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As previously reported, the Czech Republic has officially indicted Lamb Of God singer Randy Blythe on the manslaughter charge that received international media attention earlier this year (more HERE).
Thankfully, Michael Posner, Assistant Secretary of State for Democracy, Human Rights, and Labor, has issued an official statement declaring the U.S. government is “closely monitoring the progress” of vocalist Randy Blythe’s impending legal trial in the Czech Republic. It can be read in its entirely below.
Posner’s statement is in response to the online petition at whitehouse.gov for the U.S. government to help Blythe. Posner explained that while he couldn’t discuss details of Blythe’s case, he could confirm that the U.S. government would ensure Blythe received a fair trial.
Posner’s statement reads as follows:
“We appreciate your inquiry about the case of D. Randall Blythe, who was released from detention in the Czech Republic on August 3, 2012, and returned to the United States shortly thereafter. Mr. Blythe has publicly stated his intention to return to the Czech Republic to face trial for the alleged manslaughter of a Czech man at a concert in 2010. He recently told MTV, ‘It’s the correct thing for me to do … this poor young man’s family deserves some answers.’ Pending Mr. Blythe’s trial, we cannot discuss the details of his case. We are closely monitoring the progress of his trial.
“The Department Of State noted in its 2011 Human Rights Report that in the Czech Republic, ‘The laws provide for the right to a fair trial, and the independent judiciary generally enforced this right.’ We expect that the Czech government will make all efforts to ensure a fair, transparent, and timely trial for Mr. Blythe, and guarantee full protection of his legal rights under Czech law and his welfare.
“If you would like to know more about what the Department of State does for U.S. citizens overseas, please visit our website at Travel.State.Gov. General information on U.S. human rights policy is available at HumanRights.gov.”
The State Attorney’s Office in Prague officially indicted Blythe on manslaughter charges on Friday, Nov. 30. According to Czech news source Novinky.cz, the District Court now has three months to either set a trial date or to delay the hearing in lieu of further investigation. If he is found guilty, Blythe could face 5-10 years in prison.
Blythe has been adamant since he was released on bail that if he was required to return to the Czech Republic to stand trial he would do so.
He previously stated: “I want my name cleared. I have to go around the world and tour, you know. That’s what I do. I’m not going to hide here. I’m an innocent man. I’m going to go to court and see what happens.”
For now, Blythe will continue to destroy ear drums all over the U.S.! Here are the remaining tour dates:
David Alan "Riki" Rachtman can be blamed for helping to revitalize the Heavy Music scene in the 90s. Every Saturday night in the early 1990's, there was a wonderful show called Headbangers Ball, hosted by Rachtman, that highlighted the heaviest, most intense and popular Heavy Music bands in the music scene.
Not only did Rachtman host MTV's Headbangers Ball during its prime era, but he has also been an ambassador to Hard Rock and Heavy Metal ever since. At present time, Rachtman hosts a NASCAR-themed radio show called Racing Rocks (heard on over 120 stations across America) and Nascar 24/7 Live. While Rachtman is not actively working in the Heavy Music scene today, he is still a huge fan of our music.
Recently, Rachtman called out Mustaine for treating him differently depending on the situation. When Mustaine and Rachtman would hang out, Mustaine acted like a friend. But when Mustaine was alone, he would talk smack about Rachtman in public (read more HERE).
Since we all love to hear about Mustaine's controversial ways, we decided to get Rachtman on the phone and let him explain exactly what happened. During a very honest interview, all of a sudden we started discussing the untimely death of "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott (whose 8th death anniversary is today) and the connection of such a horrible incident with the current legal battle that LAMB OF GOD's Randy Blythe is currently facing.
Without further due, here is our exclusive interview with Riki Rachtman.
Today marks the death anniversary of two of the most influential Rock N’ Roll figures in history. We are talking about John Lennon from The Beatles, and "Dimebag” Darrell Abbott from Pantera and Damageplan. Coincidentally, they were both assassinated by delusional fans of their music. In order to celebrate the legacy of this two amazing artists, we decided to recap both of their lives. So raise your horns way up for Lennon and Dimebag, clear your eyes, and read on...
John Winston Ono Lennon was born on October 9, 1940 in Liverpool UK. Lennon gained worldwide fame when him and Paul McCartney formed The Beatles. In our opinion the Lennon-McCartney duo, is the most successful and influential songwriting partnerships of the 20th century. Lennon's first band was The Quarrymen, which evolved into The Beatles in 1960. By the end of the decade the group started disintegrating, and Lennon embarked into a solo career. This is when he released the highly acclaimed albums “John Lennon/Plastic Ono Band” and “Imagine”, with iconic songs such as “Give Peace a Chance” and “Imagine”. In 1975, Lennon took a break from the music industry to devote time to his family. After 5 years he re-merged with an album titled “Double Fantasy”.
Three weeks after the release of “Double Fantasy”, Lennon was shot it in the back 4 times by Mark David Chapman as he was entering his apartment in Manhattan NY. Lennon was taken to the Emergency Room of Roosevelt Hospital, but was pronounced dead upon arrival at 11:07 pm. His wife Yoko Ono released the following statement the next day: “There is no funeral for John, John loved and prayed for the human race. Please pray the same for him.” Lennon was cremated in Hartsdale New York and his ashes were scattered in New York’s Central Park, which is where the “Strawberry Fields Memorial” can be found.
