Month: August 2021

Ronnie James Dio’s former wife and longtime manager Wendy Dio spoke to Brazil’s Kazagastão about a possible return of the hologram of the legendary metal singer.

“[The hologram] was well received sometimes, sometimes not; it all depends on the people,” she said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). “The problem with the hologram, and it’s great — and I won’t say never again — but it costs so much money, you can only go into certain venues because of the height of it and the size of it. It’s too expensive to travel, so therefore we couldn’t come to Brazil, couldn’t come to South America, couldn’t go to Japan, couldn’t go to Europe with it. So it limits you so much.

“So we are going out next year in March — the DIO band will go out again — but this time I found an ISO film, a 17-camera shoot, there’s an ISO one of Ronnie only. So we took that, and we’re making this with special effects. So it won’t be a hologram — it’ll be a film of Ronnie himself with the DIO live band and special effects. So we’re working on that. And that we can take anywhere. So we’re hoping to come to Brazil next year.”

Last month, Wendy told Ultimate Classic Rock that the Ronnie James Dio hologram was “on hold. I don’t know if we’re going to do that again or not,” she said. “We went out, and we tried it — we did it.

“There’s still talk about doing the hologram,” she continued. “I don’t know. I think that there’s so much more that’s come along developing-wise [as far as technology]. I just think that the fans would prefer to see Ronnie as being really Ronnie instead of a hologram.”

Dio died in 2010 at the age of 67 from stomach cancer. The singer’s hologram was created by a company called Eyeillusion and made its debut at the Wacken Open Air festival in August 2016 in front of more than 75,000 fans.

The Dio hologram production uses audio of Ronnie’s live performances from throughout his career, with the DIO band playing live, consisting of Craig Goldy on guitar, Simon Wright on drums and Scott Warren on keyboards, along with Bjorn Englen on bass. Also appearing with them are Owens and LYNCH MOB frontman Oni Logan.

Two former DIO guitarists have publicly expressed their doubts about the Ronnie James Dio hologram. In December 2019, Tracy “G” Grijalva, who played for DIO from 1993 through 1999, said that the hologram “looks creepy” and resembles “a puppet.” Nine months earlier, Doug Aldrich, who was in DIO between 2002 and 2006, told XS Rock that “Ronnie would probably not” like the hologram. “He would probably be, like, ‘This is not what I signed up for.’ A hologram? It’s not really what he would want to be. I’m just guessing, you know, that it’s something that Wendy thought about and she decided that Ronnie would be fine with it. But I knew Ronnie well enough to know that he was very particular and he would prefer for them to let him just die and be in peace.”

After the “Dio Returns” tour’s initial seven-date run was completed in December 2017, Ronnie’s hologram underwent some changes before the launch of the 2019 leg of the trek, which took place in May and June of that year.

The “Dio Returns” 17-song set consisted of seven tunes sung by the Dio hologram — the rest featured Owens and Logan separately or together — and encompassed material from Dio’s lengthy career, including his earlier days in RAINBOW and BLACK SABBATH.

A few years ago, Wendy told Patch.com that critics of the Dio hologram were “entitled to their opinion. I just ask that people come and see the show first before criticizing,” she said. “We got a lot of flak in the beginning but I think more and more people are getting used to it. It’s for the fans. It’s for the fans who would love to see Ronnie back up on the stage and the ones that never got a chance to see him. I think Ronnie would approve. If anybody saw the ‘Sacred Heart’ tour in 1986 we tried to make a hologram then. We had Ronnie in a crystal ball hanging from the stage talking through it. Also he was an innovator in music, so why not be an innovator in technology.”

Last year, TESTAMENT guitarist Alex Skolnick, who toured with Ronnie on two separate occasions a decade and a half apart — in 1992 when Dio fronted BLACK SABBATH and again in 2008 when Ronnie was the singer of SABBATH offshoot band HEAVEN & HELL — offered his opinion on the Dio hologram on Twitter, writing: “I don’t believe in those hologram shows. It would be one thing if the artist was still alive, chose not to tour for whatever reason, gave his or her approval & maybe even had a hand in the process. But Dio had no say.” Skolnick also added a thumbs-down emoji as a way of voicing his disapproval.

