Hal Leonard has just released the official note-for-note guitar tab book for "Awakened", the sixth album from San Diego metallers AS I LAY DYING. It includes notes and tab for all 11 songs off the CD:
01. Cauterize 02. A Greater Foundation 03. Resilience 04. Wasted Words 05. Whispering Silence 06. Overcome 07. No Lungs to Breathe 08. Defender 09. Washed Away 10. My Only Home 11. Tear Out My Eyes
The "Awakened" guitar tab book can be ordered from MusicDispatch.com.
"Awakened" sold around 28,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 11 on The Billboard 200 chart. Released on September 25 via Metal Blade Records, the CD was produced by Bill Stevenson, who has played drums for both the DESCENDENTS and BLACK FLAG and is one of the most highly renowned producers in rock. His production credits include work on records by RISE AGAINST, NOFX, PROPAGANDHI, THE CASUALTIES, ANTI-FLAG and many more. The album was mixed by Colin Richardson (MACHINE HEAD, NAPALM DEATH, SLIPKNOT).
The cover artwork for "Awakened" was created by Metastazis with Tiffanie Uldry.
AS I LAY DYING singer Tim Lambesis was booked at the Vista Detention Facility in Vista, California on May 7 on suspicion of solicitation to commit murder for allegedly hiring someone to kill his estranged wife. He has pleaded not guilty.
Transgender singer Mina Caputo — once known as Keith Caputo, the front-person for the popular rock band LIFE OF AGONY — recently spoke to Artisan News about transitioning from her former self and creating her first album as a female, "As Much Truth as One Can Bear", while having the support of artists like Amanda Palmer and former AGAINST ME! singer Mary Jane Grace. You can watch the chat below.
In an October 2011 interview with Advocate.com, Mina stated about how becoming a "rock star" delayed her transition, "I was very boxed in that metal thing," she said. "The first album I've ever done was released and then it pretty much exploded in Europe and I kind of had no choice but to leave school. I didn't want to sing in a band. That wasn't really what I set out to do. I wanted to go to Julliard. I wanted to play the classics, get good grades… and I pictured myself living more of a feminine life then at 19 when this whole alpha male world just pretty much took over. I was in hell for years. . . It was more of a sense of responsibility and not getting labels down… the management, the band, and the fans. And I mean, we were a really, really really, really big band. We were doing concerts in Europe where 60 to 100 thousand people were showing up."
Asked whether she planned on having bottom surgery any time soon, Caputo said, "The whole penis… I'm OK with that down there, you know. Most people don't realize that there's more to being a woman than just, I guess, putting on dresses and wearing makeup and your genitals. [People think] you have a male body and a penis so that makes you the man. But they can't dig deep enough unless they really want to understand what's going on in the subconscious mind and what I like to call subconscious sex."
On the topic of how she's already faced discrimination Stateside, Caputo said, "I've had run-ins on the train, ignorant people, you know, calling me 'he-she' or 'he-man.' If anyone tries to screw with me, I will not hesitate to cut somebody up like a piece of meat. I will do anything and everything to protect myself. I mean I don't want to hurt anybody but if someone lays their hands on me, I'm going to shank somebody. My father's been in prison his whole life, so just because I'm wearing a skirt doesn't mean I don't got big balls, OK? Because I will not hesitate to do anything and everything to protect myself."
The QUEENSRŸCHE "Icon" compilation was made available on May 14 via Capitol. The collection features "Silent Lucidity" and QUEENSRŸCHE's other top Modern Rock singles, including the Top 5 track "Sign Of The Times", Top 10 songs "Jet City Woman", "I Am I", "Bridge" and "Another Rainy Night", Top 20 cut "You", Top 30 songs "Best I Can" and "Empire" and Top 40 hit "Eyes Of A Stranger".
The aptly named "Icon" series from Universal Music Enterprises (UMe) launched in August 31, 2010, with releases from 30 major artists spanning rock, pop, R&B and country. The albums feature "the greatest hits, signature tunes and fan favorites of the most popular artists in music history" and promise to offer "unprecedented value to consumers." Each album, at a "great price," includes roughly a dozen hit tracks.
