Month: April 2021

In a new interview with Consequence Of Sound, SYSTEM OF A DOWN singer Serj Tankian once again touched upon his band’s inability to record a full-length follow-up to its “Mezmerize” and “Hypnotize” LPs, which came out in 2005.

The Los Angeles-based outfit has toured intermittently since ending its hiatus in 2011, but has only managed to record two songs in the last 16 years, “Protect The Land” and “Genocidal Humanoidz”. Released last November, the tracks were motivated by the recently erupted conflict between Artsakh and Azerbaijan, with all proceeds supporting humanitarian efforts in SYSTEM OF A DOWN’s ancestral homeland of Armenia. Along with other donations from fans on their social pages, they have raised over $600,000.

Speaking about whether it was rewarding recording the aforementioned two songs with SYSTEM, Serj said: “Honestly, I’m extremely proud of us getting together for our people and the cause, at a time where Azerbaijan and Turkey not only attacked Armenians in Artsakh with military equipment, but they also attacked the Armenian nation with disinformation around the world, using caviar diplomacy over the years. Azerbaijan bought off a lot of politicians and they tried to create false parody in journalism and in the media — and it succeeded for a little while. So, I’m proud to say that our songs coming out, especially the video for ‘Protect The Land’, really kind of bit into that all in one day — just kind of boom, let the world know that these are people living on their own indigenous land, they’re being attacked, they’re trying to protect their families, and they’re dying because you got the second largest NATO ally Turkey basically attacking them along with Azerbaijan — both dictatorships attacking a democratic, progressive, first Christian nation society.”

He later added: “So, I’m really proud of the work that we’ve done with SYSTEM OF A DOWN, and it does give me hope that one day we might be able to get it together and do something again together. I think we were able to do it because we were able to put aside our philosophies and our creative differences even, and just go, ‘Who’s got a song that’ll work?,’ because at this point it’s just a weapon for truth and not about us. And it worked.”

In 2018, SYSTEM guitarist/vocalist Daron Malakian publicly accused Tankian of not wanting to record, with Tankian responding that creative and financial issues with Malakian led to the stalemate. In a message on Facebook, Tankian wrote that Malakian wanted to control SYSTEM’s creative process, take more of the publishing money and be the only band member to speak to the press.

Last month, Tankian released the “Elasticity” EP, the SYSTEM OF A DOWN singer’s first solo release since 2013’s “Orca”.

In a recent interview with Guitar World magazine, Malakian was asked about the chances of more new music from SYSTEM OF A DOWN in the near future. He responded: “I never say never, but at the same time, I’m not expecting to do any more with SYSTEM OF A DOWN right away or immediately after [these two songs]. It really does seem like our fans like these new songs. That’s important to me.

“We’ve added two new songs to the SYSTEM catalog that are on the level with everything else that we’ve put out and our fans have accepted it that way, which means a lot to me. That’s kinda where we’re gonna leave it for now. If more happens later on, then we’ll talk about that, but for now I will continue doing what I’m doing and everyone else will just continue what they’re doing. It’s all cool though, I’m really pleased with the response we got.”

DREAM THEATER singer James LaBrie spoke to “Breaking Absolutes” host Peter Orullian about the writing and recording process for the band’s upcoming follow-up to 2019’s “Distance Over Time” album. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “When the songs were done, and then we were constructing the melodies, and John [Petrucci, guitar] and I got together, and it was really cool. I’m the kind of lyricist that I like my melodies written before I start doing my lyrics, because I just find that that also lends itself to the emotion. And then the emotion kinds of lends itself to the subject matter.

