Artist Interview

Revolver's own Stephanie Cabral was on hand to catch all the action for Black Veil Brides, Memphis May Fire, and Ghost Town's stop on February 28 at the Fox Theater in Pomona, California. Check out the photos she captured for us below–you can also follow her on Twitter and Facebook.

Illinois hardcore act Sworn In will release their new album, 'The Lovers/The Devil,' on April 7 via Razor & Tie. In anticipation, the band has teamed up with Revolver to premiere a new song, "I Don't Really Love You." Check it out below and let us know what you think in the comments!

To get 'The Lovers/The Devil,' visit iTunes. For more on Sworn In, follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

You may know of young rock act Motion Device from the killer covers they have posted on YouTube (like this Judas Priest one). Now, the band, which is led by 13-year-old vocalist Sara Menoudakis, has launched a Kickstarter to fund the releasing a new 10-track full-length record of original material. Having met their crowdfunding goal within 48 hours, the group has new goal: To tour the U.S.

To donate to their Kickstarter project and see what rewards backers can receive, visit Motion Device's Kickstarter page.

Aside from vocalist Sara Menoudakis, her 17-year-old sister Andrea plays 6-string bass and keyboards and their 15 year old brother David plays drums. Rounding out the band are two 20-year-old guitarists: first cousin Josh Marrocco and long-time family friend Alex DeFrancesco.

Check out "A Piece of Rock & Roll" from 'Welcome to the Rock Revolution' below. To get 'Welcome to the Rock Revolution,' visit iTunes.

California punk rock act Strung Out will release their new album, 'Transmission.Alpha.Delta,' on March 24 via Fat Wreck Chords. In anticipation, the band has teamed up with Revolver to premiere a new song, "The Animal and the Machine." Check it out below and let us know what you think in the comments.

To get 'Transmission.Alpha.Delta,' visit Fat Wreck's webstore. For more on Strung Out, follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

w/ Masked Intruder, La Armada
Apr 02 Santa Barbara, CA
Apr 03 Santa Ana, CA
Apr 09 San Francisco, CA
Apr 10 Portland, OR
Apr 11 Seattle, WA
Apr 12 Vancouver, BC
Apr 14 Whistler, BC
Apr 15 Kelowna, BC
Apr 16 Calgary, AB
Apr 17 Edmonton, AB
Apr 18 Saskatoon, SK
Apr 19 Winnipeg, MB
Apr 21 Green Bay, WI

w/ Red City Radio, La Armada
Apr 22 Minneapolis, MN
Apr 23 Chicago, IL
Apr 24 St. Louis, MO
Apr 25 Newport, KY
Apr 28 Pittsburgh, PA
Apr 29 Cleveland, OH
Apr 30 London, ON
May 01 Toronto, ON
May 02 Montreal, QC
May 03 Quebec City, QC
May 04 Ottawa, ON
May 06 Philadelphia, PA
May 07 Asbury Park, NJ
May 08 Boston, MA
May 09 Washington, DC
May 10 New York, NY
May 12 Atlanta, GA
May 13 Jacksonville Beach, FL
May 14 Orlando, FL
May 15 West Palm beach, FL
May 16 St. Petersburg, FL
May 18 Corpus Christi, TX
May 19 San Antonio, TX
May 20 Austin, TX
May 21 Dallas, TX

Pantera's 1992 mission statement Vulgar Display of Power is undoubtedly one of the finest metal albums of all time, full of classic mosh-pit anthems, pissed, inspirational and cathartic. Every track is great, but every fan has their own favorite — including Alice in Chains' Jerry Cantrell, Machine Head's Robb Flynn and Anthrax's Scott Ian.

Jerry Cantrell, Alice in Chains — "A New Level"
"'A New Level.' No shit. I met Vinnie, Dime, and Rex in a club in Houston they were playing at called Cardi's in 1985. They were amazing then, but after Phil joined the band, they seemed to really find themselves. I've always admired the ferocity and mastery they always put into their music. All teeth, bones, and muscle, not one ounce of fat. 'Vulgar Display of Power' is a landmark record that still echoes deafeningly today. This song has it all. Every gear is used to make that machine operate beyond full capacity." 

