News
Diminutive Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson, who earned the nickname "Air Raid" for his dog-whistle singing, is now in command of "Ed Force One," a Boeing 757 that will carry the band and its equipment 50,000 miles on their current world tour. They will traverse 10 countries, 19 cities, and what Dickinson estimates will be 400,000 fans. Now all they need is a tail gunner.
Looks like there's some changes happening in OM's lineup. Below is a statement from singer/bassist Al Cisneros posted on omvibratory.com
"Om is continuing forward with a new drummer and working on a new recording. Please check omvibratory.com and this page for updates. A live vinyl only LP Om - Live at Jerusalem will be forthcoming. This is Chris Hakius' final release with the group. I personally apologize to east coast fans who planned on coming out to the shows. Please know that Om will be back in your area later in 08. Thank you to all of you. Live dates resume in late spring. There is a LOT of new material on its way. Shrinebuilder is also forging ahead. See you all soon. -al"
Also, check out the OM MetalKult interview, here, where Al talks about the Shrinebuilder project.
Photo by http://www.flickr.com/photos/jberg/
MULTIPLATINUM ROCK ACTS SLIPKNOT AND DISTURBED TO TOP THE BILL ON THE FIRST ANNUAL ROCKSTAR ENERGY MAYHEM FESTIVAL
REVOLVER MAGAZINE AND FUSE-TV ANNOUNCED AS MEDIA PARTNERS!
BURBANK, CA (January 31, 2008) - In what's sure to be the hottest concert ticket of the summer, multi-platinum rock acts SLIPKNOT and DISTURBED will lead the first-ever ROCKSTAR ENERGY MAYHEM FESTIVAL, a riotous road show packed with some of hard music‚s most influential artists and a plethora of the genre‚s most exciting young voices. The tour is set to kick off July 9th at the White River Amphitheatre in Seattle and will hit 30 cities in the U.S. and Canada between early July and late August (a full itinerary will be announced in the coming weeks).
Joining Slipknot and Disturbed on the main stage will be DRAGONFORCE and MASTODON. In addition, the tour will have two second stages: one sponsored by JÄGERMEISTER and featuring SEVENDUST, AIRBOURNE, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, 36 CRAZY FISTS and the JÄGERMEISTER Battle of The Bands Winner. An additional second stage will feature MACHINE HEAD, BLACK TIDE, SUICIDE SILENCE, THE RED CHORD and WALLS OF JERICHO.
"This summer we are truly bringing Mayhem," says Corey Taylor from SLIPKNOT, who will close each show. "SLIPKNOT is excited to be a part of it, and to be able to bring the new chapter of our history to the masses. We are already working, building and designing a new show. We cannot wait. We cannot lose. Get ready for Mayhem!"
"We‚re really looking forward to being on the first Mayhem tour," adds DISTURBED vocalist David Draiman. "It's a great lineup, which should set a new standard for rock tours and we're excited to be a part of it!
Adds Clown from SLIPKNOT, "The question is, are you ready for things to be real again?"
The Rockstar Energy Mayhem festival brings together the creative team that has founded many music tours including the highly successful Vans Warped Tour and the Worldwide Rockstar Taste of Chaos Tour. Kevin Lyman, John Reese and CAA's Darryl Eaton have partnered again to bring fans the next great music festival juggernaut, which will be MAYHEM! Following the proven model of utilizing sponsorship to deliver a lower ticket price and an enhanced concert experience the tour organizers have joined forces again with ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK as the Title sponsor.
Live Nation is set to promote the festival nationally.
Jason Garner, Live Nation's CEO of North American Music said, "Kevin, John and Darryl are the undisputed experts in creating fan friendly touring festivals that break new bands. So it‚s very exciting for us to be working closely with them to build a new touring brand that can not only be a great attraction for hard music fans, but also a launching pad for new bands as well."
"We wanted to create a traveling hard music festival that puts the fans first," says Lyman. "We're offering attendees an incredible value, one that features great bands, a plethora of music-related activities and a full day of fun at a very reasonable price of entry."