“With this album, all I can say is that the music as a whole, and now with the vocals on top of it… I don’t know. I’ll just leave it at this. I said to John when I was finishing the last vocal, I said, ‘You know what? We just upped the ante.’ I said, ‘We just hit a whole new level.’ And I said, ‘This is our 15th freaking album, and we’ve done it again. We’ve upped the ante. There’s something going on here that I think the fans are just gonna flip out when they hear it.’ And he goes, ‘I said that to my wife the other night. I was sitting down. I was listening to the album from front to back, and I was freaking out.’ And I go, ‘Same here. I’m listening to these songs when we’re done, and I’m going back to the hotel room and I’m listening to them, and I’m going, ‘Holy shit. What the hell is going on here?” And I think it’s very exciting. And even Jordan [Rudess, keyboards] — he was FaceTiming me, going, ‘Holy shit.’ He’s all amped up. He’s, like, ‘Is it just me or are you hearing this stuff?’ And I’m, like, ‘No, man. There’s something really cool going on here.’ And he’s going, ‘The fans are gonna freak out.’I go, ‘Yeah, they are. They really are.’

“Now, all that being said, I can’t really delve [into it in more detail],” he continued. “And I’m sorry for being so ambiguous. That’s about as accurate as I can get.

“I will say this: in a few weeks, I take off, and I’m going down, and we’re doing a big photo shoot, and we’re shooting the first video for the first single, or what we consider a single. What the hell’s a DREAM THEATER single? What is that? What the hell is a single anymore? So I’m going down and we’re shooting a video for that. So we’re all pretty excited about this. The ball’s starting to roll. The label’s really, really psyched. They can’t wait to get this in the high gear.”

Earlier this month, Petrucci told Germany’s Thomann that he and his banmates had been working on the new DREAM THEATER album since October. “And I am super excited about it. The record [is] filled with energy and excitement and positivity. I’m excited about it. I can’t wait for people to hear that.”

DREAM THEATER’s new album is tentatively due in the fall.

“Distance Over Time” marked DREAM THEATER’s first album for for Sony Music’s progressive imprint InsideOut Music. The group spent the past 25 years recording under various labels in the Warner Music Group system, most recently Roadrunner Records, which released five albums by the band between 2007 and 2016.

DREAM THEATER recently released its ninth career live album, “Distant Memories – Live In London”. Recorded at DREAM THEATER’s sold-out show at the Apollo Theatre in London, the live release documents the band’s world tour in support of “Distance Over Time” and the 20th anniversary of their seminal concept album “Metropolis Part 2 – Scenes From A Memory”.

RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS drummer Chad Smith will be the featured guest artist and host of the Ad Art Show 2021. The virtual opening is May 3 at 4 p.m. EST on mvvoart.com during Frieze Week. Artworks by Smith will be exhibited on the monumental screens of the Oculus at Westfield World Trade Center the final weekend of the show (May 29-30).

Said Smith: “Ladies and gents… boys and girls. Coming this May, there is going to be a whole gang of colorful art at the oculus in NYC and I’m so happy and excited to be a small part of Ad Art Show 2021. See you there!”

The synergy and work ethic that marks Smith’s musical life organically led to his painting, and in early 2016 Smith entered the art world with “Parallax”, his first collection of rhythm driven prints. Fast forward to 2019 and the artist’s premiere of an extraordinary new collection of artwork which tours the United States in venerable galleries and venues, often following the RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS concert tours and allowing for artist appearances in which the artist has the opportunity to meet his collectors.

This collaboration with Ad Art and Road Show Company, the industry-leader in traveling fine art exhibition, is yet another creative outlet for Smith, and one in which he is rapidly becoming renowned, respected, and critically acclaimed. Each hand-embellished work is crafted from rhythm. As a painter uses brushes with oils of different colors, Smith works with drumsticks to capture light in a variety of ways; crafting rhythms that translate to very unique artwork. Another feature of this exhibition will be a collection of original mixed media on drums; works created by printing one of Chad’s art images on a drum skin. It is then embellished and signed by Smith.

Smith was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame as a 25-year-member of groundbreaking, hit-making RED HOT CHILI PEPPERS. An award-winning, multi-faceted drummer, Guinness world record holder, six-time Grammy winner, advocate for music in public schools, session musician, artist, serial philanthropist and proud father of six, Smith’s life is an epic journey that’s always moving.

