to where I am now.
"It's been a dream come true making this album with Flemming Rasmussen. Flemming is a master at recording a band playing together and capturing the sound in the room of everything musically working together.
"After we finished tracking, the first person I wanted to play it for was Brian Slagel. Here we go!"
Fans in California will have the chance to catch Monte Pittman live as the he brings his acoustic show to Hotel Café in Hollywood and two stops on the Vans Warped Tour 2013, including Mountain View and Ventura (performing on the Acoustic Basement Stage).
A&M/Octone Records has announced the return of FLYLEAF with the band's new EP, "Who We Are", due on July 9. The extended-play recording features live songs from FLYLEAF's recent tour with new singer Kristen May and includes their new single, "Something Better", with a guest appearance by P.O.D. lead singer Sonny Sandoval. The track, which can be streamed using the SoundCloud widget below, was recorded with longtime producer Howard Benson during a break between a busy schedule of touring and writing new material.
According to a press release, "Who We Are" features FLYLEAF's signature and live sound, including hits like "Call You Out", "Fire Fire", "Broken Wings" and "Sorrow", plus the aforementioned "Something Better".
"The live tracks came from our 2013 winter tour with DROWNING POOL," says FLYLEAF in a statement.
"'Something Better' is one of the first songs we wrote with Kristen May. It was an awesome experience writing together! Plus, having Sonny from P.O.D. on this track was really special. We've been fans of theirs for years, and it was an honor to do this collaboration. We think y'all will love it!"
FLYLEAF hits the road on a co-headlining nationwide tour with P.O.D. beginning July 13 in Kenosha, Wisconsin and continues through August 10 in San Diego, California. The band will be offering the sale of limited edition silk-screen prints designed by bass player Pat Seals on the FLYLEAF web site and bundled with the "Who We Are" EP.
Kristen May replaced original vocalist Lacey Sturm after the latter abruptly departed the group in October 2012.
Sturm left the band on the eve of the release of its third album, "New Horizons", which came out on October 30, 2012 and sold 20,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 16 on The Billboard 200 chart.
Sturm issued a statement about her exit from the group she co-founded, saying, "I am very thankful to have recently become a mom to one of the greatest blessings of my life, my son Jack . . . I understand that, for me, living life to the fullest in this season means to step down as the lead singer for FLYLEAF."
The new album follows up 2009's "Memento Mori" and FLYLEAF's self-titled 2005 debut, which have combined to sell more than 1.6 million copies in the U.S.
FLYLEAF is Kristen May (vocals) Sameer Bhattacharya (lead guitar), Jared Hartmann (rhythm guitar), Pat Seals (bass) and James Culpepper (drums).
Former MISFITS guitarist Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankensteinrecently recorded his debut solo CD, "Abominator", which was available in limited digital release, and as special advance physical copies at DANZIG's recent shows. The effort, which has been called "perhaps the best MISFITS-related record in over a decade," also features Alex Story (CANCERSLUG) on vocals, "Left-Hand" Graham on bass and Dr. Chud (MISFITS) on drums.
Doyle recently partnered with Labeled Insane Management and BrainMuscleMedia to create his own label, Monsterman Records, which will "officially" release "Abominator" this summer via INgrooves / Fontana, the leading global independent music distributor. "Abominator" will be available worldwide on iTunes and all digital music services in mid-June, with a direct-to-consumer physical CD release planned for July, and a worldwide retail release to follow.
"Abominator" track listing:
01. Abominator 02. Learn To Bleed 03. Dreamingdeadgirls 04. Headhunter 05. Valley Of Shadows 06. Land Of The Dead 07. Cemeterysexxx 08. Love Like Murder 09. Mark Of The Beast 10. Bloodstains 11. Hope Hell Is Warm
Doyle has just hit the road again with Glenn Danzig to revisit the magic of their legendary early collaborations, this time taking the mayhem to European shores with DANZIG's 25th-anniversary tour. On each date, Doyle takes to the stage with Danzig to run through a set of MISFITS classics, paying homage to their legacy as, arguably, the most influential horror-punk band of all time.
The PlayStation Home video stream of of COAL CHAMBER's performance at this year's Metal Hammer Golden Gods, which was held last night (Monday, June 17) at London, England's Indigo2, can be seen below.
COAL CHAMBER and SEVENDUST earlier in the year took part in a U.S. co-headlining tour. Also appearing on the bill was LACUNA COIL.
