Sweden's CULT OF LUNA has released a new remix from legendary artist and producer Justin Broadrick (GODFLESH, JESU). Broadrick tackles the 18-plus-minute track "Vicarious Redemption" from CULT OF LUNA's critically acclaimed studio album "Vertikal", which was released this past January via Density. Fans can stream or download the track below.
"It was both a pleasure and a challenge to work on such an sprawling epic song," Broadrick commented. "[There was] so much material to choose from and to attempt to refocus in my own context, and a challenge to make something new and concise which resonates like the original."
"When I was 14 years old, my friend taught my how to play guitar," adds CULT OF LUNA's Johannes Persson. "We spent hours listening to songs and then trying to play them. One of the records he had was the [GODFLESH] 'Streetcleaner' LP that since has been continuously in my rotation for almost 20 years, so listening to Justin's remix of 'Vicarious Redemption' kind of felt like going full circle. Justin has created something new with the elements of the song which, in my opinion, is the only way to justify a remix."
"Vertikal" marked a much-anticipated return for CULT OF LUNA after five years spent cultivating the ideas and directing the influences that have helped form a concept for the album. Distilled throughout are themes of machinery, repetition and clear, linear structures honed to the visual imagery of Fritz Lang's classic expressionist science-fiction film "Metropolis". The music broods, builds and boils as you may expect from CULT OF LUNA, but never over-complicates itself or veers from its intentions; it is arguably their finest and most cohesive piece of work to date.
CULT OF LUNA is in the midst of an extensive worldwide touring schedule, with plans in the works to bring the band to the Unites States later in 2013.
Massachusetts metallers REVOCATION will release their new, self-titled album on August 6 via Relapse Records. The follow-up to 2011's "Chaos Of Forms" will be the first full-length album with bass player Brett Bamberger, who joined the band in 2012 and was featured on the group's last EP, "Teratogenesis", which was released by Scion A/V. The cover artwork for the new CD was created by Orion Landau (DYING FETUS, OBSCURA, NILE).
REVOCATION will take part in this year's Summer Slaughter Tour alongside THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN, CATTLE DECAPITATION and others. The trek will kick off on July 19 in San Francisco, California and run through August 20 in Portland, Oregon.
"Revocation" track listing:
01. The Hive 02. Scattering the Flock 03. Arch Fiend 04. Numbing Agents 05. Fracked 06. The Gift You Gave 07. Invidious 08. Spastic 09. Entombed By Wealth 10. A Visitation
"Chaos Of Forms" was released in August 16, 2011 in North America and September 5, 2011 internationally via Relapse. The follow-up to 2009's "Existence Is Futile" was recorded at Damage Studios in Southbridge, Massachusetts with engineer Pete Rutcho.
A new one-dollar short ebook tells the story — 27 years on — of the making of VAN HALEN's 1986 album "5150".
Author Martin Popoff explains: "It's always a blast talking with Sammy Hagar, and our '5150' analysis includes lots and lots of Sammy just letting her fly.
"'5150' shocked the world, proving that VAN HALEN could not only survive the departure of David Lee Roth, but thrive, with the band taking the album to #1 on the charts on the strength of smash hits like 'Why Can't This Be Love', 'Best Of Both Worlds', 'Dreams' and 'Love Walks In'."
"'Love Walks In' has a real story to it," notes Hagar. "One night after everybody left, Eddie said, 'Let me just play you something I've got on this piano.' He goes to the piano and starts playing, and I went, 'I love that.' I had goosebumps. So I actually wrote the lyrics and did the whole thing that night on a cheap mic. That was used on the record, and everybody else overdubbed. Things happen like that. And there's nothing you can do to make it better."
"He sang all the backups," says Hagar of VAN HALEN's secret weapon and keeper of the peace Michael Anthony. "Mike is the background sound of VAN HALEN — he would sing the high parts. You take Mike out, you don't have a VAN HALEN sound."
"Ye Olde Metal: Van Halen's 5150" is available as a 14-page ebook in high-resolution PDF format from Zunior. Also available from Zunior is Popoff's earlier ebook about the making of VAN HALEN's second outing with Hagar, "OU812".