You may be wondering what this has to do with Heavy Music. Well, John Lennon and The Beatles are direct influences of Black Sabbath, which ultimately influenced every single Heavy Music band including Pantera!
Pantera’s guitarist Dimebag Darrell Abbott was born on August 20, 1966 in Ennis Texas. Influenced by his father Jerry Abbott who is a country musician and producer, Dime and his brother Vinnie Paul fell in love with music at a young age. At first Dimebag wanted to play the drums but his older brother Vinnie took over the drum kit. This was tough for Dime, who eventually started playing the trombone. However, his father was not having it, and convinced Dime to try playing the guitar. Goddamn, was his father right!
Dime’s first guitar was a Hondo Les Paul, which he got with a small amplifier. At the beginning all he did was pose in front of the mirror with Ace Frehley (Kiss) makeup, and his guitar in hand. Vinnie needed someone to play with so he started harassing his little brother. One day, Dime goes into the jam room and tells Vinnie: “Hey dude, you want to jam?” Little did they know that they were planting the seed of what would later become Pantera, which is arguably the best Heavy Metal band of the 90’s.
After a few months of jamming classics like Deep Purple’s “Smoke In The Water” with Vinnie. Dime started competing on local guitar competitions, which he usually won. On one of these competitions he was awarded a Dean ML. Coincidentally, his father Jerry had bought him a cherry burst finish Dean ML standard, the same morning of the competition. At another competition, he won a Randall Amplifier. As we all know, this became Pantera’s signature sound. Eventually, the organizers barred Dimebag from competing, because they wanted to give other kids a chance to win.
In 1981, Dimebag formed Pantera with his brother Vinnie. The two recruited vocalist Terrence Glaze (replaced by Philip Anselmo in 1987) and bassist Rex Brown. After releasing 4 albums that were produced by their father, who also owned a studio called “Pantego Sound”. Pantera got their big break, and things would never be the same in the Heavy Music World. Signed by Atco Records, who had already turned them down, the story about how Pantera got signed is very unique.
After being stranded in Texas due to a hurricane, Mark Ross (Atco Records) was asked by his boss to go check out Pantera, who were playing a birthday party in Dallas. After experiencing the insanity of Pantera (there was birthday cake all over the floor), Mark called his boss and told him: “We have to sign this guys!” Next thing you know Dimebag heads over to Philip Anselmo’s house and shows him the record contract.
From that moment on Pantera put the pedal to the Metal and started taking over the world. The band got their big break when the Metal God Rob Halford, invited the band to tour with Judas Priest in Europe. Soon after, they were asked to play the “Monsters of Rock” festival in Moscow Russia in front of 1,000,000 people. That day they outperformed Metallica, AC/DC, and the Black Crowes. During their successful career, Pantera also shared the stage with legendary bands like Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden, Slayer, Megadeth, Motörhead, and Venom.
After 13 years of hard-hitting success, and releasing classic albums such as Cowboys From Hell, Vulgar Display of Power, and Far Beyond Driven (which charted #1 on Billboard). Pantera’s career came to a halt, mainly because of Anselmo’s addiction problems. After various failed attempts of communicating with Philip, Dimebag and Vinnie decided to start a new band called Damageplan.
In order to complete the lineup, Dime and Vinnie recruited former Rob Halford guitarist Pat Lachman to perform vocal duties, and Bob Zilla on bass. Damageplan released “ New Found Power” in the US on February 10, 2004. When writing music for Damageplan, Dimebag said that: "Damageplan wanted to stretch out and expand our capabilities to their fullest.”
On December 8th 2004, Nathan Gale shot Dimebag Darrell Abbott on stage, while Damageplan was performing at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus Ohio. Dime was shot six times (four times in the head), which killed him instantly. Gale continued shooting, killing four others and wounding a further seven. Jeff “Mayhem” Thompson (Damageplan’s head of security) was killed after tackling Gale, as was Alrosa Villa employee Erin Halk. Nathan Bray (a fan of the band) was killed while trying to perform CPR on Dimebag and Mayhem. Gale was finally shot dead by officer James James D. Niggemeyer. Dimebag Darrell was laid to rest at the Moore Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Arlington, Texas. From that moment on Heavy Music was never the same.
“I remember when I met Dimebag in Cologne Germany after Pantera’s spectacular performance. We see Dime in the distance (at least 20 feet away); we call him up and next thing you know he stumbles towards us. He was drunk as hell, and said that we were way too sober for being at a Pantera show! He calls Bobby (Pantera videographer) over, and tells him: “get this kids some blacktooths and get them on the new home video.” Lo and behold Bobby came back with some blacktooths, which we all put back fast. To this day I think of Dimebag every day, because he is the driven force of the lifestyle that we Metaleros share and are proud of.” –Jo Schuftan (founder of Horns Up Rocks)
We want to dedicate this piece to Dimebag Darrell Abbott and his family, John Lennon and his family, and Juan Carlos Posada (who committed suicide 2 years ago). Juan Carlos was Jo Schuftan’s best friend in High School, and together they lived some of the best and hardest years of their lives in Colombia. RIP brother, I love you so much and hope to see you again some day! \m/
As previously announced, the surviving members of SUICIDE SILENCE will play a special show on December 21 at the Fox theater in Pomona, California as a tribute to their late singer, Mitch Lucker. All proceeds from the event will go towards the education of Mitch's five-year-old daughter, Kenadee Lucker. The concert announcement was made last night (Saturday, November 24) during the sixth annual California Metalfest at the NOS Events Center in San Bernardino, California.
