SOUNDGARDEN's Chris Cornell and Ben Shepherd recently took part in an interview and acoustic performance at the Sinclair in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Video footage of their appearance can be seen below.
SOUNDGARDEN released the music video on January 29 for "By Crooked Steps", the second single from the quartet's new album, "King Animal".
The "By Crooked Steps" clip was directed by FOO FIGHTERS frontman Dave Grohl, who submitted a treatment for the video on his own initiative after hearing the song.
"King Animal" came out last November and was SOUNDGARDEN's first set of all-new material in 16 years.
SOUNDGARDEN reunited in 2010 after a 13-year break, releasing a retrospective collection called "Telephantasm" and a concert album titled "Live On I-5".
On May 14, Eddie Trunk of VH1 Classic's "That Metal Show" and the "Friday Night Rocks" radio show on New York's Q104.3 FM conducted an interview with JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford and guitarist Richie Faulkner at the Clearview Chelsea in New York City. You can now watch the chat below.
JUDAS PRIEST's "Epitaph" Blu-ray and DVD will be made available on May 28 through Legacy Recordings, a division of Sony Music Entertainment. This release precedes a new studio album by JUDAS PRIEST which the band are working on now.
JUDAS PRIEST's current lineup comprises lead singer Rob Halford, lead guitarists Glenn Tipton and Richie Faulkner, bassist Ian Hill, and drummer Scott Travis.
Heavy metal historians will regard "Epitaph" as the most far-reaching live concert recording in the band's career. The set revisits the climactic closing date of the 50-week "Epitaph" world tour, captured live at London's HMV Hammersmith Apollo on May 26, 2012. Adding to the drama is the fact that this was JUDAS PRIEST's final large-scale world tour ever.
"Epitaph"'s 23 tracks represent at least one song from every one of the band's 14 studio albums, from 1974's "Rocka Rolla" ("Never Satisfied") to 2008's "Nostradamus" ("Prophecy"). In the special case of "British Steel", four songs are featured: "Rapid Fire", "Metal Gods", "Breaking The Law" and perennial set closer "Living After Midnight". Others exempted from the one-song-quota are the LPs which appeared before and after "British Steel". The first of these is 1979's "Hell Bent For Leather" (U.K. title: "Killing Machine") which lends the title song as well as "The Green Manalishi (With The Two-Pronged Crown)". The other LP is 1982's "Screaming For Vengeance", source of "The Hellion", "Electric Eye" and "You've Got Another Thing Coming".
Metalpaths recently conducted an interview with bassist Henkka Seppälä (a.k.a. Henkka T. Blacksmith) of Finnish metallers CHILDREN OF BODOM. You can now listen to the chat using the audio player below.
"Halo Of Blood", the eighth album from CHILDREN OF BODOM, will be released on June 11 in North America via Nuclear Blast Records. The cover art was created by Sami Saramäki, who was responsible for the artwork on previous CHILDREN OF BODOM albums "Follow The Reaper", "Are You Dead Yet?" and "Hate Crew Deathroll".
Pre-order the CD (including the bonus track and digital booklet) now and get the single "Transference" instantly.
Comments CHILDREN OF BODOM guitarist/vocalist Alexi Laiho: "'Transference' is a straight-up CHILDREN OF BODOM to-the-core-type song and therefore was a good pick for a video and obviously is one of our favorite tracks. It always had an evil vibe to it, which I wish I knew how to explain because it still gives me chills… Enjoy!"
CHILDREN OF BODOM's new CD was recorded at Danger Johnny Studios in Helsinki. For the recording of the LP, CHILDREN OF BODOM has teamed up with recording engineer Mikko Karmila, who worked with the band on their fan-favorite albums "Hatebreeder", "Follow The Reaper" and "Hate Crew Deathroll", as well as Swedish producer Peter Tägtgren (MARDUK, AMON AMARTH), who oversaw production of both vocals and keyboards on the record. The album was mixed at Finnvox Studios in Helsinki.
Commented Laiho: "'Halo Of Blood' is the eighth studio album from CHILDREN OF BODOM, and believe it or not, but we still managed to keep it fresh and new while still maintaining the elements that make COB sound recognizable. It's got the fastest and the slowest song we ever made and lyrics wise there are themes we had never had before. It's 10 new songs of pure Nordic metal and whether you enjoy it with a beer or a glass of water, I'm sure you will have a good time."