Adds Reese, "The Vans Warped Tour and Rockstar Taste of Chaos tours have proven that fans will come in droves if you give them quality entertainment at a fair price. The bands on this Festival all kick major ass! We want attendees to go home and say, "We can't wait for next year!"
In addition to catching their favorite bands live, fans can take part in a number of festival activities, including playing the newest video games, perusing vendors, attending autograph signing sessions and a slew of other interactive activities that will add to the festival experience.
ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK will be sampling their products and providing great surprises for attendees. Additional sponsors include Jägermeister, HOT TOPIC and The DINGSTORE.com (Device Personalization Company).
FUSE Television and Revolver Magazine (who will produce the Official Tour Program) have signed on as official Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival media partners. Additional sponsors will be announced soon.
"This festival will be our marquee music presentation for years to come," says Rockstar Energy Drink Marketing Director Mike Kelso. "We at Rockstar are excited to team up with our partners from Rockstar Taste of Chaos to launch an all-out summer tour that will blow you away!"
Adds JÄGERMEISTER Director of Strategic Marketing Rick Zeiler, "Jägermeister has long been looking for a tour like Mayhem. We have this beautiful new million-dollar Jägermeister Mobile Stage and see no better place to roll it out than Mayhem with some of the biggest rock and metal bands in the world. This tour has integrity, value and most importantly...loyalty! Working with Kevin Lyman and John Reese has been great."
Specific dates, cities and the tour's Internet pre-sale will be announced in the coming weeks. Fans can go to www.mayhemfest.com to keep up with details as they are released.
Last week, I traveled to Bergen, Norway, to interview black metallers Gorgoroth for Revolver's May issue. I've been to Bergen before, to attend Hole in the Sky 2006, so I knew how to have a good time—imbibe beer early and often and crank "local music" like Enslaved and Immortal. And so it wasn't long after deplaning before my girlfriend and I found ourselves on the streets, visiting record shops and bars.
On the way to Apollon, which has the city's best metal selection, and where I bought a bootleg of Dead's last recordings with Mayhem and Deathspell Omega's Si Monumentum Requires, Circumspice on vinyl, I passed a bar called Inside. They had a flyer up advertising a concert with a couple of bands whose names were in an undecipherable black-metal font; I mention this because it took me forever to figure out how to Google the main band—and it turned out they aren't even on Google. That band was Slavia, an upstart Bergen group that plays thrashy black metal and wears thuggish ski masks (and if you squint you can see the bassist's Taake tattoo). They sounded overpowering, especially their drummer, who is actually Italian (ATNBM: Almost True Norwegian Black Metal?) and he played what seemed like a nonstop blast beat. The next night I stumbled over to an indie-rock concert in a cave(!) that used to be a bomb shelter. Apparently Gorgoroth has played there but hated how the smoke from all their fires—because, you know, you can have torches onstage in Norway—just hung on
the ceiling.
The next day, I visited the Fantoft stave church, infamous as the first church burnt down by black-metal bands in 1992. It has since been rebuilt. It's on a big hill that's an absolute bitch to climb, especially if your Iron Maiden T-shirt size is XL. All I could think is that for someone to commit arson here, they must have really, really hated religion. Really.
When I was doing my Gorgoroth interviews, Gaahl told me that even if the church hadn't been burned down, it was doomed from the start: the pews had runes inscribed in them at the time the chuch was built, around the year 1150, that said something to the effect of "The white Christ will never enter here." Whether that's true or not, I'm not one to question Gaahl. Also interesting was that the trees all bore carved graffiti dating back to the early '70s—one of them said either Faust or Fausto. Could this be the chickenscratch of Bård G. "Faust" Eithun, the original drummer of Emperor?
The best non-music-related side of Bergen is the fish. I had fresh salmon and sild (pickled herring) for breakfast, a prawn smørbrød (open-faced sandwich) for lunch, and monkfish for dinner. All was delicious, and very expensive, since the U.S. dollar is shit right now (remember that at your election primaries, kids)—also, everything in Norway costs at least twice what it does in the States. A bottle of Coke costs about $4.50! Nevertheless, I also had some delicious reindeer and mussels. As for food I didn't eat, I spotted a sign in a Burger King window that read: "Angry Whopper: Can you handle the angry?" No, I don't think I can. The "Angry Whopper" contains jalapeños and "angry onions" (or, as we call them, onion rings). Not very appealing at 2 in the morning with a stomach full of pilsner. Then again, maybe it was pilsner and Angry Whoppers that pissed off black-metal bands so much in the first place.