The band will be announcing the first batch of guests vocalists tomorrow (December 8th), so stay tuned!
The Heavy Music world was struck by the very sad news that Mitchell Adam Lucker passed away at the young age of 28 (More information HERE). According to the Los Angeles Times, Lucker struck a light pole near the intersection of Main and 13th streets and was thrown from his 2013 Harley Davidson. The motorcycle continued sliding south on Main Street and struck a northbound 2007 Nissan Titan pickup.
Speaking to the audience, SUICIDE SILENCE guitarist Mark Heylmun said (see video HERE), "We fucking lost our brother; I'm sure you all know that. We all miss him more than anything in the fucking world."
The remaining members of the band have set up a memorial fund for Mitch Lucker’s family following the singer’s tragic death last week. Here is their statement regarding this matter:
Fans who wish to donate can do so via the link below, with donations of $20 of more receiving a commemorative t-shirt as a token of thanks. All proceeds will go towards the educational fund of Mitch’s five-year-old daughter, Kenadee.
MACHINE HEAD has easily had the most chaotic North American tour of their 20+ year career. Not only did they have to cancel and reschedule a bunch of tour dates "thanks" to Hurricane Sandy, but they also had to pull out from a slew of tour dates during their current tour with DETHKLOK, ALL THAT REMAINS and THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER due to Robb Flynn's hernia surgery (Watch Flynn's surgery diary HERE). Additionally, they were unable to perform in Portland, Oregon due to a bus breakdown. In order to make the best of all the chaos, the band came out out with a great t-shirt concept. Here is what they had to say about it.
"In light of the mammoth amount of mishaps on our current US Tour (including hurricanes, hernia, and Disney bannings) Machine Head have decided to add all of them to the current tour shirt (and even the shirt has a mishap with the Silver Springs date!)
"These extremely collectible shirts are available on tour now, and will be available online soon!"
Check it out here:
Recently, MACHINE HEAD released 'Machine Fucking Head
Live' via Roadrunner Records (Pick it up HERE!). It's Machine Head's second live effort;
'Hellalive' was released in 2003. Nine years have passed and Machine
Head still slay and administer a "Bay Area Beatdown" in the live
realm. Full details HERE!
March 26, 2013 is going to be a very good day for SEVENDUST fans.
That day brings the highly anticipated release of the band’s brand NEW
album, their ninth studio effort, 'BLACK OUT THE SUN', on their 7Bros.
Records label (through Warner Music Group's Independent Label Group).
The first single, “Decay,” will be released to radio and available for
download at online retail outlets January 22, 2013.
Anxious
to share the scorching NEW sounds, SEVENDUST will set out on a
headlining tour with Lacuna Coil starting February 2, 2013 in
Winston-Salem, NC at Ziggy’s. Tickets are on sale now! Fans should check their local ticket
outlets for purchase info. More shows for SEVENDUST are currently in
the works and will be announced in the coming months.
Tour Dates:
02/02/13 - Winston-Salem, NC @ Ziggy's
02/03/13 - Jacksonville, NC @ Hooligans
02/05/13 - Lancaster, PA @ Chameleon Club
02/06/13 - Clifton Park, NY @ Upstate Concert Hall
02/07/13 - Portland, ME @ The Asylum
02/08/13 - Allentown, PA @ Crocodile Rock
02/09/13 - Lynchburg, VA @ Phase 2
02/10/13 - Nashville, TN @ Marathon Music Works
02/12/13 - Fayetteville, AR @ George's Majestic Lounge
02/14/13 - Biloxi, MS @ Hard Rock Hotel & Casino
02/15/13 - Broussard, LA @ The Station
02/16/13 - Beaumont, TX @ Dixie Dance Hall
02/17/13 - Little Rock, AR @ Revolution! Music Room
02/19/13 - Springfield, IL @ Boondocks
02/21/13 - Bloomington, IL @ The Castle Theatre
02/22/13 - South Bend, IN @ Club Fever
02/23/13 - Cedar Falls, IA @ Pepsi Pavilion
For 'BLACK OUT THE SUN', the
band--Lajon Witherspoon (vocals), Morgan Rose (drums/vocals), Clint
Lowery (guitar/vocals), Vince Hornsby (bass/vocals) and John Connolly
(guitar/vocals)—decided to self-produce and record the NEW album at The
Architekt Studios in Butler, NJ with the help of mixer/engineer Mike
Ferretti (who also worked with Lowery and Rose on CALL ME NO ONE’s debut
album, 'LAST PARADE', which was released June 5 on 7Bros Records).
METALLICA's 'Quebec Magnetic' will be available on DVD & Blu-Ray on December 7 in Germany, December 10 in the Rest of the World (except North America), and December 11 in North America. Includes 26 songs plus bonus material. Over three hours of footage recorded live at Colisée Pepsi in Quebec City, Quebec on October 31 and November 1, 2009.