QUEENSRŸCHE "Icon" compilation track listing:
01. Silent Lucidity 02. Jet City Woman 03. Another Rainy Night 04. Bridge 05. Sign Of The Times 06. I Am I 07. Empire 08. I Don't Believe In Love 09. Best I Can 10. You 11. Eyes Of A Stranger
Rachel Belle, a feature contributor and personality on "The Ron & Don Show" on KIRO Radio, recently spoke to QUEENSRŸCHE lead singer Geoff Tate about the legal dispute between him and his estranged bandmates over the rights to the group's name.
Tate, who was fired from QUEENSRŸCHE in June 2012 after fronting the group for three decades, sought to prevent his former bandmates from touring and operating under the QUEENSRŸCHE name without him.
"I had filed an injunction to try and get everyone to stop using the name because it's a brand and brands have a value and they can be damaged," Tate said.
Asked whether the existence of two different versions of QUEENSRŸCHE — one featuring him on vocals and the other comprised of Todd La Torre (vocals; ex-CRIMSON GLORY), Michael Wilton (guitar), Parker Lundgren (guitar), Eddie Jackson (bass) and Scott Rockenfield (drums) — is confusing for the fans, Tate said: "I think most people are pretty smart and they can figure it out."
Regarding how the two different versions of QUEENSRŸCHE differ from each other musically, Tate said: "I think one of the situations, creatively, that came to a head and caused the breakup of the band was that you have a camp that was still exploring and still working to redefine themselves with every record. And you had a camp that wanted to stay the same. Sort of rest on their laurels and play the same kind of songs. So it's philosophical difference, really."
On how the split with his bandmates came about:
Tate: "After 30 years, I think we finally just reached a breaking point where things went awry and everyone felt that it couldn't be fixed. Of course, going about it all wrong we had an explosion, it all got cut up in the media and there's a court case. It's all very messy."
On his chances of coming up victorious in November when the dispute over the rights to the QUEENSRŸCHE name will finally be decided in court:
Tate: "It's a matter of who has put the most time and energy into it. I'm the major songwriter, I've written 81 percent of the songs in the QUEENSRŸCHE catalog. It's my creativity, my vision, my art. And it's about money. Down and dirty. It's about who has the money to buy the band."
"The Ron & Don Show" interview with Geoff Tate (audio):
Juliya Chernetsky conducted an interview with GUNS N' ROSES guitarist Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal backstage at the fifth annual Revolver Golden Gods awards on May 2 at Club Nokia in downtown Los Angeles, California. You can now watch the chat below.
Will the current version of GUNS N' ROSES ever make a new album? If Thal has any say in the matter, the answer is yes. Although the group has a few shows coming up, Thal told Rolling Stone that there is music ready to go for a follow-up to 2008's "Chinese Democracy". He explained, "There's a lot of stuff, it's just a question of all of us organizing. We're still doing shows, and I think once we clear our schedule and focus more on new music, it'll happen. We just have little things on the back burner, just waiting for the right time for us to organize and make something new out of it. Hopefully we can make more music — that's what it's about."
According to The Pulse Of Radio, Thal believes that the group's fans want to hear something new from GUNS too, saying, "They want new music, and we can do it. It's not that we're done. I'm not ready for that. We need to keep making music. We have a great band that's ready to do it and can do it well."
Any chances of a new album, of course, depend on frontman Axl Rose. It took Rose 13 years to finish "Chinese Democracy", burning through hundreds of thousands of dollars, multiple producers, every last remaining original member of the group and a few replacements before he was done.
The finished product got mixed reviews and was a relative flop, moving less than one million copies in the U.S.
But Rose remains an enigma. He has not spoken about making a new album in any of his rare interviews, still insists on going onstage late, and skipped out on GUNS' induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2012.
Keyboardist Dizzy Reed, not an original member of GUNS but a 20-year veteran of the group, told The Pulse Of Radio that unpredictability has always been part of being in the band. "The volatility is definitely still there, especially for me, because I've seen a lot," he said. "It keeps you on your toes for sure. I just show up every night as prepared as possible to do my job, and anything else that happens is out of my control. There's really no way to truly deal with that."
Romanian Thrash Metal Club conducted an interview with MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson the day before the band's May 22 concert in Bucharest, Romania, You can now watch the chat below.
