Artist Interview

Although nearly two years has passed since Machine Head opened for Metallica on the Death Magnetic tour, touring with the thrash titans had a lasting impact on Machine Head frontman Robb Flynn, who is interviewed in the current issue of Revolver. The experience influenced him well into the songwriting process for the recently released and critically acclaimed Unto the Locust, which features numerous sonic twists and turns and a previously untapped creativity reminiscent of Metallica's Ride the Lightning and Master of Puppets.

"To me, one of the raddest things in the world was touring with Metallica and watching 'Master of Puppets'—not 'Enter Sandman.'" Flynn explains. "I get why 'Enter Sandman' is so frickin' huge, but to watch 'Master of Puppets,' this eight-minute song with a million parts in the middle of it with complicated choruses and off-time rhythms—to watch arenas every night sing every fuckin' word, that was amazing. There's this whole other part of music that can be well-written and well-constructed that can be somewhere over here [points away from him] and still translate to millions of fuckin' people."

It wasn't just the crowd that inspired Flynn, it was everything: the scale of the production, the quality of sound and especially the attitudes of the members of the biggest metal band on earth.

"It's amazing to see how passionate those dudes still are about music," says Flynn, who recently celebrated his band's 20th birthday . "They don't have to give a shit about music at this point. They don't have to care about other bands. They're fucking Metallica. But there were times when I'd sit there and talk to Lars [Ulrich] or [James] Hetfield and listen to them geek out on a band. Lars and I went and saw the Sword, and he's singing every word and doing air guitar to all the right parts. I'm like, 'You know every fucking word to the Sword's songs?'"

Another experience was even more revelatory for Flynn. A couple hours before Machine Head go on, the frontman starts warming up his fingers and voice. One time, Hetfield walked in and the two started talking. When Hetfield noticed there was an electronic drum kit set up in the corner of the dressing room, which Machine Head drummer Dave McClain bashes around on, Hetfield took a seat behind the kit.

"He said, "Do you know any 'Tallica?" Flynn says. "I'm like, 'Do I know any Metallica?! Fuckin' call it.' So we did 'Master of Puppets.' Then he goes, 'Do you know any Maiden?' And I'm like, 'Fuckin' 'Wrathchild.' And then I realize, 'Oh my God, I'm jamming with Hetfield and he's on the fuckin drums, playing it killer.' Then he says, 'Let's jam [Machine Head's] "Aesthetics of Hate."' I'm like, 'You know "Aesthetics of Hate" on the drums?' He knew every fuckin' drum beat, every part, and that ain't an easy song to play. While we're playing, Dave [McClain, Machine Head drummer] comes in and goes, 'He's playing my drum parts. This is amazing!' To see a band at that level and think, 'Wow, man, those dudes are still fans. They still love music' is kind of a revelation. But I mean, I don't know why I didn't know [they still loved metal]. I think I might have thought they'd be different now because they're huge and they're Metallica."

Falling in Reverse are releasing their video for "I'm Not a Vampire," off their new album The Drug in Me Is You, on Monday. Below, you can see a special photo gallery of the band at the video shoot.

You can read more about the group, fronted by former Escape the Fate vocalist Ronnie Radke, in Revolver's latest issue, on newsstands now and also available online here.

Black Veil Brides–who took home the fan-voted Best New Band Award at the 2011 Revolver Golden Gods–have unleashed a black-and-white, classic-movie-style video, for the track "Rebel Love Song," off their sophomore album, Set the World on Fire. Check out the clip below, and let us know what you think in the comments.

Legendary actor and recording artist William Shatner recently unleashed his new double-album, Seeking Major Tom, featuring cameos from hard-rock and metal notables like Zakk Wylde, Mike Inez, Ritchie Blackmore, and Michael Schenker on covers of Black Sabbath, Pink Floyd, Deep Purple, and others. Now Shatner, who was named the Honorary Headbanger at the 2011 Revolver Golden Gods award show in April, has released the frickin' amazing music video for his rendition of Queen's "Bohemian Rhapsody" featuring John Wetton of King Crimson. Check it out below and let us know what you think in the comments!