"All Hell Breaks Loose", the debut album from BLACK STAR RIDERS — the new band formed by THIN LIZZY alumni Ricky Warwick (guitar, vocals), Damon Johnson (guitar), Scott Gorham (guitar), Marco Mendoza (bass) with new addition Jimmy DeGrasso (ALICE COOPER, MEGADETH, DAVID LEE ROTH, SUICIDAL TENDENCIES) on drums — is available for streaming in its entirety using the SoundCloud widget below. The CD is being released via Nuclear Blast Entertainment on the following dates:
* May 21 - Japan * May 22 - Sweden * May 24 - Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Finland, Norway * May 27 - U.K., France, BeNeLux, Poland, Czech Republic, Denmark, Spain, Portugal, Hungary, Greece * May 28 - U.S., Canada, Italy, South America
The "All Hell Breaks Loose" artwork features a painting by Gil Elvgren (March 15, 1914 - February 29, 1980), the legendary U.S. painter best known for his work on pin-up girls, advertising and illustration.
The artwork ties directly to the origins of the album title. Warwick explains: "I was watching a documentary about World War II bombers and saw the name painted on the side of one of the aircraft. The name just resonated with me and it seem to encapsulate the turmoil that we, as a society, are currently experiencing. The past few years have been such a wild ride and now with the release of the album, it sounded like a bad-ass album title that summed up what BLACK STAR RIDERS is all about."
About the first single, Warwick states: "'Bound For Glory' — a song for the lost but never lonely, walking tall in the face of everyday adversary. Everyone has a story to tell. Revolution begins in the mirror!!!" Gorham adds: "When it came time to pick one of these songs as a single, we had a really hard time. There are so many really great tracks here and everyone had their favorites. But in the end, we all agreed that 'Bound For Glory' is the perfect choice and represents what BLACK STAR RIDERS is all about."
"All Hell Breaks Loose" was recorded and mixed by producer Kevin Shirley (LED ZEPPELIN, IRON MAIDEN, AEROSMITH, RUSH) at his The Cave studios in Malibu, California. Mastering duties were handled by Bob Ludwig (JIMI HENDRIX, RUSH, KISS, LED ZEPPELIN) at Gateway Mastering Studios in Portland, Maine.
"All Hell Breaks Loose" track listing:
01. All Hell Breaks Loose 02. Bound For Glory 03. Kingdom Of The Lost 04. Bloodshot 05. Kissin' The Ground 06. Hey Judas 07. Hoodoo Voodoo 08. Valley Of The Stones 09. Someday Salvation 10. Before The War 11. Blues Ain't So Bad
The album is being released as a standard CD and also as a special-edition digipak featuring a bonus track, "Right To Be Wrong", and a "making-of" DVD.
Video footage of DEEP PURPLE performing the song "All The Time In The World" live on April 24 on the German morning show "ARD Morgenmagazin" can be seen below.
DEEP PURPLE's latest album, "Now What?!", 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.
The band's new single, "Vincent Price", will be released on June 7 as a digital 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.
"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 cutout 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".
Quality two-camera fan-filmed video mix of NEWSTED — the new band led by former METALLICA, VOIVOD and FLOTSAM AND JETSAM bassist Jason Newsted — performing the song "Soldierhead" on May 18 at Bottom Lounge in Chicago, Illinois can be seen below.
NEWSTED has been confirmed for this year's edition of Gigantour, the critically acclaimed package festival founded in 2005 by MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine. Also scheduled to appear on the bill are headliners MEGADETH, along with BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, DEVICE, HELLYEAH and DEATH DIVISION.
NEWSTED kicked off its first-ever U.S. tour on April 19 at Red House in Walnut Creek, California. The 14-date trek will conclude on May 23 in Asbury Park, New Jersey and will lead into a number of European festival appearances for the band, which is rounded out by STAIND guitarist Mike Mushok, drummer Jesus Mendez Jr. and guitarist Jessie Farnsworth.
NEWSTED has just completed recording its first full-length album, to be released later this year. Jason told Billboard.com the 13-song album, which he hopes to finish mixing during August, will be very similar to the band's debut EP, "Metal", which sold around 6,200 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 62 on The Billboard 200 chart. "The EP was always intended to be the primer, a sampler of what was to come on the LP," he said. "It's all metal all the time. It's not all fast, but it is all heavy."
