Former Sodom guitarist Dirk Strahlmeier has passed away from unknown circumstances. Strahlmeier played with Sodom from 1995 to 1996. Sodom’s bassist/vocalist Thomas “Angelripper” Such confirmed the news in the following statement:
“As I learned from a reliable source, our ex-guitarist Dirk ‘Strahli’ Strahlmeier died this month in a hospital in Düsseldorf, Germany. Currently we don’t know the exact circumstances of his death. Strahli played on the album Masquerade In Blood which was released in 1995 on SPV. After that we had lost contact with him. Our deepest condolences to his family and friends.”
This comes shortly after the passing of former drummer Chris “Witchhunter” Dudek, who died from vital organ failure on November 8, 2008. Our condolences go out to Strahlmeier’s family and friends.
Ozzy Osbourne was forced to postpone his show in Reno, Nevada last night (January 30) due to “sudden illness.”
Last week, we watched in jealousy as our friends at MetalInjection.net posted updates from the 70000 Tons Of Metal Cruise. If there was ever a chance to get to go on a cruise vacation while partying with bands like Fear Factory, Testament, Iced Earth, Saxon and 4,000 fellow metal heads, this was our chance. Fortunately for us, however, those who didn’t get to hop aboard the most metal cruise ever can still watch their favorite metal stars having fun through a cruise activity staple: Karaoke
Since the cruise ended, numerous fan-filmed videos of various band members from the bill performing karaoke style covers during the four-day-getaway have been posted online. In the video above, Tom Hunting (Exodus), Alex Skolnick (Testament) and Rob Cavestany (Death Angel) perform The Eagles’ “Lying Eyes.” It’s cool enough to see three bands that many would mention amongst the original “Big Four” performing on the same bill (the fourth and absent band being Overkill). But it’s even more awesome to see them let loose together and having fun, even if it isn’t exactly a song we would’ve chosen for them to perform. You can watch more videos of various band members singing karaoke, including Fear Factory’s Burton C. Bell singing Steve Miller Band’s “Jet Airliner,” after the jump. Read more »
Earlier this month, we took a few guesses at who Velvet Revolver might be hiring as their new singer. Matt Sorum recently hinted that one of the top candidates was young, well known and comes from a heavier rock background. So naturally Corey Taylor popped into our heads immediately. Though he was also rumored to be a likely candidate when Scott Weiland first left the band, Taylor himself said in a 2009 interview that though he auditioned, things didn’t pan out. So fast forward to two years later, you’d think that Taylor’s name is still off the list of candidates, seeing as how Taylor still has his commitments with Slipknot (we think) and Stone Sour…right?
Well, maybe not because in a recent interview with Billboard.com, Taylor neither denied nor confirmed that he may be Mr. Weiland’s replacement. “To be continued!” Taylor reportedly said after a “hearty laugh.” So could Corey Taylor indeed be the new singer in Velvet Revolver? Or is he just having a good laugh at our suspense?
Either one is a possibility, seeing as unsteady Slipknot currently is after the death of Paul Gray. Though Slipknot will begin the process of taking “baby steps” this Summer with a handful of European festival dates, Taylor admitted in the same interview and numerous times before that he still has mixed feelings about the band’s future. I’m sure Slipknot simply needs time to heal, and that this Summer will prove to be a large stepping stone for them moving forward. But if they don’t end up moving forward (again, unlikely), does that make it more likely that Taylor will be in Velvet Revolver? Or could Taylor actually attempt to pull off vocal duties in three jobs? Unfortunately, the former seems more likely if Taylor is indeed the new singer. We’ll keep you updated when/if more is revealed.
Darkest Hour’s forthcoming album, The Human Romance, is now available for pre-order here. Bonus – an autographed booklet! The album will be released on February 22.
Headbangers’ Brawl is a weekly column where Metal Insider’sBram and Zach take a moment to debate and analyze two opposing sides of a topical issue occurring in the world of metal and/or the music industry.
Bram and Zach have a lot of fun discussing, and sometimes arguing, about certain hot topic issues in the metal world. But lately the two have been looking for ways to spice Headbangers’ Brawl up (not in an old married couple kind of way though…). Then they realized a way that might make things a little funner: getting you, the readers, involved! So starting next week, we’re asking you to submit questions or topics for them to discuss/debate in the column. There may even be a special prize given to whoever emails us the question/topic that Bram and Zach choose that week. So email the questions that you want to see Bram and Zach duke it out over to tips [at] metalinsider.net with the header “Headbangers’ Brawl Suggestion,” and then come back the following week to see if your suggestion was used!
In this week’s Headbangers’ Brawl, though, Bram and Zach take a moment to ponder whether Black Sabbath will indeed finally record a new album. Ozzy recently revealed that the four of them (including Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler and Bill Ward) have been talking about it once again, but this wouldn’t be the first time that talk has lead to anything. So will the Ozzy lead-era of Black Sabbath finally record a new album soon, or should we stop holding our breaths?