"Super Collider" is MEGADETH's first release since the band's recent split with Roadrunner Records.
MEGADETH filmed a video for the title track and first single from the band's new album, "Super Collider", on May 10 in the Los Angeles area. California-based model, actress, singer and songwriter Hunter Elizabeth was cast in the lead role in the clip, which she says is "about a high-school couple still loving each other after all the years after graduation, and at the 10-year reunion, both characters find themselves successful (a model and a mathematician) and still very in love."
As previously reported, MEGADETH will guest on the nationally syndicated radio show "Rockline" with host Bob Coburn on Monday, June 17 at 8:30 p.m. PT / 11:30 p.m. ET. Fans are encouraged to speak with MEGADETH by calling 1-800-344-ROCK (7625). The show will be streamed on the "Rockline" web site for two weeks beginning the afternoon after the live broadcast.
The track "Super Collider", which was premiered on Full Metal Jackie's nationally syndicated radio metal show on April 20, was released digitally on April 23 via iTunes.
"That song kind of came from that 'Symphony Of Destruction' corner of my mind," Mustaine told Guitar World magazine. "You can't always play aggressive, thrashy stuff. Sometimes those aren't even songs; they're like musical rams. But because I'm not a pop guy, I'm also not really comfortable playing sing-along songs. To me, 'Super Collider' made sense like a normal song — a verse-chorus-verse-chorus kind of thing. It's written the way a real songwriter would write the song, instead of just taking all these musical twists and turns."
G&L Guitars recently conducted an interview with ALICE IN CHAINS guitarist Jerry Cantrell. You can now watch the chat below.
ALICE IN CHAINS' new album, "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here", is due out May 28 and features the singles "Stone" and the chart-topping "Hollow". The group's fifth studio effort is its second with William DuVall on vocals and follows up 2009's "Black Gives Way To Blue", ALICE IN CHAINS' first all-new collection of material in 14 years and first since the 2002 death of original singer Layne Staley.
Cantrell told Revolver about the new album, "I don't think you'll be surprised by anything you hear. It's us. But it's also really unique. It's got all the elements of any record we've put out, but it's unlike any record we've put out."
ALICE IN CHAINS began working on new material in 2011, but the sessions for the album were delayed when Cantrell had to undergo shoulder surgery.
ALICE IN CHAINS kicked off a tour to promote the new disc on April 25 in Miami Beach. The band will also headline the Rockstar Energy Uproar Festival later this summer.
The U.S. broadcast premiere of JUDAS PRIEST's new concert film, "Epitaph", is scheduled for tonight (Saturday, May 25) at 8 p.m. Eastern time on VH1 Classic.
A unique live career retrospective, "Epitaph" will be made available on Blu-ray and separate DVD 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.
Says the band: "The 'Epitaph' world tour came to an exciting conclusion at the renowned Hammersmith Odeon (now known as the Apollo) in London. Knowing our fans around the planet recognize that venue for many legendary metal moments, and of course with JUDAS PRIEST being a British metal band it was the perfect gig for us to film and record. Big thanks as always to you our metal family of fans — so start banging your heads one more time with us as we scream together 'The PRIEST is back!'"
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".
"They have epitomized the genre with their Harley riding frontman, rapid-fire guitar assaults, and spectacular stage shows," wrote journalist Bryan Reesman in his liner notes for 2004's leather-bound, metal-spiked "Metalogy" box set. "Influential, innovative, and exuberant in expression," he wrote, "they are the true Metal Gods who have been as unwavering in their desire to expand the boundaries of their music as they have been in crossing international borders to deliver it to their disciples.
"Unabashedly committed to their cause, and unrepentant in proclaiming themselves a true heavy metal band even when others have shied away from the term, Judas Priest have forever been defenders of the faith."