NEWSTED is:
Jason Newsted - Bass, Lead Vocals Jesus Mendez Jr. (THE NAPOLEON BLOWNAPARTS) - Drums Jessie Farnsworth - Guitar, Backing Voice Mike Mushok (STAIND) – Guitar
Brett Morgen, director of THE ROLLING STONES documentary "Crossfire Hurricane", would love to make an all-anime version of MÖTLEY CRÜE's story.
Morgen, whose next project is a documentary on the late NIRVANA leader Kurt Cobain, tells World Entertainment News Network: "A dream project of mine is to do a Japanese anime documentary on MÖTLEY CRÜE. That will give me my 1970s, 1980s and 1990s trilogy with the STONES, MÖTLEY CRÜE and Kurt."
It was reported in 2008 that MÖTLEY CRÜE was trying to extricate itself from a deal with MTV Films, a division of Paramount Pictures, to make a film version of the band's biography, "The Dirt: Confessions Of The World's Most Notorious Rock Band".
A deal was first announced for the film version in 2006 but has since gone nowhere. Bassist Nikki Sixx told Reuters that MTV was "a channel that used to be hip and has now actually become unhip...They are not the right partner."
Asked about the current status of "The Dirt" movie, MÖTLEY CRÜE singer Vince Neil told the Calgary Herald earlier this month: "I have really no idea, I kind of stay out of that. I really don't know. I just can't tell you anything."
He continued: "I'm kind of tired like most people, tired about talking about it. . . . I just don't know anything about it. If it comes out, great, if it doesn't come out, I really don't care."
Jena Jacobbs of 103.9 The Bear radio station conducted an interview with singer Jacoby Shaddix of Californian rockers PAPA ROACH backstage at this year's Rock On The Range festival, which took place May 17-19 at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. You can now watch the chat below.
PAPA ROACH's latest album, "The Connection", was re-released in Europe as a special tour edition on May 6 via Eleven Seven Music. The effort contains a bonus DVD of a concert at Club Nokia in Los Angeles featuring performances of new songs as well as the band's biggest hits, including "Still Swingin'", "Give Me Back My Life", "Before I Die", "Last Resort" and "Between Angels & Insects".
"The Connection" was produced by rock veteran James Michael (SIXX: A.M., HALESTORM) and John Feldmann (PANIC AT THE DISCO, THE USED, BLACK VEIL BRIDES). The CD sold 22,000 copies in its first week of release to debut at No. 17 on the Billboard album chart.
Shaddix underwent surgery in September 2012 to remove nodes from his vocal cords. Shaddix's condition forced him to stop singing and led his band to drop off last summer's Rockstar Energy Uproar Festival tour.
Even before his vocal problems started, Shaddix admitted in several new interviews that he came close to committing suicide earlier last year as he struggled with both marital problems and falling off the wagon.
"This record is a snapshot of me at my most desperate," Shaddix told The Aquarian Weekly about "The Connection". "As I was writing this record, [my wife and I] were split, so there was a lot of pain and anger and frustration. As the dust settles in my life, I realize that I'm the orchestrator of all this chaos. I'm the one at fault. I'm the fucking problem. When you go through that stuff, sometimes it's hard to own your own shit, to step up to the plate and own it. I just had to because I wanted to do the right thing."
He added: "I was able to make this record, express myself and get my family back together and get my respect from my band. At the eleventh hour, I pulled it off. I don’t know, man, this is a repeating cycle in my life. I don’t know how many more times I can do this to myself."
Kerry King (SLAYER), Dave Lombardo (SLAYER), Gary Holt (EXODUS, SLAYER), Robert Trujillo (METALLICA), Shavo Odadjian (SYSTEM OF A DOWN), Robb Flynn (MACHINE HEAD), Paul Bostaph (SLAYER, TESTAMENT, EXODUS), Chuck Billy (TESTAMENT) and John Tempesta (THE CULT, EXODUS, TESTAMENT) are among the musicians who attended the public memorial celebration for SLAYER's late guitarist Jeff Hanneman, which was held yesterday afternoon (Thursday, May 23) at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, California.
High-quality photos of the event from photographer Stephanie Cabral can be found at this location. Fan-filmed video footage is available below.
A full report, including photos from Stephanie Cabral, has been posted at the web site of U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine.
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.
King and SLAYER basist/vocalist Tom Araya confirmed that their summer European dates will go on as planned, starting June 4 at the Impact Festival in Poland and running through mid-August.
