Archive | Metal Musical Chairs
Since Ronnie James Dio’s death, numerous all-star Dio tribute groups have come to fruition. The two most notable, though, are Dio Disciples (featuring Tim “Ripper” Owens and Dio’s last lineup) and the more recently formed Last In Line (lead by guitarist Vivian Campbell and his former Dio bandmates). Now those two tributes have something in common: drummer Vinny Appice will play a few shows with each.
It was announced that Appice (who played with Ronnie in Dio, Black Sabbath and Heaven & Hell) will be filling in for in for Simon Wright for at least three shows with Dio Disciples in July. This came shortly after Last In Line announced plans for a mini U.K. tour, slated for August. Appice’s involvement with Dio Disciples is somewhat surprising, not only since he’s playing in another tribute group but also since he once called Dio Disciples “disgusting” during a 2011 interview with Fightin’ Words Radio’s All Hail Hair show. Obviously, though, Appice has had a change of heart.
As of now, Appice is only slated to play three shows with Dio Disciples in July. And while The Last In Line can only do four shows due to scheduling conflicts at the moment, there is hope they may be able to book some warm-up shows on the U.S. West Coast.
A changing of the guards: Kjetil and Jay
First the bad news: Kvelertak’s drummer, Kjetil Gjermundrod is unable to continue drumming with the band on their first headlining tour in support of Meir. The good news, on the other hand, is that they’re not cancelling the tour, and have lined up a high-profile drummer to fill-in: Jay Weinberg. You know, son of Bruce Springsteen and the E Street band drummer Max Weinberg, tour with them sometimes? Also played with Madball and Against Me!? Yeah, that guy. Here’s what the band’s Facebook page had to say about it:
Our drummer Kjetil has been having trouble with his arm and was unfortunately unable to continue our ongoing North America tour. He left home for Norway yesterday to get treatment so that he doesn’t permanently damage his hand, which would suck so much balls.
But, we were lucky to get an awesome replacement in Jay Weinberg (Against Me, Madball, E-street Band) who learned all the songs and played an amazing set yesterday in Seattle. Kjetil is a hard drummer to replace, but Jay might just be the best replacement imaginable. Thanks Jay!!
For the chance to see rock royalty (well, at least son of rock royalty) play with one of the best live bands out there, check the remaining tour dates after the jump. Cancer Bats and Black Tusk will open. Read more »
As if the lineup that he had record and play on Frequency Unkown wasn’t enough, Geoff Tate’s version of Queensryche has enlisted another high-profile musician to fill in on their tour. John Moyer, bassist of Disturbed and more recently, Adrenaline Mob, will be stepping in for Rudy Sarzo while he goes to Russia to play with Rockstar, his band. Sarzo will rejoin the tour in June.
“I am very excited and honored to have John Moyer stepping in for Rudy Sarzo on some of the upcoming Queensryche shows in May,” said Tate. “I have admired John’s work with Disturbed and look forward to his contribution to the Operation: Mindcrime presentation.”
“In a world where ‘albums’ have been replaced by ‘singles’ it is an honor to perform one of the greatest concept albums of all time from start to finish,” Moyer commented. Operation: Mindcrime is just as powerful today as it was 25 years ago. My thanks to Geoff Tate and Rudy Sarzo for asking me to fill in on these shows while Rudy is gone.”
I guess if you’re Rudy Sarzo, you probably get paid a lot of money in Russia when your band tours. Probably more than Queensryche can afford. If nothing else, Tateryche is proving to be an all star extravaganza. In the battle of the Queensryches, so far Tate’s is winning on star power and being out of the gate first. It’s hard to judge who will win on music, given that there’s only one song from the other Queensryche out so far.
Check out the dates that Moyer will be filling in on after the jump. Read more »
Drummer Max Duhamel surprised fans when he announced he was stepping down from Kataklysm to seek treatment for alcoholism. And this week, the French Canadian death metal group revealed that ex-Neuraxis drummer Oli Beaudoin will be filling in on drums for upcoming shows and the forthcoming album Waiting For The End To Come.
Guitarist Jean-Francois Dagenais issued the following statement about Beaudoin:
“Oli played with Kataklysm before on the 70,000 Tons of Metal Cruise last year and he did a phenomenal show. He is extremely talented, focused and ready to do the job needed. Some of you might be familiar with him from his work with Neuraxis and session work with Keep of Kalessin and Belphegor. We are very happy to have him on board and he comes with a thumbs up approval from Max as well. We have one hell of a ride in store for you with this new album so let it begin.”
Kataklysm voiced their support for Duhamel and his efforts to get sober, though also seemed optimistic that he may one day return. However, Duhamel will still play a few more dates with Kataklysm before Beaudoin steps in starting on June 30 in Costa Rico. Waiting For The End To Come is due out in late 2013/early 2014 via Nuclear Blast Records.