Right now you can watch three performance clips of this awesome release:
"Quebec Magnetic" track listing:
01. That Was Just Your Life
02. The End Of The Line
03. The Four Horsemen
04. The Shortest Straw
05. One
06. Broken, Beat & Scarred
07. My Apocalypse
08. Sad But True
09. Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
10. The Judas Kiss
11. The Day That Never Comes
12. Master Of Puppets
13. Battery
14. Nothing Else Matters
15. Enter Sandman
16. Killing Time
17. Whiplash
18. Seek & Destroy
Bonus songs:
19. For Whom The Bell Tolls
20. Holier Than Thou
21. Cyanide
22. Turn The Page
23. All Nightmare Long
24. Damage, Inc.
25. Breadfan
26. Phantom Lord
New York death metal veterans SUFFOCATION have unveiled the track listing for their highly anticipated upcoming release, 'Pinnacle of Bedlam'. The album features 10 genre-defining-bone-crushing tracks and also marks the return of drummer Dave Culross, who played with the band previously on their 'Despise The Sun' EP. Founding member and former drummer Mike Smith also makes a special guest appearance on the re-recorded Breeding the Spawn track, “Beginning of Sorrow.”
'Pinnacle of Bedlam' Track Listing:
1. Cycles of Suffering
2. Purgatorial Punishment
3. Eminent Wrath
4. As Grace Descends
5. Sullen Days
6. Pinnacle of Bedlam
7. My Demise
8. Inversion
9. Rapture of Revocation
10. Beginning of Sorrow
'Pinnacle of Bedlam' was produced by the band and tracked at Full Force Studios in New York by longtime collaborator Joe Cincotta. The mixing and mastering was handled this time around by world renowned producer/engineer Zeuss (HATEBREED, ARSIS, SUICIDE SILENCE). Cover artwork for 'Pinnacle of Bedlam' was created by artist Raymond Swanland (DEEDS OF FLESH, PSYCROPTIC).
'Pinnacle of Bedlam' is tentatively scheduled for a February 2013 release via Nuclear Blast in North America.
Frank Mullen, front man for New York Death Metal veterans SUFFOCATION, recently gave an interview to Horns Up Rocks that spread very quickly about him no longer performing with the band full time:
We also spoke with bands bassist Derek Boyer about the bands NEW album:
Tomorrow (December 8), marks the 8th anniversary of the death of PANTERA and DAMEGPLAN guitar hero "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott. In order to celebrate his life, his legacy, and his contributions to the Heavy Music world, we are throwing the second annual "Holiday Tribute Show To DIMEBAG DARRELL & The Victims Of Hurricane Sandy!"
This time around we have DIMEBAG N.Y.C., the only PANTERA cover band in New York City, performing an 8 song set full of many of your favorite PANTERA songs. They will also be joined by a roster of surprise special guests. Here is the set list:
- Hellbound - New Level - Walk - Five Minutes Alone - Domination - Strength Beyond Strength - Mouth For War - Hostile
Additionally, we have performances by:
- Marc Rizzo (SOULFLY & CAVALERA CONSPIRACY)
- Alekhine's Gun
- Ikillya
- Thinning The Herd
- Driven Mad (debuting in Brooklyn, NY)
-> Date/Time: Saturday, December 8th at 8 PM
-> Location: The Trash Bar - 256 Grand Street, NY 11211-4303
-> Cost: $12 (21+ with ID)
The concept behind "Turn The Page" is very simple, we want to bring you guys the most relevant up to date Heavy Music news and tour information in a video format. While we select what we believe is the most important information and post it here on a daily basis, keep in mind that our main platform (www.HornsUpRocks.com) is the place where you can get the majority of the information you need.
Without further due, here is the twelfth installment of "TURN THE PAGE", this is the 12/7/2012 edition. Filmed at Madison Square Park in New York City! We hope you enjoy it!
Full details on the news stories and tours mentioned on the video above, can be seen on our archive (located on the right hand side column) ----------------------------------------------------------->
South and Latin America are quickly becoming one of the most powerful markets in the world when it comes to Heavy Music! ARCH ENEMY is currently spreading their destructive furious Heavy Metal to 1000s of hungry Latinos. Recently, they demolished South and Latin America. Here is what the band had to say after their last show in Mexico City, before their previously announced temporary hiatus. Read more about that HERE!
"Thank you so much, Mexico City - again! It's been a blast.. really enjoyed it tonight!!! Strange to play songs like 'Web Of Lies' live.. feels like playing a new track, haha.. Now we have to leave the sunny side of this planet and head towards the snow covered hills of Scandinavia. Thank you Latin and South America for the passion, the love, the chants and the sun :-) You rocked our world for the last 3 weeks!!!"
As we all know, or should know, MEGADETH is celebrating 20 years since the release of their 'Countdown To Extinction' album while on a worldwide tour. The celebration of the recording of their groundbreaking album continues!
Former MTV Headbangers Ball host Riki Rachtman commented on the bands accomplishment:
"20 year anniversary of Megadeths Countdown to Extinction... The feud I had with Dave on MTV was one of the best (video available below). Of course we really did get along real well. Used to skydive together. BUT Last time I saw him he was a total dick. Bummed me out. Ya know how good a band Megadeth is. So good that even though Dave was an asshole last time I saw him I can still listen to the old records because they are just that fkn good!"
Video footage of MEGADETH's historic "Countdown To Extinction" performance in Bogota, Colombia can be seen below.
The surprise isn't that Anthrax's "I'm Alive" received a Grammy nomination last night for Best Rock/Metal Performance; the surprise is that it comes more than a year after the track's September 13, 2011 release on the band's critical smash, Worship Music, which was named was of the best metal albums of 2011 by numerous media outlets, and provided the band with the rock'n'roll comeback story of the year. This is the fourth Grammy nomination for Anthrax - Charlie Benante (drums), Scott Ian and Rob Caggiano (guitars), Frank Bello (bass), Joey Belladonna (vocals).
