Earlier this month, OnlineDrummer.com conducted an interview with drummer Chris Adler of Richmond, Virgina metallers LAMB OF GOD. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below.
LAMB OF GOD recently announced the Metal On The Mountain retreat, set to take place July 15-19 at the Full Moon Resort in Big Indian, New York. The weeklong retreat, which is limited to 170 fans, will feature activities aimed at musicians and non-musicians alike. The curriculum, created by the band, will include guitar and drum clinics with Mark Morton, Willie Adler and Chris Adler as well as group instruction, songwriting sessions and competitions, nightly jam sessions with the band and fans, band question-and-answer session, the premiere of the LAMB OF GOD feature film scheduled for a fall theatrical release, and a full band concert the final night of the retreat. Longtime designer Ken Adams will discuss the creation of LAMB OF GOD album and t-shirt designs and band tour manager and soundman Brian Griffin will instruct fans on the art of mixing a live metal show. Non-musical activities will include motorcycle excursions with bassist John Campbell, a seminar on primitive fire building by Randy Blythe, and a casino night. Also, all of the fans will enjoy all of the amenities available at the Full Moon Resort.
For more information on the Metal On The Mountain retreat, go to MetalOnTheMountain.com.
As previously reported, Prague, Czech Republic's High Court upheld LAMB OF GOD frontman Randy Blythe's "not guilty" verdict on June 5 in connection with the death of a fan three years ago. The court's decision is final.
A three-judge panel on March 5 acquitted Blythe of manslaughter in the death of 19-year-old Daniel Nosek.
Blythe was facing the possibility of conviction and a long-term jail sentence after a May 2010 incident in which Nosek, who attended a LAMB OF GOD performance in Prague, died almost a month later, allegedly from injuries sustained when he was thrown off the stage.
Though Blythe faced up to 10 years in prison, during the closing argument, prosecutors only asked the judge for the minimum sentence of five years.
STONE SOUR and SLIPKNOT frontman Corey Taylor signed copies of his new book, "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Heaven (Or, How I Made Peace With The Paranormal And Stigmatized Zealots And Cynics In The Process)" this past Monday (June 17) at Waterstones in London, England. Check out photos of the event in the YouTube clip below.
The book will arrive in the U.S. on July 15 from Da Capo Press and follows up 2011's "Seven Deadly Sins: Settling The Argument Between Born Bad And Damaged Good", which made the New York Times non-fiction best seller list and came out last year in paperback with additional material.
Taylor recently said about "A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Heaven", "It's me trying to figure out how I can have this deep belief in the supernatural and the paranormal and stuff like that and yet I am still a pretty vocal atheist, you know? So it's me trying to find a new way to figure out what these things are."
Taylor elaborated that he doesn't think the book will please everybody. "It's essentially about all the experiences I've had with the paranormal, like ghosts and whatnot, and it was designed specifically to piss a lot of people off, to be honest, and I think it's really gonna do that," he said. "I've had more lawyers come back to me and go, 'Oooh, we don't know if you can say that,' and I've basically said, 'I don't care. Just keep it in.'"
"A Funny Thing Happened On The Way To Heaven (Or, How I Made Peace With The Paranormal And Stigmatized Zealots And Cynics In The Process)" and the "House Of Gold & Bones" comic book U.S. signing events:
July 16 - Ridgewood, NJ - Bookends at 6:00 p.m. (book) July 17 - Smithtown, NY - Fourth World Comics at 4:00 p.m. (comic) July 17 - Huntington, NY – Book Revue at 7:00 p.m. (book) July 19 - West Hollywood, CA - Book Soup at 7:00 p.m. (book) July 20 - San Diego, CA - Camp Pendleton at 11:00 a.m. (book and comic)
Guitarist Jeff Kendrick of California metallers DEVILDRIVER was interviewed Monday night (June 17) at this year's Metal Hammer Golden Gods, which was held at London, England's Indigo2. Check out the chat below.
