News

Platinum-selling alt-metallists Flyleaf and South African radio rockers Seether are taking to the road together on a co-headlining trek. The initial dates are:

4/08 – Denver, CO – Fillmore Ballroom
4/09 – Casper, WY – Casper Events Center
4/10 – Salt Lake City, UT – Great Salt Air
4/11 – Reno, NV – Grand Sierra Resort Theater
4/13 – Medford, OR – Main 1 Arts Center
4/14 – Seattle, WA – Showbox SoDo
4/16 – San Francisco, CA – The Warfield
4/18 – Los Angeles, CA – Wiltern Theater
4/19 – San Diego, CA – Viejas Concerts in the Park
4/20 – Las Vegas, NV – House of Blues
4/22 – Tempe, AZ – Marquee Theater
4/23 – Las Cruces, NM – Pan American Center @ NMSU
5/08 – Philadelphia, PA – Electric Factory
5/11 – Worcester, MA - Palladium

Members of Pig Destroyer will be using XM Satellite Radio station Liquid Metal as a platform to honor grind forefathers Brutal Truth tonight on "The Ultraviolence" as they debut the first new recorded tracks from Brutal Truth since their seminal Animal Kingdom album.

Pig Destroyer's Scott Hull, who is filling in for Misery Index's Jason Netherton while on tour in Europe, will join bandmate and regular "The Ultraviolence" host Blake Harrison tonight, Friday, February 8th. "The Ultraviolence" airs weekly on Friday evenings from 7:00 pm to 9:00 pm EST on Liquid Metal, XM channel 42 (Channel 841 for Direct TV subscribers). Hull and Harrison have advance access to these four new Brutal Truth tracks that are still tentatively titled "You Should Know Better," "Forever In A Daze," "Turmoil..." and "Dogs..." as they are set to appear on the upcoming compilation "This Comp Kills Fascists V.1" currently being pieced together by Hull.

Hull and Harrison will also be playing their favorites in late 80s and early/mid 90s thrash, speed, death metal, and more. XM Radio listeners can also call in on this request line: 1-866-466-9656.

For more information and weekly playlists from "The Ultraviolence", please visit MySpace.com/TheUltraViolenceRadio.

The initial dates for Dream Theater's "Progressive Nation Tour" with Opeth, Between the Buried and Me, and Three have been revealed:

5/02 - Los Angeles, CA - Gibson Amphitheater?
5/03 - Oakland, CA - Paramount Theater?
5/05 - Seattle, WA - Wamu Theater?
5/06 - Vancouver, BC - Orpheum?
5/09 - Calgary, AB - Macewan Hall?
5/10 - Calgary, AB - Macewan Hall?
5/12 - Minneapolis, MN - Myth?
5/13 - Chicago, IL - Rosemont Theater?
5/14 - Detroit, MI - The Fillmore?
5/16 - Columbus, OH - LC Amphitheater?
5/17 - Cleveland, OH - Time Warner Amphitheater?
5/18 - Albany, NY - The Armory?
5/20 - Boston, MA - Orpheum Theater?
5/21 - New York, NY - Terminal 5?
5/22 - New York, NY - Terminal 5?
5/26 - Washington DC - DAR Constitution Hall?
5/27 - Richmond, VA - The National?
5/28 - Atlanta, GA - Tabernacle?
5/30 - Miami, FL - The Fillmore?
5/31 - Orlando, FL - Hard Rock?
6/01 - Tampa, FL - Ruth Eckerd Hall

dreamtheater

New York electro-metal lunatics Mindless Self Indulgence have lined up U.S. tour dates to coincide with their release of their forthcoming album, If, out April 29 via The End Records. The confirmed dates include:

