Artist Interview
The American National Anthem is actually a pretty metal fucking song, when you think about it. There's an attack on a fort, "bombs bursting in air," and a brave and ultimately triumphant defense against an invading force. Francis Scott Key's lyrics largely derive from an earlier poem that he wrote, with the very metal title of "When the Warrior Returns." "The Star-Spangled Banner" may not be as devil-horns-worthy a name, but the sentiment of the song still hits hard and heavy.
Sadly, most renditions of the tune—which generally lean towards the saccharine and painfully earnest—do not live up to its wartime imagery. But there have been a few that do. Occasionally, a hard-rock or metal artist gets his hands on the anthem, and does it up right. Below, watch, listen, and celebrate our great nation as Metallica, Zakk Wylde, Slash, Megadeth's Dave Mustaine, Adam Jones of Tool, and Rob Zombie axman John 5 shred, weedle, chug, and squeal all "o'er the land of the free and the home of the brave." God bless America.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9uoF7rseLYQ&list=PLUutoWuGfnjetmchAY_XVU6...
San Antonio's Upon a Burning Body will release their new album, 'The World is My Enemy Now', on August 12 via Sumerian Records. In anticipation, the band has teamed up with Revolver to premiere a new track, "Scars," as well as to reveal the cover art for the record, which you can see to the left. Check out the lyric video below and let us know what you think in the comments!
To pre-order 'The World is My Enemy Now,' visit the Sumerian webstore. For more on Upon a Burning Body, visit Facebook and Twitter. And don't forget to catch them live this summer on the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival.
This summer, Avenged Sevenfold are headlining the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival and will release the new 'Hail to the King: Deathbat' mobile video game. In addition, they will also be dropping an expanded and long-overdue 10th-anniversary reissue of 2003's Waking the Fallen, their second album, this August. 'Waking the Fallen: Resurrected' has 11 new tracks, a DVD, and revamped artwork.
While looking back to over a decade ago, guitarist Synyster Gates (pictured above, far right) recently shared his memories of his first Avenged Sevenfold gig.
"I remember the first show," he says. "I really wasn't nervous at all. The worst part about the first show wasn't nerves, it was the fact I was going to paint my face—like a Wes Borland thing with a weird painted face the whole time. I don't know why, that is horrifying. But once my face was painted, I quickly realized, a shiver went up my spine, that this was a really bad idea. I tried to take the paint off, but I turned bright orange-green like an Oompa Loompa and we couldn't get it off. But I went up there, and that was the only thing I was embarrassed about—an odd tone to my skin color. It was pretty ridiculous."
'VxV' is available now on iTunes and it's also streaming here. For more on Wolves at the Gate, visit Facebook and Twitter.
REVOLVER What was it like working with producer Will Putney this time around?
STEPHEN COBUCCI We were very grateful to have the opportunity to work at the Machine Shop with Will. Both Will and Randy LeBoeuf, who engineered much of the record, are really easy people to work with. They both have a great mentality in regards to making a record. I appreciated their ability to have strong opinions on what they liked and didn't like in regards to the songs. Every part mattered and got it's due time being analyzed. One of the most valuable aspects of the experience was the fact that Will and Randy both understood what we wanted to do with our new record from the start, and we're not afraid to use any guitars, sounds, or tones that we would come up with ourselves. There is sometimes a fear to only use gear that you're most confident in or familiar with, but they pretty on board with whatever we wanted to use so that our record would sound more like our band live than a studio band.
What was different about your approach to this record than 'Captors' two years ago?
