Kaaos TV conducted an interview with drummer Matt Nicholls of the British metalcore act BRING ME THE HORIZON prior to the band's May 14 concert at The Circus in Helsinki, Finland. You can now watch the chat below.
BRING ME THE HORIZON's fourth album, "Sempiternal", sold 27,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 11 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD arrived in stores on April 2 via Epitaph.
BRING ME THE HORIZON's third CD, 2010's "There Is A Hell, Believe Me I've Seen It. There Is A Heaven, Let's Keep It A Secret", opened with 20,000 units to debut at No. 17. The album also entered the official chart in the U.K. at position No. 13.
The five-piece, consisting of Oliver Sykes, Lee Malia, Matt Kean, Matt Nicholls and Jordan Fish, recorded "Sempiternal" over a three-month period with super producer Terry Date (LINKIN PARK, DEFTONES, SOUNDGARDEN). The band also brought in David Bendeth (A DAY TO REMEMBER, PARAMORE) to add to the all-star production lineup and mix the album.
"Writing 'Sempiternal' was a completely different process," commented BRING ME THE HORIZON frontman Oliver Sykes. "We worked from a computer, laying down ideas and riffs and working on them tirelessly until we had what we wanted." For the first time, "Sempiternal" sees a new member appearing on the record, Jordan Fish, who takes on keyboard duties on the record as well as during live performances. "Bringing Jordan into the mix changed things completely; he opened up so many more possibilities."
Sykes went on to say: "The lyrical theme is everything. My head was a lot clearer when writing this time and it allowed me to write from a different perspective. It's the best stuff I've ever written, in my opinion. It's very dramatic, quite blunt, and at times sarcastic, but the biggest part of it — is how it is combined with the music to bring the listener vivid imagery and emotion. I think we really managed to pull that off."
BRING ME THE HORIZON recently parted ways with guitarist Jona Weinhofen. A replacement axeman has not yet been announced.
Mario Trevizo of Cosmos Gaming and Fans4Bands conducted an interview with SEVENDUST bassist Vinnie Hornsby at Carolina Rebellion 2013 on May 5 at Charlotte Motor Speedway in Charlotte, North Carolina. You can now watch the chat below.
SEVENDUST's ninth studio album, "Black Out The Sun", sold 27,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 18 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD, which arrived in stores on March 26 via the band's 7Bros. Records in conjunction with ADA Label Services, was recorded at Architekt Music studios in Butler, New Jersey with engineer Mike Ferretti.
In a recent interview with Revolver magazine, SEVENDUST guitarist John Connolly stated about "Black Out The Sun": "It has a totally different vibe about it. It's darker, but with a little bit of hope. There's always that light at the end of the tunnel. When I listen to it, it's almost like a greatest-hits record of songs you've never heard before. There's an album that every one of those songs could potentially live on. There's some stuff that sounds like it might belong on 'Home', some that sounds like 'Seasons'. Then there are some 'Alpha' moments as well."
Added SEVENDUST guitarist Clint Lowery: "We didn't over-think the record. It has a spontaneous feel. It has the spirit of our older records, but it's evolved as well. If you're already a fan, it caters to the elements you've always liked. We're proud of this album."
Asked about the songwriting approach for the CD, Lowery said: "It usually comes from an idea or a riff that John or I start. It's us coming up with beats and constructing the skeletal idea of the song from there. Then we'd get the band together to play it with everyone. By that point we'd start arranging it, and vocals are the last thing."
Added Connolly: "There was definitely no shortage of ideas. For this record, we had a writing area behind the live drums in the studio. Whenever someone was in the studio working on parts, any number of us would gather in this writing station and map things out right there on the spot. This was one of those albums where on Monday 'Decay' didn't exist and by the end of Tuesday night, it was there."
Neuweltmusic conducted an interview with Norwegian psychedelic quartet SAHG, which specializes in doom-infused '70s rock, on April 30 at The Pint in Dublin, Ireland. You can now watch the chat below.
SAHG will release a brand new album in October via Indie Recordings. The CD's first single, "Firechild", is available for streaming in the YouTube clip below.
SAHG's new CD was recorded at Duper studio in Bergen, Norway.
SAHG's third album, "Sahg III", came out on August 30, 2010 through Indie.