"I was watching The Dave Matthews Band perform when I received a text saying 'Congrats on the Grammy nomination!'," said Benante. "Huh? I had lost all hope of ever being nominated for another Grammy, but I guess I was wrong. We put so much hard work into 'Worship Music,' and I am so honored to be nominated with a group of bands that have also sustained the Test of Time like the legendary Maiden and Megadeth. Heavy Metal is a Force, it has fans that range from six to 66, and I'm so proud to be a part of this Force...it's in all of us."
Anthrax fans waited eight long years for 'Worship Music', the band's first studio album since 2003's 'We've Come For You All', that features the return of "classic era" vocalist Belladonna making his first Anthrax album in twenty years. Since its September 13 release and subsequent debut at #12 on Billboard's Top 200 Albums chart, 'Worship Music' has received glowing praise from numerous critics and music tastemakers, including That Metal Show's Eddie Trunk and Alexander Milas, editor of the UK's Metal Hammer. We named it the #1 Metal Album of the Year.
The return of Belladonna and Anthrax's remarkable renewal began in 2009 in a Cleveland hotel bar. Anthrax's Benante and Ian, and Metallica's Lars Ulrich were in town for the Rock'n'Roll Hall of Fame when Lars first brought up the idea of The Big Four - Metallica, Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax, the four bands that served as the original architects for the "thrash/speed-metal" scene," yet had never shared the same stage before. The first of (so far) fourteen Big Four events took place on June 16, 2010, culminating in what was Anthrax's New York homecoming concert - The Big Four at Yankee Stadium on September 14, the day after Worship Music hit stores. "We came into The Big Four as the underdog," said Benante. "We were the band that had the most to prove, and we've worked really, really hard to do that."
Anthrax continues touring in support of Worship Music having just completed a European tour with Motorhead, and will be announcing North American plans for 2013 shortly.
Sweden's IN FLAMES is one of the most respected and well recognized Heavy Metal acts around the world. The band is currently out on the road as direct support for Lamb Of God. Yesterday we announced that the band will be embarking on a headlining tour with Demon Hunter, All Shall Perish and Battlecross. Details for the first leg of the headlining run are below, along with all other previously announced dates.
IN FLAMES comments, "We are excited to be coming back to North America once again. On this tour we hope to see some old fans and some new fans from cities we have never played before, look forward to seeing you soon."
IN FLAMES has sold over a million albums in the US alone, with their latest, 'Sounds Of A Playground Fading', debuting at #26 on the Billboard Top 200 Charts in the US and #1 on the German album charts.
Remaining Dates with Lamb Of God:
12/06/12 - Houston, TX @ Bayou Music Center
12/07/12 - Dallas, TX @ Palladium Ballroom
12/08/12 - Kansas City, MO @ Uptown Theater
12/10/12 - Denver, CO @ The Fillmore Auditorium
12/11/12 - Farmington, NM @ McGee Park
12/13/12 - San Francisco, CA @ Warfield Theatre
12/14/12 - Medford, OR @ Medford Armory
12/15/12 - Spokane, WA @ Knitting Factory Concert House
12/16/12 - Seattle, WA @ Showbox SODO
70,000 Tons of Metal Cruise:
01/28/13 - 02/01/13 - Miami, FL
Headlining Dates:
02/02/13 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Revolution
02/04/13 - Athens, GA @ Georgia Theatre
02/05/13 - Asheville, NC @ The Orange Peel
02/07/13 - Covington, KY @ Madison Theater
02/08/13 - Joliet, IL @ Mojoes
02/09/13 - Lincoln, ME @ Bourbon Theatre
02/10/13 - Boulder, CO @ Boulder Theater
02/12/13 - Flagstaff, AZ @ Orpheum Theater
02/13/13 - San Diego, CA @ House of Blues
02/14/13 - Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst
02/15/13 - Ventura, CA @ Majestic Theatre
02/16/13 - Reno, NV @ Knitting Factory
Right before the bands recent set at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City, we had the chance to chat with In Flames' frontman Anders Fridén about their current tour with Lamb Of God, Hatebreed and Sylosis. We also discussed the impact of Hurricane Sandy on the entire world and what the future plans are for the In Flames machine. Additionally, we chatted about the message behind Anders' lyrics and what the band wanted to accomplish when they released 'Sounds Of A Playground Fading'.
Recently, ARTISTdirect.com editor-in-chief Rick Florino had the chance to chat with GODSMACK's Sully Erna. During the interview, Erna announced that GODSMACK is taking a hiatus in 2013. Check it out:
ARTISTdirect.com: Do you feel like the "Avalon" box set is the best gateway into and overview of your world?
Sully:
Yeah, I'm really happy with it. We all just stumbled onto this idea.
The more I was doing solo activity, the more I was documenting. At
first, we didn't even realize we were capturing what we had. We had a
couple of friends,
myself, and some of the band filming in the studio while we were
recording the record. Later on, when we were trying to make something
out of nothing, I handed this editor a big box of tapes and said, "Make
some kind of cool, making-of thing." I didn't it was going to be for all
of this. That's what triggered this whole thing. It went from finding
this really cool making-of the album to tying into the whole theme of
music for me. When I was going out on my solo shows, it had "an evening
with," "Storytellers" vibe. I fell upon this idea of, "Wow, what a
gift music really is." That started triggering all of this stuff. What I
started to realize, just from sharing
a bottle of wine with somebody, we'd be talking about music and theory
and how music is just vibrations. It's just strings vibrating, and yet
when they create different frequencies, it creates emotions in people —
even without lyrics. You can hear a violin player play something and get
teary-eyed. I thought, "This is heavy, man. That really is the power of
music. It's a miracle." It's a universal language, and it's almost
unexplained. From there, we'd film a live show. All of these different
things became components for the box set. We kept building off of that.
