Artist Interview
Revolver TV and our sister publication Guitar World were fortunate enough to be a part of the Schecter NAMM 2016 party (taking place in Anaheim, C.A. on Saturday, January 23), which featured performances by Zakk Sabbath and Arch Enemy!
We caught up with Drowning Pool's CJ Pierce on the carpet to talk about Drowning Pool's new record, 'Hellelujah,' which includes songs about drinking, fighting, Satan, and more. Check out our chat below!
Enforcer w/ Warbringer, Exmortus, Cauldron
Tuesday, February 9 at the Bluebird Theater in Denver, C.O.
- Starting time listed on venue's website: 8:00pm.
- Arrival time at venue: 8:18pm.
- Bands missed: Cauldron from Toronto.
- Disappointment level: Immense. Cauldron are a fucking killer classic heavy metal band. If you get a chance, go listen to their new album, 'In Ruin,' right now.
- Lesson learned: Never trust anything you see posted online. Show up early.
- On now: Exmortus from California.
- Sounds like: Melodic death metal with severe Frazettan tendencies. Imagine Amon Amarth listened to a bunch more Dio and Yngwie Malmsteen.
- Percentage of Exmortus songs written with galloping horses in mind: 93.4%.
- Favorite track of the night: The band's cover of Beethoven's "Moonlight Sonata (Act 3)." Nothing like a little classical to make a metal show feel somewhat sophisticated.
- Approximate percentage of sophistication at this show: 3.2%.
- Exciting stage move of the night: Guitarists Jordan Gonzalez and Dave Rivera playing each other's guitars behind each other's backs.
- Full disclosure: It totally looks like they're failing at some sort of really unpleasant sex act.
- Most insane merch selection of the night: Easily Enforcer, who seem to have every shirt they've ever printed available for purchase.
- Availability of the new Enforcer album on vinyl: n/a
- Most reliable merch selection of the night: Warbringer. Some of these shirt designs were being sold the first time I saw them over 10 years ago. Hey, if it ain't broke...
- Next up: Warbringer from Los Angeles.
- Sounds like: Thrashing thrash made by thrashers for thrashers to thrash to.
- Number of times I've seen Warbringer: It must be over 10 at this point. If you lived through the thrash revival, you caught this band all the damn time.
- Kickass opener of the night: "Total War." Modern classic.
- Classic cuts played: "Living In A Whirlwind," "The Turning of The Gears," "Towers of the Serpent," fucking "Combat Shock."
- Odor of pit area during Wabringer: Boiled ass and rotten potatoes.
- Weird stage moves of the night: Warbringer frontman John Kevill's flickering hand motions throughout. They kind of remind me of the crane-style mosher at the High On Fire show.
- Holy shit: There's that doucehbag now! He's as terrible tonight as he was then.
- General regret throughout night: I'm such a shmuck for missing Cauldron...
- Age range in attendance: Surprisingly diverse. You've got your young kids, your old thrashers, your mid-range traditional metallers... a solid mix.
- General attendance: Kind of disappointing. You'd think a band like Enforcer would bring in the crowds!
- Realistic appraisal: It's a Tuesday, and Bullet for My Valentine are playing down the street, so I guess we're not getting the casual metalheads who would normally come out if there wasn't much else to do.
- Amount one would have to pay me to see Bullet for My Valentine instead of Enforcer: $300 or more.
- And now: Enforcer from Sweden.
- Sounds like: Shredding heavy metal with glam and thrash overtones. Think Holy Grail, Skull Fist, that kind of stuff.
- Approximate weight of Enforcer's four band members combined: 146 lbs.
- Amount of time it must take frontman Olaf Wikstrand to put on those boots: 50 min.
- Best tattoos of the night: Bassist Tobias Linqvist's ink. They're all these stand-alone cartoony black-and-white pieces that make you think of Robert De Niro in 'Cape Fear.'
- Killer opener of the night: The one-two of "Destroyer" and "Undying Evil."
- General performance grade: A+! Maybe the leather and stage moves are a bit corny at times, but Enforcer remind you what it's like to ignore the subgenre stratosphere and just listen to some good old-fashioned heavy fucking metal once in a while.
- Times had: Good, fun, killer.