In a recent interview with the WGRD 97.9 FM radio station in Grand Rapids, Michigan, COAL CHAMBER frontman Dez Fafara (also of DEVILDRIVER) stated about theband's current status: "COAL CHAMBER, for me right now, is like a really fine woman, man. I've gotta re-date her — she's back in my life, I've gotta see how she is, and we've gotta take our time with each other. And that's what we're doing. And I think that's the important thing — we're doing it for the love of the music as well. There's a lot of people that never got to either see COAL CHAMBER live or haven't seen us in a long time due to the breakup.
"It's good to see [the other guys in the band] off hard drugs, man, and you can see their guys are crystal clear, and it makes me wanna do music with them again.
"Right now, with COAL CHAMBER, that's what we're doing — we're taking it slow. [Last September], they sent me some new tunes and said, 'Hey, would you ever think about doing a new record? Here's some new tunes.' And they were absolutely killer. They were moving forward with their sound, but yet you could tell it was COAL CHAMBER, but it wasn't so linear. So who knows what's gonna happen in the future, man? We're just playing it by ear at this point. I've got a lot going on right now, so we just have to really see."
Regarding why neither of the two former COAL CHAMBER bassists — Nadja Peulen or Rayna Foss — is involved in the band's reunion, Dez told Full Metal Jackie in a separate interview, "Rayna was not [asked to be a part of it]. Rayna has been out of the band for a very long time. We did speak to Nadja. She has other things going and it wasn't really in the headspace where we were at as a band. We found Chela; she's Canadian and she's a bad-ass player. She's been playing for nearly [15] years. She plays five-string and it's good to have her on bass. She grew up with COAL CHAMBER. Where Meegs and Mikey and I am right now, we're really excited so we needed someone that filled that excitement drawer and she did for sure; she's stoked."
COAL CHAMBER rose to prominence with a gold-certified debut album in 1997 that established the group as one of the most promising bands on the then-emerging, so-called "nu metal" scene.
Nadja Peulen replaced COAL CHAMBER bassist Rayna Foss Rose in 1999 during Rose's pregnancy for almost 12 months while the band was on the road supporting its second album, "Chamber Music". Rayna came back to the band after her pregnancy leave and recorded COAL CHAMBER's third album, "Dark Days". Shortly after recording "Dark Days", Rayna quit the band and Nadja was recruited for the touring cycle that followed the CD's release. The band broke up during the "Dark Days" tour in 2002.
British gothic metal pioneers PARADISE LOST celebrated their 25th anniversary with a very special show at the Metal Hammer Golden Gods awards, which was held last night (Monday, June 17) at London's esteemed Indigo2 venue (headlined by the other British legends MOTÖRHEAD).
PARADISE LOST invited their friends Cristina Scabbia (LACUNA COIL) — who sang "Say Just Words" in a duet with PARADISE LOST frontman Nick Holmes — and Gus G. (FIREWIND, OZZY OSBOURNE) who joined PARADISE LOST to pay tribute to the godfathers of metal, BLACK SABBATH, for an "Into The Void" cover version.
Video footage of the "Say Just Words" performance featuring Cristina Scabbia can be seen below.
In a statement released last week, Holmes stated about the Metal Hammer Golden Gods show: "[I am] really looking forward to singing with Cristina. I think it will be a lot of fun. She has an amazing voice, and I'm looking forward to being completely overshadowed!"
Adds PARADISE LOST guitarist Greg Mackintosh: "It is the dream job of any guitarist to play for Ozzy, and Gus achieved that. I watched him at Graspop festival and he slayed the crowd. It will be awesome playing my favourite SABBATH song with Gus."
PARADISE LOST wil embark on a four-date U.K. tour in October/November to celebrate their 25th anniversary. Support on the trek will come from LACUNA COIL.
Amit Sharma of U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine conducted an interview with guitarist Herman Li of British epic power metallers DRAGONFORCE at this year's Download festival, which took place June 14-16 at Donington Park in Leicestershire, United Kingdom. You can now watch the chat below.
DRAGONFORCE is recording the follow-up to last year's "The Power Within" album, which was the band's first with vocalist Marc Hudson. Since his live debut with the group in July 2011, Marc has gone on to front over 100 shows with DRAGONFORCE in 32 countries across the globe, including arenas with IRON MAIDEN as well as a mammoth headlining world tour to support the CD.