Once we had the idea of putting this together as a package, we started
thinking, "What else can we include?" That's when we came up with the
"Golden Ticket" concept. We wanted to personalize it so it's "Sully Erna
everything." It's a little bit of a history of me and my life, from how
I grew up to what my favorite t-shirts and incenses are. Plus, it's the
making-of everything.
ARTISTdirect.com: Does the open the door to the next project?
Sully: Of course! I'm building towards branding my name and freeing up myself to do what I
want to do without having a ceiling over my head. As much as I love GODSMACK and my boys in GODSMACK, it really is what it is. Over the years, we've tried to branch out and create songs like "Serenity" and "Shine Down". Even though our audience accepted it and they became successful singles on the radio, they weren't really crossover singles for us. They were kind of saying, "They're cool songs, but when are you guys going to play 'The Enemy' or 'Bad Religion'? Let's get back to the muscle!" [laughs] Over the years, we've identified GODSMACK
to be a powerhouse rock band, which it should be, but there's also this
other side of me. I can't keep it trapped inside. I have to explore it
and release this other kind of music that I love playing. I also love
sitting down at the piano with my daughter and creating music and
playing acoustically. "Avalon" helped me branch out and allow
more vulnerability and things like that. That creates an opportunity to
not have a ceiling over my head whether it gets into acting, TV, film,
and different things I'd like to pursue. I think it's going to open up
that avenue for me. I heard an interview with [AEROSMITH's] Tom Hamilton,
and he struck the nail right on the head for me. He said, "I realized
music is always something I wanted to do with my life, but it's not
everything I wanted to do with my life." I was like, "Boom, there it is
right there. That's exactly how I feel. Music is one of those things I
wanted to do my whole life, but I also realized that it's not everything
I want to do." Even though I think I'll always be a musician and
entertain in some way, I may want to tap into some other avenues and
continue to brand myself rather than being pigeonholed into a certain
genre of music.
ARTISTdirect.com: What's next with GODSMACK?
Sully: We're going to take some time away now because we just ran for the last
two years. It's time for us to take a break and get away from the
markets for a little bit so we don't overplay them. We're taking 2013
off. Maybe towards the end of the year or early 2014, we may start
getting into the studio and writing. Now, we're going to lay low. We may
pop up once in a while to do a radio festival or something. I'm going
to take all of 2013 to focus on my solo stuff and see any doors I can
open along the way.
Ho Ho… Housecore! Can’t think of what to give your Heavy Metal buddies this holiday season? HOUSECORE RECORDS is offering fans the ultimate gift deals just in time for the holidays, each featuring a personalized autographed gift from PHILIP ANSELMO himself!
Head to www.thehousecorestore.com and pre-order the 'War of the Gargantuas' split EP in four different bundle pack options.
ALL BUNDLES come with a personalized, autographed gift from PHILIP ANSELMO. Also, CDs and vinyl LPs with the bundles are HOUSECORE RECORDS roster titles.
1) $20 - pre-order War of the Gargantuas and get THREE CDs of your choice – Direct Link
2) $30 - pre-order War of the Gargantuas and get TWO vinyl LPs of your choice – Direct Link
3) $32 - pre-order War of the Gargantuas and get THREE CDs of your choice, ONE Housecore patch and ONE Housecore T-shirt – Direct Link
4) $42 - pre-order War of the Gargantuas and get TWO vinyl LPs of your choice, ONE Housecore patch and ONE Housecore T-shirt – Direct Link
War of the Gargantuas is the latest offering from legendary Pantera, Superjoint Ritual and DOWN vocalist PHILIP ANSELMO and Texas thrashers WARBEAST.
The split EP hits stores on January 8, 2013 and will include two songs
from each artist. This album serves as the first release of any solo
work by PHILIP ANSELMO during the span of his nearly 30-year legacy. Also, the two WARBEAST tracks
on the split feature former bassist Alan Bovee before his amicable
departure from the band. Since then, Dre Karst has joined on bass.
War of the Gargantuas LINE UP:
PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS are:
Philip H. Anselmo - Vocals
Marzi Montazeri - Guitars
Bennett Bartley - Bass
Joe Gonzalez - Drums
WARBEAST are:
Bruce Corbitt - Vocals
Scott Shelby - Lead Guitar
Joe Gonzalez - Drums
Bobby Tillotson Jr. - Lead Guitar
Alan Bovee – Bass
Make sure to catch WARBEAST on the road with DOWN
this winter! “The Weed & Speed Tour: West Coast Throwdown in the
Year of XIII” will kick off on January 11, 2013 in Houston, TX at
Warehouse Live. See below for all dates, including the War of the Gargantuas release party (WARBEAST only) show on January 5th at The Rail Club in Fort Worth, TX.