In a statement, the two said that, "We know that our fans everywhere are hurting for the loss of Jeff just as we are. We want to let you all know that when we come to Europe this summer in June, July and August we'll ALL be making noise together for our brother and dear friend Jeff...We'll see you then!"
King and Araya also released their own statements in tribute to Hanneman.
Kerry: "I had so many great times with Jeff... In the early days when we were out on the road, he and I were the night owls, we would stay up all night on the bus, just hanging out, talking, watching movies... World War II movies, horror movies, we watched 'Full Metal Jacket' so many times, we could practically recite all of the dialogue."
Tom: "When we first formed SLAYER, we used to rehearse all the time, religiously, 24/7. Jeff and I spent a lot of time hanging out together, he lived in my father's garage which was also our rehearsal space. When he got his own apartment, he had an 8-track and I would go there to record songs I'd written, not SLAYER songs, other stuff I'd written. At a certain point, you still have the band but you start your own lives outside of the band, so that 24/7 falls to the side, you don't spend as much time together as you once did. I miss those early days."
Kerry: "He was a gigantic World War II buff. His father served in that war, so when SLAYER played Russia for the first time — I think it was 1998 — Jeff and I went to one of Moscow's military museums. I'll never forget him walking around that place, looking at all of the tanks, weapons and other exhibits. He was like a kid on Christmas morning. But that was Jeff's thing, he knew so much about WW II history, he could have taught it in school."
Tom: "We were in New York recording 'South Of Heaven'. Jeff and I were at the hotel and we had to get to the studio — I think it was called Chung King, a real rundown place. So we left the hotel and decided to walk, but then it started raining. We walked maybe five blocks, and it was raining so hard, we were totally soaked, so we decided to get a cab. Here we are, two dudes with long hair and leather jackets, absolutely soaked, thumbing to the studio. No one would stop. We had to walk the entire way."
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).
Amp Rock TV recently posted an episode of "The Spotlight" featuring singer Lzzy Hale of Pennsylvanian rockers HALESTORM. Check it out below.
HALESTORM has released a new version of the song "Here's To Us", featuring an all-star lineup of guest performers. Joining the band on this edition of the song are guitarist Slash, SHINEDOWN frontman Brent Smith, ALTER BRIDGE vocalist Myles Kennedy, Tyler Connolly from THEORY OF A DEADMAN, DEVICE/DISTURBED singer David Draiman and IN THIS MOMENT's Maria Brink. HALESTORM is also offering fans a chance to record their own shout-outs for the song, and the band intends to take some of the best ones and work them into a new "fan edit" of the track.
The original version of "Here's To Us" is featured on HALESTORM's 2012 album "The Strange Case Of…"
The song was previously covered on a February 2012 episode of the hit television show "Glee". Lzzy Hale told The Pulse Of Radio at the time why the band let it happen. "It's pretty much the strangest thing we've done so far as a band and also, I think, the most exciting," she said. "There's a little bit of controversy because, obviously, 'Glee' is very pop culture, it's very kind of Broadway, and personally I think it's really good for us, only because here's an outlet for us that it's gonna expose us to so many people that would not normally be seeking us out."
HALESTORM has just completed the HardDrive Live tour with BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE and YOUNG GUNS.
ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian recently spoke to ESPN's "Mint Condition" about being featured in the "Heavy Metal Autographs" insert set as part of the 2013 Topps Archives baseball set.
The 10-card autograph set will be one of three additional insert sets to the previously announced 2013 Topps Archives release. There will be a standard version of the cards as well as one that will be limited to 25 copies and printed on metal.
"I was definitely excited," Ian said. "I collected cards as a kid and years ago, in the late '80s, they did these rock cards and I thought that was cool, but to find out I had an actual Topps card, the only way I can describe it is like going from the minors to the majors. I finally made it to the big show."
"Heavy Metal" insert set features:
* Sebastian Bach (ex-SKID ROW) * Tommy Lee (MÖTLEY CRÜE) * Kip Winger (WINGER) * Reb Beach (WINGER, WHITESNAKE) * Lita Ford * Stephen Pearcy (RATT) * Scott Ian (ANTHRAX) * Dee Snider (TWISTED SISTER) * Bobbie Brown (WARRANT's "Cherry Pie" video) * Axl Rose (GUNS N' ROSES)
2013 Topps Archives Baseball is slated for release on May 29.
The August 2011 issue of Revolver magazine contained limited-edition baseball cards of the "Big Four" bands of thrash metal — METALLICA, SLAYER, MEGADETH and ANTHRAX — who played the historic first metal show ever at Yankee Stadium on September 14, 2011. The cards were modeled after the classic Topps baseball cards from 1986, the same year these four bands released their metal masterpieces.