DEVILDRIVER will release its sixth album, "Winter Kills", on August 27 via Napalm Records. The instrumental parts for the CD were recorded at Audiohammer Studios in Sanford, Florida while the vocals were laid down at singer Dez Fafara's home studio, with Mark Lewis (THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, WHITECHAPEL, ALL THAT REMAINS) handling production duties. The album's cover artwork features a photograph by Dean Karr. The layout was done by Ryan Clark of Invisible Creature.
"Winter Kills" will be made available in four configurations, including a deluxe digibook with CD (including two bonus tracks, "Shudder" and "Back Down To The Grave") and live DVD (featuring 45 minutes of live raw DEVILDRIVER power — no studio overdubs at all, just the band at their best — and including fan favorites "Clouds Over California" and "The Wretched"), standard CD version, digital version and, for the first time in DEVILDRIVER history, a 2LP gatefold edition (including the two bonus tracks and a digital download).
Exclusive pre-order bundle packages for "Winter Kills" are now available at IndieMerch.com. These bundle packages include designs and items that are unavailable anywhere else.
"Winter Kills" track listing:
01. The Oath 02. Ruthless 03. Desperate Times 04. Winter Kills 05. The Appetite 06. Gutted 07. Curses And Epitaph's 08. Caring's Overkill 09. Hunting Refrain 10. Tripping Over Tombstones 11. Sail 12. Shudder (deluxe-digibook bonus track) 13. Back Down To The Grave (deluxe-digibook bonus track)
DEVILDRIVER previously worked with Lewis on 2011's "Beast" and 2007's "The Last Kind Words".
Comments Fafara: "This is by far DEVILDRIVER's most cohesive, powerful, groove-laden record to date! We delivered our signature California groove sound alongside a raw and biting guitar tone, mixed it with massive hooks, added in thunderous drums to rethink, and reshape another different sounding unique piece of rock and roll!
"Cutting our own path is something to be proud of.
"DEVILDRIVER has always and will forever be about thinking outside the box and delivering on something different from record to record. We cannot be assimilated into any scene or even genre of metal, and we will continue to do things our own way with a massive middle finger in the air to the status quo!"
In an interview with Loudwire, Fafara stated about the musical direction of the band's next CD, "Every record is different. That being said, I thought 'Pray For Villains' was kind of an out-of-the-box record for us. I thought 'Beast' was a weird out-of-the-box record for us. We've kind honed back in to where we are. This new record sounds a lot like the first three records. It's got an intense groove to it, and I'm really happy. The writing is going extremely well. That being said, I think we've laid back on our laurels right now and be like, 'We're a groove band.' The fans started calling us 'the groove machine, The California groove machine.' Everybody needs a title; we'll take that one and we're going to give them that on the new record, for sure."
Tom Keifer, best known as the singer/songwriter/guitarist of the Philadelphia-based blues-rock band CINDERELLA, performed his song "Solid Ground" on last night's (Tuesday, June 18) edition of CBS' "Late Show With David Letterman". Video footage of his appearance can be seen below.
Keifer's debut solo album, "The Way Life Goes", sold 5,400 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 78 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was released on April 30 via Merovee Records (through Warner Music Group's Independent Label Group).
The collection of 14 new songs ranges from intimate, organic, acoustic tracks to driving hard rock. It embraces the blues, rock and country roots that have always been present in his unique sound that has generated the sale of over 15 million records worldwide for CINDERELLA. Rolling Stone praised Keifer as "a gritty, bluesy (rocker) with enough genuine swagger to draw comparisons to Mick Jagger."
"This record was a labor of love," Keifer told TriCities.com. "When I started this record, CINDERELLA was in the middle of a lawsuit with Sony Records. This record is not in any way to be taken as me stepping away from CINDERELLA."
"I took a lot of time making this record," he continued. "I made it over 10 years. I wanted to make something I loved. My wife, Savannah (Snow), co-wrote a lot of the songs with me. It was a blessing to me.