Kataklysm recently set Waiting For The End To Come as the title of its new album, due out late 2013/early 2014 via Nuclear Blast Records. However, it’s been revealed that they’ll be recording the album without Drummer Max Duhamel, who announced that he’s stepping down to tend to his issues with alcoholism.
Duhamel issued the following statement via his own Facebook page about the matter:
“Hello everyone, it is with an a extremely heavy heart that I announce today that I will not be performing on the new Kataklysm album. I have been struggling with many personal issues the last year but lately, the main one has been alcohol. It’s been affecting my body in a very negative way to the point that when I came home after the Ex Deo tour we just did, I tried to stop drinking for few days and it’s been very hard without having any withdrawal symptoms. I’ve also lost a lot of weight as some of noticed recently and I’m not in good shape.
I’ve heard the new material my brothers have written and it’s truly incredible stuff. It’s really some of the best music the band has ever done, but it’s going to be a very demanding album and my state of mind and body is not ready to confront this big task right now. I need to clean my body and my mind and come back focused to Kataklysm and I don’t know how long this will take… The guys have reached out to help in any way they can, which I can’t thank them enough.
I’m truly blessed to have them as a family , so as I start my road to recovery I send this message to all of you and thank you for all the support. It’s time to take my life in my hands and take responsibility. I will not be attending the Juno Awards ceremony in two weeks for the Ex Deo nomination, but I will close my contract with the shows in May that are left. Extremefest, Beastival in Germany and Metalfest Czech Rep. will be my last shows until I’m ready again to come back in full form. Uou guys deserve the best from me …see you later Max”
Kataklysm is expected to issue their own statement about Duhamel’s departure. Duhamel joined the French Canadian death metal group in 1994, and (as he mentions) played drums in Ex Deo as well. While it seems as though the door has been left open for him to rejoin Kataklysm, it doesn’t seem as though that’ll happen for quite some time. Hopefully the drummer finds the help he admits to needing and makes a speedy recovery.
UPDATE – The remaining members of Kataklysm have issued the following joint statement about Duhamel’s decision to part ways with the group to seek help: Read more »
In a recent interview, Kerry King suggested that he would extend Exodus guitarist Gary Holt, who’s been filling in for the ailing Jeff Hanneman, a seat at the Slayer table should Hanneman not be well enough to carry on with Slayer. However, he stated that he hadn’t really discussed with with Holt, who recently gave his opinion during an interview with MetalTitans.com. In short, he wouldn’t do it if it meant he couldn’t continue on with Exodus. This is what he told the interviewer Peter Ruttan when asked if he’d consider becoming a permanent member of Slayer:
Not if it meant the end of what I’ve been doing my whole life. If I could manage both, you know… But I’ve been filling in for just over two years now and I’m booked all year with them. But I’m just keeping the work going with Exodus and I’ve been doing a lot of riff writing on tour. And on the summer [run] with Slayer, I’m taking a little portable, digital recording rig with me so I can continue working on [new Exodus] stuff in hotel rooms and shit.
So he hasn’t ruled out continuing with both bands, but after a while, he’d probably have to make a decision. If he can keep up his schedule for the foreseeable future, it’ll work for both bands. And given that King is fine with writing new Slayer material by himself, that would free up Holt to keep his own riffs for Exodus songs. Maybe Slayer could continually tour with Exodus, like Ozzy did with Black Label Society to keep Zakk Wydle happy. Or maybe it will ultimately come down to money. But given the way things shook out with Dave Lombardo, it doesn’t seem like they’re in any hurry to compensate anyone for more than they feel they’re worth.
While the audition videos are probably rolling in for Machine Head after announcing open online auditions last week, they’ve likely got one that can move to the top of the pack. Former Fear Factory member Christian Wolde Olbers has sent an audition video. Wolbers spent nearly 15 years in Fear Factory, initially as their bassist, then switching over to guitar in 2002 following Dino Cazares’ initial departure. More recently, he’s been in Arkaea, the band he’d formed with original FF drummer Raymond Herrera. While this is only a small portion of the audition, he nails “This is the End,” or at least what we’re seeing online. And it doesn’t seem like he would have any problem transitioning back to bass.
[Lambgoat, by way of Metal Sucks]
Remember when it was mentioned that Dave Grohl had played drums on Ghost BC’s cover of ABBA’s “I’m A Marionette?” It turns out that Grohl might have a little more involvement with the band than that, as it’s been revealed that the journeyman Foo Fighters frontman is actually one of the “nameless ghouls” in the band. Grohl broke his silence about playing on Infestissimum in an interview.
“I’ve already played the devil (in 2006′s Tenacious D in The Pick of Destiny), so it was a no-brainer to join forces with an evil pope,” Grohl said. “The last time I had a hunch about joining up with a band that signed to a major label for their second album, it worked out pretty well. And with the Foos done touring for the time being, and the whole Sound City thing over, I can concentrate on being a nameless ghoul, and no one will be any the wiser.”