When we interviewed New Years Day frontwoman Ash Costello for the new Hottest Chicks in Hard Rock issue—she's also featured in the 2012 Hottest Chicks in Hard Rock calendar—we talked about a range of topics, from the origins of her band to her fave horror movies to her favorite hard-rock and metal albums. Unfortunately, due to space constraints in the issue, we weren't able to include most of our chat—but that's what the Internet is for! Read what she has to say below, and check out exclusive photo outtakes for her Hottest Chicks shoot right here.

REVOLVER How did New Years Day form?
ASH COSTELLO New Years Day formed out of bad breakups. It was like this twist in fate in mine and my band members' lives. We have all been friends since before we formed this band and, for some reason, all of us were going through a breakup with our boyfriends and girlfriends at the time. We were all crashing at our guitar player's house, drowning our sorrows in junk food, wine, and TV when we all sat up and wrote a song called "Ready Aim Misfire." The song was so good, we wrote another and another, and finally decided to just start a band with each other—which rocks 'cause it's just an extra fun additive to us hanging out anyway.

How would you describe your music?
This is always a tough question to answer, but I'd say if My Chemical Romance and Paramore had a baby from hell on Halloween and made Rob Zombie the Godfather and Elvira the Godmother, then that would sound like us. We are upbeat rock but it's still very dark sounding. It's dark rock yet it's catchy and fun. I learned that from the greats: I'm very inspired by Rob Zombie, Alice Cooper, Marilyn Manson. I always say it sounds like you just rode the Haunted Mansion at Disneyland that ended in a rock concert.

What is your goal with the band?
My goal is to have the ability to play music for a living for the rest of my life. I don't need a ton of money, cars, jewelry or a huge house and other crazy expensive things to feel like I reached my goal. I just want to know that for the rest of my life, I don't have to wake up hating my day, everyday, because I work a terrible job that I have no passion for. That's my selfish reason! My other reason is to touch someone's life. When a fan writes to me saying we saved them from suicide or helped them through a bad breakup or helped them be proud of who they are or helped them chase their dreams, then I've really achieved something of value. Oh yeah! My last goal: revenge!

Tell us about the band's new album, The Mechanical Heart.
I am so proud of it. It's our second official album out, and we only have two, but it's my favorite. So much heart went into it for me, personally. It's the most honest lyrics I've ever written and the most fun I've had recording. It's much darker and heavier than our first record, My Dear, and I could not be happier with it. From start to finish, it's about a girl and a guy falling in love, and the love being so strong and powerful that it destroys them both, and in order to not feel the pain, they replace their human hearts with mechanical ones. We filmed the first music video for the album for the song "Two in the Chest, One in the Head" and I actually get to rip a guys heart out of his chest—it was so bloody!

You're known as a "horror-movie queen"? How come? What are some of your favorite horror movies?
I think the biggest reason is because I actually get paid to scare people. Besides the band, I work as a "monster" at a horror-themed park every year. It's a big, big event in Southern California and Im a vampire that gets to run around making people scream all night for the entire month of October! So it's just my repuation, I guess. It wasn't something I tried to do really. You know, I have fans that follow me on Facebook and Twitter and I'm always posting gory horror-movie stuff. The content of my songs and my lyrics, I'm sure have a lot to do with it, and the way I act and look onstage, I tend to be covered in fake blood half the time. My hair is raven black and pumpkin orange! I'm always some sort of death victim or zombie in friend's music videos—I was just a zombie in a new Winds of Plague video. I am a huge horror-movie fan. My all time favorite is Texas Chainsaw Massacre! The fact that it's based on a true story and is horrifying to watch because it was filmed in the '70s and is so gritty and unprofessional you feel like youre there. Another fave is by one of my heroes, Rob Zombie, which is House of 1000 Corpses. It's such a messed-up movie but it's so funny and so colorful, I kind of feel like it's like my band in that way. And my new favorite is Hobo with a Shotgun—sooo beyond ridiculously bloody and so fun to watch!

