Archive | January, 2012
It’s just been a day jam packed with news regarding awesome tour packages. This time, news has already slipped that Protest The Hero will be touring this Spring with Periphery, Jeff Loomis, and The Safety Fire. While an official announcement is expected to be made tomorrow, Periphery let the cat out of the bag a little early via Facebook, confirming earlier reports about the tour.
First, it’s hard to deny that Protest The Hero and Periphery make for an interesting tour combo. But what really interests us is the inclusion of ex-Nevermore guitarist Jeff Loomis. We know that his new solo album Plains Of Oblivion, which is slated to come out on April 10, will feature some singing. However, it’s unclear if Loomis will be performing a solely instrumental set or not, or even who might be a part of his touring group.
Either way, seeing Protest The Hero, Periphery and Jeff Loomis shredding on the same stage will indeed be awesome. You can check out the dates revealed so far after the jump. We’ll update this page if more information about the tour is revealed.
UPDATE: The tour has been officially announced, and also appearing on the bill will be Today I Caught The Plague. Also, it appears that Loomis, The Safety Fire and Today I Caught The Plague will also appear at the New England Metal & Hardcore Festival’s second day (which Protest The Hero and Periphery were already confirmed for) despite previous reports. An updated list of dates can be seen after the jump. Read more »
Last week, drummer Tomas Haake and frontman Jens Kidman let it slip that Meshuggah would be touring North America in the Spring with Baroness and Decapitated. Well today, dates for the tour that’s being dubbed The Ophidian Trek have been announced, along with the “official announcement.”
Haake had the following to say about the upcoming tour:
“We’re really stoked to be coming back again!! A new album and two really awesome bands to join us on our trek across the U.S. and Canada!! There’s one word that comes to mind: Sweeeet!!”
Decapitated guitarist Vogg shared Haake’s excitement, saying:
“FUCK YEAH! Decapitated with Meshuggah! We’re so proud and happy to be part of this amazing tour! It will be a huge honor to share one stage with such a great fuckin’ band! Cannot wait!”
We think Haake and Vogg said it best, as this is a fantastic package. Not only will it be our first chance to hear Meshuggah play some material off of their new album Koloss, but we wouldn’t be surprised if Baroness test out some new material during the tour as well since their new album is expected to come out sometime this year.
The Ophidian Trek kicks off on April 29 at the House Of Blues in Houston, TX. You can check out a complete rundown of dates after the jump. Read more »
The thrash band has gone through their fair share of drummers since forming in 2004, most recently welcoming their third drummer Carlos Cruz into the fold last year. And yesterday (January 30) Warbringer confirmed that they’ve parted ways with long time guitarist Adam Carroll.
Making sure to note that both parties are still on good terms, Carroll released the following explanation behind leaving the band:
“To all fans and friends, I, Adam Carroll, have officially quit Warbringer. I have financial issues at home that have to be addressed sooner than later. I hope you all can understand and respect my decision. It’s been some of the best years of my life and I appreciate all the support you the fans have given us and continue to give. I will forever be part of the Warbringer family. Many thanks and until I see the rest of you again, keep the metal alive. Cheers!”
With their upcoming stint opening for Symphony X and Iced Earth starting tonight in Hartford, CT, Warbringer have already announced that guitarist Andrew Bennett will be filling in. Though he’s still in the “audition phase,” the band says they hope Bennett will become a permanent member. Bennett shared the following about his new gig via his own statement:
“Last month I received a message from the guys, which basically stated that Adam was requesting to step out. As a result, they were searching for a possible replacement who could learn the material in time for the upcoming Iced Earth and Symphony X tour. I jumped at the opportunity and started learning some tracks. Around the beginning of this month I went down and jammed with the guys and the rest is history. I am eternally grateful to my friends in Warbringer for giving me the opportunity to play with them and I am very excited about what the future may hold.
But, one thing that I would like to make clear is that I don’t view myself as Adam’s replacement, as much as I view myself as filling the position instead of him. Adam’s work with the band and time with them is not something that can be erased and I would just like to make it clear that I respect him greatly. He has left big shoes to fill and I have a lot of work ahead of me if I am going to honor his legacy with the band. I’m looking forward to interacting with, and playing for the fans on the road! It’s time to shred!”
It’s unfortunate to hear that Carroll has had to leave the band due to financial/ personal issues at home. However, it’s nice to hear that there are no hard feelings between the two and that Warbringer were able to find a new player in time for the tour with Sympony X and Iced Earth. Best of luck to Bennett and Warbringer while on the road.