SAHG is:
Olav Iversen - Vocals/Guitar Tony Vetaas - Bass Thomas Tofthagen - Guitar Thomas Lønnheim - Drums
Eric Blair of "The Blairing Out With Eric Blair Show" recently conducted an interview with former guitarist/vocalist Matt Tuck of Welsh metallers BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE. 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".
Music Feeds conducted an interview with DEFTONES vocalist Chino Moreno and bassist Sergio Vega before the band's May 15 concert in Sydney, Australia. You can now watch the chat below.
As previously reported, Moreno has said that it is more likely now than ever before that DEFTONES will release "Eros", the shelved 2008 album that it had nearly completed when bassist Chi Cheng got into a car accident in November 2008. The incident left Cheng in a semi-comatose state for more than four years, until his death last month. After Cheng's accident, the band decided to scrap the record and start fresh, ultimately recording and releasing "Diamond Eyes" in 2010.
Asked recently if "Eros" could see the light of day as Cheng's final work, Moreno told Artisan News, "It will. I think (the chances of that happening are) more so now probably than ever (before). I actually went back and listened to some of it recently and . . . I don't know when (we will put it out) . . . but I feel it's a little more appropriate now for us to think about that."
Drummer Abe Cunningham told The Pulse Of Radio a while back that "Eros" still needed some finishing touches before it could be released. "At this point it was nearly completed, it wasn't fully done," he said. "The music was done, Chino was finishing almost all brand new vocals, but we were actually mixing tracks while he was finishing the vocals, and then this whole thing happened. So yeah, it's still kind of just sitting there and, you know, we want to make it right. You know, obviously there's a lot of people that want to hear it and we'd love to let them hear it, you know, obviously for Chi too, and it's just, it's not quite done."
DEFTONES issued a statement back in June 2009 in which the band explained its reasons for keeping "Eros" on the shelf, saying, "We realized that this record doesn't best encompass and represent who we are currently as people and as musicians. The decision to hold off on releasing 'Eros' has no connection with Chi's condition or anything associated. This was, and is, purely a creative decision by the band to write, record, and deliver an amazing product."
Cheng performed on DEFTONES' first five albums, with his last released work being on 2006's "Saturday Night Wrist".
Vega played on "Diamond Eyes" and the most recent DEFTONES disc, "Koi No Yokan".
"First To Fight", a brand new song from CIVIL WAR — the new Swedish metal band featuring former SABATON members Rikard Sundén (guitar), Daniel Mullback (drums), Daniel Mÿhr (keyboards) and Oskar Montelius (guitar) alongside singer Patrik Johansson (ASTRAL DOORS, LION'S SHARE) and bassist Stefan "Pizza" Eriksson (VOLTURYON) — can be streamed below. The track comes off CIVIL WAR's full-length debut, "The Killer Angels", which will be made available on June 11 via Despotz Records. The group states: "The album deals with a lot of stuff: heroes, traitors, battles and heavy metal....and yes: we have a song called 'Gettysburg'."
"The Killer Angels" track listing:
01. King Of The Sun 02. First To Fight 03. Saint Patrick's Day 04. Rome Is Falling 05. Sons Of Avalon 06. I Will Rule The Universe 07. Lucifer's Court 08. Brother Judas 09. My Own Worst Enemy 10. Gettysburg 11. March Across The Belts (bonus track)
CIVIL WAR's debut EP was released on November 13, 2012 via Despotz Records.
According to Sundén, CIVIL WAR's sound is "more old-school hard rock," with "a little less keyboards" than that of SABATON. He says, "With Patrik's vocals on top, it becomes a different thing, but there are some parallels [to our previous band]."
Regarding how CIVIL WAR came together, b>Mullback told the Swedish-language newspaper Dalarnas Tidningar (DT), "It came pretty naturally. We always thought Patrik had a good voice and he accepted our offer when we asked him to join the band."
"I had no hesitation about getting involved," Patrik said. "ASTRAL DOORS certainly has a solid fan base, but we are a little more underground. I see this as an opportunity to reach a wider audience."
The four ex members of SABATON were never involved in the songwriting process with their former band since those duties were usually handled by vocalist Joakim Brodén. But in the new group, everyone is contributing ideas.
"This has been a reawakening of sorts," Mÿhr said. "I have never been in a situation where there has been so much creativity."
On the topic of whether CIVIL WAR will continue SABATON's tradition of focusing on war-related themes in its lyrics, Mÿhr said, "No, we won't. Now the lyrics can be about anything. [CIVIL WAR was just] a good name that sounded good."