In 2014, Smith received a presidential appointment by President Obama as a Turnaround Artist for public schools due to his work as a passionate advocate for music and arts education.

In April 2012, the CHILI PEPPERS were inducted by Chris Rock into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame, an honor that humbled Smith.

Clearly, Chad’s own public-school success story, generous time and inspiring life paved the way for his 2014 appointment as a Turnaround Artist under the President’s Committee on the Arts and Humanities.

“I really want kids to pick up instruments so they can see how fun it is to play,” he relates. “It’s important to have technical proficiency — in anything, there’s practice and hard work, no shortcuts — but if you love it, you’re gonna wanna do it. I want them to see that after all these 40-ish years, I still love it, that’s why I still do it. It’s fun. It has taken me everywhere — and beyond.” He’s also devotes energy to non-profit organizations, including MusicCares, Silverlake Conservatory of Music, Paul Newman’s Serious Fun Network, and children’s hospitals.

Upon reflecting on his life, Smith can hardly believe his good fortune. “I work with people who want to grow,” he says. “The CHILI PEPPERS are open to new directions, and, as an artist, it’s the best creative situation to be in. It’s simple: I love what I’m doing and I’m really lucky. I got pretty good at the music thing. I play gigs in little bars and big stadiums, and every one is rewarding.”

Photo credit: Laura Glass

ASIA, the multi-platinum selling English supergroup, formed in London in 1981, is celebrating its 40th anniversary by releasing a five-CD box set, “The Reunion Albums: 2007-2012”, on June 11 via BMG. This deluxe clamshell box set features the two-CD live recording “Fantasia: Live In Tokyo” together with the three reunion studio albums “Phoenix”, “Omega” and “XXX”.

ASIA took the world by a storm with its eponymous debut album, globally the biggest-selling album of 1982. The single “Heat Of The Moment”, a huge soft-rock anthem, reached the Top 40 in over a dozen markets. peaking in the U.S. at No. 4 on the Billboard Hot 100 and No. 1 on the Billboard Mainstream Rock chart.

The four original members of ASIA — John Wetton (KING CRIMSON; lead vocal/bass), Steve Howe (YES; guitar), Carl Palmer (EMERSON, LAKE & PALMER; drums) and Geoff Downes (THE BUGGIES, YES; keyboards), reunited to celebrate their 25th anniversary in 2006 and 2007 with a world tour. A live album from the tour “Fantasia: Live In Tokyo”, was released in 2007 as they returned to the studio together for the first time in a quarter of a century. The reunion would yield three stunning albums, “Phoenix” (2008), “Omega” (2010) and “XXX” (2012) as they celebrated their 30th anniversary. Of these later albums, Palmer said: “The chemistry and energy that conies out when the four of us are working together is reflected in the new material.” For his part, Wetton marvelled at how far the band had come. “Each one of us is comfortable as a human being, and the sound reflects the collective maturity of these four people who are not only eager to explore but also relaxed enough to luxuriate in the strength of the material,” he said. This box set features the original ASIA lineup, reformed in 2006, and brings together, for the first time. all of ASIA’s essential music into one concise collection.

“Fantasia: Live In Tokyo”, the two-CD live show from ASIA’s 2007 world tour, features many of the tracks from their first two albums, “Asia” (1982) and “Alpha” (1983), and includes “Heat Of The Moment” and “Don’t Cry” together with heritage tracks from each of the band members musical history. The band also performed live. for the first time, an acoustic version of “Ride Easy”, a B-side from the debut single “Heat Of The Moment”. The box set collection is completed by the three reunion studio albums “Phoenix”, “Omega” and “XXX”. These represent some of ASIA’s finest moments and allowed the band to explore fully their rock and progressive roots. These albums are presented together in a superb collector’s edition boxset designed by Roger Dean, who produced all of the original albums’ artwork. The box set cover image was previously unused and the “Fantasia” sleeve design has been updated by Roger.

