Archive | February, 2012
Like Anthrax in 2011 and Alice In Chains in 2009, Accept’s Blood Of The Nation was arguably the comeback album of 2010. With Mark Tornillo taking over for original singer Udo Dirkschneider, Accept proved that they still had what it takes to create timeless metal anthems, even after 14 years of inactivity. And this year, the German metal legends aren’t wasting anytime.
Their new album Stalingrad will be released on April 6 via Nuclear Blast Records. This morning, though, we’ve received our first taste of new music from Accept with the stream of Stalingrad’s title track. The over six minute song is jam packed with killer riffs from Wolf Hoffmann and Stefan Schwarzmann, as well as with Tornillo’s monster vocals. In other words, not only will long time Accept fans love it, but listening to “Stalingrad” might be the perfect way to kick-start your day.
So take a shower, get a cup of coffee, pick out a tie (or let’s be real, your favorite Slayer t-shirt) to wear to work, and give Accept’s new song “Stalingrad” a listen in the video above.
Last week, rumors started to spread about drummer Mike Smith’s status in Suffocation. While Smith’s cryptic statement hinted that he had departed from the legendary death metal group, the remaining members have yet to release an official statement. However, in a recent email interview with Russia’s HitKiller.com, the band did confirm that Smith is no longer in the band. They also confirmed that he has been replaced by Dave Culross, who most recently performed a few East Coast dates with the group.
The original interview was published in Russian, but here is what Suffocation had to say regarding their current status (as translated by Blabbermouth):
“We want to keep this respectful, so without going into much detail, Mike and the rest of us had serious differences of opinions. Mike did formally resign from the band, and he has since been replaced with Dave Culross who had played and recorded on Despise The Sun.”
Suffocation went on to say:
“For all the people who think the band is splitting up, it’s NOT, except for the one change we already mentioned above. As far as our next move, the new CD is in the pre-production stage and it kills! We would say some of the best material to date. The band right now as a whole can’t wait to get this out to our fans.”
When we reached out to management about the interview’s legitimacy, they told us that “An official statement has not been released, however this was an interview published in an overseas e-zine.” So while it’s safe to say that Smith is no longer a member of Suffocation, chances are this won’t be the last we hear about it.
It’s certainly sad to see Suffocation without Smith, a founding member of the group. However, at least the legendary death metal group will be able to move forward with a familiar face (Culross was in the group from 1996-1998) and will still be releasing a new album later this year.
Nachtmystium will release their new album Silencing Machine on July 31 via Century Media Records.
2012 is shaping up to be a big year for Job For A Cowboy. In addition to the Metal Alliance Tour (and rumors about this year’s Summer Slaughter Tour), the Arizona deathcore band will be releasing a new album called Demonocracy. And today, we’ve got our first taste of new JFAC material. The song “Nourishment Through Bloodshed” shows the band continuing to separate themselves from “core” elements and leaning towards more of a death metal sound. In other words, the single is pretty damn brutal.
You can listen to “Nourishment Through Bloodshed” for yourself in the video above. Job For A Cowboy will release Demonocracy on April 10 via Metal Blade Records.
Earlier this month, Scott Kelly kicked off an acoustic solo tour in the U.S. The Neurosis guitarist/frontman has been receiving support on the trek from Oxbow’s Eugene S. Robinson. However, a few fans are in for a special treat, as Baroness frontman John Baizley will be joining the tour on select dates.
Baizley, who opened for Kelly in New Zealand and Australia earlier this month, will reportedly join with the Neurosis frontman for a special set. Unfortunately, though, the Baroness singer/guitarist will only be appearing at the tour’s stops in Brooklyn (March 4) and Philadelphia (March 6). Thus, these two special shows are a must see for any fan in the Tri-state/Philadelphia area. But hey, we’re pretty sure the tour posters for those two shows are going to be rad!
You can check out a rundown of remaining dates for Kelly’s solo tour after the jump. Read more »
Metal Insider’s Top 5 is a column where we count down the top five of…well basically anything.