DISTURBED frontman David Draiman said in a 2016 interview that he had mixed feelings about concerts featuring the Dio hologram. He said about the prospect of seeing a holographic version of Ronnie: “It makes me sad. I’m always happy to hear any music from anybody that’s left us, that we’ve lost. But I don’t know… The hologram thing, to me, it almost isn’t letting the dead be dead.” He added, “It just seems weird… Is there a difference between a hologram and a guy dressing up like Ronnie James and doing it?”

Blackened American Whiskey has unveiled its new “Masters Of Whiskey Series” with the inaugural release, Blackened X Willett Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey Finished In Madeira Casks. The expression is a result of the collaboration of two of today’s most innovative distillers, Rob Dietrich of Blackened and Drew Kulsveen of Willett Distillery.

Blackened was born from the masterful collaboration between legendary Master Distiller Dave Pickerell and METALLICA. It’s this core tenet of collaboration behind the “Masters Of Whiskey Series” — a convergence of passionate master craftsmen who combine their talent and skills to create a distinctive expression. This series will combine strengths of Dietrich and renowned whiskey makers to re-imagine craft whiskey and create more complex expressions.

The Blackened X Willett Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey Finished In Madeira Casks starts with a base of low rye and high rye whiskey recipes that were hand-picked by Dietrich and Kulsveen, from the Willett Family Estate Reserve Selection. The two tasted and experimented with a number of whiskeys before landing on the recipes that would create the perfect flavor profile. Aged for an average of 6.5 years in white American oak casks, the complexity of the whiskey balances perfectly, gracing the nose with hints of sweet rhubarb, brown sugar, corn husk, cigar box, and vanilla. The first sip liberates the palate with notes of buttery caramel, earthy mint, and fresh-cut hay, rolling into a superb finish with vanilla, cinnamon butter, and dark walnut.

After the rye whiskeys are married together, they are finished in Madeira casks for up to 14 weeks. Madeira is a fortified wine made on the Portuguese Madeira islands and receives its unique taste from repeatedly heating the wine. The casks impart subtle dark fruit notes, overtones of honey, and slightly sweeter flavors of caramel and cinnamon that pair perfectly with the spicier notes of the rye. The expression is bottled at cask strength.

During finishing, the whiskey undergoes the proprietary Black Noise sonic enhancement process in which the finishing barrels are pummeled by the low hertz frequencies of METALLICA’s music. The sound waves visibly shake the finishing barrels, causing a greater interaction between the whiskey and the wood, thereby extracting more flavors and colors.

The 11-track playlist for the Black Noise process was chosen by both Dietrich and Kulsveen and sequenced by METALLICA co-founder and drummer Lars Ulrich.

The full playlist includes:

* For Whom The Bell Tolls
* Master Of Puppets
* King Nothing
* Welcome Home (Sanitarium)
* Dyers Eve (Remastered)
* Broken, Beat & Scarred
* The Thing That Should Not Be
* Atlas, Rise!
* Of Wolf And Man
* One (Remastered)
* Enter Sandman

While the “Masters Of Whiskey Series” is part of Blackened’s future, the collaboration between Dietrich and Kulsveen also provides an homage to the past. Both brands were profoundly impacted by late Master Distiller and whiskey luminary Dave Pickerell. Known as the “Johnny Appleseed” of craft distilling, Pickerell used his expertise to help dozens of entrepreneurs start or restart small craft distilleries, one of which was Willett Distillery. He had been a longtime friend of the Kulsveen family and bonded with them over a shared passion of whiskey making. In 2011, when the Kulsveens were looking to bring the Willett Distillery back online, Dave lent his insights and helped with logistics to get the distillery up and running. When Blackened was looking for a location to shoot its brand video, the Kulsveens graciously lent their distillery. It was then that Dave introduced the Blackened team to the Kulsveens, setting the foundation for this collaboration.