With a newfound wealth of experience for the new singer and two years of playing together, the DRAGONFORCE machine was at its most powerful when it entered Fascination Street studios in Örebro, Sweden in May with Jens Bogren to start laying down tracks. Known for his work with the likes of OPETH, THE DEVIN TOWNSEND PROJECT, AMON AMARTH, KATATONIA, SOILWORK and SYMPHONY X, to name a few, Jens will undoubtedly help DRAGONFORCE make a killer-sounding album.
"The Power Within" sold 5,800 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 74 on The Billboard 200 chart.
Asked if it was difficult to integrate Hudson into the band, Li told Metal Traveller: "I don't know if it was easy or hard, but we definitely spent a lot of time to make sure he integrated well in the band. Before he joined the band, we jammed, we rehearsed, we went to the studio and recorded some demos together — just to see how it's like, to understand his personality. After he joined the band, we didn't want him to be like, 'Hi, Marc, welcome to the band, record the songs in studio and see you on tour.' You have to be a real family, so we jammed and rehearsed a lot, and that really helped him to integrate the band. The first show he had to play with the band was with IRON MAIDEN, in front of 20,000 people. I didn't tell Marc until the warmup gig two weeks before."
Regarding whether Marc was involved in composing the new songs, Li said: "Most of the music was already composed when we were auditioning him. After he joined the band, we had to change the voice a little bit to get the best out of his voice. We found out that he can sing very high, but also really low at the same time. So in certain songs, we explored his low range, like 'Seasons' or 'Give Me The Night', on which he goes from low to high. Then we tried to explore the high register, like in 'Holding On'."
Merlin Alderslade of Metal Hammer magazine spoke to RISE TO REMAIN, the up-and-coming London, England metalcore outfitfronted by Austin Dickinson — the son of IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson — at this year's Download festival, which took place June 14-16 at Donington Park in Leicestershire, United Kingdom. You can now watch the chat below.
RISE TO REMAIN recently entered the studio to begin work on its second album for a late 2013 release.
The U.S. version of RISE TO REMAIN's debut CD, "City Of Vultures", was made available in June 2012 and included four bonus tracks.
Speaking to Metal Hammer, Austin stated about RISE TO REMAIN's forthcoming effort: "It's done, it's finished. We just have to get it all packaged and recorded properly and stuff like that."
He continued: "We've been demoing for about five months now, so it's been a super-, super-long process, but I think that we're finally happy with it. We're finally at this place where every single thing is just sculpted to how we want it.
"We didn't wanna be a band that just smashed something out for people to kind of go and pick up and play for, like, two months and then get bored. That sucks, 'cause then you've gota do another one, and if you make the same mistake twice, then [you'll be gone]. I think we'd rather stay at an even kilter and just really release fucking quality metal tunes.
"The metal scene is so killer right now, so our competition is so high, and they're our friends too. So we're not trying to kick anyone out, but we are trying to write damn good music."
RISE TO REMAIN last year announced the full-time additions of bassist Connor O'Keefe and drummer Adam Lewin on drums to the group's ranks.
Massachusetts metallers REVOCATION will release their new, self-titled album on August 6 via Relapse Records. The follow-up to 2011's "Chaos Of Forms" will be the first full-length album with bass player Brett Bamberger, who joined the band in 2012 and was featured on the group's last EP, "Teratogenesis", which was released by Scion A/V. The cover artwork for the new CD was created by Orion Landau (DYING FETUS, OBSCURA, NILE).
"Revocation" track listing:
01. The Hive 02. Scattering the Flock 03. Arch Fiend 04. Numbing Agents 05. Fracked 06. The Gift You Gave 07. Invidious 08. Spastic 09. Entombed By Wealth 10. A Visitation
The song "The Hive" can now be streamed using the SoundCloud widget below.
REVOCATION will take part in this year's Summer Slaughter Tour alongside THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, CATTLE DECAPITATION and others. The trek will kick off on July 19 in San Francisco, California and run through August 20 in Portland, Oregon.
"Chaos Of Forms" was released in August 16, 2011 in North America and September 5, 2011 internationally via Relapse. The follow-up to 2009's "Existence Is Futile" was recorded at Damage Studios in Southbridge, Massachusetts with engineer Pete Rutcho.
On May 10, Premier Guitar's Chris Kies was on location in Madison, Wisconsin at at High Noon Saloon where he caught up with THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN guitarist Ben Weinman to find out all the gear Ben is using during the band's current tour. Check out the footage below.
THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN was forced to cancel its summer European festival and club appearances due to an injury sustained by Weinman on his right hand and wrist. He will spend June recovering.