Looking back now on 'Captors,' we are really pleased with the songs we wrote and how it turned out. Although at the same time, when we look back at that record we saw a lot of things that we wanted to improve upon. After touring on 'Captors' for two years playing these songs night after night, we learned more about what we really enjoy playing and what translated the best live. There are things that sound and feel really cool, but lose their luster after a while. For me personally, I thought about how I ended up performing a lot of my vocals live and how much I wish I could capture those takes for a record. At the end of the day, we wanted this new record to have a more raw-rock feel to it. I think that a number of the songs on 'VxV' have set us up to continue to push forward in the direction that I believe we hope to get to one day in regards to songwriting. In addition to all of those things, it is also inevitable to learn a thing or two from the bands that you tour with or watch on the road. These things all had an impact on 'VxV' because we have so much to learn as musicians and songwriters, so it is always cool to watch other musicians who are really good at their own craft.
What does the process look when writing lyrics?
Lyrics at times can tend to be exponentially more difficult than the music itself. There is no set structure as to how I go about writing lyrics because at times I'm sitting in front of a song with everything completed except for the actual words, or I'll have a whole song and story written without a single note to go with it. Examples of those polar opposites are songs like "Relief" and "The Bird and the Snake." I had no idea what to write about for "Relief" and the lyrics for "The Bird and the Snake" were done long before I wrote any music. I remember not even thinking I would write a song for "The Bird and the Snake," even though I had already written lyrics, but I was sitting at my computer with my guitar and it all just came to fruition in essentially one sitting. All of the lyrics are based off of verse, passages, concepts, and teachings from the Bible. It at times seems impossible to even begin writing lyrics because the nature and character of God is so beautiful and immeasurable that I know that whatever I write is barely going to touch the foothills of the reality of Christ's beauty. The real difficulty at the end of the day with writing lyrics is the fact that we hope to see the power of God work in the hearts of our listeners. We long to see people to be freed from the bondage of sin and believe that the truth of the Gospel of Jesus Christ is the only thing that can produce such change.
We make every attempt to be clear about the fact that we want the Gospel to saturate everything we do from our bios, to interviews, to social media, songs, shows, and music videos. People's greatest need is for Christ, not another Christian band. Music is just a form of how we have been equipped to get the Gospel out to the lost who do not know saving grace of God. I said all of that for this purpose, for as much as we preach and desire to make clear man's need for saving, it is only because we first recognize that severe need in our own lives. We do not speak of a Savior who has not come into our own lives and saved us from the depths of our disgusting sin. We do not sing about a God who has not shown us grace in spite of our constant failures and sins. We are not inviting people to a salvation that we did not need so badly ourselves. What I am driving at is this—we needed to be saved from our sins too, and have not forgotten that. I need God's grace every second of my life. This is no frivolous cliche—I am dead without Christ. There is nothing better about us as people that warranted our salvation besides the grace of God. 1 Corinthians 4:7 says, "For who regards you as superior? What do you have that you did not receive? And if you did receive it, why do you boast as if you had not received it?" We have nothing to boast in besides what Christ has done for us. So for all of the hecklers and skeptics, we stand on no pedestal claiming to be better than anyone else. We just now can see what a dire need we had for saving and hope that the grace of God may find it's place upon your hearts.
As part of our coverage of this year's Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival, Revolver caught up with many of this year's performing bands for our June/July 2014 issue, on newsstands now, to ask about the occupation hazards that go along with touring. Here, writer Jon Wiederhorn interviews Miss May I about all the mayhem.
With the Vans Warped Tour already under their belt, Ohioan metalcore upstarts Miss May I are raring to take on the summer's other big heavy-music festival tour, Mayhem, and do so in support of their most crushing album yet, Rise of the Lion, which was released in April. The record plays out the group's influences—from Pantera to As I Lay Dying—but also the band members' experiences over the eight year since Miss May I's formation. These experiences have, of course, included plenty of mayhem. Here, frontman Levi Benton shares just a few examples.
REVOLVER What is one of the most insane situations you guys have found yourselves in while on the road?