METALLICA met the Kulsveens and the distillery team when the band was in Louisville for its “WorldWired” tour. The band received a first-hand look at Willett’s production, christened the distillery’s new restaurant with a delectable meal, and bonded with the Kulsveens over fine cigars. The rest, as they say, is history.

“We couldn’t think of a more impactful first release for the series than a collaboration with Willett Distillery,” said Dietrich. “I wanted the first expression in the series to be a rye, and as a huge fan of Willett and everything they produce, I felt it was the obvious first choice. I couldn’t be more honored to work with Drew and the great team at Willett Distillery. Our connections to Dave brought everything full circle, and when I was working with Drew and the Kulsveens, it was almost like being welcomed back. I’m extremely excited by what we’ve accomplished, and I hope our fans and the whiskey enthusiasts of the world will enjoy this whiskey as much as Drew and I have!”

“We are thrilled to congratulate Rob and the Blackened team on this inaugural release of what will certainly be a unique series of whiskeys,” said Kulsveen. “Frankly, I have had a good time collaborating with Rob on this project. We realized early on that we both shared a vision for the flavor we hoped to achieve in the blend and we are eager to share what we have come up with.”

Ulrich said: “The original idea with Blackened was to create something new, exciting, and unique that connected with both our fans and whiskey enthusiasts — something that stood on its own and was hopefully respected. The next step was to expand on Blackened’s foundation, to push the possibilities of the marriage of music and whiskey even further. When we visited Willett Distillery in 2019 and saw the passion and craftsmanship that goes into every drop they produce, we knew we had found kindred spirits. Teaming up with the Kulsveen family to kick off the ‘Master… Series’ with Willett was the natural next step in Blackened’s evolution.”

Blackened X Willett Kentucky Straight Rye Whiskey Finished In Madeira Casks is available in limited quantities for a suggested retail price of $139.99. It is the first in the brand’s new “Masters Of Whiskey Series,” which will feature new collaborations and unique expressions for years to come.

Tonight (Tuesday, August 31), HALESTORM kicks off a series of headline dates and a set at Rocklahoma prior to a co-headline run with EVANESCENCE beginning November 5 in Portland, Oregon, running through December 18 in Worcester, Massachusetts.

Earlier today, HALESTORM guitarist Joe Hottinger shared a few photos from the road on Instagram, and he included the following message: “Our first day back in the bus and on the road was spent chilling in Cleveland. Beautiful town!

“This will be a unique run. We’re not hanging out with anyone. No guests. No bars. No restaurants.

“The goal is to get to the end of the tour without testing positive. So… it’s time to keep the bubble tight.

“We walked to the water front and walked back to the bus. Staying masked up around everyone. It’s weird times. But the rock shows must go on! So come see us.

“Stay masked up and safe. We’ll hug and hang out in safer times.”

HALESTORM is scheduled to play the following shows in the next couple of weeks:

Aug. 31 – Syracuse, NY – New York State Fairgrounds
Sep. 01 – Lewiston, NY – Art Park
Sep. 03 – Bonner Springs, KS – Azura Amphitheater
Sep. 04 – Camdenton, MO – Ozarks Amphitheater
Sep. 05 – Pryor, OK – Rocklahoma
Sep. 08 – Asheville, NC – Thomas Wolfe Auditorium, US Cellular Center
Sep. 09 – Danville, VA – Blue Ridge Rock Festival
Sep. 11 – Nashville, IN – Brown County Music Center
Sep. 12 – Mansfield, OH – Inkcarceration Festival

Earlier in the month, HALESTORM released a new single, “Back From The Dead”. The track is taken from the band’s upcoming fifth full-length album, due in 2022. The video for “Back From The Dead”, directed by Dustin Haney (Noah Cyrus, Luke Combs) and produced by Revolution Pictures, the features frontwoman Lzzy Hale and the rest of the band in a morgue and cemetery somewhere between life and death.