"Epitaph" track listing
01. Battle Hymn (L) 02. Rapid Fire (F) 03. Metal Gods (F) 04. Heading Out To The Highway (G) 05. Judas Rising (M) 06. Starbreaker (C) 07. Victim Of Changes (B) 08. Never Satisfied (A) 09. Diamonds And Rust (C) 10. Prophecy (N) 11. Night Crawler (L) 12. Turbo Lover (J) 13. Beyond The Realms Of Death (D) 14. The Sentinel (I) 15. Blood Red Skies (K) 16. The Green Manalishi (With The Two-Pronged Crown) (E) 17. Breaking The Law (F) 18. Painkiller (L) 19. The Hellion (H) 20. Electric Eye (H) 21. Hell Bent For Leather (E) 22. You've Got Another Thing Coming (H) 23. Living After Midnight (F)
Album index:
A - from "Rocka Rolla" (originally issued 1974, on Gull Records) B - from "Sad Wings Of Destiny" (originally issued 1976, on Gull Records) C - from "Sin After Sin" (originally issued 1977, on Columbia Records) D - from "Stained Class" (originally issued 1978, on Columbia) E - from "Hell Bent For Leather" (originally issued 1979, on Columbia; aka Killing Machine in UK) F - from "British Steel" (originally issued 1980, on Columbia) G - from "Point Of Entry" (originally issued 1981, on Columbia) H - from "Screaming For Vengeance" (originally issued 1982, on Columbia) I - from "Defenders Of the Faith" (originally issued 1984, on Columbia) J - from "Turbo" (originally issued 1986, on Columbia) K - from "Ram It Down" (originally issued 1988, on Columbia) L - from "Painkiller" (originally issued 1990, on Columbia) M - from "Angel Of Retribution" (originally issued 2005, on Epic Records) N - from "Nostradamus" (originally issued 2008, on Epic)
A photo tribute to late SLAYER guitarist Jeff Hanneman by photogapher Kevin Estrada can be found at this location. It consists of photos from this past Thursday's (May 23) public memorial celebration for Hanneman at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, California as well as photos of Jeff and SLAYER that Kevin took between 1984 and 2010.
Says Kevin: "I started shooting SLAYER in 1984… and in that time, I became close with the band. From sneaking my camera into the club shows to becoming a co-producer on the 'Soundtrack To The Apocalypse' box set — it has been a great ride. But this one hit hard.
"At [Jeff's] celebration, every snap of my camera brought me closer and closer to the end of a big chapter in my life.
"I know SLAYER will go on — in one form or another — but there is such a sense of unwanted closure. It is hard to put in words — so I am giving you a little taste of what SLAYER gave me over the years.
"Thank you Tom, thank you Kerry, thank you Dave, thank you Paul and Jon… and lastly — thank you Jeff, and farewell."
Members of SLAYER released a statement on May 9 saying that Hanneman died of alcohol-related cirrhosis. He is credited for writing many of the band's classic songs, including "Angel Of Death" and "South Of Heaven".
The guitarist, who passed away in Los Angeles on May 2, had actually not been playing with SLAYER for more than two years since he contracted necrotizing fasciitis, also known as flesh-eating disease, from a spider bite in his backyard in January 2011. The infection ravaged the flesh and tissues of Hanneman's arm, leading to numerous surgeries, skin grafts and intense periods of rehab that forced him into semi-retirement and left him near death at several points.
Hanneman's last appearance with SLAYER was in April 2011, when he played an encore with the band at the "Big Four" concert in Indio, California.
Hanneman recalled in a 2011 interview with Classic Rock magazine that he initially didn't even feel the spider bite, adding, "But an hour later, I knew that I was ill. I could see the flesh corrupting. The arm was real hot. I got to the emergency room, and thank god the nurse knew straight away what it was . . . At that point, I was an hour away from death."
Hanneman was well known for his aversion to the spotlight, avoiding interviews and even turning off his phone when he was not on tour to spend time with his family. He is survived by his wife Kathy, his sister Kathy and his brothers Michael and Larry.
SLAYER was founded in 1981 in Los Angeles and went on to become one of most popular bands of the speed/thrash metal movement, eventually being considered one of the "Big Four" alongside METALLICA, MEGADETH and ANTHRAX.
While never a band that got any substantial radio airplay, the group has long been considered a major influence on the metal genre and acclaimed as one of the best live metal acts of the past 30 years.
SLAYER guitarist Kerry King received a huge ovation from the crowd at the Revolver Golden Gods awards show on May 2 at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, where he said that Hanneman would have wanted "noise" rather than a moment of silence and then drank two shots in his bandmate's honor.