"Each song has something to do with life. It's just life, love, love lost, being crazy, going crazy, being lost. The record, there's no change, really, in style. It has the peaks and valleys.
"I've always approached music, played music that I like. I've never chased trends through CINDERELLA and with this album. It reflects what's in me."
"The Flower Song", the album's first single, was serviced to AAA radio stations nationwide on February 4, while "Solid Ground" was serviced to all rock formats on March 11.
Keifer wrote "The Flower Song" with Jim Peterik, formerly of the bands SURVIVOR and the IDES OF MARCH.
"The Way Life Goes" is a raw, introspective look at the roller coaster ride that has been Keifer's life for the past 15 years. From being told that he would never sing again as a result of a partially paralyzed left vocal cord, to the emotional and personal battles that followed, his solo debut is a story of perseverance, a testament to the power of passion and will, when combined with a true love of music.
"It's pretty scary," Keifer said of his vocal paralysis. "I've had six surgeries to deal with the collateral damage. Performing… has been difficult for me because of the vocal issues I've had. I work several hours every day on that. That's a difficult thing for me every day."
Trent Reznor has tapped David Lynch to direct NINE INCH NAILS' video for the band's new single, "Came Back Haunted". Earlier today, Reznor a photo of the duo on Twitter with a caption of their initials ("tr;dl").
"Came Back Haunted" will appear on NINE INCH NAILS' new album, "Hesitation Marks", which is scheduled for release on September 3.
Reznor, who produced the soundtrack to Lynch's 1997 film "Lost Highway", told Rolling Stone magazine at the time: "I'm a huge David Lynch fan — we used to hold up NINE INCH NAILS shows just so we could watch the latest 'Twin Peaks'. So we set up a weekend for him to come to my place in New Orleans. At first, it was like the most high-pressure situation ever. It was literally one minute, 'Hi, I'm David Lynch,' and he's cooler than I even imagined he would be. Three minutes later, he's saying: 'Well, let's go in the studio and get started.'"
Six years after his NINE INCH NAILS contract with Interscope Records expired and he became an independent artist, Reznor has signed a new deal for NINE INCH NAILS with Columbia Records, marking NIN's return to the major label industry. Reznor's other act, HOW TO DESTROY ANGELS, made a deal with Columbia last year, so extending the partnership to NINE INCH NAILS doesn't seem like much of a stretch.
Reznor officially resurrected NINE INCH NAILS a few months ago after a four-year break for an extended tour that will kick off this summer.
The band is performing at a number of festivals, including Lollapalooza, Outside Lands, Leeds, Reading, Made In America and the Voodoo Festival.
The new band lineup will debut on July 26 at the Fuji Rock festival in Japan. The show will mark NINE INCH NAILS' first live performance in nearly four years.
Reznor officially put NINE INCH NAILS on hiatus after the final shows by the last version of the group in September 2009.
Since then, Reznor and collaborator Atticus Ross have scored two films, including "The Social Network", for which they won a Golden Globe and an Academy Award in 2010.
Along with Reznor's wife, singer Mariqueen Maandig, Reznor and Ross also launched HOW TO DESTROY ANGELS, whose debut disc, "Welcome Oblivion", came out in March.
A new episode of French webmagazine Hard Force's "Metal XS" features an interview with LIMP BIZKIT frontman Fred Durst conducted on June 8 at the French edition of the Sonisphere festival at Snowhall Parc in Amnéville. You can now watch the chat below.
LIMP BIZKIT recently released a new single, "Ready to Go", and is putting the finishing touches on its new studio album, "Stampede Of The Disco Elephants".
"We're really trying to get it hammered out here," LIMP BIZKIT guitarist Wes Borland told Billboard last month. "We're done with most of the music, pretty much all the music. The lyrics and vocals are probably 30 percent done, and [Fred Durst] is working as we speak, on tour."