"Halo Of Blood" track listing:
01. Waste Of Skin 02. Halo Of Blood 03. Scream For Silence 04. Transference 05. Bodom Blue Moon (The Second Coming) 06. The Days Are Numbered 07. Dead Man's Hand On You 08. Damage Beyond Repair 09. All Twisted 10. One Bottle And A Knee Deep
Metal Kaoz recently conducted an interview with vocalist Mike Muir of the Venice Beach, California thrash/punk band SUICIDAL TENDENCIES. You can now listen to the chat using the audio player below.
"13", the first studio album in 13 years from SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, sold around 3,200 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 187 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was produced by Muir and Grammy-nominated engineer/mixer Paul Northfield (DREAM THEATER, HOLE, RUSH).
The "Cyco Style" video was filmed by Pep Williams last May while the band was on tour in Brazil.
The first leg of SUICIDAL TENDENCIES' "Slam City" tour started April 11 in San Franscisco and ended on May 12 in San Diego at House Of Blues.
SUICIDAL TENDENCIES is:
Mike Muir - Lead Vocals Dean Pleasants - Lead Guitar Nico Santora - Rhythm Guitar Steve Bruner - Bass Eric Moore - Drums
Fuse conducted an interview with LAMB OF GOD drummer Chris Adler and guitarist Mark Morton at this year's Rock On The Range festival, which took place May 17-19 at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio.
In the wake of LAMB OF GOD frontman Randy Blythe's recent acquittal after a fan death in the Czech Republic, Adler and Morton discussed safety at shows and emphasized how important it is for fans to have fun without getting hurt.
Chris: "Since I've been growing up, it's been a common practice — stage diving and stuff like that. And we just see more and more people getting hurt doing that kind of thing, and whether it's the band, the security, the barricades, the venue… whatever it is… there's so many random pieces to the puzzle that could end up with loss of life, which is what we had; it happened to us. So it's not that we wanna change the show — we can't just stop people from stage diving for the rest of eternity; it's not what we're trying to do. But I think that when you come into a show, you need to know that you need to be responsible for your own actions and you need to think about what you're doing."
Mark: "Based on that experience, I think it just underscores probably for all of us the need for everyone just to be safe at shows and to look out for each other. It's scary that there's situations that people can get hurt in. Randy mentions it on stage a little more, trying to keep everyone aware of it. We're all there to have a good time. It's about having fun; it's not about getting hurt, that's for sure."
A clip from the interview is available below.
You can watch the full chat tonight (Tuesday, May 21) at 8/7c on Fuse.
DEEP PURPLE bassist Roger Glover was interviewed on this week's edition of "In The Studio" with host Redbeard. You can now listen to the chat using the audio player below.
DEEP PURPLE's first video in over 20 years — for the song "Vincent Price" — can be seen below. The track comes off the band's latest album, "Now What?!", which sold 4,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 115 on The Billboard 200 chart.
"Vincent Price" will be released on June 7 as download, CD single and seven-inch transparent vinyl.
"Vincent Price" will become a PURPLE collector's item, due to the inclusion of the song "First Sign Of Madness", which was recorded during the "Now What?!" sessions and not included in the final selection.
Seven-inch single:
Side A: Vincent Price Side B: First Sign Of Madness
CD single and download
01. Vincent Price 02. First Sign Of Madness 03. The Well Dressed Guitar (from the now-deleted "Rapture Of The Deep" limited-edition CD) 04. Wrong Man (live) (from the now-deleted "Rapture Of The Deep" limited-edition CD) 05. Vincent Price (video)
"Now What?!", the 19th studio album from DEEP PURPLE, was released in North America on April 30 via earMUSIC, the Hamburg, Germany-based international rock label which is part of Edel Group.
"Now What?!" was also released in a limited quantity with a bonus track and a bonus DVD featuring DEEP PURPLE in conversation plus additional audio material. This edition was made available in a digipak with a cut out front cover. "Now What?!" was also released as double vinyl LP containing a bonus track, as in the limited-edition CD.