You guys were on this summer's Warped Tour. What was the craziest thing that happened?
The craziest moment that comes to mind was in Florida. We were playing our acoustic set in one of the larger tents, and it was a cloudy day but nothing unusual. As we are hitting the bridge to one of our songs called "My Dear," I notice a huge cloud that looks as though it's touching the ground and very thick, like, dust rolling towards us from the distance. Twenty seconds later, the row of merch tents I'm looking down is starting to get picked up and thrown by the wind, one by one, and moving closer! Then the tent we were in started to get picked up. It was one of the heavier bigger ones so you could tell the wind was trying hard, picking it up about three feet, then slamming it down. I ran and hid with our merch girl under a semi-truck with some fans while the boys in the bands were literally dangling from the metal poles of this tent trying to keep it down! I've seen quite a few crazy storms and tornado warnings on Warped Tour! Never a dull moment.

Who are your biggest musical heroes and why?
My biggest heroes are the musicians that never gave up on their dreams even when people said they were too different to fit in anywhere, never took no for an answer, and kept believing in what they were doing no matter what. I look up to Marilyn Manson and Alice Cooper. Rob Zombie. Freddy Mercury. All eccentric artists that found their place in this world despite being so different and dark. I also look up to Gwen Stefani and Joan Jett—the two reasons I wanted to sing in bands when I was little.

What are your favorite hard-rock and metal albums and why?
Queen, A Night at the Opera, is one of the best records of all time. It changed my life. I brought it to Third Grade show-and-tell and, of course, no one else understood it. Avenged Sevenfold, City of Evil: The first time I heard it I didn't stop listening to it for months. Listening to it was like watching a movie full of plot twists. Rob Zombie, Past, Present and Future, because it has all the greats! Marilyn Manson, Eat Me, Drink Me, is my favorite by him, love every song on that record. Mutter by Rammstein because that record and band scare me and I love it! I love blasting the heavy guitars in my car stereo and I have a crush on Till Lindemann.

What is the sexiest hard-rock or metal song and why?
It's a tie. "If I was Your Vampire" by Marilyn Manson and "Too Afraid to Love You" by the Black Keys—both of these songs just makes me want to shut off the lights and make out with someone immediately.

With a new frontman and a highly anticipated new album, Iced Earth are a band reborn. Following the departure of former vocalist Matt Barlow earlier this year, the power-metal stalwarts turned to former Into Eternity frontman Stu Block as his replacement. Work soon began on the group's 10th full-length Dystopia, which hit stores today. The fresh inspiration that Block gave Iced Earth, and particularly guitarist and main man Jon Schaffer, is there for all to hear on the record. Revolver recently sat down with the five piece—rounded out by guitarist Troy Steele, bassist Freddie Vidales, and drummer Brent Smedley—to get the lowdown on the album, bringing Block into the band, and the record's political themes.

REVOLVER What about this record are you most proud ?
FREDDIE VIDALES What I like about it is, no matter what album up to date has been your favorite, there's something for everybody out there. You've got fast, brutal, fast-paced music on there, the soaring angelic stuff, everything is on this album.
JON SCHAFFER Stu came in and just owned, like, just did a fucking great job, had the best attitude that you can. I've worked with some amazing singers, man, and he's going up, you know? People are going to notice this guy, big time. He's got it going, so it's really cool.
STU BLOCK It helps working with a guy that's been doing it for a fucking shitload of years.
SCHAFFER Yeah, OK, I'm really fucking old! [Laughs]

How did you come to choose Stu to replace Matt Barlow?
SCHAFFER When we knew that Matt was leaving and I was talking to [our label] Century Media and they showed me the video of Into Eternity and what I was really digging about Stu was the fucking look in his eye. The spirit behind those eyes.
BLOCK We wrote two songs together within two days, you know what I mean, two songs. The chemistry was insane. I talked to Jon and next thing I know I'm in his house in Indiana, we're fucking recording a song together. I mean, during the "Anthem" video shoot, these cats were jamming and I was like Holy fuck, I can't fucking believe I'm here right now. Everyone stopped and, fuck it, I just got one thing to say, I fucking yell at the top of my lungs, "I can't fucking believe I'm in Iced Earth!" And, you know, it was just one of those things, hey, you know what, I had to let it out and, you know, it was amazing. But it's been a nonstop roller-coaster ride, and I'm in one of the best fucking metal bands out here right now, you know, and I'm fucking proud of it.

