Archive | April, 2012
Whitechapel have a busy Summer ahead of them, which includes a stint on this year’s Mayhem Fest. And on June 19, the Tennessee deathcore group will release their self-titled fourth album.
Along with the cover artwork (as seen above) and track listing, Whitechapel also premiered a new song. “Hate Creation” is actually the second track we’ve heard from the self-titled release, with the song “Section 8” appearing on the Recorrrupted EP last November. The new song “Hate Creation” has a cool groove to it while still being pretty brutal.
You can listen to “Hate Creation,” and check out the track listing, yourself in the video after the jump. Pre-orders for Whitechapel’s self-titled album are now available online. Read more »
Cameron Argon might be best known by many as EDM artist Big Chocolate. However, Argon also has a solo death metal project called Disfiguring The Goddess. With his death metal alter ego’s new EP Sleeper now available in all digital outlets, we asked Argon to list what he considers to be the Top 5 collaborations between metal and electronic artists.
The Metal/Electronic phase of music has nearly begun to take shape. With very few examples out there, it’s hard to even come up with five ‘best’ demonstrations of hybrids out there. When choosing these five, I looked for who really chose to combine elements, rather than have 30 seconds of guitars and screaming followed by a minutes worth of 140 BPM dubstep nonsense. There is much to learn about heavy electronic music for metal fans and vice versa. Read more »
It turns out that the Decibel Magazine Tour hasn’t been all fun and games for The Devil’s Blood. After their show in San Antonio, TX last night (April 29), the group were reportedly robbed and stranded by their driver on the tour. And you better believe that The Devil’s Blood is out for blood.
In addition to posting a scan of the driver’s license and personal information, The Devil’s Blood had the following to say:
“The Devil’s Blood hereby declare never-ending and total war upon the following individual; David ‘Ape’ Zoglio.
This piece of shit who was supposed to have been our driver on the US tour ran off with our money after the San Antonio Ritual last night. After being told what to do for the 1000th time and still having no clue how to ride a bus, this ‘Ape,’ as he calls himself, unable to deal with the criticism any longer ran off into down-town San Antonio and left us stranded on an intersection forcing our Tour Manager to take over the wheel. This little rat scurried off so fast that attempts to find, catch and kill it were immediately unsuccessful.”
After sharing his personal information, the group wrapped things up by saying “As for you, David, you little cunt; rest assured that one day we will meet again. A curse upon your house until the day comes that my blade is on your throat.” Meanwhile, “Ape” the driver seems to have responded to the incident via his own Twitter account, saying “Everything’s bigger in Texas, including ones actions.”
If The Devil’s Blood did indeed get ripped off by said driver, then they have to right to be extremely pissed. It always sucks to hear when bands get robbed while on the road, let alone by people and crew members they thought they could “trust.” Fortunately, The Devil’s Blood will still be able to move forward on the tour. You can find out more information about “Ape” the driver via the band’s Facebook page.
Last Thursday night (April 26), Fear Factory took the stage at the Teatro Vorterix in Buenos Aires, Argentina. The concert marked a big occasion for fans, since it was guitarist Dino Cazares and singer Burton C. Bell’s first show with new bassist Matt DeVries (ex-Chimaira/ Six Feet Under) and new drummer Mike Heller (Malignancy/ System Divide). And now video of Fear Factory’s entire performance from that night can be seen online.
Any fan afraid that the departures of Gene Hoglan and Byron Stroud would have a negative impact on Fear Factory need not to fear. As seen in the video above, Fear Factory still sound and look awesome live. You can watch Fear Factory’s entire set in Buenos Aires (at least until it gets taken down) for yourself in the video above. And don’t forget to catch Fear Factory, whose new album The Industrialist comes out on June 5, on the road with Shadows Fall next month.
[footage via ‡ Mλrıλη]
We might have to wait a little longer for a new album from Converge. However, we’ll get to hear at least one new song from the Mass hardcore metal group thanks to a new 7” split they’ll be releasing with Napalm Death.