After various songwriting sessions in Europe, the band recorded and mixed the album in Nashville, Tennessee with producer Bob Ezrin (KISS, PINK FLOYD, PETER GABRIEL, ALICE COOPER, KANSAS). The CD contain 11 tracks, including "Out Of Hand", "Weirdistan", "Uncommon Man" and "Above And Beyond". The latter song references the band's late keyboard player, Jon Lord, in the lyric "Souls having touched are forever entwined."
According to a press release, "Now What?!" was recorded with no musical rules… and it shows a modern and fresh production… to the point that DEEP PURPLE have never sounded so close to the spirit of the '70s in the last 20 years as they do now. The CD has the excellence and elegance of "Perfect Strangers" and the wild freedom of "Made In Japan".
89.5 FM WSOU's DJ Steve recently conducted an interview with bassist Alex Webster of Florida death metal veterans CANNIBAL CORPSE. You can now listen to the chat using the SoundCloud widget below.
The June issue of Decibel magazine contains an exclusive live CANNIBAL CORPSE flexi disc, featuring a live version of "Make Them Suffer". Subscribers received their copy in the mail, but if you're not a subscriber, limited quantities of the issue can be purchased at store.decibelmagazine.com.
After a bloody successful maiden voyage in 2012, Decibel magazine is doubling down on veteran star power for their second annual national tour. This spring, the plague spreads as Decibel brings you three living legends of death metal and grindcore: the preeminent gore institution CANNIBAL CORPSE; rabble-rousing U.K. grind icons NAPALM DEATH, and New York death metal stalwarts IMMOLATION.
CANNIBAL CORPSE released a box set to commemorate their 25th anniversary: "Dead Human Collection: 25 Years Of Death Metal". The box contains: all 12 full-length studio albums in a 12-CD foldout case with new artwork, "Torturing And Eviscerating Live" on CD and LP picture disc recorded in Tampa, Florida in 2010 and Milwaukee, Wisconsin in 2012, plus new exclusive images by Vince Locke, 12"x12" graphic prints of all 13 original album covers, and a 2013 CANNIBAL CORPSE calendar. Limited quantities of the box set are still available at indiemerch.com/metalbladerecords.
METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich is at the Cannes Film Festival in France, where he has done a couple of video interviews to talk about the band's movie, "Metallica Through The Never", which is due for release this fall. Ulrich is at the festival to help sell the film to international distributors.
Asked if he wants to follow in the footsteps of Rob Zombie and direct a movie, Ulrichtold Getty Images Entertainment: "The biggest enemy I have is time. METALLICA in its 32nd year is busier and has more projects on the table and takes up more of my time than it ever has.
"I may do it," he continued. "I would love to do something. I have actually been offered the chance to both direct and produce as well as write and I've acted in a couple of films so I do what I can.
"METALLICA is the main thing in my life and I'm not going to turn my back on that."
Lars added that with METALLICA, you never know what they are going to do next and they never rule anything out.
"As a band we have an inbuilt fear of repetition or stagnation or irrelevance and we just like to throw ourselves into all this crazy shit all the time. Most of the time we never think about it until we're half way through," he added.
"Making a movie at this level has been a little overwhelming. In the music world, you get very used to controlling your environment and in the film world there is nothing to control… it's just like a complete clusterfuck… and there's a bizarre beauty in that."
The Pulse Of Radio asked METALLICA frontman James Hetfield about Ulrich's trip to Cannes as well as the status of the movie itself. "Lars is there right now, and he's the biggest of all movie buffs in this group here for sure, so he's representing us over there right now," he said. "Film is not done; we're extremely close. There's editing, sounds, mixing, things like that that have to happen. It's pretty complex."
It is not clear whether buyers at Cannes will see an unfinished version of the movie or just selected clips or scenes from the IMAX 3D release.
"Metallica Through The Never" will open on IMAX screens in the U.S. on September 27, with a wider release following on October 4. The movie stars Dane DeHaan has a member of the band's road crew who is sent on a mysterious mission while the group headlines a concert at an arena. The film is said to mix a conventional storyline with concert footage.