Nashville, Tennessee's 102.9 Buzz radio station conducted an interview with singer Jacoby Shaddix of Californian rockers PAPA ROACH backstage at this year's Rock On The Range festival, which took place May 17-19 at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. You can now watch the chat below.
PAPA ROACH's latest album, "The Connection", was re-released in Europe as a special tour edition on May 6 via Eleven Seven Music. The effort contains a bonus DVD of a concert at Club Nokia in Los Angeles featuring performances of new songs as well as the band's biggest hits, including "Still Swingin'", "Give Me Back My Life", "Before I Die", "Last Resort" and "Between Angels & Insects".
"The Connection" was produced by rock veteran James Michael (SIXX: A.M., HALESTORM) and John Feldmann (PANIC AT THE DISCO, THE USED, BLACK VEIL BRIDES). The CD sold 22,000 copies in its first week of release to debut at No. 17 on the Billboard album chart.
Shaddix underwent surgery in September 2012 to remove nodes from his vocal cords. Shaddix's condition forced him to stop singing and led his band to drop off last summer's Rockstar Energy Uproar Festival tour.
Even before his vocal problems started, Shaddix admitted in several new interviews that he came close to committing suicide earlier last year as he struggled with both marital problems and falling off the wagon.
"This record is a snapshot of me at my most desperate," Shaddix told The Aquarian Weekly about "The Connection". "As I was writing this record, [my wife and I] were split, so there was a lot of pain and anger and frustration. As the dust settles in my life, I realize that I'm the orchestrator of all this chaos. I'm the one at fault. I'm the fucking problem. When you go through that stuff, sometimes it's hard to own your own shit, to step up to the plate and own it. I just had to because I wanted to do the right thing."
He added: "I was able to make this record, express myself and get my family back together and get my respect from my band. At the eleventh hour, I pulled it off. I don’t know, man, this is a repeating cycle in my life. I don’t know how many more times I can do this to myself."
Jeremy Lafrentz of Backstage Entertainment conducted an interview with guitarist Joel Stroetzel of Massachusetts metallers KILLSWITCH ENGAGE 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.
KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's fifth studio album, "Disarm The Descent", sold around 48,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 7 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD arrived in stores on April 2 via Roadrunner Records.
KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's self-titled album opened with 58,000 units back in July 2009 to debut at position No. 7 on The Billboard 200 chart.
2006's "As Daylight Dies" premiered with just under 60,000 copies to land at No. 32.
"Disarm The Descent" is KILLSWITCH ENGAGE's first album with original singer Jesse Leach at the vocal helm since 2002's now-classic, genre-defining "Alive or Just Breathing". Leach returned to the band in January 2012 after a decade-long absence. The artwork for the new CD was created by bassist Mike D'Antonio.
KILLSWITCH ENGAGE has announced its first headline tour in support of "Disarm the Descent". Joining KILLSWITCH ENGAGE on the trek will be their longtime friends from San Diego in AS I LAY DYING. Ohio will also be well-represented on this tour, with MISS MAY I and AFFIANCE rounding out the bill.
HELL'S DOMAIN — the Danish thrash metal band featuring former members of HATESPHERE, KOLDBORN, EXMORTEM and ARTILLERY — has tapped Ed Repka to create the artwork for their upcoming self-titled debut album, due in September via Punishment 18 Records. The vinyl version of the effort will be handled by Night Of The Vinyl Dead.
Repka is a legend in the metal community, best known for his work with such bands as MEGADETH, DEATH, MASSACRE, ATHEIST, DEFIANCE and VIO-LENCE.
HELL'S DOMAIN's CD is currently being recorded at Antfarm Studios in Aarhus, Denmark. Mixing and mastering duties will be handled by renowned producer Tue Madsen (THE HAUNTED, KATAKLYSM, HATESPHERE, SICK OF IT ALL). Songtitles set to appear on the 12-track effort include "Hangman's Fracture", "Dead Civilization", "The Walls Come Tumblin' Down", "In The Trenches...", "100 Days in Hell" and "The Needle And The Vein".
HELL'S DOMAIN was formed by guitarist Bjørn Bihlet (ex-KOLDBORN, BOIL) and bassist Lars Knudsen (ex-CRIONIC) in 2007 with the intention of churning out some catchy Bay Area-inspired thrash metal. Soon joined by Anders Gyldenøhr (ex-HATESPHERE, ARTILLERY) on drums and Alex Clausen (MONSTAH) on vocals, the band completed its lineup in 2011 with the addition of former EXMORTEM axeman Andreas Schubert.