Lithium Magazine conducted an interview with Welsh metallers BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE on May 7 in Toronto, Ontario, Canada. You can now watch the chat below.
BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE's fourth album, "Temper, Temper", sold 44,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 13 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD arrived in stores on February 12 via RCA.
BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE's previous effort, 2010's "Fever", opened with 71,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at No. 3. It was also a Top 10 release in the U.K., Japan, Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany and Switzerland.
The Welsh quartet changed the way they approached making an album this time around, with guitarist/vocalist Matt Tuck and drummer Michael "Moose" Thomas traveling to Thailand to do the initial writing and recording for the album. Tuck told The Pulse Of Radio why they made the trip. "It was just nice being in a studio 24/7, really, you know, with no distractions from home and stuff," he said. "So that was kind of the main reason why we went there and it just worked out well, you know, because we didn't have any pressures from having to travel, having to cook your own food — just all the stuff that is an everyday process obviously takes a lot of time out of the day to be creative. So just being there, being able to write 24/7, was a huge advantage."
The first single from "Temper, Temper" is called "Riot".
BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE is currently headlining the fifth edition of the "HardDrive Live" tour, which kicked off on April 12 in Denver. Joining them are main support HALESTORM, plus special guests YOUNG GUNS and openers STARS IN STEREO. The trek is sponsored by "HardDrive".
The Metal Army recently conducted an interview with guitarist Robert Vigna of New York death metal veterans IMMOLATION. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below.
IMMOLATION's ninth full-length album, "Kingdom Of Conspiracy", was released on May 14 in North America, both digitally and physically, via Nuclear Blast Records. The follow-up to 2010's "Majesty And Decay" was recorded at Sound Studios in Millbrook, New York with longtime producer Paul Orofino, and mixed and mastered once again by Zack Ohren (ALL SHALL PERISH, DECREPIT BIRTH, SUFFOCATION).
The "Kingdom Of Conspiracy" cover imagery was brought to life this time by Pär Olofsson, who has previously worked with IMMORTAL, THE FACELESS and ABYSMAL DAWN, among others.
"The figures in the artwork have all been bound and chained and have their eyes and mouths sewn shut symbolically, showing the chilling of speech and the intentional blinding of the masses," explains IMMOLATION guitarist Robert Vigna. "They all make up the huge ominous structure behind them, which is symbolic of the growing security state as well as our failing structures today, and how they are slowly and methodically consuming and controlling us all. It has a very Orwellian feel to it, which is what we were going for since the album is very dark in a slightly different way."
In regards to "Kingdom Of Conspiracy"'s lyrical content, Vigna says: "The album deals with the world today and the slow unraveling and breakdown of our societies and the systems and structures behind them. It speaks of the human side to all this and how we have all lost our way and have fed into these very systems that are slowly coming apart. This is the common thread running throughout the album and the cover paints a very dark picture of the future, where these systems have completely absorbed our world, and our freedoms and we have become a part of the very fabric of these structures that we have created. Each song is a symptom of this mass sickness that has brought the world to the point it is at now, and we paint a very bleak picture of this slow and gradual breakdown and the human failures that sped this process along. This is the 'Kingdom Of Conspiracy'."
"Kingdom Of Conspiracy" track listing:
01. Echoes Of Despair 02. Keep The Silence 03. Kingdom Of Conspiracy 04. Serving Divinity 05. The Great Sleep 06. Indoctrinate 07. A Spectacle of Lies 08. God Complex 09. Bound To Order 10. All That Awaits
Catch the band on the Decibel Magazine Tour this spring with CANNIBAL CORPSE and NAPALM DEATH.
Former ANTHRAX and current VOLBEAT guitarist Rob Caggiano was interviewed on the May 15 edition of "The BJ Shea Morning Experience" show on the Seattle radio station KISW 99.9 FM. You can now listen to the chat using the audio player below.