Being distributed exclusively by Deathwish Direct, the split will feature a new song from Converge called “No Light Escapes.” The track, which the band has been playing live as of late, is expected to also appear on their new album. But that’s not the only added bonus to this split. The first side will also feature Converge covering Entombed’s “Wolverine Blues.” Described as a “We Are The World” style recording, the cover also features appearances from Tomas Lindberg (Disfear, At The Gates, Lock Up), Aaron Turner (Isis, Old Man Gloom, Split Cranium), Kevin Baker (APMD, The Hope Conspiracy), Brian Izzi (Trap Them), and supposedly more. That would certainly explain what the At The Gates/ Lock Up singer was doing in the studio with Converge last February.
An exact release date for Converge and Napalm Death’s 7” split has yet to be confirmed. More information about the split, though, can be seen over at Deathwish’s website.
Radio host Full Metal Jackie has interviewed Fear Factory’s Burton C. Bell about their new album The Industrialist. You can read a transcript of the interview on Loudwire. The band’s second album for Candlelight will be released on June 5.
Fans were taken by surprise when The Black Dahlia Murder introduced Max Lavelle (ex-Despised Icon) as their new bassist at this year’s New England Metal & Hardcore Festival. At the time, it wasn’t even known that Ryan “Bart” Williams left the band at all, despite missing their European tour earlier this year. However, the Detroit metal group officially confirmed today that Williams is out, and Lavelle is indeed in as his replacement.
Singer Trevor Strnad gave the following explanation for the bassist change up:
“Well kids, enough with all the secrets… it’s about time we in The Black Dahlia Murder clue you fans in and tell all about our recent hush hush bassist situation… I’m sure some of you who have seen us on tour in the last months have grown curious as to who this mystery man bass extraordinaire could be and have wondered what long time bassist Ryan “Bart” Williams could be up to. After months of tip-toeing around it, we’ve decided to break the silence and let you guys know the truth.
After six long, grueling years of relentless back-to-back touring, Ryan Williams has decided to step down from his full time position in The Black Dahlia Murder to pursue a career in recording (please stop and check out his new gig here). Although the remaining members are indeed saddened by his decision, the good news is that Ryan will still be involved in the band in many ways, from continued contributions of songwriting (Ryan wrote those sick Robocop riffs in “Malenchantments Of The Necrosphere,” amongst several others, mind you) to overseeing and co-producing future BDM recordings. As you will clearly see by the statements of all parties involved, the change is completely amicable, and the love and brotherhood we’ve shared with Ryan over the years remains untarnished. We wish him the absolute best of luck with Augmented Audio and all of his future endeavors.
Max Lavelle was literally the first idea of a replacement for Ryan, we had toured alongside him when he was playing with Despised Icon a few different times and had the chance to become pretty good friends with the guy as well as be allowed the chance to see him perform live many times. Max is a diehard metal head, a great bassist, a monstrous live presence and a welcome shot of energy into the bloodstream of this band. His enthusiasm for forwarding the whole is inspiring and exactly what we need at this point in time.”
In addition to Strnad’s statement, The Black Dahlia Murder also released a video including Lavelle AND Williams discussing the bassist swap, as well as footage of the two bassists high-fiving it out and a blooper reel. You can watch Lavelle’s introduction video after the jump, while candid photos of the bands with their former and current bassist (including the one above) can be seen here. Read more »
Both Machine Head’s Robb Flynn and Mayhem Festival founder Kevin Lyman let it slip that a cruise edition of the metal touring festival was going to take place this December. Today, though, the Mayhem Cruise has been officially announced, and more details have been revealed.