HALESTORM’s new music is once again being produced by Nick Raskulinecz, who first helmed the band’s 2017 effort “ReAniMate 3.0: The CoVeRs eP” and was previously described by Hale as the group’s “fifth member.”

HALESTORM’s latest EP release was last year’s “Halestorm Reimagined”, a collection of the band’s reworked original songs as well as a cover of “I Will Always Love You”, the love ballad made famous by Whitney Houston and Dolly Parton.

Lzzy and her brother Arejay formed the band in 1998 while in middle school. Hottinger joined the group in 2003, followed by bassist Josh Smith in 2004.

In December 2018, HALESTORM was nominated for a “Best Rock Performance” Grammy Award for its song “Uncomfortable”. Six years earlier, the band won its first Grammy in the category of “Best Hard Rock/ Metal Performance” for “Love Bites (So Do I)”.

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The grand resurgence of the UK as a death metal force continues apace. In fact, BEYOND GRACE were well ahead of the game, releasing a superb self-released debut album, “Seekers”, in 2017 and, not unreasonably, ultimately finding themselves signed to PROSTHETIC RECORDS. Its predecessor skittered under the radar for most, and so “Our Kingdom Undone” acts as an irresistible introduction to the British band’s unusually sophisticated take on technical death.

This is ambitious stuff. With a production job that favors clean crunch over abyssal squall and self-evident virtuoso chops, BEYOND GRACE exude the kind of haughty authority that bands like ABYSMAL DAWN and AEON have made such a fundamental selling point. Opener “Dark Forest Doctrine” is complex and angular, with countless tangential leaps and several moments of structural audacity, but it’s also full of melodic intelligence and an exhilarating sense of pomp and grandeur. In contrast, “Hive Mind” is a full-on death metal barrage, albeit one full of curious twists and turns, while “Persona Non Grata” snaps from frosty melancholy to bellicose blast frenzy and back again, before a final, venomous descent into chainsaw-riffing Hell. Plainly resistant to repetition or the wheeling out of cliches, BEYOND GRACE could easily start chasing their own tails in a bid to torch the rulebook, but songs like the bludgeoning “Fearmonger” are bursting with memorable, if often willfully perverse, moments.

The strength of this band’s vision becomes most apparent on the closing title track. A wayward but wickedly coherent 12-minute epic, it contains some of BEYOND GRACE’s most thrilling melodic ideas, a bona fide fists-in-the-air chorus and a vivid glimpse of one possible and fervently progressive future for the men involved. From its opening rush of sinister melo-death to its second half’s satanic panzer-grind into the breach and final, ultra-gothic descent into double-kick bedlam, it’s a beautifully crafted piece of subversive heavy metal, and nourishing proof that BEYOND GRACE may be capable of even greater things. For now, this is another world-class missive from the UK death metal scene. Pay heed, this thing absolutely slays.

An upcoming auction from Boston-based RR Auction will feature Johnny Ramone’s “Number One” Mosrite guitar.

The 1965 Mosrite Ventures II electric guitar personally owned and used by Johnny Ramone (real name: John Cummings) for nearly two decades as the guitarist for punk rock legends the RAMONES, with the back of the guitar signed in black felt tip, “Johnny Ramone, My Main Guitar, 1977-1996.” It was played at every RAMONES performance until his retirement: from November 1977 through August 1996, for a total of approximately 1,985 shows. The instrument was used to record all 15 RAMONES albums and can be heard on any live RAMONES bootleg from late 1977-1999. It was later displayed at the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in Cleveland for a number of years.

Cummings originally purchased the guitar in 1977 to replace his original blue Ventures II slab body, which was stolen from the Sire Records van with the rest of the band’s gear after a show at the Aragon Ballroom in Chicago. Ironically, this guitar had been offered to Cummings earlier in 1977, but he passed on it feeling it was too expensive at $500, which was a little less than ten times what he paid for his original Ventures II in 1974.