VOLBEAT will take part in this summer's Monster Energy's Rock Allegiance Tour alongside HIM, ALL THAT REMAINS and AIRBOURNE.
"The fans have made our North American visits thus far this year great fun and truly memorable," Poulsen said in a statement. "We are looking forward to headlining Monster Energy's Rock Allegiance festival tour this summer, and sharing the stage with HIM, ALL THAT REMAINS and AIRBOURNE."
VOLBEAT's fifth studio album, "Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies", sold 39,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 9 on The Billboard 200 chart. The record arrived in stores on April 9 via Universal Republic
Caggiano, who was a producer on the new disc, recently joined the band as its new guitarist. He replaces guitarist Thomas Bredahl, who was given his walking papers in November 2011.
The new disc follows up 2010's "Beyond Hell/Above Heaven", which featured three No. 1 rock radio hits, "A Warrior's Call", "Still Counting" and "Heaven Nor Hell".
Steve Baltin of GRAMMY.com recently conducted an interview with ALICE IN CHAINS guitarist Jerry Cantrell. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
GRAMMY.com: One of the things I like about "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here" is there's a real griminess and grittiness to it.
Cantrell: I keep hearing that from people, comparatively to the last record, and I think that last record was pretty hard too. So it's nice to hear that it's coming across. I think the songwriting is very strong on this record and I thought it was on the last record too. [I'm] really proud of the body of work and all that all four of us put into it.
GRAMMY.com: Did the delay resulting from your shoulder surgery affect the album at all in terms of writing?
Cantrell: We don't start until we're ready, you can't really start unless you've got ideas to work on. [laughs] Usually there's a period of accumulating riffs and ideas and generally a lot of the stuff happens in odd places and on the road, dressing rooms, soundchecks, [and] warming up before a show. There's always a camera or an iPhone and anytime something happens where you perk up or somebody perks up, then you put that down and what you're doing is depositing it in the account for later withdrawal. So by the time the tour was done there was a good 20 or 30 little riffs or ideas to go through and "Black Gives Way To Blue" was exactly the same way. It's fairly similar, it's just a couple years later. We couldn't have been prouder of how ["Black Gives Way To Blue"] played out, so we decided to do it again. I think we took a step up, maybe even two.
GRAMMY.com: Was there a moment in the writing process where you felt like the album was taking a step up?
Cantrell: Yeah, before I had the surgery I think I demoed "Voices" really quick, that was a kind of quick song and came together within a couple of days of just me messing around here at the house. It was right after tour and it was a good, strong song and so I sent it around to everybody and everybody liked it and I thought, "Fuck, that's good." That was the first thing that came together on the record, so I knew there was a good song there. And then during the process of rehab, the riff for "Stone" [developed] — I still have the voice recording, it's hilarious. I didn't write that on guitar, I just started hearing something in my head. [I was] watching TV, and my arm's all fucked up, so I grabbed the phone and started humming the riff into the phone and that's where that song came from. So once I was able to demo that and fill that one out, I knew that one was pretty strong too. We got into a couple of different studios and we just sat up and recorded jams, worked through the shit we had, and [producer] Nick [Raskulinecz] was involved in that process as well, even though he was working on the RUSH record ["Clockwork Angels"] and a bunch of other stuff.
GRAMMY.com: Were there songs that really morphed and became much stronger in the evolution from idea to reality?
Cantrell: Absolutely, and on the flip side of that coin there's also stuff that you think is great and later on down the road you're like, "Ah, it's not very good." Actually, "Voices" was the first song, [but] the first riff was "Hollow". I was warming up in the room in Vegas, our very last show of the tour, and I remember our manager, Beno, was in the room and they were sitting there talking and they were worried about me because I was pretty close to having pneumonia. I was so ill. I started playing that riff and I recorded that riff. I saw Nick bobbing his head. I dug it too, so I recorded it. That's actually the first riff that happened. So that song, "Stone", "Voices", the title track — that song is amazing — those [are] all cornerstone tracks on the album. And also you have stuff you think is good and get proven wrong, so it doesn't just end up in there. It's not just you, you're working in a band and there's a very healthy thing to have to pass all those filters, not just yours. It's gotta go through Sean, Mike and Will [too]. It's gotta survive all that and be something everybody can get behind. That's generally what you end up with on a record. It's pretty much no different than it's ever been in this band, whatever works is the idea.