THE WINERY DOGS, the new power trio featuring Mike Portnoy (DREAM THEATER, AVENGED SEVENFOLD, ADRENALINE MOB), Billy Sheehan (MR. BIG) and Richie Kotzen (MR. BIG, POISON), has inked a deal with Loud & Proud Records. The band's self-titled debut album will be released in North America on July 23. Issued in Japan on May 15 via Victor Entertainment, the CD was mixed by Jay Ruston, who has previously worked with ANTHRAX, ADRENALINE MOB, STONE SOUR and STEEL PANTHER. Sheehan previously stated about the effort: "I'm really pleased with it. Richie sang his ass off and played amazingly unique stuff, and, of course Mike annihilated on drums. [It's a] really cool, unique record."
Of THE WINERY DOGS' signing, Portnoy commented: "I am so excited about THE WINERY DOGS and am proud and honored to be working with two of the greatest musicians on the planet!
"Richie Kotzen is such an unbelievable talent, as a vocalist, guitarist and songwriter. I think THE WINERY DOGS will finally get him the attention and recognition that he so richly deserves.
"And what can be said of Billy Sheehan that hasn't been said already? He is one the true pioneers of the instrument and a legend.
"I am looking forward to working with the great staff of Loud & Proud Records, some of whom I worked very closely with during their time at Roadrunner and my time with DREAM THEATER. I look forward to continuing that relationship with THE WINERY DOGS!"
Loud & Proud owner and president Tom Lipsky added: "The debut by THE WINERY DOGS absolutely rocks and we are very excited that Loud & Proud is their label partner. This body of work showcases not only their renowned skills as musicians and vocalists, but also the depth of their talent as songwriters. Billy, Mike and Richie delivered some of the best performances of their illustrious careers and I am confident this album will be recognized as one of the truly great rock albums of the year."
Regarding how THE WINERY DOGS got its name, Portnoy said: "It was Richie's name. We had a list of about 50 names. I had about 10 that I preferred over THE WINERY DOGS, but you know, when you're in a band, you have to give and take and choose your battles, and Richie really, really loved this band name. So, you know, it was, like, 'OK.' A name is a name. If you feel that strongly about it, then go for it. So that's who we are."
THE WINERY DOGS will kick off its world tour by playing two shows in Japan this summer: July 16 in Osaka and July 17 in Tokyo. Dates for the rest of the world will be announced soon.
"The Winery Dogs" track listing:
CD:
01. Elevate 02. Desire 03. We Are One 04. I'm No Angel 05. The Other Side 06. You Saved Me 07. Not Hopeless 08. One More Time 09. Damaged 10. Six Feet Deeper 11. Criminal 12. The Dying 13. Regret
DVD (limited edition):
01. Elevate 02. Desire 03. I'm No Angel
"We Are One" is available for free download using the widget below (e-mail sign-up required).
At the end of 2011, Portnoy and Sheehan tapped Kotzen to be the guitarist/vocalist of their new project following the departure of John Sykes (WHITESNAKE, BLUE MURDER, THIN LIZZY).
Although Portnoy and Sykes demoed a dozen or so songs at a Los Angeles studio in 2011, their vastly different work ethics and conflicting schedules were solely to blame for the dissolution of their collaboration.
During an interview that aired on the July 13, 2012 edition of Eddie Trunk's "Friday Night Rocks" radio show on New York's Q104.3 FM, Portnoy said, "I love John personally, and we get along great — he's a sweetheart of a guy — but I need to keep moving. I can't sit still and kind of wait to make an album over the next three years, I need to put things on the calendar and move forward and get them done, and John's kind of just a 'wait, wait, wait' guy. Sadly, it kind of just stopped in its tracks, and Billy and I said, 'Look, let's do something.' And you [Eddie] were the one, actually, that suggested Richie Kotzen and I thought it was a brilliant suggestion, because he's an unbelievably underrated talent, not only [as] a guitar player but a phemonal singer, and just an amazing songwriter and artist. I think people just kind of lump him, or write him off as the guy that was with POISON and MR. BIG. I think they have no idea what he's really capable of."
When asked to describe the musical direction of the project, Portnoy said, "It's a classic-rock kind of power-trio sound. If you picture the classic-rock bands of… the classic ones — [LED] ZEPPELIN, CREAM, [JIMI] HENDRIX, GRAND FUNK [RAILROAD] — if you take that classic-rock power-trio sound of the early '70s, and then you sprinkle it on top with some of the modern kind of sounds of SOUNDGARDEN and ALICE IN CHAINS or BLACK CROWES or LENNY KRAVITZ… It's in that vein; it's kind of a [mixture] of all of those bands. But on top of it all you've got the phenomenal playing that Richie and Billy do, and I could play a couple of things on the drums as well [chuckles], so... And all three of us are singing — Richie is the lead vocalist, obviously, but me and Billy are also singing."