Robb Flynn, Machine Head — "This Love"
"I first heard this song about the time it came out, which was a time in my when I had just broken up with my girlfriend of three years and I completely related to the lyrics. "No more head trips ..."? Man, I connected! The lyrics were very powerful. Not to mention the riff in the middle of the song. Jesus?! One of the heaviest riffs ever. In fact, this song has about three of my favorite riffs of all time."

Scott Ian, Anthrax — "A New Level"
"I got Vulgar when it came out — I may have heard this song live before that, not sure — but when that record came out, it actually did put Pantera on a new level. And the song was a self-fulfilling prophecy. For me, it defines the attitude of a band that was on the verge and knew it. They really had something special to offer the world. And the riff just fucking rules. I was lucky to play that song with Pantera almost every night n tour in '91 and '98. It moves me deeply when I listen to it, but mostly I think of the great times we had together."

Today, February 25, back in 1992, Pantera released Vulgar Display of Power. This landmark album contains now-classic songs such as "Fucking Hostile," "Mouth for War," "This Love," and "Walk." Revolver looks back on the making-of the album in the feature story below, that originally ran in our 2012 Book of Pantera special issue.

For most metal bands of the day, 1992 was an extremely depressing year: Nirvana's 'Nevermind' was on top of the charts, and record buyers and record companies alike were abandoning metal in favor of grunge and alternative rock. Pantera, on the other hand, simply acted as if they didn't get the memo, and released the appropriately titled 'Vulgar Display of Power,' an album that many still feel is their finest."They were as focused on 'Vulgar'as I've seen them on any record," says Terry Date. "They knew what they wanted to do different from 'Cowboys'—they knew where they wanted to improve—and their work ethic was really, really strong as a band. Vinnie Paul, Dimebag, and Rex Brown would sit in the studio and write these songs every day. Phil Anselmo lived, like, two blocks away, and he'd come in when the band had worked through these song ideas, and they would refine 'em together. It was just very smooth."

One of the most simultaneously crushing and yet catchy records ever made, 'Vulgar Display' was also where Pantera's power-groove sound really came into its own, as exemplified by tracks like "Fucking Hostile," "Mouth for War," and "Walk," which somehow managed to slam and swing ferociously at the same time. "I think that was the biggest thing about that band—the fact that they grew up around groove, and everything was based on groove," says Date.

"After 'Cowboys,' we saw what riffs moved the audience," Anselmo says. "That's what we wanted. We didn't want people fucking sitting on their hands, or just standing and staring. We wanted fucking action. So eventually, it's like, why save the home-run riff that a lot of bands would do for the end of a song? Why don't you make the home-run riff the main riff? That's the mindset we took on, going into 'Vulgar Display of Power,' absolutely. Take the money riff and fucking go. Beat it into the ground."

One of the band's secret weapons, of course, was the Abbott brothers' almost telepathic musical bond. "From 'Vulgar' on, Vinnie would often run the tape deck during Dime's solos," he says. "Because when Dime wanted to go back and punch in, he would have to explain it to me, whereas with Vinnie, they would just nod at each other, or Vinnie would go, 'Do that Randy Rhoads part again' or 'Do that Van Halen–y thing.' They didn't really even need to talk."

MORE PANTERA: Jerry Cantrell, David Draiman, Robb Flynn, Scott Ian and Ivan Moody Pick Their Favorite Songs off Pantera's 'Vulgar Display of Power'

Touring with Megadeth, Skid Row, Soundgarden, and White Zombie, Pantera pushed 'Vulgar' into the Top 50 on the 'Billboard' album chart and left countless concert audiences stunned and deafened in their wake. "There was no band, nobody like us, and there still is no one like us live," Anselmo says proudly. "We were so relaxed—we went onstage with no set, no written-out set. We would improvise the whole goddamn thing and come off smelling like a goddamn rose most of the time. I don't remember a band touching us live, not one of them. And I respect every band we've ever played with basically, you know? But like [the late Alice in Chains frontman] Layne Staley said, 'There is one thing I've learned in the music business: You never play after Pantera.'"