Machine Head have done impromptu performances with fans in the audiences before. In fact, one Slovakian fan got to play with the band onstage twice. However, during the band’s stop in Buffalo, NY this past Sunday (January 29) at the Town Ballroom, 13 year old Anthony Potenza was the lucky fan. Holding a sign that said “Let This 13-Year-Old Play ‘Aesthetics Of Hate’ With You,” Machine Head took Anthony up on the offer and brought him onstage to perform the first single from The Blackening. It’s cool enough to see Machine Head bringing up fans to actually play with them, let alone seeing a 13 year old getting a chance in the spotlight.
You can check out fan filmed footage of Machine Head performing “Aesthetics Of Hate” with Anthony above. You can also take a look at the remaining dates of Machine Head’s current tour with Suicide Silence and Darkest Hour here. Who knows, maybe if you bring a sign you too can get onstage.
This is really touching. Despite the public feud that spawned after 2009’s Crue Fest 2, and even after Sully Erna hinted that the song “Crying Like A Bitch” was about him, Nikki Sixx has been kind enough to offer the Godsmack singer a role in Motley Crue’s upcoming Las Vegas residency. Seriously, it was very gracious of Sixx to offer Erna the role of…oh wait… yeah, that was no peace offering.
With Motley Crue’s residency at the Hard Rock Hotel in Las Vegas about to kick off this Friday (February 3), Sixx decided to take another jab at Erna via the following tweet made on Sunday night:
“We’re looking for an angry midget for our Vegas show’s and was thinking of using the singer from godsmack.”
Funny, although instead of an angry midget, Motley Crue might soon be looking for a new singer following the Vegas residency. Don’t hold your breath, though, for Sully to apply for either job.
In a declining recording industry, special editions, re-releases, and deluxe packages are now the norm rather than the exception to it. And on these expanded releases, more often than not, bonus tracks will appear, usually in the form of either cover songs or B-sides that didn’t make it onto the initial album. It’s rare to see those B-sides appear on separate individual releases, though. Sure, Iron Maiden did it back in 2002, and more recently, Disturbed released one just last year. But both of those examples are B-side collections spanning the full careers of their respective bands. There is no possible way that the B-sides from just one album can be considered a separate release, right?
Think again, folks, because Metallica decided to do just that. Can you guess what happened? A release that most would deign as superfluous or unnecessary shot to #32 on the Billboard charts when it was released digitally last month. This is even more impressive when you consider that the release had almost nothing by way of promotion done for it (which is why it didn’t appear on New & Noteworthy at that time). The physical release date for this unheralded EP is today, and for its accomplishments, it earns the top slot on today’s list.
Metallica, Beyond Magnetic EP (Warner Bros.)
Apparently when Death Magnetic was being recorded in 2007 and 2008, there were fourteen songs recorded for the album. Obviously, only ten made it onto the record, and they’ve been drilled into our collective conscious for the last three-plus years without end. What about the other four, though? Well, they all appear here in very rough mixed form. The song titles are just as over-the-top as those on Death Magnetic, and the music is just as good, even if the mixes aren’t pristine. This is worth picking up just because it’s new material to hold the interest of listeners while we wait for Metallica to get off the road and back into the studio.
Bleeding Through, The Great Fire (Rise)
2010′s Bleeding Through wasn’t exactly an auspicious debut for the Orange County metalcore vets at their new home, Rise Records. It wasn’t a bad album by any means, but the inclusion of deathcore elements on some songs detracted from what could have been an excellent album. The group is taking some chances with The Great Fire that could be either hugely successful or disastrous. For one thing, the album was self-produced by the group, which is a first in their long career (although it doesn’t break their precedent of having a new producer for each new album). Additionally, the symphonic black metal elements that appeared on Bleeding Through return on The Great Fire, which may further the comparisons to Abigail Williams that Bleeding Through have started to receive. Time may be the most telling factor with this album and, ultimately, the band’s continued success.