4/29 - Cleveland, OH - Agora Ballroom?
4/30 - Millvale, PA - Mr. Smalls Theatre?
5/01 - Baltimore, MD - Ram's Head Live?
5/0 2 - Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory?
5/03 - East Rutherford, NJ - Bamboozle?
5/04 - Norfolk, VA - The NorVa?
5/06 - Jacksonville, FL - Freebird Live?
5/07 - St. Petersburg, FL - Jannus Landing?
5/08 - Ft. Lauderdale, FL - Revolution?
5/09 - Orlando, FL - The Club at Firestone?
5/10 - Atlanta, GA - Tabernacle?
5/12 - New Orleans, LA - House of Blues?
5/13 - Houston, TX - Meridian?
5/14 - Dallas, TX - Palladium Ballroom?
5/15 - San Antonio, TX - Scout Bar

A digital-only single of the new song "Mastermind" will be released on February 12. The single will be the first peek at If and will contain artwork by Johnny the Homicidal Maniac creator Jhonen Vasquez.

In 2007 Linkin Park donated a half-million dollars toward reforestation; now the band is giving $1 from each ticket sold on their recent European and UK tour and upcoming U.S. and Canadian dates to the nonprofit organization they formed three years ago, Music for Relief, for a tree-planting initiative.

Through Music for Relief, the band is also working with each venue on their upcoming U.S. tour to implement green initiatives wherever possible, including recycling, utilizing renewable energy certificates, and offering preferred parking or incentives for carpools and hybrid/electric vehicles. The imminent American tour (which kicks off on February 12 at the Qwest Center in Omaha) will also see the band using bio-diesel fuel in trucks and buses and running shore power for buses whenever possible and offsetting when not possible. In addition, the tour will utilize reusable kitchenware and utensils, have caterers cook with locally grown organics, and use recyclable materials and reusable serving products.

The tree-planting initiative sees Music for Relief teaming with nonprofit American Forests, a world leader in planting trees for environmental restoration and a pioneer in the science and practice of urban forestry. The trees will help to restore areas damaged by wildfire where critical wildlife habitat has been lost, sequester carbon, and clean our air and water.

LP Underground, the band's official fan club, has also made a generous donation to Music for Relief and partner American Forests to fund the planting of 100,000 new trees. The decision to donate to Music for Relief's tree-planting initiative with American Forests was the result of an online vote by the fans. They chose to allocate funds to the cause that they felt would make the greatest impact.

Music for Relief will be present at all stops on the tour to encourage fans to get involved in the organization, offset their own Co2 emissions, make a donation, and learn more about climate change.

I think that I might have freaked out the lady sitting next to me. We're on a JetBlue flight from New York to Los Angeles (I'm going to supervise a cover shoot for the magazine—more on that in a different blog installment maybe), and we just hit some pretty major turbulence somewhere over Gary, Indiana. In retrospect, this probably wasn't the most appropriate time for me to whip out the new reissue (and first DVD iteration) of Iron Maiden's Live After Death from my bag; the cover of the damn thing does feature a white-haired skeleton bursting from a grave—just what she needed to see as the aircraft bumps and lurches across the sky. But fuck it: If I'm going down, I can't think of a more fitting soundtrack than "Aces High."

For me, air travel always represents a rare opportunity to reflect. The phone doesn't ring, you can't get email, and you don't have to do anything but sit still in a seat for several hours. And while I know that flying, statistically, is the safest way to go, I never hit a patch of rough air without having my life flash before my eyes at least a wee bit. Right now what's coming up on the memory-replay video is the first time that I ever heard the album version of Live After Death. I was 15 or 16, squished between guitar amps and drum hardware in the back of a van headed for New Haven, Connecticut. I had tagged along (nominally as a guitar tech, I believe) when one of my older friend's bands was going to play a gig, and the group's drummer, who was jammed in the rear of the vehicle with me, handed me his Walkman, which had the Live After Death version of "The Trooper" cued up.

There have been precious few moments where I can say that a song made my jaw drop, but this did. I'm pretty sure that I had never heard Maiden before, although I had always been curious about them because their T-shirts and album covers were so rad, and the galloping riff, dueling guitars, and punk energy of the performance made me realize then and there that this was definitely a band I needed to know better. I would soon purchase both the album and videotape of Live after Death.