Regarding the musical direction of LIMP BIZKIT's new CD, Borland said that the songs on "Stampede Of The Disco Elephants" have a "very live and sort of wild" feel. Moreover, fans shouldn't expect the same old LIMP BIZKIT on the album; instead, there will be quite a bit of experimentation on the effort. "I think it's a little bit more, sort of playful, taking chances, a little less pop, structured type of stuff," Borland said. "I don't want to say it [sounds] younger, but maybe a little more carefree, musically, to where we don't over-think what we’re doing."
LIMP BIZKIT and Lil Wayne's collaborative single, "Ready To Go", was released via the band's new label home, Cash Money, Lil Wayne's longtime record company.
LIMP BIZKIT in 2011 parted ways with Interscope, the label that released all of the band's records thus far through its subsidiaries Flip, Geffen and Suretone Records.
Quality fan-filmed video footage of ETHS' June 1 performance in Clamart, France can be seen below.
Singer Rachel Aspe made her live debut with ETHS on April 10 at Le Ninkasi Kao in Lyon, France.
"I was anxious to play live with them for the first time," Aspe told Greece's Rock Overdose in a recent interview. "But the crowd was very helping, it was really special because I could see their faces discovering me. It seems they mostly liked, they encouraged me all along smiling and saying my name. The two others shows were really nice too."
ETHS last year recruited Virginie Goncalves (KELLS) and Nelly Wood-Hasselhoff to handle lead vocals at the group's shows following the departure of Candice Clot.
Aspe made headlines in France last November when she performed the SYBREED song "Emma-0" on an episode of "La France À Un Incroyable Talent", the French reality television series which is part of the global British "Got Talent" franchise. Her death metal vocal styling stunned the judges and crowd before going viral and being seen by millions of people.
"It has always been my goal to be part of a band," Aspe told Rock Overdose. "One of the reasons I went to this TV show was to find one. [The show] was [taped] three months before I met ETHS, and [it originally aired shortly] after Candice left the band. So things came very fast for me. I had a job and it was hard to work on my vocals so quickly. I didn’t expect this success for the video; many bands contacted me, I did some [guest appearances] since that. People are continuing to share and comment on it."
Clot played her final show as a member of ETHS on October 13, 2012 at L'Arcade in Notre-Dame-de-Gravenchon, France.
ETHS' third album, "III", was released on April 6, 2012 via Season Of Mist. The CD was recorded at Studio Fredman in Gothenburg, Sweden with producer Fredrik Nordström, who has previously worked with AT THE GATES, IN FLAMES, DARK TRANQUILLITY, ARCH ENEMY, SOILWORK and BRING ME THE HORIZON, among others.
"Dirty", the new video from Italo-Norwegian hard-industrial-electro extreme metallers ABORYM, can be seen below. Directed by Alberto Falcone, the clip features all three band members as well as actors, and, according to frontman and founder Fabban, the title of the track pretty much sums up the subject matter of the video.
ABORYM's sixth full-length album, "Dirty", was released on May 28 in Europe and June 11 in North America via Agonia Records. The 10-track double album (cover below) was made available in digipak, jewel case and gatefold double LP formats.
"Dirty" was recorded at the Fear No One Studios in Italy with Emiliano Natali, reprising his sound engineer role from the band's "Psychogrotesque" album, and was helmed by Marc Urselli of New York's Eastside Sound Studio, who previously worked with the likes of Mike Patton and Lou Reed. The electronic part of the album was engineered by D. Loop (KEBABTRAUME, LIMBO). R.G. Narchost (STORMCROW, DEMON'S SHADE, DROWNING ASHES) created "The Spiral Shaped Chamber" custom sounds library for the band. Artwork for the album is by ABORYM's Fabban.