DOWN U.S. tour (leg II) with WARBEAST and HAARP:
- April 11, 2013: El Teatro (Flores), Ciudad Autonoma De Buenos Aires, Argentina - April 13, 2013: The Metal Fest Chile, Santiago, Chile- Fri Jan 11, 2013: Warehouse Live - Ballroom Houston, TX - Sat Jan 12, 2013: Backstage Live San Antonio, TX - Mon Jan 14, 2013: The Marquee Tempe, AZ - Tues Jan 15, 2013: Freemont Country Club, Las Vegas NV - Wed Jan 16, 2013: Key Club West Hollywood, CA - Fri Jan 18, 2013: City National Grove of Anaheim Anaheim, CA
- Sat Jan 19, 2013: Ace of Spades Sacramento, CA - Sun Jan 20, 2013: Regency Ballroom San Francisco, CA - Tue Jan 22, 2013: Showbox at the Market Seattle, WA - Wed Jan 23, 2013: Roseland Theater Portland, OR - Thu Jan 24, 2013: Knitting Factory Boise, ID - Sat Jan 26, 2013: The Summit Music Hall Denver, CO - Mon Jan 28, 2013: First Avenue Minneapolis, MN - Tue Jan 29, 2013: The Rave Milwaukee, WI - Wed Jan 30, 2013: Bogart's Cincinnati, OH - Fri Feb 1, 2013: Track 29 Chattanooga, TN
The nominees for the 55th Grammy Awards, presented by the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences, were announced yesterday. The event will take place on Sunday, February 10, 2013 at Staples Center in Los Angeles. The event will air live on CBS at 8PM ET.
While this award show does not represent Heavy Music the way the Golden Gods Awards do, it is still the most important award show in the world when it comes to music. Representing Heavy Music this year we have: Iron Maiden, Anthrax, Lamb Of God, Megadeth, Halestorm and Marilyn Manson.
The nominees in the "Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance" category are as follows:
To be eligible for nomination, an artist's work must have been released between October 1, 2011 and September 30, 2012.
We all have seen plenty of Christmas light shows throughout our lives. And we are all familiar with the light shows featuring our favorite music! But we guarantee that after watching the video below, you will agree that the METALLICA "Hit The Lights" Christmas light show is best created thus far and that it will be extremely hard to surpass it. Check it out and Happy Holidays!
Don't forget that METALLICA's 'Quebec Magnetic' will be available on DVD & Blu-Ray on December 7 in Germany, December 10 in the Rest of the World (except North America), and December 11 in North America. Includes 26 songs plus bonus material. Over three hours of footage recorded live at Colisée Pepsi in Quebec City, Quebec on October 31 and November 1, 2009. Details HERE!
Randy Rhoads would have celebrated his 56th birthday today (December 6, 2012). Rhoads was born on December 6, 1956 at St. John's Hospital in Santa Monica, California. He was the youngest of three children. His older brother, Doug, is a drummer and vocalist who also arrange classical compositions, who goes by the name of Kelle Rhoads. His sister's name is Kathy.
Rhoads can be blamed for being not a only a phenomenal musician, but also a true innovator when it came to music writing. His guitar skills with early Quiet Riot and obviously with Ozzy Osbourne, revolutionized Heavy Music music forever. His angelic face, blonde hair, and his amazing personality, will be remembered forever!
Today, 30 years after his death, his musical style and songwriting skills remain unmatched. Rhoads has influenced thousands of musicians worldwide, some of these musicians are: the late great Dimebag Darrell Abbott (Pantera & Damageplan), Zakk Wylde from Black Label Society, and many more!
His tragic death is still mourned by the Heavy Music world. On March 19, 1982, Rhoads was on board a little plane while on tour with Ozzy, when all of a sudden the plane clipped into the side of Ozzy's tour bus. Next thing you know, the plane crashed into a mansion garage in Leesburg, Florida. Rhoads died immediately from the impact!
Do you like FREE music? Of course you do! The great folks over at Century Media Records have just unleashed the "Carnival Of Sounds II" sampler. The compilation features music by In Flames, Devin Townsend, Napalm Death, Paradise Lost, Iced Earth, 3 Inches of Blood and many more!
This Saturday, December 8th, marks the 8th anniversary of the day that we all lost our guitar hero: "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott. As previously reported, Horns Up Rocks is throwing the second "Holiday Tribute Show To Dimebag Darrell" and collecting funds for the victims of Hurricane Sandy, this Saturday, December 8th at The Trash Bar in Brooklyn, New York. HERE are 5 reasons why you should join us!
ARTISTDirect.com, recently unleashed an exclusive feature with members of SLAYER, KORN, ROB ZOMBIE, SLIPKNOT, AVENGED SEVENFOLD, MASTODON, GOJIRA, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH and more! Here are some of the memories they shared regarding their love for PANTERA's "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott:
Kerry King (SLAYER): "The first time I heard PANTERA was at a club
they were playing. We were going through Texas, and it was a day off
before we actually played. I can't remember if somebody suggested we go
there or if we ended up there. That's how it went down. That was before
'Power Metal'. Philip was in the band, but I don't think the album was
out yet. Philip was awesome, and Dime was awesome. I'm a guitar and
vocal kind of guy. I'm extremely happy we were able to do a PANTERA run.
At the end of the day, it was the last PANTERA run. I'm glad we got to
make that happen. Dime and I wanted to tour together forever. After
that, we did some of DAMAGEPLAN's last run. We had a lot of experience
with the PANTERA and DAMAGEPLAN boys."