Well, 20 years later, let me tell you, the Live After Death version of "The Trooper" still holds up—way better than the band's garish (and seemingly 100% spandex) stage garb. I have always maintained that the versions of nearly every song captured on this document surpass those released on the group's studio albums, and that it's probably the most impressive release in Maiden's extensive catalog. And the crazy Eddie mummy that pops out of the back of the stage and wobbles around—that shit is as timeless as the pyramids themselves.

Led Zeppelin guitarist Jimmy Page will auction some rare 19th- and 20th-century artwork on March 20 at Sotheby's. The guitarist is selling a 24-foot-long tapestry by British pre-Raphaelite artist and designer Sir Edward Burne-Jones titled The Quest for the Holy Grail: The Achievement. It is expected to sell for $1.98 million. Page is also selling five Burne-Jones stained-glass windows, estimated at $49,500 to $69,300 each. Paul Reeves, who designed clothing for rock stars in the 1960s, organized the auction.

ledzep

Ever wanted to rock and roll all night and party every day, but just couldn't find the right foundation? Two videos have surfaced on YouTube detailing the steps needed to apply your makeup just like Kiss co-founders drummer Peter Criss and guitarist Ace Frehley (or Frehley's replacement, Tommy Thayer, who controversially wears the same makeup design). Kiss will be touring Australia and Europe in May and June.

Ace Frehley "Space Age" tutorial:

Peter Criss "Cat" tutorial:

Reunited New York State hardcore powerhouses Earth Crisis will headline the inaugural Firestorm Fest Tour running from late February through March. Other groups scheduled to perform include Terror, Sworn Enemy, Shai Hulud, Down to Nothing, and Recon. "We are extremely excited to get Earth Crisis back out on the road, and we couldn't ask for a better package for this tour," SMN News quoted the band's guitarist, Scott Crouse, as saying. "We are hoping to bring the vibe of the mid-'90s hardcore scene to these shows by having a diverse lineup of bands and also vendors with information about the ethical and political causes we've always supported. The goal is to create a place where people can go to positively vent their frustration and anger."

Firestorm Fest Tour dates:

02/29 - Worcester, MA - The Palladium
03/01 - New York, NY - Blender Theatre at Gramercy
03/02 - Pittsburgh, PA - The School
03/03 - Detroit, MI - Magic Stick
03/04 - Chicago, IL - Logan Square Auditorium
03/05 - Omaha, NE - Sokol Auditorium / Underground
03/06 - Denver, CO - Marquis Theater
03/07 - Logan, UT - Club NVO
03/08 - Boise, ID - The Venue
03/09 - Seattle, WA - Studio Seven
03/10 - Portland, OR - Hawthorne Theatre
03/11 - Petaluma, CA - Phoenix Theater
03/12 - Los Angeles, CA - Knitting Factory Hollywood
03/13 - Long Beach, CA - Vault 350
03/14 - Mesa, AZ - The Rock
03/15 - El Paso, TX – Chic's
03/16 - San Antonio, TX - White Rabbit
03/17 - Metairie, LA - High Ground
03/18 - Orlando, FL - Back Booth
03/19 - Atlanta, GA - The Masquerade
03/20 - Richmond, VA - Alley Katz
03/22 - Cleveland, OH - Peabody's Downunder
03/23 - Clifton Park, NY - Northern Lights

earthcrisis

Chris Storey, lead guitarist for Oakland, California, deathcore ensemble All Shall Perish, now has a website dedicated exclusively to his wit and wisdom. Launched by the band's fill-in bassist, Bray Almini, itsstoreytime.com includes such quips as "Since then, I've learned to beat off in every shower in America," and "My jizz has anthrax." Bray was quoted on SMN News as saying, "Chris is the funniest shredder virtuoso out there. Some of the things that come out of his mouth make me fall to the floor in laughter. We decided to create [the site] to keep a record of it all. Check it out…you'll love him."

allperish