The first CD of the album features new material, while the second CD features two tracks from previous albums, which have been completely re-arranged and re-recorded, covers of tracks by IRON MAIDEN, PINK FLOYD and NINE INCH NAILS, and a previously unreleased track performed by both musicians such as Agonia BV, Tamara Picardo, Samuel Heru Ra Ha MK, Hostis, Ulven, Mike Bizzini, David Cholasta, Tobias Dünnebacke, Jonathan Butcher, Jessy Lavallee, Thomas Hochstetler, Mary J. Rooks, Amanda Neilson and Mark Llewellyn, as well as several fans. The song was written by Alberto Penzin (CO2, ex-SCHIZO) and was spliced together from all the different sources.
"Dirty" track listing:
CD 1
01. Irreversible Crisis 02. Across The Universe 03. Dirty 04. Bleedthrough 05. Raped By Daddy 06. I Don't Know 07. The Factory Of Death 08. Helter Skelter Youth 09. Face The Reptile 10. The Day The Sun Stopped Shining
CD2
01. Fire Walk With Us (new version originally released on “Fire Walk With Us”) 02. Roma Divina Urbs (new version originally released on “Kali Yuga Bizarre”) 03. Hallowed Be Thy Name (IRON MAIDEN Cover) 04. Comfortably Numb (PINK FLOYD Cover) 05. Hurt (NINE INCH NAILS Cover) 06. Need For Limited Loss (new track)
Formed in 1992 by frontman Fabban, ABORYM started life as a covers band and went through several transformations, eventually pioneering what the band calls hard-industrial-electro extreme metal. Today's line up consists of Italians Fabban on vocals, bass and synths and Paolo Pieri (HOUR OF PENANCE) on guitars, keyboards and programming, along with Norway's Bård G. "Faust" Eithun (BLOOD TSUNAMI, MONGO NINJA, ex-EMPEROR) on drums.
With "Dirty" being the band's first release since 2010's "Psychogrotesque", all three musicians have something to say about it.
Pieri: "This is definitely the most schizoid and experimental ABORYM work so far. This time we focused on pushing the boundaries of electronic music one step forward while retaining the ruthless brutality of extreme metal in a way totally ahead of the times."
Eithun: "This time around, ABORYM push everything further; the electronic and industrial elements have never been so present. Rest assured, no matter how sick, twisted and beyond everything it sounds, it is still ABORYM."
Fabban: "I believe that 'Dirty' represents the best material ever written by ABORYM from 1992 until today. Given that it wasn't that easy to go beyond an album such as 'Psychogrotesque', I strongly believe that this time we did exceed every limit and every concept of experimentation — manipulating all the clichès of extreme metal, industrial or electronic music and pushing together elements that are so far away from each other. As a result, we achieved something really innovative, powerful, refined and of a really high standard. The quality of sounds, the nuances, the details passing through the recording quality; the quality of the machines that we used and abused, the quality of the lyrics, the artwork and the performances of each of us and of all the people who have worked with us, are definitely all at the top. 'Dirty' is a record that simply expands the range of our listeners, it's an album that everyone can enjoy and really appreciate. I am personally very excited and, at the same time, really proud of what you'll soon be able to listen to. We worked so hard for the past two years on this double album that we have no words to really explain how excited we are to finally see it released. It's an album that will further change the history of extreme music. Of that, I have no doubt."
The CD was released in April 2012 via SPV/Steamhammer. The effort was issued as a limited first edition in a black jewel case with silver printing and slipcase plus a 40-minute bonus DVD with a "making-of" documentary and a track-by-track commentary by RUNNING WILD mainman Rock 'N' Rolf. The double gatefold LP comes with printed innersleeves and clear vinyl. There is also a boxset limited to 1,000 copies worldwide. It contains 2 LPs, the black jewel case with the DVD, a poster, a sticker, a postcard and a 30-page book in LP size about the history of the band.
The cover of "Shadowmaker" is the most unusual in the history of the band, but when you listen to the title track and read the lyrics, you will understand the meaning of it. It was created by Rock 'N' Rolf and Jens Reinhold (EVERGREY, FREEDOM CALL, VIRGIN STEELE), who also handled artwork for all configurations.