Did Stu's enthusiasm give the rest of you guys fresh impetus as well?
SCHAFFER Totally. Fucking A. Yeah, it's awesome. I can feel his commitment on a fucking spiritual level. I haven't had that in years, almost a decade.

How important is that commitment?
SCHAFFER It's really important, because that's the voice to the people, so it somehow translates, so they're gonna see it, man. They're gonna know from the minute we walk out onstage, we fucking mean business and we're back. And we're not playing around. They're gonna see that right in his eyes, 'cause I saw it at the video shoot and it was badass! [Laughs]

Stu, in Into Eternity, your vocals were very different from what you're doing with Iced Earth. What was the experience like of exploring your vocal range during the recording process?
BLOCK I learned a lot from these guys, I'll tell you. Since the recording process, I've probably learned more about my vocals than I ever have, which is amazing. Those doors just open up and all of a sudden you just start seeing things and it's amazing, man. It's really cool.
SCHAFFER And I can see that in his eyes.
BLOCK It felt like Christmas morning, you know what I mean? I got my toy truck! [Laughs]
SCHAFFER I pushed him toward this direction and that direction, "Try this." And then after his done you can see he lights up, This is awesome. It was cool, man.

How was the writing and recording process different this time around?
SCHAFFER It was more enjoyable because I'm just much happier now, so, you know, that makes everything a little more enjoyable. But we had a great time and you can tell on the album. We all did, we all laughed a lot. Jim [Morris, co-producer] keeps it fun, and we all do.
TROY SEELE I have to go home and read scripture every night, I laughed so bad, I mean, it's horrible. [Laughs] Gotta keep my soul clean.

What were your aims going into the studio and at what stage were you thinking that the record was going to be something special?
SCHAFFER I actually knew that in the writing process, yeah, even before we got into the studio, I knew. I could just tell  from some of the songs that we had put together and the music was all, it was, you know, great selection of really cool parts and arrangements and stuff. And then the icing on the cake was the Stucifer there. And he nailed it and drove the whole thing home and it just, you know, I knew in the writing that we had something special going.

The themes on Dystopia, it seems like there are a lot of influences from books like 1984 and various movies, too. Where do those concepts come from for you?
SCHAFFER [Laughs] It's inspired by real life, of course. [Laughs] You know, there's just a lot of stuff going on in the world that's sort of very disturbing, feels like things are kind of like coming to a head. So it's loosely based in fiction and not so much, you know? So it depends on how you look at it. But we used the movies to get that message across.

I mean, you know, we're in trouble if we don't get our shit together. I think  all the countries in the West, we've got some really serious criminal activities going on in our governments, regardless of what puppet they put up. Good people need to stand up.

What in particular concerns you right now?
SCHAFFER Well, the biggest thing is people need to educate themselves about the finance oligarchs that are actually running the world. We're letting a bunch of private off-shore bankers that pay no taxes anywhere, that they control our money supply. And when you control the money you control the country.

And Stu, are those themes something you share?
BLOCK Sure. I mean, you know, people know I'm from Canada, and they don't hold it against me.
SCHAFFER Yeah, despite that we still... [Laughs]
BLOCK No, but I think once I started spending a lot more time in the United States, you can see what's happening. And I think this was a great time to put this record out in regards to this theme because of what's going on. And you're gonna see a lot more musicians start putting out records like this, too, you know what I mean? It's a theme that's out there right now and people are thinking about it.
SCHAFFER People are starting to wake up, you know. I don't know what it's gonna take to get people to really get it. They need to stop, turn off the fucking television, man. It's a weapon. It is mind control. It's nothing but propaganda. That's the first step, just disconnect it and educate yourself. Start talking to your fucking neighbors and, you know, talk about shit that matters, not fucking what dip shit movie star is banging the other dip shit movie star. Who gives a fuck, you know? It's not important.