- Chances of cheap beer and Voodoo Donut being consumed post-show: Incredibly high.
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Killswitch Engage have premiered a new song and music video, "Cut Me Loose." Check it out below!
The group will release their new album, 'Incarnate,' on March 11 via Roadrunner Records. To pre-order the new album, visit the band's website.
Memphis, T.N.-based hard rock act Devour the Day will release their new album 'S.O.A.R.' on April 1 via Razor & Tie. In anticipation, the band has teamed up with Revolver to premiere the new title track. Check it out below and let us know what you think in the comments!
Guitarist Blake Allison said of the song, "'S.O.A.R.' is an acronym for 'Suffer, Overcome, And Recover.' It references the true nature of hard work, dedication and the feeling of strength through any process. When the pressure of life and all its struggles has beaten you down, it's what one does in response that really matters and makes us grow as human beings."
To get 'S.O.A.R.,' visit the band's website. For more on Devour the Day, follow them on Twitter and Facebook.
Revolver TV and our sister publication Guitar World were fortunate enough to be a part of the Schecter NAMM 2016 party (taking place in Anaheim, C.A. on Saturday, January 23), which featured performances by Zakk Sabbath and Arch Enemy!
We caught up with Sixx:A.M.'s Dj Ashba on the carpet to talk about his new Schecter signature model, Sixx:A.M.'s forthcoming double album, and more. Check out our chat below!
Revolver TV and our sister publication Guitar World were fortunate enough to be a part of the Schecter NAMM 2016 party (taking place in Anaheim, C.A. on Saturday, January 23), which featured performances by Zakk Sabbath and Arch Enemy!
We caught up with Arch Enemy's Alissa White-Gluz backstage to talk about touring Mexico, working on the next album, overcoming social anxiety, and more. Check out our chat below!
Revolver TV and our sister publication Guitar World were fortunate enough to be a part of the Schecter NAMM 2016 party (taking place in Anaheim, C.A. on Saturday, January 23), which featured performances by Zakk Sabbath and Arch Enemy!
We caught up with Zakk Wylde on the carpet before he took the stage to talk about his new album, 'Book of Shadows II,' Wylde Audio, Zakk Sabbath, and how he's just trying to make enough money to eat more than just pizza. Check out our chat below!
The following article is from Revolver's Feb/Mar 2016 issue. It is on newsstands now and available for purchase in our webstore.
by Dan Epstein
"I love getting into the whole mindset of writing an album," says Kirk Windstein. "Once I get in that zone, I just become obsessed with it. I mean, I'll be at the grocery store and come up with an idea, and then I'll be in a trance in the checkout line with this thing going on in my head. I'll literally have to hurry up and get home so I can pick up the guitar and work it out!"
Happily for fans of heavy music— though perhaps less so for anyone stuck behind Windstein in the "15 Items or Less" line—the Crowbar riff lord is very much in that zone these days, as his iconic sludge-metal outfit gears up to record its eleventh full-length studio album. Duane Simoneaux, who co-produced 2014's 'Symmetry in Black,' will be producing the record at OCD Recording Studios in Metairie, Louisiana; drummer Tommy Buckley, lead guitarist Matthew Brunson and bassist Jeff Golden, all of whom played on Symmetry, will be back, as well.
"We have five complete songs, and I wrote half of song six right before going to bed last night," Windstein tells Revolver shortly before New Year's Eve. "We're about to attack it full-blown, starting in January, and we're planning on going into the studio around the first week or 10 days of February. We're really excited about it!"
Windstein describes the new material as having "sort of an old-school feel to it," so far. "On the last few albums, we brought in some new elements to what the original idea of the Crowbar sound was. It was very refreshing, and I think all in all it worked out great, but I'm trying to bring back some of the original elements that somehow got phased out little by little over the course of the last 26 years. I've also been listening to certain stuff like Carnivore, The Melvins, Trouble—bands that were big influences on the original Crowbar sound. The sound of what's going on right now reminds me of a better, fresher, more mature version of the original Crowbar stuff."