LEVI BENTON Back in 2009, the second time we were ever out on tour, we went to California for the first time, and on our way back, we stopped at a gas station in the middle of nowhere, Tex Arcana, Texas. It looked like something from The Hills Have Eyes. We were all wearing tight clothes and had long hair and there were some older local redneck dudes in their '30s blasting AC/DC at 3 o'clock in the morning. They started calling us names. We were fresh out of high school and there were a lot more of them than us, but one of our guys talked back to them and they all jumped us. We got in a huge fight and got our asses kicked. We all looked like little girls flapping our arms around. Me and our drummer made it back to our van, but our guitars players, our merch guy, and tour manager were stuck in the fight outside with seven other guys. Our bass player was in the bathroom the entire time and missed the whole thing. These locals had our guys on the ground and were knocking them around. Our merch guy was a little older and he was the only one who had any muscle, so he was out there in the fight swinging and getting some blows in. These older guys had their wives with them in the truck and they were yelling for them and that stopped them. But they took this huge bull skull that we had had for years on the front of our van, which sucked. The crazy thing is the store clerk saw the whole thing and called the cops and the police didn't answer.
What the worst act of mayhem you've seen from a crowd?
In 2012, we were closing out Warped Tour on the main stage in Hartford, Connecticut. I told everyone that since we were the last band and everyone had to leave after we played, they should break all the rules. Right when I said that, the crowd pulled all the merchandise tents into the pit and picked up all the trash cans and dumped them on security guards and crowd surfed them though the pit. I thought we'd be kicked off the tour, for sure.
As part of our coverage of this year's Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival, Revolver caught up with many of this year's performing bands for our June/July 2014 issue, on newsstands now, to ask about the occupation hazards that go along with touring. Here, writer Jon Wiederhorn interviews Mushroomhead about all the mayhem.
During their 21 years together, Cleveland, Ohio's masked metal traveling circus, Mushroomhead, have experienced multiple lineup changes, but vocalist Jeffrey Nothing, keyboard player Schmotz, and drummer and ringleader Skinny and have stayed the course through eight studio albums and countless world tours. In that time, they've endured more than their share of metal mayhem, from offstage fistfights to onstage accidents.
While he has been away from the madness for the past nine years, original vocalist J Mann recently returned to contribute to Mushroomhead's new album, The Righteous & the Butterfly. "To me, this one has a new urgency to it," Skinny says. "And the album has got elements of everything we've ever done."
REVOLVER What's the worst road accident you've been involved in?
SKINNY In 2003, we were in Alabama and the generator caught fire while we were speeding down the highway. This fucker was spitting up flames out the left side of the bus and you could see it out the window. Then in 2006, we were in Iowa and we hit a semi-tractor trailer in the middle of the night. The flatbed was empty, but the semi got cut off by another car that ran a light and we nailed this fucking thing. We rolled through the median with our trailer. The bus twisted and the front and back windows snapped out. A couple of us were literally in the air for a couple seconds. And then when we hit back down, everything ripped apart. We ended up on the opposite side of the highway. No one was hurt, but everyone was pretty freaked out. We had to climb out the windows to get out.
Can you recall the greatest mishap you've had onstage?
We were in North Carolina at a Marine base a few years ago and I dove into the pit and was dropped. I was knocked out. I woke up being dragged across the stage and finished the show.
Any equipment debacles?
A huge 12-foot-tall lighting truss fell over in Cleveland at the Agora. All the wiring was yanked right out of it and everything shut off on the right side of the stage. The P.A. was still on so we kept playing. It turned out OK, but if someone had been hit by the lights, they could have been killed.
There have been numerous fistfights in Mushroomhead over the years. Have you guys ever thrown down onstage?
In Arizona, our keyboard player Schmotz and our bass player at the time [Pig Benis] got into it between a song. That was almost onstage. After the show, they finished up in the parking lot and totally punched the shit out of each other, putting teeth through lips and stuff. When there's that much passion and drive and you've got that many artists, shit happens. Then it's full-on until someone's bleeding. We've had guys who have needed stitches and we've just superglued the cuts shut and moved on.