But for all their deadly seriousness when it came to their live presentation, the bandmates were decidedly less serious offstage. "We were all rough and rugged when we played live, but in between songs, we were all a bunch of jokesters," Brown says. "I remember so many good times. When we were driving somewhere, there'd be cars parked by the side of the road and we'd always have ammunition somewhere, be it a quart of something or a tire iron or whatever. And if the cars had an orange sticker on the side, meaning they'd been abandoned on the road for more than 48 hours, they'd get the Pantera punishment. That thing was going down even if we had to turn back around, make a U-turn and come back. That thing's wasted. We used to throw cracked Zildjian cymbals out the window at these things and smashing the shit out of these cars. We'd just crank the window down and fling one of these things as hard as we could out the fuckin' window. Sometimes it would come back like a boomerang and hit the back of the fuckin' van. Either me or Dime would hang out the window and destroy. Phil was never into it. He thought we were just total juveniles—which we were. But that's the fun we had."

Chris Krovatin is the author of multiple young adult novels, including Heavy Metal & You, Venomous, and Gravediggers: Mountain of Bones. He is a contributing writer for Revolver and generally comes off as a good-natured pain in everyone's collective ass. This column represents his opinions–and probably only his opinions.

1349 with Origin, Abysmal Dawn, and Wolvhammer

Wednesday, February 18 at The Marquis Theater in Denver, C.O.

• Days since the reporter moved to Denver: 7
• Number of times the reporter has seen mountains and thought about corpsepaint: 1,349
• Chances of being arrested in Denver for going to see 1349 with weed on you: 0%
• Number of people reeking of weed upon entry to the Marquis Theater: Fucking, everybody
• Number of audiences members in full corpsepaint: 0. 1349 aren't that kind of black metal band.
• Price of a whiskey and coke at the Marquis Theater: $4
• Number of times New York prices can go fuck themselves: 87
• First up: Wolvhammer from Minneapolis
• Sounds like: Blackened marching doom, approximately
• Headbangable: Absolutely
• Members wearing their hoodie hoods up onstage: 2
• Contextually hilarious stage banter by frontman Adam Clemans: "Let's all have a good time."
• Smiles seen at this show: Many, surprisingly! Denver appears to have some fun-loving black metal fans.
• Price of a 1349 patch: Ten bucks?! Jesus Christ, does it come with a beer?
• Number of 1349 patches purchased: …one. Reluctantly.
• Weird merch choice: 1349 beer koozies. I dunno, I'm rarely out in the sun, sipping a Corona, thinking, "AURAL HELLFIRE."
• Next up: Abysmal Dawn from Los Angeles
• Sounds like: Menacing, brutal death metal.
• Crowd response: Middling at first, but eventually solid.
• Underwhelming stage declaration: "Let's rip this place apart!" Yeah, I dunno, man. It's a Wednesday.
• Notable trend: Cosmic death metal—tech-death bands all making music about black holes and spiritual constructs and the energy running through humankind.
• Most likely source of cosmic death metal: Lovecraft nerds
• Fact worth remembering: Cliff Burton was a Lovecraft nerd
• Hilarity witnessed: Fair-haired teenage black metal fans in vltra-kvlt battle jackets
• Coolest back patch of the night: This one woman had a backpatch of Scorpion from Mortal Kombat doing his spear move.
• Say it with me, now: "GET OVER HERE!"
• Most metal Mortal Kombat characters: Scorpion, Baraka, Kano, Reptile, Mileena (remember, she had the crazy mouth!).
• And now we have: Origin, from all over
• Sounds like: A moment of severe existential anxiety set to catchy tech-death.
• Crowd reaction: Immediate and severe.
• Division of labor declared by frontman Jason Keyser: Headbangers up front, moshers in the pit, crowdsurfers on top, and pillowfighters in the wings.
• Job satisfaction: 100% from all divisions
• Hold on, pillowfighters: Origin have been manufacturing pillows for pillowfight mosh pits? I guess?
• Standout tracks: "The Absurdity of What I Am" and "Swarm."
• Injuries sustained in the pit: An elbow to the eye.
• Unfair match-up of the night: Keyser doing a wall of death with the mainly-black metal people on one side and the mainly-death metal people on the other.
• Metalhead fact: The average brutal death metal fan looks like he's eaten an average black metal fan in his life.
• Best piece of merch: Origin glass pipes. Way to know your market.
• General observation: Man, Origin are doing shirts right. Their shit rules all around.
• Drinks had: Yes
• And now: 1349 from Norway.
• Sounds like: A giant shadowy god in full corpsepaint rising out of a volcano.
• Question of the evening: How bad do we think 1349 bassist Seidemann's robe smells at the end of a show?
• Awesome stage gear: Frontman Ravn's jagged metal gauntlets. They're less spikes, more scrap.
• Good move on 1349's part: Leaning on the material from their new record, Massive Cauldron of Chaos. It's thrashy as hell and makes for good old-school black metal.
• Album generally ignored during the set: The Tom G. Warrior-produced Revelations of the Black Flame.
• Songs from that album worth bringing back into the setlist: "Maggot Foetus (Teeth Like Thorns)."
• Black metal ethos that is officially dead: 'No Mosh, No Core.' Everyone's moshing and doing so in a very core manner.
• Reassuring sight: Denver also has four-foot-tall Latino kvlt black metal dudes who can't possibly be knocked over!
• Most likely state tomorrow: Ringing ears, aching neck, swollen eye.
• Methods of alleviating that agony: Ah, Denver.

