Artist Interview
Avenged Sevenfold debuted their new video for the track "So Far Away" earlier today via MTV. The video, directed by Wayne Isham, was described by the band as a "raw and emotional" tribute to the band's late drummer, Jimmy "The Rev" Sullivan. Sullivan died on December 28, 2009 of an apparent drug overdose, during the writing of what became the band's latest album, Nightmare. The band chose to replace the Rev termporarily with his favorite drummer, Dream Theater's Mike Portnoy, who appeared on Nightmare and subsequent tour dates. Check out the video for "So Far Away" below!
Megadeth will begin drum tracking for their new album, the as-yet-untitled follow-up to 2009's Endgame, next week with producer Johnny K (Disturbed, Sevendust, Machine Head.) Members of Megadeth had hinted early on that Andy Sneap would return to the fold to produce the new record, however scheduling conflicts with Sneap's band, Hell, will prevent the producer from featuring on a third straight Megadeth album, having helmed both Endgame and United Abominations.
Megadeth mainman Dave Mustaine said recently that the fans can expect the new album to be "more like 'Endgame', maybe sticking in that vein and going a little forward toward what I like." Dave Ellefson, speaking with UGO, told fans they could expect it to "be heavy, hooky, and have the trademarks you'd come to expect from us."
The band hope to wrap up recording by the time they are scheduled to start playing summer dates as part of the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival on June 9.
Megadeth will also take part in the Big Four concert on September 19 at Yankee Stadium in the Bronx, New York. To purchase Revolver's special Big Four issue of the magazine, click here.
As previously reported, the Big Four – Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer and Anthrax – will be playing Yankee Stadium in the Bronx in New York City on Sept. 14. A new trailer for the concert can be viewed below. To see a message from Metallica frontman James Hetfield, click here. To purchase Revolver's special Big Four issue of the magazine, click here.
In honor of the Big 4 Festival in California and the coming one in New York this September, Revolver has put out The Big Four special collector's issue, chronicling the history of thrash metal's most legendary bands. The magazine is on newsstands now, as well as available online here. While making the issue, we talked to some of the Big Four's most heralded musicians about their favorite songs from the other bands. Today, Anthrax guitarist Scott Ian tells us about his favorite Slayer song.
"My favorite songs from the other bands in the Big Four? OK, that's a tough one. With Slayer, it's 'Postmortem' going into 'Raining Blood.' It will be that combo [off 1986's Reign in Blood]. With Metallica, it will be—oh, that's so hard. You know what? I'll say 'Master of Puppets.' And with Megadeth, it's definitely gonna be something off the first album [1985's Killing Is My Business…and Business Is Good!]. I'm gonna go with 'Loved to Deth,' actually, which I fucking wish they would play. [Laughs]"
Photo by Andy Buchanan
The Big Four—Metallica, Megadeth, Slayer, and Anthrax—will play together at New York City's Yankee Stadium in the Bronx on September 14. The Big Four's history together was chronicled in a Revolver special issue, on stands and available here now. Metallica announced the gig on their site Friday, saying "A huge thanks to everyone who came out to the desert this past weekend [in Indio, California] we felt the enormous love and support, so we just had to find a way to make one more Big 4 show in the States happen. Enter New York... We can't wait for a night in the Bronx as our second American show."
Tickets will go on sale via Ticketmaster on Friday, May 6, at 10 A.M., though members of Metallica's Met Club and Yankees season ticket holders can participate in presales on Wednesday, May 4. All seats are reserved. Metallica.com will have more information next week about VIP packages and long-distance shuttles.
To see a message from Metallica frontman James Hetfield, click here. To purchase Revolver's special issue of the magazine, click here.
Photo: Metallica.com
The 2011 Revolver Golden Gods award show went down last Wednesday, April 20. It was a party to end all parties, and we think we might still be a little hungover. Check out the photos below for just a taste of the night's many star appearances and hard-hitting performances. Pick up the Golden Gods issue of Revolver on May 24 for many more exclusive shots.
The 3rd annual REVOLVER GOLDEN GODS AWARDS presented by Epiphone— America's only hard-rock and heavy-metal award show—announced this year's winners last night at Club Nokia in Downtown Los Angeles. Highlights from the REVOLVER GOLDEN GODS AWARDS will be broadcast on VH1 Classic on Saturday, May 28.
The full list of winners and presenters for the 3rd ANNUAL REVOLVER GOLDEN GODS AWARDS is as follows:
- Hunted: The Demon's Forge® Golden God Award: Alice Cooper (presented by Rob Zombie)
- Ronnie James Dio Lifetime Achievement Award: Mötley Crüe (presented by Corey Taylor of Slipknot/Stone Sour.)