Smørbrød
Angry Whopper!
By Kory Grow
Greetings and hails to all you heshers, punters, punks...thrashers, stoners, and sperm-donors or anyone else who fucking loves metal! This is Scott (a.k.a. Scunty) from Skeletonwitch and this is the first in a series of posts from the road on our current tour with Job for a Cowboy and The Red Chord. Tonight I'm writing from the backstage of Club Underground in Reno, Nevada. There's cheap light beer, tortilla chips a-plenty, and I'm told by our manager that prostitution is legal in the state of Nevada. Oh the luxuries of being on the road!
To be honest, just the fact that we're here is fucking great. I now realize that driving all over the Sierra Nevada mountains in the middle of January does not top our list of best ideas. Skeletonwitch live in Ohio and we are no strangers to snow, ice, or freezing temperatures. We aren't, however, used to strapping chains to our tires at 7,200 feet above sea level with five foot walls of snow on the sides of the roads. Talk about some fucking permafrost! Luckily Nate and Chance are mechanically inclined enough to build us a new van out of duct tape, copper wire, and unused condoms, so properly installing chains on the one we already owned wasn't too much of a problem.
After we realized that we weren't going to die, or even worse, miss the show, we started to have fun and enjoy the scenery. Along the way we passed Job for a Cowboy who threw us a mix of devil-horns and middle fingers as they were chaining up. The Red Chord, by a long shot, had the most interesting way of battling the snow. I shit you not, hulking Red Chord front man Guy Kozowyk picked up the van with his bare hands and drug it, trailer attached, 35 miles through snow and ice while his band mates sat inside drinking hot cocoa. I wouldn't believe it if I didn't see it with my own two eyes. Speaking of eyes, Guy also shot laser beams out of his that melted a clear path in the snow in front of him. Truly outstanding!
"Before I forget, I would like to thank everyone who came out last night to the tour kick-off in Fresno. It was a fucking killer start!! At this point, I better sign off, as it's almost time to take the heavy metal stage. I'll check in soon, providing we don't get arrested for buying beer for the dudes in Job for a Cowboy!
Shred 'til you're dead,
Scott and the 'Witch
Mötley Crüe bassist Nikki Sixx says the band has recorded 10 songs for its
forthcoming album, The Dirt. The lyrical themes of the album will closely
follow the stories they told in their autobiography of the same name. Sixx
told Blabbermouth the titles of two songs: "A Scar on Hollywood Blvd." and
"The Saints of Los Angeles." "The chemistry in the studio as we're writing
is unbelievable," said Sixx. "I look forward to leaking some to you all in
the next few months."
Coliseum has announced a number of spring tour dates in support of their recent release, No Salvation. Coliseum, who have recently completed a three-week European headlining tour, will first team up with Strike Anywhere and Riverboat Gamblers in early March before meeting up with label-mates Genghis Tron later in the month. Coliseum will then join in on the Converge, The Red Chord, and Genghis Tron tour in mid April. A complete listing of Coliseum tour dates follows with more to be announced shortly.