Montreal-based metal act The Agonist will release their new album—and first with new vocalist Vicky Psarakis—on February 24 via Century Media Records. In anticipation, the band has teamed up with Revolver to premiere the full album stream right here, right now! Check it out below and let us know what you think in the comments.

The band recently announced they will join the GET REKT TOUR next month in North America with Allegaeon and Product of Hate.

To get 'Eye of Providence,' visit iTunes or Century Media's webstore. For more on The Agonist, follow them on Facebook and Twitter.

SiriusXM's Jose Mangin recently chatted with Mastodon's Brann Dailor on Liquid Metal's 666-LIVE call-in show. Read what the drummer has to say about being at the Grammys, upcoming projects, and more below (which was transcribed by Josh "Shitkill" Musto), and let us know what you think in the comments!

Jose Mangin: Alright, here we are on 666-Live, SiriusXM Liquid Metal with the drummer, the baterista in Mastodon, Brann, what's going on brother, thanks for calling up!
Brann Dailor: Hi Jose!
Mangin:Hey, you sound so jolly and so happy and friendly. What's going on, Brann?
Dailor: How are you?
Mangin: I feel good dude, I'm hanging out here, we're just talking to callers all over the country about–we had this topic–awards for metal bands, do you give a shit? And we're talking to the country about how they feel and Brann, before we get started, as a fan–take yourself out of the drummer chair for Mastodon. As a fan of this music, and I know you are for a very long time, how do you feel about awards for metal bands and what's your take on it?
Dailor: Awards for metal bands, I don't know… as far as the Grammy's are concerned, it's always a hope that your band that you're championing is gonna take it home and it's almost like, Oh they let us in? I can't believe it. They let heavy metal be there in the first place, it seems like a triumph I guess because it just feels so far off the radar. When you're making heavy metal music and existing inside the heavy metal community the Grammys are kind of something that's not really on your radar. So when a heavy metal band gets nominated for a Grammy it's more of a surprise than anything else, you know? I think the reason why they had to instate a heavy metal award in the first place was because of the popularity of Metallica basically.
Mangin: Wow, well said. So how many times has Mastodon been nominated for a Grammy?
Dailor: I'm officially now a three time Grammy loser.
Mangin: [Laughs] That's pretty good, dude!
Dailor: It's amazing, it's crazy. The Grammy awards were the furthest thing from my mind when I started making music. Heavy music, especially when I first started out playing clubs and stuff in the early '90s, that was the furthest thing. First of all the furthest thing was maybe being on a major label someday. We were just making some pretty bizarre music, so I just never really thought of it. So when we first got nominated in 2006 or 2007 it was pretty shocking. None of us thought it was an option, so when we got told we were just maybe a little confused, you know, why? Is this some kind of practical joke? But yeah, good times. It's pretty insane.
Mangin: I know you went to the Grammys on Sunday and I'll talk about that in a second here, but did you go the other two times you were nominated?
Dailor: We went the first time–oh wait, no actually we've been there all three times. It's fun, it's a free party and it's a really awesome date night.
Mangin: Of course. So probably a lot of chicks come up to you dudes because you're like the bad boy rock 'n' roll dudes and they just want to be around that because there's none of that at the Grammys except for you dudes.
Dailor: I guess, I don't know, I think maybe people were probably scared of Brent [Hinds]. And then I had a balloon suit on, so I was pretty approachable.
Mangin: [Laughs] Alright, let's talk about this…
Shawn The Butcher: You win the award for best dressed at the Grammys definitely.
Mangin: Big time Brann, I want to talk about that. These guys went to the Grammys last weekend in Los Angeles and Brent had a Los Angeles Dodgers uniform on with a Party Smasher Inc. that I believe he put on his chest. And you were decked out–describe your outfit, Brann, to our audience.
Dailor: It's a balloon suit. It's a suit and it's got colorful balloons all over it. And I had a bright green ruffle-y tuxedo shirt.
Mangin: Now just off record, where do you get something like that? Do you rent that, do you buy that?