In case you missed it, Pantera’s seminal album Vulgar Display Of Power turned 20 years old on Saturday (February 25). While 1990′s Cowboys From Hell was the first of the band’s albums to be released nationally, Vulgar Display Of Power was far and away the band’s most popular album, having sold over 2 million copies, and vaulting the band into metal’s elite. While there’s tons of people we could talk to about how influential the band’s sixth album was, we thought it might be best to look at five different takes on songs from the album to show the breadth of the Pantera’s Power. Read more »
Starting in April, Overkill will be hitting the road with God Forbid as part of the Electric Age Tour. It’s a rather fitting combo since both bands will be releasing new albums right around the same time. And it just so happens that we have tastes of new music from both bands today as well.
First up is the new single from Overkill’s new album The Electric Age. Though it made its way around the web last week, the thrash titans have officially released the song “Electric Rattlesnake” via iTunes. The song is truly thrash-tastic, featuring killer riffs and Bobby “Blitz” Ellsworth’s signature voice. While you can download the single via iTunes, you can also give “Electric Rattlesnake” a listen in the video above.
Next, we have God Forbid premiering a new song live. Previously, we heard a demo version of “Where We Come From” and a snippet of “Cornered.” During their show at Saint Vitus Bar in Brooklyn, NY on February 18, the band performed a new song called “Don’t Tell Me What To Dream.” And luckily, our buds at Metal Injection were on hand to film the performance. While the audio isn’t the best of quality, the song sounds super heavy and has us even more excited for their new album Equilibrium. Before that, though, God Forbid will be premiering the new album live on March 16 at Duff’s in Brooklyn, NY.
You can watch God Forbid performing “Don’t Tell Me What To Dream” after the jump. God Forbid’s Equilibrium comes out on March 26 via Victory Records, while Overkill’s The Electric Age comes out the following day via eOne Music. In case you haven’t yet, you can check out a rundown of dates for the Electric Age Tour, also featuring Diamond Plate and Suidakra, online. Read more »
Hey guys, in case you haven’t realized it from the last few years, March is Metal Month. For four years now, the guys at EMI Label Services and Caroline Distribution have been celebrating the releases on the labels they distribute, which include Century Media, Nuclear Blast, Candlelight, Earache, Elm City, Season of Mist, Prospect Park and more. While the real meat of what this is about is working with independent record stores to help support metal, Metal Insider has been involved since the first year, and have offered cool prizes to metal fans. We’ll be doing that again this year, but more on that when it’s actually March.
Meanwhile, if you’re anywhere near the NYC metro area, we invite you to come out to Idle Hands Bar tomorrow (28) to help kick off the month. From 6-8, there will be drink specials, giveaways, and oh yeah, metal. And if you stick around, starting at 8, everyone’s favorite metal Big Brother contestant, Adam Poch, will be hosting an evening of metal trivia. Before he was sexing up prime time TV, he hosted trivia back in Hoboken. The guy’s got chops, and it’s a good time. And other than everything, what’s more metal than clowns? Don’t answer, but from 7-9, Clown Shoes Beer will be having a special promotion. For $10, you’ll get three pours of beer, including Hoppy Feet Double IPA, Tramp Stamp IPA and Vampire Slayer Smoked Imperial Stout. So stay tuned to Metal Insider to hear about what we’ll be giving away, but roll out tomorrow to enjoy beer, metal and trivia.
Tomorrow (February 28), Relapse Records will be releasing Vivus!, a two disc album featuring live recordings of Death’s final lineup performing at the Whisky A Go-Go in LA and at Holland’s Dynamo Open Air in 1998. This live compilation is a must have for any diehard fan of the legendary death metal group and late Chuck Schuldiner.
However, we’re giving away two copies of Death’s new live album Vivus! for free. All you have to do to enter is leave a comment in the section below telling us your favorite song from Death. We’ll be choosing two winners by Thursday, March 1. Multiple entries will be disqualified, and the contest is open to U.S. residents only (sorry, rest of world).
As we’ve said before, we only have two copies of this awesome live compilation, which also includes unearthed photos and liner notes from Death drummer Richard Christy and long-time manager Eric Greif. So don’t forget that you can purchase Vivus! via Relapse’s webstore and Death’s Facebook page. If you still want to try your luck at winning a free copy, then leave a comment below now before it’s too late.
Slash is streaming the first single from his new album Apocalyptic Love called “You’re A Lie” over at LoudWire.
Posted by Zach Shaw on Tue, Feb 28, 2012 at 10:04 am
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