In addition to previous announced bands like Lamb Of God, Machine Head, Anthrax and Suicide Silence, the Mayhem Fest cruise will also feature performances from Hatebreed, Kingdom Of Sorrow, Gojira, Periphery, Born Of Osiris, Battlecross, Otherwise, Girl On Fire, Anti Mortem, And Gyspyhawk. As previously reported, Korn’s Jonathan Davis and Slipknot’s Sid Wilson will also be DJing aboard the cruise while Slipknot’s Clown and Fangoria will also be hosting a film festival. Comedian Big Jay Oakerson and The Legions Of Skank featuring Luis J. Gomez and Dave Smith will also be performing. As if all that wasn’t enough, the cruise also promises meet & greets, daily artist panels, neo-burlesque dance shows, and gambling.
Hosted by Jose Mangin of Sirius XM Liquid Metal, the Mayhem Cruise sets sail on December 7, 2012 from the Port of Miami, FL and travels to the Bahamas, returning on December 10th aboard the Carnival Imagination. Tickets go on sale this Thursday, May 3, at noon EST via its official website, with packages starting at $699 and payment plans available. Considering the lineup and everything the cruise has to offer, $699 is a pretty damn good deal, especially if you live anywhere near Miami, where the boat is setting sail from.
So head over to Mayhem Cruise’s website to find out more details about 70,000 Tons Of Metal’s new competition. You can also watch an introduction video, featuring interviews with the bands themselves, after the jump. Read more »
The chart-topping song “Somebody That I Used To Know” by Belgian-Australian singer/songwriter Gotye already has a bit of metal cred, since Kimbra, the female lead in the song, admitted that she’s a huge fan of The Dillinger Escape Plan. And now Coheed and Cambria have opted to cover the song, which they performed last night (April 29) on the opening night of their tour in Charlottesville VA. While it’s a little odd to hear the proggy Coheed cover the #1 song in America, the band span genres, so branching out into the admittedly strange song isn’t that much of a stretch, and the band make it sound like their own.
This past weekend, the Metal Insider crew had the chance to catch Rammstein’s Made In Germany North American Tour (Bram saw it in Uniondale, NY while Zach saw the Worcester, MA date). And to say that Rammstein’s two hour plus show blew our minds is an understatement.
Rammstein has been undergoing somewhat of a renaissance in America. After 2009′s Liebe ist fur alle da, the band tested the waters at the end of 2010 by booking their first show in America in almost 10 years at Madison Square Garden. That show sold out in an hour, which led to a handful of North American dates last year (six of those in America). Since those were successful as well, the German sextet is in the midst of a 21-date run that’s the most extensive touring they’ve done in America since 2001. While the majority of the country hasn’t seen them since then, that didn’t stop the band from dramatically changing both the stage show and set lists from the last seven shows the band played in the States.
Similar to their hometown show in Berlin last year, Rammstein started the show by walking through the crowd with torches and flags (the closest we’ve seen to an industrial goth Olympics opening ceremony). Then they crossed a bridge hovered over the crowd from the small stage (where they performed a short set about 2/3rd of the way through the show) to the gigantic, monstrous stage. What followed was nonstop insanity, with pyro and fire coming from every direction you could think of (including from the band members themselves). The German industrial metal group not only transformed their stage as their personal hellish playground, but the entire arena itself.
There were about seven songs switched out from the last tour, most interestingly the addition of “Buck Dich.” Ironically, it was their performance of that song in Worcester that got singer Till Lindemann and keyboardist Christian “Flake” Lorenz” band arrested in 1999. The original performance (which still happens in Germany) consists of simulated rape with a dildo, but their current performance is a bit more tame. And even though all the pyro and set pieces still wow after seeing them multiple times, the band switched things up enough that it was still a nonstop sensory overload. By the end of the night, even if you weren’t covered in foam from singer Till Lindemann’s “love cannon” (used while closing the set with “Pussy”), you still witnessed a show that you likely won’t forget anytime soon.
Whitechapel have a busy Summer ahead of them, which includes a stint on this year’s Mayhem Fest. And on June 19, the Tennessee deathcore group will release their self-titled fourth album.
Posted by Zach Shaw on Mon, Apr 30, 2012 at 5:25 pm
New Music, Releases