As we reach the halfway point of the year, we've compiled our list of the top 33 albums of 2014 so far. Our picks range from commercial-rock icons Linkin Park's heaviest album yet to extreme-metal stalwarts Behemoth's epic comeback from the brink. We've got records by supergroups including current and former members of veteran groups like Sepultura, Deftones, and Killswitch Engage, as well as LPs from fast-rising breakthrough bands like Of Mice & Men and Nothing More.
It's been a good year so far—as the list below demonstrates—which only makes us more eager to see what other crushing music 2014 will bring us over the next six months.
Canadian hard rock band Theory of a Deadman will release their new album, 'Savages,' on July 29 via Roadrunner Records. In anticipation, the band has teamed up with Revolver to premiere the title track, which featuring a guest appearance by shock-rock legend Alice Cooper. Check it out below and let us know what you think in the comments!
To pre-order 'Savages,' visit the band's webstore. For more on Theory of a Deadman, visit their Facebook and website.
Deathcore act Chelsea Grin will release their new album, 'Ashes to Ashes,' on July 8 via Artery Recordings/Razor & Tie. In anticipation, the band has teamed up with Revolver to premiere a track from the record, "Letters." Check it out below and let us know what you think in the comments.
'Ashes to Ashes' is available for pre-order on iTunes and on the band's merch store. The group will be hitting the road this summer on the full Van's Warped Tour kicking off in June. For more on Chelsea Grin, visit ChelseaGrinMetal.com, Facebook.com/ChelseaGrin, and Twitter.com/ChelseaGrinUT.
As part of our coverage of this year's Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival, Revolver caught up with many of this year's performing bands for our June/July 2014 issue, on newsstands now, to ask about the occupation hazards that go along with touring. Here, writer Jon Wiederhorn interviews Cannibal Corpse about all the mayhem.
They may have some of the most graphically violent lyrics in death metal, but Cannibal Corpse are some of the nicest, mellowest dudes in music. Maybe that's why they've had relatively few incidents of mayhem over their 26-year existence.
Taking care of business as always, the band is currently working on its 13th album, the follow-up to 2012's Torture, and vocalist George "Corpsegrinder" Fisher is also laying the groundwork for a new side project with Killswitch Engage guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz and ex-The Black Dahlia Murder drummer Shannon Lucas. "Adam mentioned the idea of doing this on the last Mayhem tour, and I thought he was drunk," Fisher says. "He was drunk, but it turned out he was serious about the band. It's nothing like Cannibal, which is good," he adds. "That's why we have Cannibal."
REVOLVER What was your worst near-death experience?
GEORGE "CORPSEGRINDER" FISHER We were on the road in late 2008 in the middle of the night driving somewhere in Europe, and there was a car pulled over in the emergency lane. Someone who was trying to help them pulled over right next to them, not in front of them or behind them. We came around a turn and the driver saw the car and slammed on the brakes and the bus screeched to a halt just in time to avoid a total disaster. Alex [Webster, bass] was standing up talking with me. When the bus screeched to a halt, he almost went flying down the hallway. I was up against the wall, so I smashed my head, but I was fine—I have a really hard head. But, man, if we had hit that car who knows what would have happened?
Any other traveling escapades?
We were going through Quebec and we had this bus driver who could not stay awake. He would have to repeatedly pull over all night long to keep from passing out. One time he pulled over on the side of the road into this soft gravel and the bus started tilting. I woke up and I couldn't get out of my bunk. It was the middle of the summer and there were all these flies and bugs flying around us. Our tour manager yelled, "George, get out of your bunk!" I said, "Why?" And he said, "The bus is gonna flip over and roll down the hill!" We all got out and eventually flagged down some people that were driving by, and they drove us a couple miles down the road to a burger joint. We were able to call a tow truck to get the bus out of the gravel.
What's the worst act of mayhem you've seen on tour?
On the Summer Slaughter tour in Denver, there was a kid who got slashed in the face with something. He had this nasty gash and there was blood pouring down his shirt. But he didn't want to leave. Our tour manager got me to try to get him to go to the hospital and get stitched up. I said, "Dude, you should see your head. It's all busted up." But he wouldn't go.