BLACK LABEL SOCIETY has shared the music video for the rip-roaring single “Heart Of Darkness” in continued celebration of its “None More Black” box set, available now via Entertainment One (eOne). The track originally appeared on BLACK LABEL SOCIETY’s ninth studio album, 2014’s “Catacombs Of The Black Vatican”, now remastered and reissued as a double LP in the career-spanning “None More Black” box set that includes BLACK LABEL SOCIETY’s deep catalog on 20 newly pressed and repackaged pieces of vinyl. The “Heart Of Darkness” official music video features Zakk Wylde and co. performing the fan favorite with psychedelic flair.

The “None More Black” box set features BLACK LABEL SOCIETY’s 12 full-length studio albums in remastered and refurbished physical form for the first time alongside a 32-page hardcover photo book, “None More Black” bottle opener and the “Odin’s Demolition Squad” back patch. It also includes a compilation of bonus tracks and reworked originals now on vinyl titled “Song Remains Not The Same Vol. 2”, which features the track “Blind Man” that was shared as an official music video last week. In true Wylde fashion, the frontman also created an accompanying infomercial for the box set.

All original studio albums:

* “Sonic Brew”” – black/white marble x2 LP
* “Stronger Than Death” – black/apple marble x2 LP
* “1919 Eternal” – black/brown marble x2 LP
* “The Blessed Hellride” – black/silver marble LP
* “Hangover Music Vol. VI” – black/canary marble x2LP
* “Mafia” – black/neon coral marble x2LP
* “Shot To Hell” – black/tangerine marble LP
* “Order Of The Black” – black/grey marble LP
* “Catacombs Of The Black Vatican” – black/tan marble LP
* “Grimmest Hits” – black/olive marble LP

Two bonus albums

* “The Song Remains Not The Same II” – grey LP
* “Nuns and Roaches: Tasty Little Bastards” – black/magenta LP

In March 2020, Zakk Wylde told Billboard that he would spend April of last year composing the songs for BLACK LABEL SOCIETY’s next disc and that he would record the LP in May and June of 2020.

He explained: “I don’t demo or stockpile shit. Never have. I’m not like Prince, where he’s recording stuff all the time. I just like to come up with a riff or an idea and be like, ‘Why don’t we track that one today?’ It’s like the beginning of a new season. It’s always fun.”

Prior to the coronavirus pandemic, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY spent a couple of years touring in support of “Grimmest Hits”, which was released in January 2018 via Entertainment One (eOne).

The band celebrated the 20th anniversary of its first album, “Sonic Brew”, in 2019.

Zakk has been the on-again-off-again guitarist for Ozzy Osbourne since 1987, although he does not appear on the legendary heavy metal singer’s latest LP, “Ordinary Man”.

BLACK LABEL SOCIETY is:

Zakk Wylde – Vocals/Guitar
John “JD” DeServio – Bass
Dario Lorina – Guitar
Jeff Fabb – Drums

Dave Grohl was joined by his 15-year-old daughter Violet, former NIRVANA bassist Krist Novoselic, ex-SLAYER drummer Dave Lombardo and producer Greg Kurstin for a performance of a cover of X’s 1980 song “Nausea” on Tuesday night’s (April 27) episode of “Jimmy Kimmel Live!”. The track comes from Grohl’s new documentary “What Drives Us”, which premieres Friday, April 30. Dave and Violet originally recorded the cover for the documentary’s soundtrack.

Directed by Dave Grohl and produced by FOO FIGHTERS. “What Drives Us” will be released in the U.S. exclusively on The Coda Collection — a unique, subscription streaming offering featuring an exclusive, curated selection of iconic music documentaries, concert films, and episodic series via Amazon Prime video channels, paired with a complimentary web site exploring new perspectives on music. “What Drives Us” will be available outside of the U.S. via Amazon Prime.