Savannah, Georgia's BLACK TUSK will release its new EP, "Tend No Wounds", on July 23 via Relapse Records. The disc was recorded with producer Phillip Cope (KYLESA, BARONESS) at the Jam Room in Columbia, South Carolina. The artwork was created by Brian Mercer (EYEHATEGOD, LAMB OF GOD, ZOROASTER).
"Tend No Wounds" is a six-song, 20-minute blast of high-octane, raging Southern rock/metal that merges the classic original backwoods metallic hardcore BLACK TUSK sound with the newer more polished rock based tunes the band has honed after years on the road on the road with bands like BARONESS, SKELETONWITCH, MASTODON and KVELERTAK.
"Tend No Wounds" track listing:
01. A Cold Embrace 02. Enemy Of Reason 03. The Weak And The Wise 04. Internal/Eternal 05. Truth Untold 06. In Days Of Woe
The video for the song "In Days Of Woe" can be seen below.
"Tend No Wounds" will be available in CD, vinyl and digital formats and can be pre-ordered from the Relapse Records store.
BLACK TUSK has announced a handful of regional tour dates for this summer. They start July 24 in Augusta, Georgia and runs through July 27 in Memphis, Tennessee.
Revolution Harmony, the brainchild of British music lecturer/journalist Ray Holroyd, has set a July 18 release date for its debut all-star charity single, "We Are". The official lyric video for the song, which features vocals from Serj Tankian (SYSTEM OF A DOWN) and Ihsahn (EMPEROR), as well as guitar solos by Devin Townsend, can be seen below.
Composed, arranged, programmed and produced by Ray Holroyd in Vancouver, the complex international studio project was recorded in North America, England, Norway and New Zealand, then mixed by Rohan Onraet (SLIPKNOT, MACHINE HEAD) in London, and mastered by Ted Jensen (GREEN DAY, MUSE) in New York. The single also features Stefan Loh (WE CLAIMED SENTIENCE ONCE) on guitar, and additional vocals from the young up-and-coming U.K. singer Abbie Johnson.
Vancouver-based non-profit record label Revolution Harmony was launched in 2011 by Holroyd. After founding the non-profit Grade 9 Records in 2008 and growing the label over three successful years, Holroyd decided to expand upon what he had originally established as a means for his students to sell their music and donate the profits to charity, and Revolution Harmony was born. Revolution Harmony acts as a two-way channel, providing an outlet for artists to release their music worldwide and earn money from it, and providing an inlet for the label profits from that music to be redirected to charities that restore harmony between all people, animals and the environment.
The lyrical theme in "We Are" is based on the concept behind Revolution Harmony, which is essentially the belief that musical harmony has the power to inspire a revolution towards societal harmony. The single is dedicated to Nelson Mandela and the memory of Lucky Dube, regarded as South Africa's Bob Marley, and will be released worldwide on Mandela Day (July 18), with all proceeds donated to Buskaid, a charity that provides free music lessons and instruments to children in the townships of South Africa.
Knoxville, Tennessee deathcore act WHITECHAPEL has released a nine-minute documentary that offers a personal look into the bandmembers' lives on the road during the their April-May 2013 tour with ASKING ALEXANDRIA. Check it out below.
The self-titled fourth album from WHITECHAPEL sold around 9,200 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 47 on The Billboard 200 chart. The band's previous CD, "A New Era Of Corruption", opened with around 10,600 units back in June 2010 to land at No. 43.
"Whitechapel" was released on June 19, 2012 via Metal Blade Records. The CD was engineered and mixed by Mark Lewis (THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, DEVILDRIVER), who also handled production duties alongside the band. The artwork was created by Aaron Marsh of Forefathers Group with art direction provided by WHITECHAPEL.
WHITECHAPEL is currently enjoying some time at home before the group embarks on a European run that will see them performing at Germany's Summer Breeze and Wacken Open Air, U.K.'s Bloodstock and the Czech Republic's Brutal Assault festivals, to name a few.