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).
RockNLive.org recently conducted an interview with SKID ROW bassist Rachel Bolan. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below.
SKID ROW's new EP, "United World Rebellion - Chapter One", was released in Europe on May 24 via Germany's UDR Music. The European version of the EP includes two bonus tracks, both of them cover tunes: "Fire Fire" (EZO) and "United" (JUDAS PRIEST).
"United World Rebellion - Chapter One" European version track listing:
01. Kings Of Demolition 02. Let's Go 03. This Is Killing Me 04. Get Up 05. Stitches 06. Fire Fire (EZO cover) 07. United (JUDAS PRIEST cover)
"United World Rebellion - Chapter One" sold around 1,500 copies in the Unted States in its first week of release. Released in North America on April 16 via MRI, the effort is the first in a series of EPs that the reincarnated band — Dave "Snake" Sabo (guitar), Rachel Bolan (bass), Scotti Hill (guitar), Johnny Solinger (vocals) and Rob Hammersmith (drums) — plans to release in the near future.
"United World Rebellion - Chapter One" reignites the youthful energy and blistering sound that SKID ROW is recognized for around the world. "That sound and energy is what resonates with people and knocks them on their ass," says Hammersmith. "We had a lot of great ideas to work with, so we're all really excited about this new music."
SKID ROW's rebellious tunes hit the big time in the late 1980s. However, after several Top Ten singles, gold and multi-platinum sales, No. 1 Billboard-charting tracks and more, the band split in 1996. In 2000, to the delight of fans everywhere, SKID ROW reformed and returned to the stage to open for KISS. They then released two new musical offerings in the form of 2003's "ThickSkin" and 2006's "Revolutions Per Minute" with new singer Johnny Solinger out front. Seven years later, the band is back again with new music, ready to take over in the new age of heavy metal.
"When we put the band back together, we needed to reintroduce SKID ROW as relevant without relying too much on past success," explains Bolan. "We sunk our heart and soul into it, letting people know we weren't doing it for lack of nothing better to do."
For the new EP series, Bolan and Sabo tapped again into the potent songwriting collaboration that built SKID ROW. Sabo says they were eagerly up to the challenge. "We seem to be at our best when we're faced with adversity. It's us against the world again — and by us I mean the band and the fans who stick with us and carry the SKID ROW torch without fail."
"The idea [of releasing EPs] really appealed to me," adds Bolan, "Especially with the constantly changing musical climate. I like the idea of a steady flow of new music, as opposed to releasing a full-length album then riding it for the next two years."
And although striving to reintroduce themselves and try something different, these boys are still strong in their roots. They got older, but SKID ROW never really grew up. "United World Rebellion" is still the youth gone wild, their musical spark still burning gasoline.
"I will always be that 16-year-old kid in front of the mirror, pretending to be Ace Frehley or Michael Schenker," admits Sabo. "It's still about writing a great song with your friend, praying it connects with someone. That has never left me. That willfulness will always exist, and there's so much left to say!"
Singer Jacoby Shaddix of Californian rockers PAPA ROACH and his son Jagger spoke to Fuse 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.
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 2012's "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."
"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.
"The Jason Lee & Kluck Show", which airs on the WRBR-FM (Real Rock 103.9 The Bear) radio station in South Bend, Indiana, conducted an interview with Los Angeles glam-metal jokesters STEEL PANTHER prior to the band's May 17 performance at Club Fever in South Bend. You can now watch the chat below.
STEEL PANTHER recently entered a studio in Sherman Oaks, California with producer Jay Ruston (ANTHRAX, STONE SOUR, MEATLOAF) to record their third full-length album for a fall release.
Speaking to the South Bend Tribune, STEEL PANTHER drummer Stix Zadinia (real name: Darren Leader) stated about the band's as-yet-untitled new CD: "If you liked [2009's] 'Feel The Steel' and [2011's] 'Balls Out', you will love this record. It is more heavy metal songs that are hooky and great and fun and make you want to rock and make you want to have a good time and party. Also, there is a lot of riffage on this album that I think anybody who has ever questioned this band — 'Oh, those guys wear spandex and it is 2000-whatever' — these songs are going to put all of that to rest."