Bram: I can’t say I put too much stock in this. Ozzy, Tony, Geezer and Bill haven’t put out a full album together since 1979. They did have two studio songs come out on the Reunion live album in 1998, but two songs in 32 years doesn’t have me thinking it’s going to come together too quickly
Zach: I pretty much agree. Them performing together again in the next two years: a 95% sure thing. A new album: Less likely. Yeah, they’ve all pretty much said they’d like to do it, but Ozzy has made it clear in the past that he still has at least another year of touring behind Scream. Also, it’s not entirely sure whether they’d even be able to agree on anything. When Geezer also said that a reunion wouldn’t happen this year in an interview with Noisecreep, he also jabbed at Ozzy by saying “I’m sure Ozzy will say ‘yes’ and ‘no’ every week for the next year while he’s on tour. It’s one thing to want to do something like that just before you go out to tour a record. You say, ‘Oh yeah, I’m gonna tour for the next five years.’ And then six weeks into it, you can’t wait to get home. So we’ll just see how he feels when he finishes his Ozzy Osbourne tour.” Ouch! And this isn’t the first time Geezer and Ozzy have had less than nice words to say to each other. Not too long ago, Ozzy said that Butler needs to stop “whining” in order to make it work. Zing!
B: Well, Iommi proved that he’s a riffmaster, with The Devil You Know coming out pretty quickly after the three songs on The Dio Years. But Iommi and Ozzy just mended fences last year after settling a lawsuit. It’s nice that they’re open to working with each other again, but Ozzy just assembled a brand new band. I would imagine that since Zakk wrote a lot of the last record, the new band is probably chomping at the bit to record their own Ozzy album.
Z: True, and also, as proven before, touring behind a new Ozzy album can last as long as two years (maybe even more). And while it takes Iommi little time to record new music, Ozzy has proven less than speedy (though it took about three years in between Black Rain and Scream, with an even longer gap between new albums prior to that).
I guess another question, though, is do we feel that a new Sabbath album with Ozzy will be good? Sure The Devil You Know was a great album, but would it still be great with Ozzy? Plus, would it even compare to previous Sabbath albums?
B: I liked “Psycho Man” and “Selling My Soul” when they came out, but I sure as hell haven’t listened to either song in a long time. I think that a Sabbath album will likely be the same. Then again, the Heaven and Hell album was pretty solid, and the only difference is Dio vs. Ozzy, which is an argument for another time.
Radio/That Metal Show host Eddie Trunk and Alter Bridge have launch the “New Year, New Guitar” contest where fans can enter for the chance to win a lot of great prizes, including an autographed PRS Tremonti SE Guitar.
You can look at the latest creation of Tom G. Warrior (frontman of Triptykon/ex-Celtic Frost) in one of two ways: he’s trying to piss off organized religion, or he’s created a product for the pious person looking for a little extra kink in their life. Considering that his creations are for display only, I’d imagine it’s option 1. Warrior is currently selling two different wooden Jesus dildos that he created online. “Phallus I” (seen in the top corner) features a metal Jesus crucified on a wooden dildo cross, while “Phallus II” simply features a Christ figured mounted on top of the dildo.
Warrior’s obviously trying to arouse shock from the conservative community. I’d argue, though, that it’s up there with Cradle Of Filth’s t-shirt for best creative mix of sexual and religious imagery by a metal band. Though with the price ranging from $200-$550 per each dildo, the t-shirt seems like a cheaper way to piss off your local priest, although this is art that serves a function. Each “Phallus” can be purchased on Warrior’s blog.
X Japan has signed a new North American distribution deal with EMI.
Yesterday, A Life Once Lost announced that they will be parting ways with drummer Justin Graves once the band finishes their upcoming shows in February. The band released the following statement about Graves’ departure:
“So Justin Graves has made the very tough decision of leaving the band after this upcoming February four show run. He helped create a sound that was not as common in the scene as it is now back in 2002 when we started writing A Great Artist. We have traveled a good portion of the world together but now he has decided to… pursue another dream.”
Earlier this week, the band had announced a new label deal with Season Of Mist. While it is unsure as to who will fill the vacant position, the band tweeted “Just to clarify…The drummer situation is 100% handled for the foreseeable future,” via their Twitter account earlier this morning. We will keep you updated when more is revealed and confirmed.
Former Sodom guitarist Dirk Strahlmeier has passed away from unknown circumstances. Strahlmeier played with Sodom from 1995 to 1996. Sodom’s bassist/vocalist Thomas “Angelripper” Such confirmed the news in the following statement:
Posted by Zach Shaw on Mon, Jan 31, 2011 at 10:20 am
In Memoriam