Finally, you're doing a huge world tour this time around, too?
VIDALES Yeah, it's gonna be awesome. I mean, with Stu on board, everybody gets along exactly alike, we have the same sick sense of humor.
SCHAFFER That's the most important thing. [Laughs]
VIDALES When we're not working on songs or doing work related to the album or touring, we're laughing our asses off all the time.

With the recent release of our Slipknot special collector's issue, we're celebrating Slipknot month on RevolverMag.com, unleashing new interviews, photos, favorite Slipknot song picks from a host of celeb columnists, and much more. So check back right here often. As part of the celebration, Slipknot's Shawn "Clown" Crahan was kind enough to share with us never-before-seen photos of the band circa its 2001 album, Iowa, which is being released in a 3-disc 10th-anniversary edition on November 1 and can be pre-ordered right here. Check them out below and let us know what you think in the comments.

Valora—the band led by singer Syd Duran, one of the women spotlighted in Revolver's current Hottest Chicks in Hard Rock issue—are playing the 48 Hours Festival in Vegas this weekend. In anticipation of the big show, the group is debuting new song, "Live," right here right now. Check out the song below, read what Duran has to say about the track, and let us know what you think in the comments.

What's "Live" about?
"Live" is a passionate, musical expression of the underrated power that we hold in the words we speak.

Which part of it did you come up with first? What was the inspiration?
I cowrote this song with [production team] the Matrix. We came up with the hook, "Killers make me wanna live." It was inspired by the warm, fuzzy feeling I got from douchebags, bitches, and arrogant bastards—great beer!—in high school.

Was this an easy song to write or record?
We wrote this song in about two days. Lyrics and music came pretty easily, but the melody was a little more tricky. This song actually challenged some of the highest notes in my vocal range.

What sort of feedback have you gotten on this song so far?
The feedback that I have gotten from guys tends to sound something like, "Sick riff!" While a lot of girls have commented on the depth and transparency of the lyrics. Both reactions are equally satisfying!

Korn have unleashed the official lyrics video for their new single "Narcissistic Cannibal," a followup collaboration with dusbstep producer Skrillex to their hit "Get Up!" The song will be featured on the band's forthcoming album, The Path of Totality, which will be released on December 6 and will feature songs that fuse Korn's signature nu-metal sound with the work of Skrillex (on a total of three songs) and other dubstep and Electronic Dance Music (EDM) producers. Check out the song below and let us know what you think in the comments.

Hard rockers Adelitas Way, who are appearing at the 48 Hours Festival, Powered by Rockstar, this weekend, put out their second full-length, Home School Valedictorian (Virgin). Below, you can check out the video for the first song on that record, "The Collapse." They shot it on the Carnival of Madness tour, and it features cameos by members of Theory of a Deadman and Alter Bridge. Let us know what you think of it in the comments.

Adelitas Way Tour Dates

10/15 - Luxor lot at the 48 Hours Festival, Powered by Rockstar Energy Drink - Las Vegas, NV
10/28 - 910 Live - Tempe, AZ
10/29 - Speaking Rock Entertainment Center - El Paso, TX
11/02 - Brewster St. Ice House - Corpus Christi, TX
11/03 - SRO Club - Beaumont, TX
11/04 - Wrecker's - Lubbock, TX
11/05 - Dos Amigos - Odessa, TX
11/06 - Trees - Dallas, TX
11/08 - Hurricane Harry's - College Station, TX
11/09 - Scout Bar - Houston, TX
11/10 - Pharr International Convention Center - McAllen, TX
11/11 - Clicks Billards - Tyler, TX
11/12 - Midnight Rodeo - Abilene, TX
11/14 - Juanita's Cantina Ballroom - Little Rock, AR
11/15 - Exit / Inn - Nashville, TN
11/17 - Chameleon Club - Lancaster, PA
11/18 - Recher Theatre - Towson, MD
11/21 - Majestic Theatre - Madison, WI
11/22 - Val Air Ballroom - Des Moines, IA
11/23 - The Vault - Sioux Falls, SD

Photo by Olaf Heine