“This film is my love letter to every musician that has ever jumped in an old van with their friends and left it all behind for the simple reward of playing music,” said Dave Grohl. “What started as a project to pull back the curtain on the DIY logistics of stuffing all of your friends and equipment into a small space for months on end eventually turned into an exploration of ‘why?’ What drives us?'”

“What Drives Us” is an homage to the moment in every musician’s life when their commitment is tested and their desire to play music for others becomes an almost irrational act of blind faith. The first step to prove to yourself and the world that you belong is to load up your instruments, your talent and your courage, and get in the van to take your music to the world — a true rock and roll rite of passage.

The documentary is also a tribute to every young kid who dreams of a life playing music. Dave was that kid. As were Ringo Starr, The Edge, Annie Clark, Steven Tyler, Ian Mackaye and everyone in between. The list goes on forever. While they all have stories — outrageous, unbelievable, insane, as well as poignant stories — they all share a common bond. At some point, before anyone knew their name, they had an unstoppable drive to share their music with the world. Their passion led them to leave everything behind, throw caution to the wind, and chase their dream.

“What Drives Us” follows young bands RADKEY and STARCRAWLER who are taking on the world one town at a time, while also telling stories of the biggest artists in the music industry, recalling the romance and adventure, as well as the insanity and chaos, of their own time on the road. The film explores what it takes to turn a van into a home, and how the tricks of this trade have been handed down through the decades. There was a time before the digital age when players had to take the music to the people one show, one overnight drive, one dilapidated little club at a time. While the world has changed, the rite of passage has not. There is no other first step on the path to making it in music. You have to get in the van.

“What Drives Us” features interviews with an array of iconic figures spanning eras and genres, including Taylor Hawkins, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett, Rami Jaffee, Pat Smear, Ringo Starr, Flea, Brian Johnson, St. Vincent, Slash, Duff McKagan, Ben Harper, The Edge, Mike Watt, Ian Mackaye, Starcrawler, RadKey, Exene Cervenka, Tony Kanal, DH Peligro, Charlie Gabriel, Jennifer Finch, Dave Lombardo, Kira Roessler, Pete Stahl, Lars Ulrich and Steven Tyler.

A Roswell Films/Therapy Studios production, “What Drives Us” was directed by Dave Grohl, produced by John Ramsay, James A Rota, Mark Monroe and FOO FIGHTERS, and edited by Dean Gonzalez. Jessica Young was the director of photography and Brandon Kim was the sound designer and mixer.

The Coda Collection features a highly curated library of the most sought-after concert films, music documentaries, episodic series, and more — bringing music’s untold stories to life and deepening the connection between fans and artists. The Coda Collection offers hundreds of hours of exclusive concert and documentary content from artists ranging from such legendary icons as Jimi Hendrix, THE ROLLING STONES to contemporary premieres of new material by such diverse artists as EVANESCENCE, Billy Strings and JANE’S ADDICTION.

The Coda Collection’s acquisition of Dave Grohl’s “What Drives Us” signals the arrival of the new global home for the best music-centric original content and storytelling.

The Coda Collection is available to Amazon Prime members in the U.S. now for $4.99 per month, with a free 7-day trial, and will roll out globally throughout the rest of 2021. To see the complete library of titles available to stream exclusively on The Coda Collection and explore new perspectives on the artists and performances surrounding the most iconic moments in music, visit www.codacollection.co.

Grohl has been one of the most beloved and respected figures on the international music scene since his recorded debut with NIRVANA on 1991’s generation-defining “Nevermind”. Grohl took center stage with FOO FIGHTERS’ 1995 self-titled debut, the first album in a massive 12-Grammy-winning catalogue, including the band’s most recent release “Medicine At Midnight” (2021). Grohl has a well-earned reputation as a prolific collaborator through his work with Paul McCartney, THEM CROOKED VULTURES, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, late legends David Bowie and Lemmy Kilmister, as well as Mick Jagger, Neil Young, Elton John, NINE INCH NAILS, Roger Taylor and Brian May of QUEEN, to name a few.