- Honorary Headbanger Award: William Shatner (presented by Scott Ian of Anthrax and The Damned Things and comedian Brian Posehn)
- Epiphone® Best Guitarists Award: Synyster Gates and Zacky Vengeance of Avenged Sevenfold (presented by Robb Flynn of Machine Head and Wayne Static of Static X)
- Drum Workshop® Best Drummer Award: Mike Portnoy for his work with Avenged Sevenfold (presented by Vinnie Paul of Pantera/HellYeah)
- Best New Band Award: Black Veil Brides (presented by Duff McKagan of Loaded/Velvet Revolver/Guns N' Roses)
- Most Metal Athlete Award: Skateboarder Mike Vallely (presented by Chino Moreno of Deftones)
- Rockstar Energy® Best Vocalist Award: M. Shadows of Avenged Sevenfold (presented by Taylor Momsen of The Pretty Reckless and Sebastian Bach)
- Samson/Zoom® Best Live Band Award: Rammstein (presented by Charlie Benante of Anthrax and Mike Portnoy)
- Eagle Rock® Comeback of the Year Award: Murderdolls (presented by David Coverdale of Whitesnake)
- Affliction® Album of the Year Award: Avenged Sevenfold (presented by Jerry Cantrell and Mike Inez of Alice in Chains)
Presented by REVOLVER, America's leading hard-rock and metal magazine, and hosted by CHRIS JERICHO (WWE, Fozzy, Dancing With the Stars), the award show featured special appearances by ALICE COOPER, MÖTLEY CRÜE, ROB ZOMBIE, actor WILLIAM SHATNER, GEEZER BUTLER (Black Sabbath/Heaven & Hell), DUFF McKAGAN (Loaded/Velvet Revolver/Guns N' Roses), COREY TAYLOR (Slipknot/Stone Sour), STEVE JONES (Sex Pistols), DAVE NAVARRO (Jane's Addiction), CHINO MORENO (Deftones), VINNIE PAUL (Pantera/HellYeah), SCOTT IAN (Anthrax/The Damned Things), DAVID COVERDALE (Whitesnake/Deep Purple), STEVEN ADLER (Guns N' Roses), MAX CAVALERA (Soulfly/Cavalera Conspiracy/Sepultura), JAMEY JASTA (Hatebreed/Kingdom of Sorrow), TAYLOR MOMSEN (The Pretty Reckless, TV's Gossip Girl), MIKE PORTNOY (Dream Theater/Avenged Sevenfold), GILBY CLARKE (Guns N' Roses), and members of ALICE IN CHAINS, FOO FIGHTERS, MEGADETH, STATIC-X, DETHKLOK, FEAR FACTORY, MACHINE HEAD, WE ARE THE FALLEN, MURDERDOLLS, SUICIDE SILENCE, and WINDS OF PLAGUE. The evening also featured appearances from comedian BRIAN POSEHN, skateboarders MIKE VALLELY and CHRIS COLE, MMA fighters DAN HARDY and JOSH BARNETT, WENDY DIO (wife of Ronnie James Dio) and many more.
Live performances for the 2011 REVOLVER GOLDEN GODS AWARDS included musical sets by ALICE COOPER (their first LA appearance in 40 years, fresh off their induction into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame), LOADED (featuring DUFF McKAGAN of GUNS N' ROSES and VELVET REVOLVER), Elvis Presley/Johnny Cash-inspired metal group VOLBEAT, host CHRIS JERICHO's band FOZZY, fast-rising metalcore newcomers ASKING ALEXANDRIA, and hometown heroes AVENGED SEVENFOLD who closed out the night with a blistering set.
Special collaborations last night included: AVENGED SEVENFOLD performing PANTERA's "Mouth for War" with Vinnie Paul and GUNS N' ROSES' "It's So Easy" with DUFF McKAGAN, STEVE JONES and COREY TAYLOR performing JUDAS PRIEST's "Electric Eye" with LOADED. SEBASTIAN BACH performing SKID ROW's "Youth Gone Wild" with ASKING ALEXANDRIA. SCOTT IAN of ANTHRAX performing DUSTY SPRINGFIELD's "I Only Want To Be With You" with VOLBEAT. MAX CALAVERA, JAMEY JASTA, and MIKE VALLELY joining DEVILDRIVER for a salute to BLACK FLAG.
"Lady Gaga tweets about it. James Durbin brings it on American Idol. And our host Chris Jericho represents it on Dancing With the Stars. Metal is taking over the mainstream, and the Revolver Golden Gods is its biggest, baddest celebration. If you missed the party, punch yourself in the balls… Or pick up the Golden Gods issue of Revolver on May 24, tune in to VH1 Classic on May 28, and we'll see you next year!"
—Revolver magazine Editor-in-Chief Brandon Geist
The wait is almost over; the Revolver Golden Gods Award Show is live tonight at Club Nokia in Los Angeles!
The show is, of course, being headlined by Avenged Sevenfold and also will feature performances by the original Alice Cooper Group, Duff McKagan's Loaded, Volbeat, Asking Alexandria (with special guest Sebastian Bach), DevilDriver, Fozzy and more.
Alice Cooper will be receiving the coveted Golden God Award, while Mötley Crüe will be on hand to receive the Ronnie James Dio Lifetime Achievement Award. Last but not least, check out the full list of nominees for the eight categories that were voted on by you, the fans!
If you want to keep up with the winners but can't attend the sold-out show, follow Revolver on Twitter or Facebook, where we will be posting updates all night long. The awards show will be televised May 28 on VH1 Classic.