Blind Guardian, Memories of a Time to Come (Nuclear Blast)
As one of the preeminent power metal groups in the entire world, it’s shocking that Blind Guardian haven’t released a greatest hits collection in a quarter-century of existence. This year, the band’s 25th anniversary, they have finally put out a compilation of what they deem their “most worthy songs”, and it is quite an amazing compilation at that. Not only does Memories of a Time to Come span Blind Guardian’s entire career, but each of the songs has been re-recorded specially for this release. In some ways, that almost makes this a release of new material from the group, as not one of the songs sounds exactly the same as its original version. It’s not a ground-breaking concept to do this, but for a group of Blind Guardian’s caliber, it certainly wasn’t necessary. The fact that the band took the time to meticulously re-create sixteen songs when they could have easily thrown the originals onto two discs shows a level of dedication to their fans that is not often seen and less often appreciated in modern music. Read more »
Last week, another edition of the 70,000 Tons Of Metal Cruise came and went, once again treating fans to the ultimate metal festival on a boat. Though this wasn’t your typical cruise vacation, there was one cruise activity staple still intact: karaoke. And just like last year, some of metal’s elite performed unusual songs.
The karaoke all-stars on the 70,000 Tons Of Metal Cruise is likely Children Of Bodom’s Alexi Laiho and Suffocation’s Frank Mullen. Laiho took the mic to do renditions of Journey’s “Don’t Stop Believing,” the Bee Gees’ “Stayin’ Alive” (in costume), and Judas Priest’s “Turbo Lover” (as a duet with Annihilator’s Jeff Waters). Mullen, on the other hand, probably is the true MVP of the cruises’ karaoke nights with his intoxicated renditions of Chicago’s “Saturday In The Park” and the song “New York, New York.” Oh how we wish we attended this year’s 70,000 Tons Of Metal Cruise…
While our buds (and lucky bastards) at Metal Injection will have more coverage from their time on board posted online soon, fan filmed footage of karaoke performances from some of your favorite metal stars has made its way online. You can watch Alexi Laiho and Jeff Waters performing “Turbo Lover” above, while more clips can be seen after the jump. Read more »
After a week of rumors, Mastodon bassist/vocalist Troy Sanders let it slip that the band would definitely be touring North America with none other than Opeth and Ghost. Today, though, comes the official announcement about the late Spring trek, along with all 30 dates.
First, though, here’s what Mastodon had to say about the upcoming Heritage Hunter Tour:
“We’re excited to co-headline this tour with Opeth for whom we have great respect and admiration. Having Ghost along as well will make this tour a special event.”
Mastodon and Opeth will rotate who closes particular shows, while Ghost will providing support on the entire tour. Tickets to the general public will go on sale starting February 3 and 4, while a fan pre-sale via Mastodon’s website starts tomorrow (February 1) at 3pm local venue time. The tour kicks off on April 4 in at the State Theater in Portland, ME.
I don’t think we need to tell you how excited we are to see this package hitting the road together. So to cut to the chase, we’ll just say that we can’t wait to see these three bands on the same stage and same night! You can check out the entire rundown of dates after the jump. Read more »
The Cult are streaming a song from their new album Choice of Weapon called “Lucifer” over at RollingStone.com. The band’s ninth studio album will come out on May 22 via Cooking Vinyl Records.
This past Summer, Killswitch Engage guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz revealed that he was working on a project with Cannibal Corpse’s Corpsegrinder and The Black Dahlia Murder’s Shannon Lucas. Since then, though, we haven’t heard much about the supergroup from hell. We simply figured that Dutkiewicz has been busy with Killswitch Engage (considering that they need a new singer right now). However, according to Corpsegrinder, the project is still alive.
Our buds at Metal Injection got the exclusive update from Corpsegrinder himself aboard the 70,000 Tons Of Metal cruise last week. Apparently, Dutkiewicz already has eight songs written and that while some parts definitely resembled KSE, there were plenty of down tuned riffs to go around. Corpsegrinder also revealed that his vocals would resemble his other side project Paths Of Possession, which features a mix of high and low growls. Though their appears to be no time table in place, the singer also said that the project will most likely be released via Metal Blade Records (the label home for both Cannibal Corpse and The Black Dahlia Murder).
Chances are, though, that it’ll still be a while till we hear The Black Corpse Engage supergroup. KSE still has to find a new singer and record a new album, and Cannibal Corpse will be likely touring behind their new album Torture for a while (maybe even Summer Slaughter?). Still, it’s exciting to hear that the three are still working together on music.
It’s just been a day jam packed with news regarding awesome tour packages. This time, news has already slipped that Protest The Hero will be touring this Spring with Periphery, Jeff Loomis, and The Safety Fire. While an official announcement is expected to be made tomorrow, Periphery let the cat out of the bag a little early via Facebook, confirming earlier reports about the tour.
Posted by Zach Shaw on Tue, Jan 31, 2012 at 5:01 pm
Touring