Anna Dave Bertram of Sweden's Access: Rock recently conducted an interview with former ACCEPT and current U.D.O. singer Udo Dirkschneider. 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.
"Hope In Hell", the new album from Canadian metal legends ANVIL, can be streamed in its entirety using the SoundCloud widget below. Due on May 27 in Europe and May 24 in Germany on SPV/Steamhammer, the follow-up to 2011's "Juggernaut Of Justice" will be available in four different formats: as a limited-edition digipak including two bonus tracks, as a jewel case CD, double gatefold colored vinyl LP and as a digital download. These are the first cuts featuring ANVIL's new bassist Sal Italiano, who joined the band a year ago.
"We're really happy with Sal. His style is powerful and amazingly imaginative," says ANVIL guitarist/vocalist Steve "Lips" Kudlow, who composed the entire album along with drummer Robb Reiner. "It's a little as if we'd enlisted Steve Harris."
"Hope In Hell" was written and recorded following an 18-month world tour which took ANVIL around the globe. "We hadn't expected this kind of extensive tour when we brought out 'Juggernaut Of Justice'," Kudlow confesses. "Time just flew by. I could hardly believe it when I found myself in the studio again after the tour, ready to work on the next album. The reactions to 'Juggernaut Of Justice' and the shows had been so positive that we had plenty of ideas and inspiration for new material."
Kudlow is referring to typical ANVIL tracks such as "Hope In Hell", which the ANVIL guitarist considers a logical continuation of legendary numbers like "Forged In Fire", "Metal On Metal" and "Plenty Of Power". He also mentions "Eat Your Words", according to Kudlow a "hybrid between 'Jackhammer' and '666', in other words pure ANVIL, like in our early days." Pretty much the same applies to haunting new tracks like "The Fight Is Never Won" and "Call Of Duty", which present ANVIL true to form. But there are also a number of real surprises on "Hope In Hell": "A song like 'Badass Rock'n'Roll' with its rock'n'roll groove surprised even me," Kudlow admits. "It shows our great respect for bands like AC/DC and MOTÖRHEAD. I'm sure that all ANVIL fans will love this song because it's the best we've done in this direction." "Mankind Machine" sees Kudlow & Co. break new ground: never before has this band sounded so mechanical (like the title suggests). And never before has it sounded as oriented to the classic rock feel of the seventies as in "Time Shows No Mercy".
So ANVIL are proud to present the kind of album that ANVIL fans will love: no concessions to short-lived trends, no modern frills but traditional metal with lots of classic rock music elements.
"What we do is totally timeless," says ANVIL's frontman. "We've never tried to change our sound or experiment with trends and fashions. We live in our own world and have maintained our individuality and own identity."
Like "Juggernaut Of Justice", "Hope In Hell" was produced by Bob Marlette (BLACK SABBATH, AIRBOURNE, ALICE COOPER) at the NRG Recording studios in North Hollywood, California and mastered by Maor Appelbaum (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, SEPULTURA).
"The album's flair reminds me of the beginnings of classic heavy metal in the most positive sense of the term," says Kudlow. "I grew up in the Seventies, and I still like what I listened to back then.
"You can always rely on ANVIL. We don't write our music for the radio and we don't want to break any records. Some media criticize our uncompromising attitude, but we're proud of never having betrayed our ideals and having remained faithful to our roots.
"We're really proud and already love the new album just as much as our early releases from the beginning of the Eighties, because 'Hope In Hell' sounds like ANVIL live on stage: natural, honest, unvarnished, never over-produced and straight from the heart."
"Hope In Hell" track listing:
01. Hope In Hell 02. Eat Your Words 03. Through With You 04. The Fight Is Never Won 05. Pay The Toll 06. Flying 07. Call Of Duty 08. Badass Rock N Roll 09. Time Shows No Mercy 10. Mankind Machine 11. Shut The Fuck Up 12. Hard Wired (bonus track) 13. Fire At Will (bonus track)
JOURNEY guitarist Neal Schon is never far away from questions about his old bandmate Steve Perry. He admits the two haven't spoken since 2005 — though, at the same time, there are no lingering animosities, either.