Dailor: No I bought that, it was like $100. I got it at the Junkman's Daughter in Atlanta, G.A. where my wife works and she was like, "Look at these crazy suits," and I was like, "Maybe I'll wear it to the Grammys if we get nominated," and then I immediately was like, "Ahh I just jinxed it, there's no way." Cause I had the perfect suit for this event. It was the obvious choice of the grouping of crazy suits that this… I can't remember what they're called. I think they're called Opposuits.
Mangin: Opposuits, ok. Did you coordinate with the other dudes in Mastodon? Did you guys call each other like, "What are you wearing? What are you wearing?" Was there any of that or did you guys just show up and laugh when you got there?
Dailor: No, I sent a picture of Brent because he was already in L.A. working on some stuff with Ben [Weinman] from Dillinger [Escape Plan], and so I sent a picture to him and he was like, "Damn that suit's insane, no brain!" And then I saw a picture of him looking at some Dodgers uniforms and I was like Oh, that's what he's gonna wear. So yeah when I saw him in his outfit we all just started laughing in the limousine.
Mangin: Ooh, look at this, Mastodon in the limousine, excuse me! So tell me dude, how did Brent get kicked out of the Grammys?
Dailor: Oh I don't know man, I went in and then...
Mangin: No, don't change it come on dude!
Dailor: I went to the bathroom and when I came out he was gone, and I was like, "What happened?" He was tired. He wanted to go take a nap by the pool over at the hotel. I was like ,"Okay, that's cool."
Mangin: [Chuckles] Are you sure you don't know what happened?
Dailor: I am sure, because I heard a little bit of a commotion and I was like, "I'm going to the bathroom."
Shawn: Smart move.
Mangin: So you were safe so you weren't thrown out, but they had to know you were with that guy in the L.A. Dodgers outfit.
Dailor: No I think we were mismatched enough. I don't know man… I don't think he was really too interested in being there past the red carpet stuff where we just got to be goofy and do interviews with people who had no idea who we were.
Mangin: What was the weirdest moment doing interviews for the Grammys on the red carpet?
Dailor: I don't know, I mean the whole thing was surreal. The guy from E.L.O. kinda cruised past us and I was like, "Hey… oh… bye." I'm a big E.L.O. fan.
Mangin: [Laughs] I don't even know who that is…
Dailor: E.L.O. Electric Light Orchestra!
Mangin: Oh, I should have known!
Dailor: Come on man…
Mangin: Dude what about any superstars, did you get a chance to wink and nudge with anybody?
Dailor: Uh, let's see… Jamie Foxx, Paris Hilton everyone's favorite. Yeah you know, they're all there, Katy Perry and all those people were bouncing around.
Mangin: [Laughs] And they all were looking at you guys, you know they were all checking you guys out, of course.
Dailor: They had to because we looked awesome.
Mangin: Yeah, I know you guys did. That's pretty cool. Were any celebrities fans of Mastodon and came up to you guys and surprised you?
Dailor: This person that I'm not sure who he is, he won the Grammy for best new classical performance or something and he came up to me in the bathroom and said what a huge fan he was and has all our albums and stuff. So that was cool, awesome.
Mangin: That's cool! Did he wash his hands and did you wash your hands?
Dailor: Yeah, of course.
Mangin: Alright, good. Brann, your band is going out on the road again brother, with Clutch starting off on April 16 in Saint Paul, Minnesota. Are you ready for the tour?
Dailor: Nah, not just yet. [Laughs]
Shawn: Still in Grammy party mode.
Mangin: Yeah, you guys are still getting whisked around in freakin' limousines and stuff.
Dailor: Oh yeah, yeah. We just had the limo to the red carpet thing, you get out and then you waddle down the red carpet, get your picture taken and then we went and got some food real quick, scarfed down some tacos, and then into the ceremony. But AC/DC was killer, they were super loud and sounded great. So that was fun.
Mangin: That's cool. Yeah, they did "Highway to Hell," I heard.
Dailor: Yeah and I thought Annie Lenox was killer—she sang her ass off and that sounded amazing.
Mangin: I heard about that too, yeah.
Dailor: It was killer, I got little goose bumps when she was singing, I was like damn, okay. I knew she was a force but she was really super powerful and sounded awesome. And then Stevie Wonder played the harmonica for like ten seconds and then we left. I was like, "I want to see Stevie, I want to see Stevie!" Because I love Stevie Wonder, and I think they were just teasing it because he has his special on Tuesday or whatever. Songs In The Key Of Life, with a bunch of famous people.