"I'm heartbroken that we will miss these shows because we were all looking forward to them a great deal," Weinman said. "Obviously nobody likes being injured. I'm looking forward to performing on Summer Slaughter at full capacity and we will be back in Europe this fall on our headlining tour."
DILLINGER is touring behind its new album, "One Of Us Is The Killer". They recently completed a video for the album's title track which will be released in the coming weeks.
"Leaving for tour knowing that we would be performing without all members on stage isn't something any of us are comfortable with," added frontman Greg Puciato. "Ben is going to take the next month to heal and we'll be ready to demolish Summer Slaughter and return to Europe in the fall with all systems loaded and ready to go."
THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN's fifth full-length album, "One Of Us Is The Killer", sold around 15,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 25 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was released on May 14 through the band's own Party Smasher Inc., in partnership with Sumerian Records in North America. Party Smasher's partnership with BMG covers the rest of the world, including licensing deals with Grind House for Japan and Remote Control in Australia.
"One Of Us Is The Killer" was recorded in Southern California with longtime producer Steve Evetts (GLASSJAW, THE CURE, SUICIDE SILENCE), with additional production at guitarist/co-founder Ben Weinman's studio. Mastering was handled by Tom Baker (DEFTONES, NINE INCH NAILS, BEASTIE BOYS).
"Provisions", a brand new song from the Manheim, Pennsylvania-based quintet AUGUST BURNS RED, can be streamed in the YouTube clip below. The track comes off the band's fifth album, "Rescue & Restore", which will be released on June 25 via Solid State Records.
The new effort, described by guitarist and principal songwriter JB Brubaker as the band’s "most ambitious album yet," turns a critical eye to the oft-maligned genre of metalcore, leading by example to prove that bands can still find exciting new ways to expand the genre.
"'Rescue & Restore' is about challenging other bands and ourselves, as well as fans of this music, to want more than whatever happens to be the current buzz," explains Brubaker.
"We’ve done our best with each new album to try to push our sound in new directions and we’d like to see our peers do the same.
"People need to realize that there’s not much of a difference between a metalcore song that has a couple breakdowns with a repeating chorus and the latest LADY GAGA song. This genre used to be better than that. It can still be better than that."
Throughout the album, AUGUST BURNS RED continue to do their part to challenge the conventions of heavy music. Over the course of 11 tracks, the band artfully blend piano, cello, violin, trumpet, various percussive elements and more into their sonic arsenal, taking their music into new aesthetic territory and contorting the boundaries of the genre.
In support of "Rescue & Restore", AUGUST BURNS RED will perform all summer long as a mainstage act on the 2013 Vans Warped Tour, marking their third appearance overall and first since 2011.
With "Rescue & Restore", AUGUST BURNS RED have proven that it is possible to reshape music in a way that challenges listeners, reinvigorates fans and puts art first. But for any fans who fear AUGUST BURNS RED turning their back on the sound that catapulted them to the forefront of a genre, Brubaker advises them not to worry.
"At the end of the day, we are still a very heavy band," he explains. "'Rescue & Restore' still has plenty of really heavy stuff, techy odd meter riffs, and all the stuff that people have come to expect from us; it just has a lot more surprises along the way."
"Rescue & Restore" track listing:
01. Provisions 02. Treatment 03. Spirit Breaker 04. Count It All As Lost 05. Sincerity 06. Creative Captivity 07. Fault Line 08. Beauty In Tragedy 09. Animals 10. Echoes 11. The First Step
Season Of Mist has announced the signing of Welsh rockers HARK. The band will enter Monnow Valley Studios in Wales later this summer to record its debut full-length album.
Led by former TAINT frontman and acclaimed graphic artist Jimbob Isaac, HARK has already released one sold-out seven-inch single and has toured with RED FANG and CLUTCH throughout Europe.
Commented Jimbob: "HARK has poured our heart and soul into the formation of the band, as well as the three years of writing and playing together.
"Despite being a relatively new band, our history and work in previous bands have given us a sound and ethic that result in a hard-hitting delivery of passion and heaviness.
"Season of Mist's enthusiasm for Hark has been most welcome, appreciated and added more fuel to our fire. We're looking forward to working together, and can't wait to unleash the album."
You can stream and download HARK's debut EP, "Mythopoeia", using the Bandcamp widget below.
HARK is:
Jimbob Isaac (ex-TAINT) - Guitar, Vocals Nikolai Ribnikov (ex-WHYTELEAF) - Bass Simon Bonwick (ex-WHYTELEAF) - Drums