"You know what? I say nice things about him, and he says nice things about me," Schon tells Paul Cashmere of Noise11 (see video below). "I think, all in all, I have ultimate respect for the man, and the voice that he has. I wish him the best, but we haven't quite gotten around to speaking since we received the Hollywood Walk Of Fame star."
Schon last year said that the only way to see Steve Perry back on stage with JOURNEY would be alongside current vocalist, sound-alike Arnel Pineda. Schon, keyboardist Jonathan Cain, and Pineda spoke to The Huffington Post to publicize the documentary "Don't Stop Believin'': Everyman's Journey", which premiered at New York City's Tribeca Film Festival, and talked candidly about what it would take to have Steve Perry ever rejoin JOURNEY, with Schon saying, "I don't think there's any way not to have Arnel at this point. Who can say never? You can never say it's never going to happen. Maybe ten years from now? Six years? Who knows? But if that situation ever came up, I think it would be the both of them. And I think it would be at the point where it's a farewell tour. . . and we're done. That's the only appropriate way to go about it."
He recalled the search to find Pineda after going through two frontmen following Perry's departure. Schon explained, "We needed someone to really nail our catalog. I looked for a couple of days, non-stop on YouTube. It was a different way to go about it, instead of flying people in from all over the world. I looked and looked for like two days, and Arnel popped up at the last minute in a link. I heard the voice and went, 'He's got the high tenor voice.' I realized he was very, very strong and covered a lot of area."
Jonathan Cain added that there's a difference between being a straight mimic and doing what Pineda does. "He's not a tribute band singer," Cain said. "The tribute band singers are scary because they are kind of clones, you know? We did have a guy that we looked at, but he was so much like Steve Perry, it was crazy. It was too creepy. But, it was kind of neat to get next to that and see it for a second. A lot of these tribute guys, they can sing the old stuff, but, you try to put a new song in their mouth and they can't do it."
Pineda was asked if he's ever met Steve Perry. "No, but I've been wanting to," he said. "I hope I can sing with him, you know, side by side. If he would welcome that. That would be awesome. I think, especially the hardcore fans, they would love it."
Steve Perry, who over the years co-wrote such JOURNEY classics with Neal Schon as "Don't Stop Believin'", "Stone In Love", "Lights" and "Any Way You Want It", told The Pulse Of Radio that during the band's heyday, Neal Schon had uncut gems flowing from his fingers. "It was challenging, because Neal Schon is a goldmine of potential ideas and he doesn't know, really, which are the best or not — 'cause they're all interesting to him," he said. "But in come my set of ears and he'd play stuff and I'd hear melodies, I'd say, 'Wait, what was that?!' And (he'd say) 'Oh, I don't know, it's just 'diddle-a doh' over this with a fifth. . .' I'd say, 'I don't care what you call it — what was that?' 'I don't know, it's just an idea I came up with last night.' I'd say, 'Well, why don't you keep playing that for a second while I come up with a melody?'"
Slash, Alice Cooper, Joe Satriani and Ian Astbury have reacted on Twitter and Facebook to the passing of THE DOORS' co-founder and keyboardist Ray Manzarek, who died on Monday, May 20 in Rosenheim, Germany at the RoMed Clinic following a long battle with with bile duct cancer. He was 74. Manzarek was surrounded by his wife Dorothy and his brothers Rick and James Manczarek. Manzarek is survived by Dorothy, their son Pablo, his wife Sharmin, and their three children Noah, Apollo, and Camille. Funeral arrangements are pending.
Alice Cooper: "OK, it is official. Ray Manzarek is dead. Mind blown. RIP Ray."
Slash: "RIP Ray Manzarek. Words cannot express…"
Joe Satriani: "I had the pleasure of playing with Ray Manzarek impromptu on a Howard Stern radio show many years ago. He was an original, a true artist and musical innovator. The sound he produced is part of the soundtrack of my youth, and my musical foundation. Thank you, Ray."
Ian Astbury (THE CULT): "Ray Manzarek passed today. I am deeply saddened by this news he was a beautiful man who had a profound effect on my life. I shall treasure the time I spent with him. My heart go's out to all in THE DOORS family to all the fans and friends, especially Dorothy, Pablo, Rick, James, Robbie and John. I can't say much more. We lost a giant today."