HELL'S DOMAIN 2013 is:
* Alex Clausen (ex-GROPE, MONSTAH) - Vocals * Bjørn Bihlet (ex-KOLDBORN, HORNED ALMIGHTY) - Guitar * Andreas Schubert (ex-EXMORTEM) - Guitar * Lars Knudsen (ex-CRIONIC) - Bass * Anders Gyldenøhr (ex-HATESPHERE, ARTILLERY, GROPE) - Drums
On April 26, Metal-Trails.com conducted an interview with vocalist Bobby "Blitz" Ellsworth of New Jersey thrash metal veterans OVERKILL in Hamburg, Germany. You can now watch the chat below.
To honor and celebrate Record Store Day on April 20, Nuclear Blast and OVERKILL have released a limited-edition 10-inch copper-colored vinyl in gatefold containing four live tracks recorded at The Metro in Sidney, Australia on September 25, 2010.
Side A:
01. Horrorscope 02. Long Time Dyin'
Side B:
01. Necroshine 02. Walk Through Fire
Record Store Day celebrates the culture of independent record stores by playing host to in-store events/performances, signings and special product releases on a global scale.
As previously reported, OVERKILL released a very special limited tour edition of its latest album, "The Electric Age", in Europe on April 19 via Nuclear Blast Records. The limited 2CD tour edition includes the regular album as well as a four additional live tracks on a bonus CD, recorded at The Metro in Sidney, Australia on September 25, 2010.
"The Electric Age" tour edition track listing:
CD 1 - "The Electric Age"
01. Come And Get It 02. Electric Rattlesnake 03. Wish You Were Dead 04. Black Daze 05. Save Yourself 06. Drop The Hammer Down 07. 21st Century Man 08. Old Wounds, New Scars 09. All Over But The Shouting 10. Good Night
CD 2 - "Live From Oz" recorded in Sidney, Australia, (The Metro on September 25, 2010):
01. Horrorscope 02. Long Time Dyin' 03. Necroshine 04. Walk Through Fire
Nashville, Tennessee's 102.9 Buzz radio station conducted an interview with Lzzy Hale of Pennsylvanian rockers HALESTORM backstage at this year's Rock On The Range festival, which took place May 17-19 at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. You can now watch the chat 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 is currently on the HardDrive Live tour with BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE and YOUNG GUNS. The trek will wrap up on May 22 in Milwaukee.
Argentinean rock journalist Lucas H. Gordon, who currently resides in Hollywood, California, conducted an in interview with former ACCEPT and current U.D.O. singer Udo Dirkschneider on April 23 at the Whisky A Go Go in Hollywood, California. You can now watch the chat below.
"Metal Machine", the new video from U.D.O., can be seen below. The song comes off the band's new album, "Steelhammer", which will be released on May 24 via AFM Records. The CD was produced by Dirkschneider and Fitty Wienhold.
Guitarist Igor Gianola recently left U.D.O. and was replaced by Finnish axeman Kasperi Heikkinen.
U.D.O. last year announced the addition of guitarist Andrey Smirnov to the group's ranks. He replaced Stefan Kaufmann, who left the group for health reasons.
Stefan will continue to work with U.D.O. behind the scenes and produce other bands at his Roxx studio.
Kaufmann was the drummer for ACCEPT on nine albums but was forced to give up drumming towards the end of the band's initial run due to health problems.
Stefan joined U.D.O. as a guitar player in 1996, following ACCEPT's second breakup, and has recorded nine albums with them.
"Live In Sofia", the new DVD+CD and Blu-ray+CD from U.D.O., entered the Music DVD chart in Finland at position No. 1 and in Germany at No. 4.
"Live In Sofia" contains footage of U.D.O.'s November 16, 2011 concert at Hristo Botev Hall in Sofia, Bulgaria.
Jeremy Lafrentz of Backstage Entertainment conducted an interview with guitarist Oli Herbert of Massachusetts metallers ALL THAT REMAINS 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.