The fretboard shows an incredible amount of wear from Cummings’s aggressive down-stroke playing style. The guitar exhibits numerous nicks, dings, and wear to the finish. Secured to the guitar with gaffer’s tape is Cummings’s original strap and three RAMONES picks, which, along with the original strings, were used at the last RAMONES show, which occurred at The Palace in Los Angeles, California on August 6, 1996.

The RAMONES’ entire arsenal of gear was stolen a second time in Los Angeles in April 1983. Thankfully, however, this guitar was in the hotel being worked on by the band’s guitar tech and was the only piece of gear not stolen that night. It is believed that approximately 100-150 slab-bodied Ventures II guitars were produced in 1965, making them rare in their own right, with Cummings owning four of them.

Also included in the auction is Johnny Ramone’s Electro-Harmonix Mike Matthews Freedom Amp. Cummings used this amp live at CBGBs and at various other early RAMONES shows and Arturo Vega’s loft throughout 1974 and 1975.

According to RAMONES producer and engineer Ed Stasium, he played through this amp for the second guitar on the band’s 1980 “End Of The Century” LP. “It was a practice amp for [Cummings], but that’s what I used to do my tracking, through all the pain and the glory of making that album.’ This amp can be seen in the video of the RAMONES’ first-ever CBGBs performance, as well as in other early videos and photos.

This specially curated auction of rock and roll rarities originates from the collection of Daniel Rey; a musician turned producer from the New Jersey-New York underground who, for over three decades, was a trusted and invaluable member of the RAMONES’ inner sanctum. Among the additional highlights; posters, invitations, and handwritten lyrics.

The “Ramones And Punk Collection Of Daniel Rey” from RR Auction began August 24 and will conclude during “The Remarkable Rarities” live auction event that will take place on Saturday, September 25 in Boston, Massachusetts.

For more information, go to www.rrauction.com.

Ramone was a founding member of the seminal punk band that broke on to the New York music scene in 1974. Johnny was known for his fast, high-energy guitar playing. His style almost exclusively consisted of rapid down strokes and bar chord shapes. This unique playing style and buzz saw-like sound of Johnny’s guitar parts was highly influential on many early punk rock guitarists and keeps him listed on numerous top lists of the greatest guitar players.

On September 15, 2004, Johnny Ramone died in his Los Angeles home at the age of 55 after a five-year battle with prostate cancer.

Photo credit: Ian Harper

During a recent appearance on “Drinks With Johnny”, the Internet TV show hosted by AVENGED SEVENFOLD bassist Johnny Christ, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH bassist Chris Kael discussed how he has been keeping busy during the pandemic. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “Over the break [from touring], I realized that I was on the couch doing nothing. Before I got sober, one of the things that stopped me from getting sober was the brain telling me, ‘Oh, man, if you stop, you’re not gonna be creative. You’re not gonna enjoy doing this.’ And then the universe spoke up and was, like, ‘Motherfucker, you haven’t written shit in four years. What the fuck are you worried about?’ … But then once I got sober and started…

“It’s a double-edged sword being that sensitive musician that you could feel everything — probably more than most people feel,” he continued. “You’re definitely overly sensitive to all of the stuff that’s going on around you, and unless you have an outlet for it, it’s hard to channel. But thankfully, I’ve got music — I’ve got the bass, I’ve got the guitar — and was able to put those feelings into music during last year. I wrote — I think I’m on song number eleven right now from writing last year. And [it’s been] incredibly therapeutic; just a hell of a purge.

“At the end of the day, whatever happens with these songs, they’ve already fulfilled the purpose that I went into it with, [which] was to get through all the stuff that I was feeling last year and use that as therapy,” Kael added. “And hopefully at some point it’ll get out there somehow where the stuff that I went through will help other people going through the same kind of stuff. But as of right now, those songs have fulfilled the purpose that I went into writing last year, and everything else from here on out is a bonus. So, it’s a hell of a record to listen to in the car while I’m driving around [delivering stage-played bass guitars to people who have ordered them].”