Regarding naysayers that say STEEL PANTHER is a joke-metal band, Zadinia said: "Listen to our record and tell us that our songs aren't better than most of the bands out there. How funny is that? At the end of the day, it comes down to the songs. I think our songs — without sounding egotistical — I think our songs are great. When you hear the hooks in our songs, you hear the playing and you hear the vocals, you throw that up against any band in any era, and I think it stands up."
"Balls Out" sold nearly 12,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 40 on The Billboard 200 chart.
Guitarhoo.com conducted an interview with Ben Varon and Masi Hukari of Helsinki, Finland-based hard rockers AMORAL when they were in the Philippines for an appearance at the 13th edition of Pulp Summer Slam, the premiere metal festival in Southeast Asia, which was held on April 27 at the historic Amoranto Stadium in Quezon City. You can now watch the chat below.
AMORAL recently entered the studio today to begin recording their sixth album, due later this year via The End Records. The drums for the CD — which will feature an all-star cast of Finnish music industry people — were recorded at Sound Supreme studios in Hämeenlinna with Janne Saksa. Then the sessions moved to Helsinki and finally to Kuopio where Marco Hietala of TAROT and NIGHTWISH fame produced the vocals for the new album. The as-yet-unnamed album will contain eight songs wth a running time of almost an hour. In addition, the songs and lyrics form a whole, so it is possible to view the album as a thematic one. The CD will be mixed by Mikko Karmila, who is no stranger to dealing with large conceptual pieces.
New York progressive rockers COHEED AND CAMBRIA took part in a press conference prior to their performance at the 13th edition of Pulp Summer Slam, the premiere metal festival in Southeast Asia, which was held on April 27 at the historic Amoranto Stadium in Quezon City, Philippines. You can now watch video footage of the question-and-answer session below.
COHEED AND CAMBRIA's latest album, "The Afterman" was released in two separate full-length volumes. The first volume, "The Afterman: Ascension", was made available on both physical and digital platforms in the U.S. on October 9, 2012 via Hundred Handed/Everything Evil, and distributed through Fontana/Ingrooves (available in Canada via Universal Music Canada). The second volume, "The Afterman: Descension", came out on February 6.
A deluxe version of "The Afterman" includes a hardcover coffee-table book with expansive art by Heidi Taillefer and Nathan Spoor with collaborative written work from singer/creator Claudio Sanchez and writer Peter David that creates a song-by-song experience.
The two records follow-up to 2010's "Year Of The Black Rainbow", and feature new bassist Zach Cooper and returning drummer Josh Eppard, who have replaced Michael Todd and Chris Pennie, respectively.
COHEED AND CAMBRIA frontman Claudio Sanchez said of the album: "This is, without a doubt, the most honest record I've ever written. Though all the songs can be interpreted through our main character in the story, they were initially written in a very spontaneous manner. In the past, I've always had a predetermined idea of what the story was going to be when I approached the songs. With 'The Afterman' being a new story within 'The Amory Wars' arc, I allowed the events of my life to drive the concept, and therefore opened up the songwriting to a fuller degree."
Yamaha conducted an interview with drummer Justin Foley of Massachusetts metallers KILLSWITCH ENGAGE prior to the band's sold-out April 21 concert in Berlin, Germany. You can now watch the chat below.
Justin joined KILLSWITCH ENGAGE in 2003 and was promptly heard on the band's 2004 release, "The End Of Heartache", with the title track earning the band a Grammy nomination and the album becoming the band's first gold record. KILLSWITCH ENGAGE has since toured the world, playing Ozzfest and Warped tours, to name a few.
In 2006, Justin's variety in his musical background, in particular with frame drums and marimba, was featured on the compilation "Drum Nation Volume 3".
Since his early years, Justin has furthered his musical education at college, earning a Bachelor of Fine Arts in Percussion Performance from the University of Connecticut. He continued his classical training at the Hartt School of Music, earning a Master of Music in Percussion Performance.
Justin's strength lies in is his consistent rock drumming and precise sound. He plays a Yamaha Maple Absolute kit in with a 20" Bass Drum and 12" & 16" Toms and Yamaha hardware.