California thrash metal veterans SLAYER were honored with the "Kerrang! Legend Award" at this year's Kerrang! Awards, which was held on June 13 at London, England's Troxy Club. The award was accepted by SLAYER guitarist Kerry King, who was also interviewed by Kerrang! magazine deputy editor Simon Young after the event. Check out the chat below.
Asked what it's like being honored with the "Kerrang! Legend Award" without founding SLAYER guitarist Jeff Hanneman, who passed away last month, King told Entertainment Daily News: "Coming to something like this wasn't really his spiel; he wasn't an awards-show kind of guy. He wanted to be the quiet guy doing his thing at the hotel. But, you know, he's gonna be in everybody's thoughts for a long time. It's unfortunate you can't keep unfortunate things from happening. But, you know, we're gonna carry on, and he'll be there in spirit."
It was announced on May 30 by SLAYER's Tom Araya (bass, vocals) and Kerry King (guitar) that Paul Bostaph would be behind the drum kit for the first leg of the band's 2013 international tour. EXODUS' Gary Holt is continuing to fill in for fallen guitarist Jeff Hanneman, who died on May 2 from alcohol-related cirrhosis of the liver.
Bostaph was SLAYER's drummer from 1992 until 2001 and recorded four albums with the band — the gold-certified "Divine Intervention" (1994), the 1996 punk covers album "Undisputed Attitude", "Diabolus In Musica" (1998), "God Hates Us All" (2001) that received a Grammy nomination for "Best Metal Performance", as well as the DVD "War At The Warfield" (2001), also certified gold. In addition to SLAYER, Bostaph has been a member of FORBIDDEN, EXODUS, SYSTEMATIC and TESTAMENT.
Original SLAYER drummer Dave Lombardo sat out the band's recent Australian tour due to a contract dispute with the other members of the group. Filling in for him was Jon Dette (TESTAMENT, ANTHRAX).
CHIMAIRA's video for the song "No Mercy" can be seen below. The track comes off the band's seventh studio album, "Crown Of Phantoms", which will be released on July 30 via eOne Music.
The band recently made headlines by way of crowd-funding a fan version CD/DVD where they doubled their initial goal via IndieGoGo.
CHIMAIRA just wrapped up a successful run on the "Dont Pray For Us Tour" with ASKING ALEXANDRIA and plans to be back on the road soon.
"Crown Of Phantoms" track listing:
01. The Machine 02. No Mercy 03. All That's Left Is Blood 04. I Despise 05. Plastic Wonderland 06. The Transmigration 07. Crown Of Phantoms 08. Spineless 09. Kings Of The Shadow World 10. Wrapped In Violence 11. Love Soaked Death
Commented vocalist Mark Hunter: "When I started this band, I had a desire to make extremely heavy, eclectic metal. Nothing has changed in that regard. I wanted to merge all the styles I loved into a hybrid of sounds. Having the chance to reinvent the group gave me the opportunity to work with unbelievable players and take the essence of CHIMAIRA to uncharted territory. Assembling the right team was essential to creating what I feel is some of the craziest and most passionate music I've had the pleasure to be a part of. The past defines us while the present refines us."
In a 2012 interview with Metal Insider, Hunter stated about CHIMAIRA's plans for the new CD: "We want to come out with an album that not only captures the essence of what the fans have grown to know over the years, but we want to do something not only for the scene that's special, but for musicians out there, too. The musicianship in this band now is definitely on the next level. Everyone's pretty much a virtuoso at their instrument. Some of the stuff Emil [Werstler, guitar] was writing yesterday on this new song, I'm watching him play and I'm like, 'There are only going to be about a handful of people that'll able to play this!' [laughs] I'm imagining like a kid getting home, getting our new record and maybe they have the guitar, and they go sit down and try play along to it. And it's going to take them a very long time. [laughs]"
He added: "We couldn't be happier moving forward. It sucks that we had to go through hell — no pun intended — to get to where we are now. But I think all of us, coming from lessons of life, lessons of bands, lessons of the industry, we've lived and learned and now we have something completely different to prove."
