Month: August 2021

The official trailer for SHINEDOWN’s film “Attention Attention”, a cinematic experience of the band’s 2018 studio album of the same name, is available below.

The worldwide distribution rights to “Attention Attention” were recently acquired by Gravitas Ventures, a Red Arrow Studios company. Directed by Bill Yukich and featuring band members Brent Smith (vocals), Zach Myers (guitar), Eric Bass (bass, production), and Barry Kerch (drums) along with actresses Francesca Eastwood and Melora Walters, Gravitas Ventures will release “Attention Attention” on digital and cable VOD on September 3, 2021.

SHINEDOWN invites viewers into the world of “Attention Attention” in their new film, bringing to life the story of the acclaimed chart-topping album, which simultaneously hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Alternative, Top Rock, and Hard Rock Albums charts, debuted Top 5 on the Billboard 200, and has racked up more than 355 million global streams. A stunning sonic and visual work of art, the film weaves the 14 songs from the album into a provocative, visceral and thought-provoking journey that brings viewers along on a psychological, emotional and physical ride from life’s lowest lows to the highest highs. As anxieties dissipate and demons disappear, what emerges is a powerful and enduring statement about humanity, overcoming struggles, the importance of mental health, not being afraid to fail and the resolve of the human spirit.

“When we created ‘Attention Attention’, our vision was always to present the message as a sonic and visual experience. We’re really proud of what we created and are beyond excited to partner with Gravitas Ventures to finally bring the film in its entirety to the world,” said SHINEDOWN.

“‘Attention Attention’ the film is where the songs of the album come together with people this music has had a profound impact on. What begins as many stories, many voices, steadily becomes one message, one voice from many. Years in the making, I am beyond pleased to be able to share this vision, which was inspired by this amazing band,” said director Bill Yukich.

“SHINEDOWN found the ideal director in Bill Yukich to turn their acclaimed album into a dynamic cinematic experience. It’s a testament to their continued innovation as artists, and we look forward to unveiling the film to audiences worldwide,” said Tony Piantedosi, vice president of acquisitions at Gravitas Ventures.

Gravitas Ventures vice president of acquisitions Tony Piantedosi negotiated the deal with Billy Offer and Nick Shumaker of United Talent Agency.

San Francisco Bay Area thrashers EXODUS were rejoined by drummer John Tempesta for their appearance yesterday (Sunday, August 22) at Psycho Las Vegas on August 22 at the Michelob ULTRA Arena in Las Vegas, Nevada. Tempesta was filling in for EXODUS’s regular drummer Tom Hunting who recently underwent a successful total gastrectomy in his battle with squamous cell carcinoma (SCC) of the stomach. Also making a special guest appearance for a couple of songs was former EXODUS guitarist Rick Hunolt.

EXODUS’s setlist was as follows:

01. Bonded By Blood
02. Exodus
03. And Then There Were None
04. Fabulous Disaster
05. Brain Dead
06. Metal Command
07. Blacklist
08. ‘Til Death Do Us Part
09. Chemi-Kill
10. Piranha
11. The Toxic Waltz

Tempesta was a member of EXODUS from 1989 until 1993 and played on the band’s albums “Impact Is Imminent” (1990) and “Force Of Habit” (1992).

When EXODUS first announced on August 16 that Tempesta was temporarily returning to the band, they said in a statement: “Due to Tom’s continued recovery from his surgery, we are announcing that for our show in Vegas and Full Terror Assault, we will be joined by @johntempesta on drums! John was Tom’s ( and our) number one choice to jump behind the kit in his absence, and John will kill it while Tom continues his recovery, which is going very well! Looking forward to seeing everyone who is coming to Vegas for the show. And looking forward to getting Tom healthy and back behind his kit as soon as possible! But let’s welcome John back for two shows where he started!”

Hunting added at the time: “Hey Y’all. I’m 5 weeks out from the surgery and on the mend. I’m feeling stronger all the time and I’m beyond excited to get back to working out on the drums. Unfortunately I won’t be ready for the upcoming Vegas and Full Terror Assault shows. Originally I thought if I could walk, I could play. I need to manage my own expectations, and then work my very core back into shape to be fully ready for action. I have no doubt I’ll bounce back and get there. I wanna express my undying love and gratitude to our brother Johnny Tempesta for agreeing to play in my absence. I’m 100% sure he will crush playing this music! I’ll check in again very soon. Thanks Soooo Much And CHEERS EVERYONE!!!!”

Said Tempesta: “I’m very excited and honored to fill in for my brother Tom as [he] heals from surgery. Looking forward to these shows and being back with the EXODUS family!”