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH performed for the first time in a year and a half on August 20 at the Iowa State Fair in Des Moines, Iowa.

The band recently entered the Hideout Recording Studio in Las Vegas, Nevada to begin recording its new album for a 2022 release. In addition, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH has commenced re-recording its debut LP, 2007’s “The Way Of The Fist”, for its 15th anniversary.

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH’s upcoming album will be the group’s first with its latest addition, renowned British virtuoso Andy James, who replaced Jason Hook last year. James was previously featured on “Broken World”, a song that was included on the second installment of FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH’s greatest-hits collection, “A Decade Of Destruction – Volume 2”, which came out last fall.

Minnesota’s premiere basement unit make their second appearance in Decibel’s #1 grindcore column.
The post Blast Worship: Deterioration appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

Two of the sickest bands in modern death metal go head-to-head with seismic consequences on this split 7-inch.
The post Split Premiere: Total Isolation & Sedimentum appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

Gene Simmons has tested positive for COVID-19.

The KISS bassist/vocalist’s diagnosis comes less than a week after his bandmate Paul Stanley revealed that he had also contracted the disease caused by the novel coronavirus, forcing the postponement of three shows on the group’s “End Of The Road” farewell tour.

Earlier today (Tuesday, August 31), KISS released the following statement: “KISS will postpone their next four tour dates. While Paul Stanley recently tweeted that he has recovered from COVID, Gene Simmons has now tested positive and is experiencing mild symptoms. The band and crew will remain at home and isolate for the next 10 days and doctors have indicated the tour should be able to resume on September 9th at FivePoint Amphitheatre in Irvine, CA. All previously purchased tickets will be honored for the new dates once announced. More information will be emailed to ticketholders directly.”

Postponed shows:

Aug. 26 – Burgettstown, PA @ The Pavilion at Star Lake
Aug. 28 – Raleigh, NC @ Coastal Credit Union Music Park at Walnut Creek
Aug. 29 – Atlanta, GA @ Cellairis Amphitheatre at Lakewood
Sep. 01 – Clarkston, MI @ DTE Energy Music Theatre
Sep. 02 – Dayton, OH @ Wright State University Nutter Center
Sep. 04 – Tinley Park, IL @ Hollywood Casino Amphitheatre
Sep. 05 – Milwaukee, WI @ American Family Insurance Amphitheater – Summerfest Grounds

When Stanley first tested positive last Thursday, KISS said the whole band and the crew members who are traveling with them on the tour are fully vaccinated.

Members of KISS “and their crew have operated in a bubble independently to safeguard everyone as much as possible at each show and in between shows,” the band wrote in the statement.

“The tour also has a COVID safety protocol officer on staff full-time that is ensuring everyone is closely following all CDC guidelines,” the statement continued.

In a recent interview with Rolling Stone, Simmons urged fans to get vaccinated against COVID-19, saying: “I would highly recommend for everybody to get two Pfizer or Moderna shots, please — for the rest of us. Even if you believe the Earth is flat, it’s not.”

KISS kicked off the summer 2021 leg of its “End Of The Road” farewell tour on August 18 at the Xfinity Center in Mansfield, Massachusetts. The concert marked the band’s first full-length live appearance in front of an audience since March 2020.

KISS’s farewell trek was launched in January 2019 and was originally scheduled to conclude on July 17, 2021 in New York City but is now expected to last well into 2022.

KISS’s current lineup consists of original members Stanley and Simmons, alongside later band additions, guitarist Tommy Thayer (since 2002) and drummer Eric Singer (on and off since 1991).

Formed in 1973 by Stanley, Simmons, Peter Criss (drums) and Ace Frehley (guitar), KISS staged its first “farewell” tour in 2000, the last to feature the group’s original lineup.

We are postponing the next four tour dates. All previously purchased tickets will be honored for the new dates once announced. More information will be emailed to ticketholders directly.

Posted by KISS on Tuesday, August 31, 2021