In 2013, Grohl made his debut as a feature director/producer with the acclaimed documentary “Sound City” about the Van Nuys, California studio where NIRVANA recorded “Nevermind” in 1991, which would sell more than 30 million copies and transform the modern musical landscape. Premiering to unanimous raves at Sundance and achieving a 100% Rotten Tomatoes rating, “Sound City” focused both on the history of the legendary studio and on the ongoing fight to preserve the human element of music. Grohl also directed the eight-part HBO docuseries “Foo Fighters: Sonic Highways”, which premiered in October 2014 and went on to win two of the four Emmys for which it was nominated (outstanding sound mixing for nonfiction programming and outstanding sound editing for nonfiction programming).

RATT singer Stephen Pearcy has dropped the official music video for a previously unreleased solo song called “Don’t Wanna Talk About It”. The track was written “circa 2000s” entirely by Pearcy and features Stephen on vocals and guitar, Erik Ferentinos on lead guitar, Mike Duda on bass and Greg D’Angelo on drums.

“Don’t Wanna Talk About It” arrives two months after the release of Pearcy’s cover version of DURAN DURAN’s 1981 hit “Girls On Film”. Prior to that, Pearcy issued another new solo single, “Night Flight”, a collaboration between Pearcy and Ferentinos, which is expected to appear on Stephen’s upcoming sixth solo album, tentatively due later this year. The follow-up to 2018’s “View To A Thrill” will reportedly feature 13 tracks.

Last July, Ferentinos, who has played with Pearcy for nearly two decades, told All Music/All Bands about the musical direction of Stephen’s next album: “The new record will have the ’80s rock sound that fans have come to expect from us with a few surprises thrown in for good measure. There are some heavy bangers on there that the RATT fans will love. I try to keep it edgy, but I want us to have a hit. I’m always trying to top what we’ve done so far, with catchier riffs and melodies to get more fans interested in our music.”

Pearcy’s fifth solo LP, “View To A Thrill”, came out in November 2018 via Frontiers Music Srl. The follow-up to 2017’s “Smash” was produced by Matt Thorne and Pearcy and was mixed and mastered by Thorne and Ferentinos.

Pearcy and bassist Juan Croucier are the sole remaining original members in RATT’s current lineup, which made its live debut in July 2018 in Mulvane, Kansas. Joining them in the band are drummer Pete Holmes (BLACK ‘N BLUE, RATT’S JUAN CROUCIER) and guitarist Jordan Ziff (RAZER).

In January, Pearcy told SiriusXM’s “Trunk Nation With Eddie Trunk” that he was open to the idea of making a new RATT album with all the surviving members of the band’s classic lineup.

RATT hasn’t released any new music since 2010’s “Infestation” LP.

Black metal pioneers DARKTHRONE will release their new album, “Eternal Hails……”, on June 25 via Peaceville.

Since forming in 1986 as BLACK DEATH in Kolboton, Norway, DARKTHRONE have been masters of their art. Dropping the death metal of 1991’s “Soulside Journey” debut album in favor of a more primitive, black metal sound on the following year’s “A Blaze In The Northern Sky”, they helped define black metal in the ’90s through albums like 1993’s “Under A Funeral Moon” and its follow-up “Transilvanian Hunger”. Truly, though, DARKTHRONE remain unique, even in their own canon.

On “Eternal Hails……”, the longer, doomier songs reflect drummer Fenriz’s love of doom, taking their time to make their point. For Fenriz, what he and co-conspirator Nocturno Culto have concocted stretches back even further than discovering black metal, to the sounds of the ’70s and the more freewheeling sounds of bands playing with more expansive themes. This didn’t just make the songs longer, it made them an entirely different beast from the ground up.

“When I was a kid growing up with metal I kept looking for bands with long songs. BLACK SABBATH had many, and CELTIC FROST’s ‘Dawn Of Meggido’ had a long song, so I put that on in the record store and discovered another dimension of metal. CANDLEMASS’s ‘Epicus Doomicus Metallicus’ had only long songs, so I think I bought that without even listening, and it was one of my best buys ever — an eternal inspiration for my entire career.”