Drummer Mike Portnoy (ADRENALINE MOB, FLYING COLORS, THE WINERY DOGS, DREAM THEATER, AVENGED SEVENFOLD) has released the following update:
"I had a great time with my [ADRENALINE MOB] brothers at these last shows in South America. Honestly, I'm sad to see it end...
"Although I recently announced having to step aside from the band because of current scheduling conflicts (I hate the word 'quit,' as so many websites took it upon themselves to so eloquently use as a stupid headline for shock value), I must say I'd always be happy to help them out whenever/however I could in the future should our schedules and situations allow.
"I really will miss Russell [Allen, vocals], Mike Orlando [guitar] and John [Moyer, bass]. We made some great music and unforgettable memories together the last couple years. Through thick and thin...for better or worse. Like any marriage, family or brotherhood.
"But, as I've previously stated, I have other things immediately approaching on my calendar, and unfortunately, I cannot ask them to 'wait around' for my schedule to re-open if they choose to continue working right now... That is their prerogative... I get that and I totally understand it. I wish them the best no matter how it all plays out in the future..
"On the other hand, I cannot be 'exclusive' to them at the moment as I have many other bands/projects that also require my time and attention as well...(most immediately, THE WINERY DOGS world tour that kicks off next month...)
"Just to clarify, for some people who still don't seem to understand it: I always said from Day 1 after leaving DREAM THEATER, that I was going to spend a few years 'planting many musical seeds'... and that's what I'm still currently enjoying doing.
"I spent 25 years focused on ONE band and at the moment I am still enjoying my freedom to explore many different musical, creative and personal environments with so many incredible musicians and different musical directions.
"Perhaps someday I will settle down again with ONLY one band... maybe it will be with one of the ones I'm currently in...? Or maybe with something entirely different...? Or maybe I won't at all... who knows? The future is impossible to predict... There is ONLY THE NOW... and that's how I'm living.
"I know to some, this is a hard concept to swallow as it's not the usual or 'traditional' route for a typical rock musician... But I don't follow rules, I follow my heart!!
"The remainder of 2013 for me will be focused on THE WINERY DOGS which I am incredibly excited about and proud of...I look forward to touring the world with Billy [Sheehan] and Richie [Kotzen] and sharing our music and our chemistry with you all. We plan on playing everywhere and anywhere that will have us...and we can't wait to get started a few weeks from now!
"Also later this year, there will be live releases (Blu-ray/DVD/CD) of my tours from last year with both FLYING COLORS and PSMS (Portnoy, Sheehan, MacAlpine, Sherinian)...as well as the new CD by BIGELF that I played on.
"In 2014, new studio albums from both TRANSATLANTIC and FLYING COLORS will also surface with possible tour dates for both upon their releases...
"Time will tell how all of these different 'musical seeds' will continue to grow and blossom...
"But in the meantime... let's not question it all, overanalyze it all, criticize and judge, etc. It's MUSIC!!!! Let's just ENJOY IT....
"Like I wrote all those years ago: CARPE DIEM!"
ADRENALINE MOB released "Covertá", an eight-track EP featuring cover versions of some of the group's favorite songs, on March 12. Longtime fans of Portnoy are aware of the multiple cover CDs he has released with DREAM THEATER and with Neal Morse. "Covertá" is the first CD of covers recorded by ADRENALINE MOB.
Portnoy, who co-founded DREAM THEATER more than 20 years ago, abruptly quit the band in September 2010 while on tour with AVENGED SEVENFOLD. He has since been replaced by Mike Mangini (ANNIHILATOR, EXTREME, JAMES LABRIE, STEVE VAI).
Portnoy played on AVENGED SEVENFOLD's latest album, "Nightmare", following the death of that band's drummer, Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan, and toured with them for the entire second half of 2010.