Alex Skolnick (TESTAMENT): "More sad news: Ray M helped elevate rock's musicality"
THE DOORS guitarist Robby Krieger said in a statement: "I was deeply saddened to hear about the passing of my friend and bandmate Ray Manzarek today. I'm just glad to have been able to have played DOORS songs with him for the last decade. Ray was a huge part of my life and I will always miss him."
THE DOORS drummer John Densmore said in a statement: "There was no keyboard player on the planet more appropriate to support Jim Morrison's words. Ray, I felt totally in sync with you musically. It was like we were of one mind, holding down the foundation for Robby and Jim to float on top of. I will miss my musical brother."
On May 21, Geoff Tate of QUEENSRŸCHE was interviewed on the "Signals Of Intuition" show, which airs on the Windsor-Detroit radio station 99.1 CJAM-FM. You can now listen to the chat using the audio player below.
"Frequency Unknown", the new album from the Geoff Tate-fronted version of QUEENSRŸCHE, sold around 5,500 copies in its first week of release in the United States to land at position No. 82 on The Billboard 200 chart.
As previously reported, Deadline Music/Cleopatra Records is making available the "new and improved" mixes of "Frequency Unknown" to any customers who have purchased the original mix version and are dissatisfied with the audio. Simply e-mail the label a scan of your actual receipt for the physical CD to Queensryche@cleorecs.com and they will happily send you a replacement disc — at no charge whatsoever. No questions asked!
"Frequency Unknown" was released on April 23. The CD was produced by Jason Slater at a studio in Northern California.
Asked about the decision to remix "Frequency Unknown" shortly before the album's release, Tate told "The Continental Breakfast With James & Raina": "We were a little rushed on the mixing end of it, so after listening to it back, we're having some of the songs remixed now before the album comes out. But that's typical with records — you have to have them in on time. So sometimes you compromise in areas. Luckily, with this situation, we get to go back and correct some areas in the sound where we thought it was kind of lacking. So that's fine. I've done that on… gosh… probably three quarters of the records I've ever made. It's no new thing, but it's a luxury when you get to fix it."
"Frequency Unknown" is packaged with bonus tracks — four QUEENSRŸCHE classics, newly recorded, including the smash hit single "Silent Lucidity". Guest musicians on the CD include K.K. Downing (JUDAS PRIEST), Chris Poland (MEGADETH), Ty Tabor (KING'S X), Paul Bostaph (SLAYER, TESTAMENT, EXODUS), Lita Ford, Brad Gillis (NIGHT RANGER), Dave Meniketti (Y&T) and Craig Locicero (FORBIDDEN).
Although a lineup for Tate's QUEENSRŸCHE was originally announced in the fall of 2012, things have changed. The band now features Tate along with bassist Rudy Sarzo (OZZY OSBOURNE, DIO, WHITESNAKE, QUIET RIOT), guitarist Kelly Gray (QUEENSRŸCHE 1998-2001), keyboardist Randy Gane and new additions, guitarist Robert Sarzo (QUIET RIOT, HURRICANE) and drummer Simon Wright (AC/DC, DIO, RHINO BUCKET).
The Todd La Torre-fronted version of QUEENSRŸCHE will release its new album, simply titled "Queensrÿche", on June 25 via Century Media Records.
"Queensrÿche" marks the debut release from the lineup comprised of La Torre (vocals; ex-CRIMSON GLORY), Michael Wilton (guitar), Parker Lundgren (guitar), Eddie Jackson (bass) and Scott Rockenfield (drums).
A trailer for "In The Light Of Darkness", the new video from French death metallers ZUUL FX, can be seen below. The full clip, which features a guest appearance by Rachel Aspe from ETHS, will make its online debut on May 28.
"In The Light Of Darkness" comes off ZUUL FX's latest album, "Unleashed", which was released last November via Verycords.
"Unleashed" track listing:
01. First Interlude 02. In The Light Of Darkness 03. Break 04. Under The Mask 05. Second Interlude 06. Unleashed 07. Betrayed 08. The Fight 09. Zombie Followers 10. Soul Seeker 11. Fuck Thee 12. Resist To Persist 13. Battlefield 14. Third Interlude 15. Life In Me