“For us, it has become a bit logical, hard to explain, but you get to build up for a different kind of listening,” says Nocturno Culto. “A three-minute song is nothing we think of at the moment. We like it this way. For now.”

Even a change of studio hasn’t really changed anything in DARKTHRONE’s DNA. Having recorded all albums since 2004 using their own Necrohell II studio — a portable 8-track recorder housed in an old bomb shelter, itself a replacement for the original Necrohell 4-track used for “Transilvanian Hunger” and “Panzerfaust”, until it became “too necro” and broke — for “Eternal Hails……”, the band went to Chaka Khan Studio in Oslo for the first time.

Though the material was almost all finished ahead of the session, something the new studio and new way of working did allow for on “Eternal Hails……”, was the opportunity to experiment with ideas on the hoof.

In a world changing too fast for anything to stick, DARKTHRONE are both able to stay fresh, but also reassuringly reliable. And no matter where they record, what they do or what gear the use to do it — Fenriz actually ended up using a drum kit belonging to Carmine Appice when he was in Rod Stewart’s band this time around — this, it seems, will never and can never change.

As Fenriz himself puts it: “No matter what happens we will still sound like us, it seems!”

The cover artwork features the piece “Pluto And Charon” (1972), from renowned science-fiction artist David A. Hardy; a hugely inspirational image for both Fenriz and Nocturno Culto spanning several decades, and this also stands as a symbolic link between the genre-bending styles apparent on DARKTHRONE’s earliest works, to those same traits evident on “Eternal Hails……”.

Track listing:

01. His Master’s Voice [07:17]
02. Hate Cloak [09:16]
03. Wake Of The Awakened [08:24]
04. Voyage To A North Pole Adrift [09:24]
05. Lost Arcane City Of Uppakra [07:02]

Photo credit: Ester Segarra

During an appearance on the latest episode of the “Wild Ride! With Steve-O” podcast, SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR frontman Corey Taylor was asked if he has a preferred way that people can consume music from his various projects. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “Obviously, I’m gonna say the old-school way — buy the album, look at the artwork, read the lyrics.

“It’s kind of weird, it’s kind of hard, because in this day and age, it’s really hard to know which ones of the fucking streaming services actually compensate the artists that they’re ripping off,” he continued. “It’s more important for me that people listen to the music. At this point, I’ve kind of made peace with the fact that there are various services who are just kind of screwing us, and until the legislation is actually enforced, which they passed under Trump — which I couldn’t fucking believe — they’ll keep charging us at that rate. But they’ve appealed that legislation. I don’t think the appeals will actually go through. They will raise the rates, and musicians will be able to make a living off their recordings again.”

Corey went on to praise METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich whose band’s image took a tremendous beating in the eyes of music fans after METALLICA launched legal action against the pioneering music file-sharing service Napster in 2000.

“I remember everyone giving him so much shit ’cause of that, and he was so right on so many fucking levels, dude,” Taylor said. “It’s scary. And I wonder how many people look back and eat a little crow because of that… ‘Cause he knew — he knew that this was the direction we were going.”

METALLICA sued Napster after the band discovered that a leaked demo version of its song “I Disappear” was circulating on the pioneering music file-sharing service before it was released.

In May 2000, Ulrich famously delivered a literal truckload of paper to Napster Inc., listing hundreds of thousands of people who allegedly used the company’s software to share unauthorized MP3s of METALLICA’s songs.

METALLICA representatives compiled the more than 60,000-page list of 335,435 Napster user IDs over one weekend in response to Napster’s promise to terminate the accounts of users who trade material without permission. Real names were not included in the list.

In later years, METALLICA embraced digital music: in December 2012, the band made all of its studio albums, as well as various live material, singles, remixes and collaborations, available on Spotify.