While Ghost’s ABBA cover is only going to be a b-side for Infestissimum, it was the first glimpse that Grohl might have a little more of a hand in things with the band. In addition to his forthcoming Ghost BC duties, Grohl also played drums on the forthcoming Queens of the Stone Age album, and will likely work on a new Them Crooked Vultures album following Ghost’s tour dates, which can be seen after the jump.
For more on Grohl’s decision to join Ghost BC, how he’s managed to keep it a secret for so long, and more, read about it here. Read more »
It was revealed via an emotional blog posting last month that Machine Head had parted ways with bassist Adam Duce. Yet with the band tapped to play the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Fest this Summer, the mourning period has to end, and the band need a new bassist. It seems like references from friends aren’t panning out, though, as the band have launched a search for a temporary bassist to play with them this Summer, and are accepting submissions via YouTube. Here’s what their web site had to say:
Machine Head will begin the process of searching for a temporary bassist replacement for this summer’s Mayhem Festival in the U.S. Interested in trying out? For a limited time the band will accept and review YouTube submissions that include the following:
1) Video: A standalone performance of the songs listed below, just yourself, singing and playing bass along to the the tracks off the albums. **Camera phone is fine as long as it’s stable**
2) A brief 1- to 2-minute statement about your musical experience; playing, touring experience, etc.
Please upload your videos to YouTube and e-mail a link (or links) to MHBassAuditions@gmail.com that includes the following songs:
1) This Is The End
2) Halo
3) Beautiful Mourning
Once the band has narrowed down potential candidates, they will hold tryouts in person at a to-be-determined location.
Seems like a great opportunity for the right bassist. And even if they already have someone in mind to play with the band following the tour and this is a glorified publicity stunt, it might be a chance for a bassist to tour the North America this Summer and play in front of hundreds of thousands of people. Considering there’s only about three months until the tour starts (on June 29 in San Bernardino), you might want to act quick on this.
Did one spider ruin the future of Slayer? That might be overstating things a bit, but in a recent interview, Kerry King stated that he would be fine continuing on without Jeff Hanneman. Hanneman contracted necrotizing fasciitis (aka flesh eating disease) in early 2011. He’s been undergoing a slow and painful rehabilitation process since, and for the past two years, Exodus’ Gary Holt has been filling in on guitar. In an interview with Metal Obsession, King not only states that he hasn’t really been in touch with the founding guitarist, but he would have no problems with Holt joining the band full time. A few excerpts from the interview, bolded by us for emphasis:
I don’t have an update. I haven’t seen Jeff in forever. He’s always been a recluse, and he’s even been more of a recluse since he’s not going on tour with us. But our manager talks to him from time to time and sees him in L.A. just randomly. But I’m far from L.A., so I’m not in that loop. But I guess he’s just getting better. It’s just one of those things where he can do anything in life. He could be hanging here having a good time with us. He can probably play ‘South Of Heaven’, but he’s not gonna be playing ‘Jihad’, you know what I mean?! So it’s just a muscle memory kind of thing, I guess, at this point.“
I think Gary is in for the long haul. I haven’t really discussed it with him. But he keeps his schedule free when he knows we’re on tour. And I’m pretty sure, if Jeff all of a sudden came back in June, we would probably pay Gary for freeing up his time. I don’t wanna treat somebody that’s bailed us out for two years badly. But if Gary played with us forever? I’m OK with that. But if Jeff got better and said, ‘Hey, man, I’m ready to play,’ and he came to rehearsal and showed us he was good enough, that’s his show.
So essentially, King is putting it all on Hanneman to come back, but it doesn’t seem like he’s all that concerned with whether he does or not. One thing that we’ve really never heard from King is a sense of empathy for the guitar player that he co-founded the band with. Even one sentence about how he’s reached out to him or that he hopes he’s healing up well would go a long way towards showing that he’s not being cold and calculated about the whole guitarist situation.
Elsewhere in the interview, he states that he’s continuing to work on the next Slayer album, stating they’ve got ‘tons of songs’ written. It’ll be interesting to hear what a Slayer album without Hanneman’s input sounds like. As Metal Sucks points out, most of the band’s set list consists of songs that Hanneman wrote. And while the division of labor with the band’s music for the past couple of albums is more equally divided between Hanneman and King, most of the band’s biggest and most enduring songs were written by Hanneman. If the only original members of Slayer on the next album are King and Tom Araya, there might be more than a handful of disillusioned Slayer fans.
UPDATE: In case you are reading this and have not heard, Hanneman passed away on the morning of May 2.
Since Ronnie James Dio’s death, numerous all-star Dio tribute groups have come to fruition. The two most notable, though, are Dio Disciples (featuring Tim “Ripper” Owens and Dio’s last lineup) and the more recently formed Last In Line (lead by guitarist Vivian Campbell and his former Dio bandmates). Now those two tributes have something in common: drummer Vinny Appice will play a few shows with each.
Posted by Zach Shaw on Tue, May 14, 2013 at 9:58 am
Metal Musical Chairs