Windstein says he hopes the new, as-yet- untitled album will be out by June, which would make it a mere two years following the release of 'Symmetry.' Fans have come to expect much lengthier waits between Crowbar albums—but since leaving Down and Kingdom of Sorrow behind in 2013, Windstein has been able to re-dedicate himself fully to all things Crowbar. "Juggling Down, Kingdom of Sorrow and Crowbar was great while it lasted, but it got pretty crazy," chuckles Windstein. "I do have 'outside' things these days, but it's more life things, family things; artistically—musically, songwriting, riff writing, lyrics, everything—there's nothing else to interrupt my focus.
"I love touring," he continues. "But the older I get, the more I enjoy the studio and the whole creative process. Now we can make an album, do a whole touring cycle, then get right back in the studio and do it all over again—and that's a great feeling!"
The following is an excerpt from the Dream Theater profile in the Feb/Mar issue of Revolver–which is on newsstands February 9 and is available for purchase in our webstore. Here, axman John Petrucci talks about Dream Theater's new double-album 'The Astonishing.'
by J. Bennett
REVOLVER Did you start working on new material with the intention of writing a double concept record, or did it just turn out that way?
JOHN PETRUCCI Everything about this album was deliberate. It was planned about two and a half years ago. Every detail and layer of it was proposed and planned—from having it based on an original story to having it be a concept album in two acts and being its own stand-alone Dream Theater show that we'll present in seated venues across the world. We had it very mapped out from the beginning.
There are 34 songs on the album. Isn't that more like a triple album?
You know, when I look at it, I can't believe it [laughs]. We've never had anything close to that many songs on any of our albums. It really is a trip. It comes in at two hours and 10 minutes, so it's not just two CDs—it truly is two albums' worth of material. But the reason there are so many songs is because it's a score to the story, so each one sets up a different scene or chapter.
At any point did you think, "What have I gotten myself into?"
[Laughs] Oh my god—at many points. I'm still thinking that! At least now the album's done, but the live show has been in development for the last year. The great thing about the project is that it brings together all the creative art forms that I love—storytelling and creative writing; music, obviously, and songwriting and playing guitar. I love sci-fi and fantasy movies and things like 'Lord of the Rings' and 'Game of Thrones.' Even musical theater like 'Les Misérables' and 'Jesus Christ Superstar,' and—speaking of the show—very cool visuals. Not to mention a deep and broad involvement with real orchestra and choir throughout the entire album. So as much as it's overwhelming, it's very rewarding creatively.
The following is an excerpt from the Drowning Pool profile in the Feb/Mar issue of Revolver–which is on newsstands February 9 and is available for purchase in our webstore. Here, frontman Jasen Moreno talks about the band before he joined, former vocalist Dave Williams, and if his job is a cursed position.
by Richard Bienstock
REVOLVER How long have you actually known the Drowning Pool guys?
JASEN MORENO Oh, man! I couldn't count the years. I knew 'em before they were signed. I knew Dave [Williams]...so, I don't know, maybe since '93? A long, long time.
Could you tell back then that they would break through to the mainstream?
We all could tell. You couldn't have been in the scene back then without knowing it. I'll often say it was magical, because there's just no other word I know to describe it. It was magical, man. There was no way it wasn't gonna happen. It was undeniable. It was awesome.
Did the thought ever cross your mind, "You know, I could be good singing for that band..."
I mean, of course, yeah, I went there. But I never wanted to be that guy to them. I don't know, I felt like it would have been disrespectful for me to be begging for the gig or whatever. So I always tried to be cool about it. But yeah, without a doubt I wanted to be in the damn band [laughs]!
Do you think because of your long history together it makes you a better fit for the frontman position?
I'd like to think so. But it's not like I'm only a fan of what they did in the beginning with Dave. I also loved the stuff with [former singers] Ryan [McCombs] and Gong [Jason "Gong" Jones]. I'm a Drowning Pool fan, so I like it all. But we took the long road to get here, and that's fine. Everything happens for a reason.
Do you think Drowning Pool tends to be regarded as a cursed band, in which the frontman position is a revolving door?
I think it's easy to play that card, the whole revolving door thing. But you know, I think it's awesome that they've been able to hold onto their staying power with whatever singer they've had. I think that's a testament to the fans. So it becomes less about who's singing, and more about those guys and the relationship they have with their fans. Revolving door or not, they're still here. And now I'm here. And I'm not going anywhere.