Coliseum released No Salvation last August and has been touring in support of its release ever since. Coliseum tour dates are as follows:
March 8 Columbia, SC New Brookland Tavern (Strike Anywhere, Riverboat Gamblers)
March 9 Orlando, FL The Social (w/ Strike Anywhere, Riverboat Gamblers)
March 10 Miami, FL Studio A (w/ Strike Anywhere, Riverboat Gamblers)
March 11 Jacksonville, FL Fuel Coffeehouse (w/ Strike Anywhere, Riverboat Gamblers)
March 17 Tulsa, OK The Monolith (w/ Genghis Tron)
March 18 St. Louis, MO 2 Cents Plain (w/ Genghis Tron, An Albatross, The Apes)
March 19 Gambier, OH Horn Gallery (w/ Genghis Tron)
March 20 Butler, PA Meridian Vets Club (w/ Genghis Tron)
March 21 Philadelphia, PA Johnny Brenda's (w/ Genghis Tron, Oneida, Pony Pants)
April 22 Austin, TX Red 7 (w/ Converge, The Red Chord, Genghis Tron)
April 23 Dallas, TX The Door (w/ Converge, The Red Chord, Genghis Tron)
April 24 Houston, TX The Red Room (w/ Converge, The Red Chord, Genghis Tron)
April 25 New Orleans, LA High Ground (w/ Converge, The Red Chord, Genghis Tron)
April 26 St. Petersburg, FL State Theatre (w/ Converge, The Red Chord, Genghis Tron)
April 27 Orlando, FL The Social (w/ Converge, The Red Chord, Genghis Tron)
May 1 Baltimore, MD Otto Bar (w/ Converge, The Red Chord, Genghis Tron)
May 2 Pittsburgh, PA The School (w/ Converge, The Red Chord, Genghis Tron)
May 3 Philadelphia, PA The Starlight Ballroom (w/ Converge, The Red Chord, Genghis Tron)
Nu-metal bros Chevelle and alt-rock faves Finger Eleven are coming to a town near you:
2/19 - Flint, MI - The Machine Shop
2/20 - Traverse City, MI - Streeters
2/22 - Kansas City, MO - Uptown Theatre
2/23 - Cincinnati, OH - Bogart's
2/24 - Akron, OH - University of Akron
2/26 - Chicago, IL - House of Blues
2/27 - St. Louis, MO - The Pageant
2/28 - East Peoria, IL - East Peoria Convention Center
3/01 - Indianapolis, IN - Murat Egyptian Room
3/02 - Sault Sainte Marie, MI - Kewadin Casino
3/04 - Columbus, OH - Newport Music Hall
3/05 - Detroit, MI - The Fillmore
3/08 - Toronto, ON - Massey Hall
Frontman Jacoby Shaddix recently confirmed on the Papa Roach MySpace page that the band has gone separate ways with drummer Dave Buckner: "We are going through a lot of changes right now…Change is good—it keeps things fresh. For y'all that don't know, we had to split with Dave, our drummer. It was one of the hardest things we have ever had to do. He's taking this time to get his life together. We are still friends and still talk on a regular basis. The road is a hard place to live, and if you are falling apart, it will destroy you. He will be missed. But, on the other hand, life must go on, and if you know anything about Papa Roach, adversity is the fuel for the flame. Nothing will ever stop us. Some of you might think we are crazy…You're right—we are. So here we are right where we need to be—at the bottom of another huge mountain. Which is fine by me."
According to their MySpace site, Bloodbath have reunited with original vocalist Mikael Åkerfeldt of Opeth fame: So the time has come for Bloodbath to once again poison the scene with a contagious dose of über-brutal death metal. An old acquaintance in this zombified bloodline has once again revisited his old home. We can now announce that the vocalist on the new mini-CD [Unblessing the Purity] is none other than Mikael Åkerfeldt, courtesy of Opeth. ;Second deathster to join the elite is Mr. Per "Sodomizer" Eriksson (ex-Lucifers, ex-Genocrush Ferox). Sodomizer's brutal death-metal songwriting approach as well as guitar shredding is a highly welcomed element in the legacy of Bloodbath. Åkerfeldt appeared on the band's 2000 EP, Breeding Death, and 2002 full-length, Resurrection Through Carnage, before quitting to focus on Opeth; Hypocrisy mainman Peter Tägtgren took his place, providing the vocals on 2004's Nightmare Made Flesh before leaving due to scheduling conflicts. With the return of Åkerfeldt and the new addition of Eriksson, the 2008 Bloodbath lineup is rounded out by guitarists Anders "Blakkheim" Nyström (Katatonia, Diabolical Masquerade), bassist Jonas Renkse (Katatonia), and Martin Axe; Axenrot (Opeth).