Also, we still have a few of Revolver Golden Gods collector's posters (pictured left) remaining, so get yours here today!
NOTE: Due to the Lakers playoff game in nearby Staples Center, Golden Gods attendees are advised to show up at least an hour early.
Order the official limited-edition poster before the show! Featuring Avenged Sevenfold, Alice Cooper, and more!
Chris "scurvy dog" Krovatin is the author of two young adult novels, Heavy Metal & You and Venomous. He is currently working on multiple new writing projects, as well as new material with his local New York metal band Flaming Tusk. He is a freelance writer for Revolver and generally comes off as a good-natured pain in everyone's collective ass.
Look, us metalheads like other things. We have diverse musical tastes that embrace varying sources of atmosphere and melody. It's not that we don't like your music, it's just that we'd often prefer metal, because we're not always in the mood for Rancid, Underworld, or Little Richard, and we'll always listen to Slayer. If you catch us on just the right day, we'll put on the softest, weirdest, or cheesiest shit you've ever heard, and you have heard it, because it's your music, too. Mostly, you guys don't like our shit. We're down with a lot of your albums, we just understand the scientific fact that most situations require something like "Holy Diver." And yeah, admittedly, some of us learned that too early and forgot to open our minds a little.
But look at your record collection! Do you ever listen to this copy of Stay Hungry? How come you have two Napalm Death albums gathering dust down there? And what the…is that a Manowar record? Admit it—there are metal albums you love, non-metal buddy. Your wardrobe may suggest you're a serial ghost-story writer circa 1922 or a clerk from the Gap circa 1984, but your heart is that of a Satanic wargoat, hammer held high. So whether you're a metalhead who needs to branch out or a headbanging acolyte who needs an education, you should enjoy my picks for the Six Metal Albums and Non-Metal Albums Everyone Should Own.
The Six Metal Albums Everyone Should Own:
1) Slayer, Seasons in the Abyss With their intensity, overt morbidity, and complete lack of apologies, Slayer are a beautiful and unrelenting expression of metal's extremity. This album sees them at their most well-rounded. Seasons is Slayer murdering the '80s, introducing the world to its hideous future.
2) Iron Maiden, The Number of the Beast Majesty is so much of metal, and Iron Maiden is majesty incarnate. Brilliantly intelligent, technically brilliant, and all around astoundingly, they changed both the face and soul of music with Beast. To understand metal, you must take the time to know this album.
3) Mötley Crüe, Shout at the Devil For the longest time, metal and punk were different creatures. Conventionally heavy-music history would say that this gap was bridged by thrash, but, in attitude, in particular, glam metal did the deed, too. Meet four metalheads who honestly—honestly—don't give a fuck what you think.
4) Black Sabbath, Masters of Reality Yes, hard and extreme are part of the ethos of metal, but what of the Void? Is there anything harder and more extreme than the endless cold of eternal darkness? And is not that darkness what lies at the core of all human beings? Off you go.
5) Metallica, Master of Puppets Instinct plays such an important role in this music, and no album sounds more instinctually awesome than Master of Puppets. Upon first listen, it's amazing. The second, third, and 400th listen only work to affirm this.
6) Opeth, Blackwater Park Death and black metal exist to showcase the undeniable beauty of pure ugliness. This album epitomizes that principle by moving beyond the supernatural horror of its peers and acknowledging the ugliness of humanity, wrapping it all in heartbreaking melody. A shining example of pushing boundaries in a genre often known for its limitations.
The Six Non-Metal Albums Everyone Should Own:
1) Portishead, Dummy It's usually in the dark, quiet spaces that we hear ourselves most clearly. Dummy fuses soothing female vocal melodies with primal urban psytrance and uses it as a balm for the overdriven soul. A sigh can be a scream.
2) Frank Sinatra, Songs for Swinging Lovers "Swing" is an overused term to define assholes in fedoras snapping their fingers. But on this album, Nelson Riddle's orchestra creates a brass pendulum of sound that allows Old Blue Eyes to manipulate his vocal patterns magnificently. Never say goodbye to romance.
3) Paul Westerberg, 14 Songs Fusing country, punk, and alternative rock, the ex-Replacements singer created a collection of tunes that touch the human soul without sounding mushy or stilted. Every indie-rock band on earth is striving to create this album.
4) Smashing Pumpkins, Melon Collie and the Infinite Sadness There remains an old belief that rock music can be either sexy or deep, but never both. Perish the thought. There is an oasis in the desert of Cool, a place where dark psychedelia met with godlike attitude and merged to create something unbelievable, something large and scary.
5) The Clash, London Calling Punk is reactionary rock and roll brought low by a dissatisfaction with the way things are. And while wrath and chaos are part of that reaction, so is self-understanding, sorrow, and a sense of humor. What the Clash did with this record cannot be understated in the formation of the punk movement.
6) Michael Jackson, Thriller There are few moments where songwriting and technical ability come together in perfect harmony in typical pop music. Thriller is the ultimate example of such a confluence. Say what you want about its creators—this record is essential.