Jonathan Davis (KORN): "I remembering hearing the groove metal, crunchy guitars, and Philip Anselmo going off. There was this intense aggression, but you could move and dance to the music. I absolutely loved that groove element. 'Vulgar Display Of Power' really got me into metal. HELMET was another one of those bands along with PRONG. I love swinging groove, and PANTERA were the kings of that. Every time KORN played in Dallas, Dimebag Darrell and Vinnie Paul would come out and see our shows. They were good times. Dimebag did not deserve what he got. I got to sit down with Philip one time, and I just thanked him. I said, 'You're the one who inspired me to do metal music, and I just want to thank you.' He was like, 'Man, that's crazy!' I like all of his side projects too. There's one band he did called CHRIST INVERSION which is crazy, satanic evil music. It's really cool and dark."
Rob Zombie: I first heard them when we played with them. We played a show with them at a club in Brooklyn called L'amour. That was early on. Cowboys From Hell had just come out. That was my first time hearing them.
Corey Taylor (SLIPKNOT & STONE SOUR): I saw Pantera with White Zombie in 1996. That was just a ferocious concert, man. That was officially the last time I was in a moshpit too because I had a nipple ring get ripped out in the pit. I was like, "That's all for me! Thank you very much! I don't think I ever want to do this again" [Laughs].
Earlier this year, marked the 10th death anniversary of the late great Layne Staley (vocalist and frontman of ALICE IN CHAINS). Staley died on April 5, 2002 in Seattle, Washington, U.S. This year also marked the 25th anniversary of the band!
As we all know, the band made their comeback without Staley in 2009 via 'Black Gives Way to Blue'. An album that was very well received by legions of fans worldwide. With William DuVall on vocals, the band proved that their song writing skills didn't miss a beat.
In 2013, the band will release their as-yet-untitled fifth studio album. The album was produced by Nick Raskulinecz (Foo Fighters, Deftones) and engineered by Paul Figueroa. Here is what Cantrell had to say about the upcoming ALICE IN CHAINS record:
“It’s like having to deal with the sophomore jinx for the second time in our career,” Cantrell told Richard Bienstock in the latest issue of Guitar World. "In my opinion, that record stood up to anything else we’ve put out in our career. And this new one is right up there as well."
Cantrell’s surgery delayed the release of the NEW material. In an interview published in May 2012, Cantrell explained, "The thing that set me back is I had some bone spurs [and] cartilage issues in my shoulders. I had the same issue in the other shoulder about six years ago so I’ve had them both done now. It’s a repetitive motion injury from playing."
For more on the upcoming ALICE IN CHAINS album, Jerry's recovery from shoulder surgery and more, pick up the January issue of Guitar World in our online store HERE.
ALICE IN CHAINS is:
- Jerry Cantrell (vocals and lead guitars) - Mike Inez (bass) - Sean Kinney (drums) -
William DuVall(vocals and rhythm guitars)
This just in: IN FLAMES have announced the initial batch of tour dates for the "ANOTHER YEAR, ANOTHER TOUR". Joining the Swedish Metal legends will be Demon Hunter, All Shall Perish and Battlecross!
Leg 1 (More tour dates and venue information will be announced soon):
- 2/2/13: Ft. Lauderdale, FL
- 2/4/13: Athens, GA
- 2/5/13: Asheville, NC
- 2/7/13: Covington, KY
- 2/8/13: Joliet, IL
- 2/9/13: Lincoln, NE
- 2/10/13: Boulder, CO
- 2/12/13: Flagstaff, AZ
- 2/13/13: San Diego, CA
- 2/14/13: Santa Cruz, CA
- 2/15/13: Ventura, CA
- 2/16/13: Reno, NV
Right before the bands recent set at the Roseland Ballroom in New York City, we had the chance to chat with In Flames' frontman Anders Fridén about their current tour with Lamb Of God, Hatebreed and Sylosis. We also discussed the impact of Hurricane Sandy on the entire world and what the future plans are for the In Flames machine. Additionally, we chatted about the message behind Anders' lyrics and what the band wanted to accomplish when they released 'Sounds Of A Playground Fading'.
IN FLAMES with LAMB OF GOD, HATEBREED or HELLYEAH, and SYLOSIS:
Ozzy Osbourne spent part of his 64th birthday, which he celebrated this Monday (December 3) recording vocals on the new BLACK SABBATH album at a Los Angeles studio with producer Rick Rubin.
As previously reported, the Ozzfest clan announced that Ozzy
Osbourne's traveling festival will take place on May 11-12, 2013 at
Makuhari Messe in Chiba City (outside Tokyo), Japan. Not only will be BLACK SABBATH be performing, but joining them will be: find out HERE
BLACK SABBATH have also announced that they
will be embarking on an Australian tour this coming April. Here are the
confirmed tour dates:
- Apr. 25: Entertainment Centre, Brisbane
- Apr. 27: Allphones Arena, Sydney
- May 01: Rod Laver, Melbourne
- May 04: Perth Arena, Perth
It
has also been announced that BLACK SABBATH's NEW album is tentatively
scheduled for release in April 2013 via Vertigo/Universal Republic in
the U.S. and Vertigo in all other territories.
As previously reported, BLACK SABBATH
have written 15 NEW songs since reuniting last year. But the big
question is how far along are they with the recording process, specially
as guitar legend Tony Iommi battles with cancer. Our good friend Jose
Mangin from Sirius XM was recently in Los Angeles, California, gathering
some audio clips for Ozzy's Sirius XM channel "Ozzy's Boneyard". Full details about the NEW Sabbath available HERE!
As previously reported, the Czech Republic has officially indicted Lamb Of God singer Randy Blythe on the manslaughter charge that received international media attention earlier this year (more HERE).