Mangin: So what about the Mastodon/Clutch tour that starts on April 16, are you guys excited about that?
Dailor: Oh, I'm super excited, I mean Clutch was one of the first bands to take us out early on in our career and so I'm super excited that I'm getting back with those guys and touring and man, they've just become this like cult band that just is, I think, stronger than they've ever been. It's just so killer, what a great live band. I'm hoping that we can combine forces and do some kind of cool thing together because I think they're that kind of band, where they can jam. We can kind of join each other on stage and do something cool, something special for the fans and stuff, so looking forward to that. So obviously if you're a fan of Mastodon you know Neil, the singer sang on "Blood & Thunder," as the voice of Ahab. So hopefully maybe a couple times during the tour he'll be able to come up and join us for that, but I'd like to go beyond that and do something else, something cool. We need to brainstorm and see what we could do to make it super special.
Mangin: That sounds cool Brann! Before we let you go dude, what are you doing to pass the time right now, now that you're not at Grammy parties? What are you focusing on, are you a gardener, what do you like to do?
Dailor: I think it's a little cold for gardening right now, but I like to cook.
Mangin: Where are you right now?
Dailor: I'm in my house, in my living room. I got the fire going.
Mangin: But what state are you in?
Dailor: Atlanta.
Mangin: Oh you're in Georgia, cool, I thought you might have been in California still.
Dailor: No, I'm in Hot 'Lanta, we got out of there right after the festivities. I'm home, I'm chillin.' It's time for me to start really getting back–I've taken like a week off of playing, so I need to get back down there in the basement and start smackin' up them tubs a little bit.
Mangin: Yeah, smack 'em up there Brann!
Dailor: I'm going to. That's the most fun thing. I'm excited about getting back in the room with the guys and figuring out what kind of setlist–I want to have a couple alternate setlists, so I want to dig up some buried treasures that we haven't played in a long time.
Mangin: One more quick question, any side projects that you're involved with?
Dailor: Not really, I got something that is completed but I'm not really ready to out it just yet.
Mangin: Okay, it's just you?
Dailor: It's not a supergroup or anything, it's just me and a couple friends of mine from Atlanta here. I'm playing live drums on it and it's got a bunch of dark, heavy Moog stuff, so it's pretty cool. I'm doing some singing on it as well. I think we'll probably release a song in the next couple weeks.
Mangin: Oh that soon? What's the name of the band if you don't mind me asking?
Dailor: Arcadia.
Mangin: Arcadia, so people know about this, or is this a hush-hush?
Dailor: Don't say anything.
Mangin: [Laughs] I won't!