In conjunction with Record Store Day, ALL THAT REMAINS released a limited-edition vinyl version of their "The Fall Of Ideals" album (Razor & Tie). Available for the first time ever on vinyl, the LP is ALL THAT REMAINS' 2006 critically acclaimed metalcore classic. The album was produced by Adam Dutkiewicz (KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, UNDEROATH) and features 11 songs, including the hits "This Calling", "The Air I Breathe", "Six" and "Not Alone". The vinyl is pressed in a striking blue/black swirl color.
ALL THAT REMAINS recently wrapped up its tour with HELLYEAH, IN THIS MOMENT and NONPOINT. The band continues to tour in support of its 2012 release, "A War You Cannot Win" (Razor & Tie).
ALL THAT REMAINS' first "Stand Up" single spent three weeks at #1 at Active Rock Radio. This marked ALL THAT REMAINS' first -ever #1 radio single and the group's fifth consecutive Top 10 single at the format.
Norwegian black metallers SATYRICON recently entered the studio to begin recording their new album for a late 2013 release. The band's frontman, Sigurd "Satyr" Wongraven, states in a new online posting: "The recording is coming to an end. Next week will be the last before the mix. Finally some light at the end of the tunnel after almost four months of recording! Right now I am just looking forward to share this with you and see what you think. It will be a while though, but it will be worth it. I am sure."
SATYRICON's new CD will feature a guest appearance by Sivert Høyem, the Norwegian singer best known as the vocalist of the rock band MADRUGADA.
Speaking to AOL's Noisecreep at this year's Inferno festival, Satyr stated about SATYRICON's upcoming album: "To me, it sounds very authentic, it's organic-sounding. And in this digital age where music is mostly played through computers, a lot of that analog vibe gets lost in translation when you play music through medias like that, but I still wanna do it because there's nothing quite like it. To me, it just makes everything sound the way it's supposed to sound — it's dynamical; the music is alive, it's not overly compressed, the levels are not pushed. So, musically speaking, it's a very atmospheric record… This record is full of life. There are a lot of surprises here, but I think it's gonna be a record that's gonna help the black metal movement perhaps find a new way for the future."
As previously reported, SATYRICON will perform with the Norwegian National Opera Chorus on September 8 at Den Norske Opera & Ballett in Oslo, Norway.
A press release states: "Mixing musical modes of expression is always interesting. New sound pictures emerge, and when they are successful, new directions in style and genre are created.
"What would a mix of heavy metal rockers and singers with operatic training produce? Let's find out! When the internationally renowned heavy metal group SATYRICON mix with the voluminous voices of the Norwegian National Opera Chorus, we can expect some thrilling surprises with two such powerful and monumental sound sources and widely divergent modes of expression come together as one.
"Will it be operatic metal or heavy metal opera? Performed as part of the Ultima Oslo Contemporary Music Festival."
Sumerian Records has set an August 6 release date for "From Death To Destiny", the third album from the British metalcore act ASKING ALEXANDRIA. The CD was recorded with renowned producer Joey Sturgis (THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, EMMURE).
A new ASKING ALEXANDRIA song "The Death Of Me", was recently released digitally via iTunes, Google Play and Amazon MP3.
In an interview with Billboard.com, ASKING ALEXANDRIA guitarist Ben Bruce revealed that the follow-up to 2011's "Reckless & Relentless" will contain 13-15 songs, six of which will be "radio-friendly" while the rest will be "our usual balls-to-the-wall kind of stuff."
"We spent a long time honing in on song structures and writing techniques and stuff like that, but there are still heavy songs on the record," Bruce said. "We're not just going to throw that away and kick our original fan base in the teeth by getting rid of all that. There will still be a lot of riffing and screaming. But we feel like we did find a happy medium between being heavy and then being light enough to be on radio, but still keeping the balls in the song."
Most of the new CD was recorded at Sturgis' studio in Indiana, while the vocals and strings and choir parts were laid down at NRG Recording Studios in North Hollywood, California. "On the last one a lot of that extra stuff was all fake; we did it on computer," Bruce said. "This time we wanted to be more organic, so we got a live orchestra conducted by the brilliant Stevie Black (ALICE IN CHAINS, AVENGED SEVENFOLD) and did all the strings. Then we got a live church gospel choir to come into the studio for a few days to sing over a few tracks. It really sounds special."
ASKING ALEXANDRIA's remix record, "Stepped Up And Scratched", came out in November 2011.
ASKING ALEXANDRIA is:
Danny Worsnop - Vocals Ben Bruce - Guitar Cameron Liddell - Guitar Sam Bettley - Bass James Cassells - Drums