A GoFundMe campaign to help Hunting with medical expenses had previously raised more than $108,000 — including $5,000 from Tom’s former EXODUS bandmate, current METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett, and $1,500 from FOZZY singer and wrestling superstar Chris Jericho.

After Hunting went public with his diagnosis, guitarist Gary Holt said that EXODUS will “delay” the release of its recently completed new album, “Persona Non Grata”, “so that when Tom has defeated this, he will be back to full strength to hit the road and pummel his drums like only he can! When he has kicked cancer’s ass like we know he will, we will resume kicking YOUR asses with the sickest record yet!” he said.

Due on November 19 via Nuclear Blast Records, “Persona Non Grata” will be the follow-up to 2014’s “Blood In Blood Out”, which was the San Francisco Bay Area thrashers’ first release since the departure of the group’s lead singer of nine years, Rob Dukes, and the return of Steve “Zetro” Souza, who previously fronted EXODUS from 1986 to 1993 and from 2002 to 2004.

“Persona Non Grata” was recorded at a studio in Lake Almanor, California and was engineered by Steve Lagudi and EXODUS. It was produced by EXODUS and was mixed by Andy Sneap.

Exodus /psycho Las Vegas ???????? pic.twitter.com/ImmaMLYXzP
— Christian Moreno (@Chris112183) August 23, 2021

Exodus ????? pic.twitter.com/D86DDM0vuh
— Christian Moreno (@Chris112183) August 23, 2021

Exodus /psycho Las Vegas ???? pic.twitter.com/n9oAhOiR89
— Christian Moreno (@Chris112183) August 23, 2021

Exodus /psycho Las Vegas ???? pic.twitter.com/1AVyNNnlNG
— Christian Moreno (@Chris112183) August 23, 2021

Exodus /psycho Las Vegas ???? pic.twitter.com/QRWOC8bEwd
— Christian Moreno (@Chris112183) August 23, 2021

Corey Taylor says that contracting a breakthrough case of COVID-19 was “the worst” he has ever been sick in his life.

The 47-year-old SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR singer was forced to call off his appearance at a Michigan pop culture convention this past weekend after testing positive for the coronavirus. Taylor first shared the news in a video posted Friday on the Facebook page for Astronomicon, the event where he was scheduled to appear Saturday and Sunday.

Earlier today, Taylor — who completed the latest leg of his solo tour in support of his 2020 album “CMFT” Thursday night (August 19) in Denver — took to his social media to offer an update on this condition. He said in a video message (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “Hey everybody. I just wanted to give you an update. First of all, I hope everybody’s well out there. Second, I am out of the woods. I’m still positive. But the fever’s gone, aches are gone. I’m sweating everything out. I’m still congested. But I’m slowly but surely making my way. It shouldn’t be too much longer before I test negative. So, I mean, that’s great.

“I wanted to say thank you very much to everyone who sent their best wishes and to all my family and friends who reached out,” he continued. “You have no idea how much that means to me.

“I also wanna say that because I was vaccinated, I truly believe that is what helped me get over the break. I mean, this is the worst I’ve ever been sick in my life. Had I not been vaccinated, I shudder to think how bad it would have been. But because I had that extra little bit of protection, man, it definitely helped me get through it. So — go, go, go. If you’re still on the fence [about getting the vaccine], I’m telling you right now it’s the best thing you can do for yourself.

“Count the days down, and hopefully I will see you guys soon,” Corey added. “All right? Take care of yourselves. Stay safe.”

In his video message on Friday, Corey said that he woke up earlier that day and tested positive for COVID-19. “I’m very, very sick,” he added and assured fans he “should be okay” and said that because he was vaccinated, he was “not worried” about his illness. “But I certainly wouldn’t want to spread it to anyone else,” he said.

Taylor and the rest of SLIPKNOT are scheduled to perform at the Rocklahoma festival on September 3, to be followed by appearances at Ohio’s Inkcarceration Fest and Chicago’s Riot Fest as well as a U.S. headlining tour this fall.

Just a little update on how I’m recovering. Thanks so much to everyone who sent their best wishes and to friends and family who reached out. pic.twitter.com/haWwWZbdN3
— SHRED DJENT REDEMPTION (@CoreyTaylorRock) August 23, 2021

Norway’s LEPROUS is celebrating their twentieth anniversary this year. The group has never been content to remain in a state of musical stasis, evolving from putting together artsy-if-disjointed collages of multiple prog-rock and metallic sounds on their first few albums to more streamlined expressions of progressive-rock grandeur. Vocalist/keyboardist Einar Solberg and guitarist Tor Oddmund Suhrke have remained the sole constants since the band’s early beginnings, with other seats in the band turning over until 2017’s “Malina”. The group’s latest record, “Aphelion”, is the third from the current LEPROUS lineup, and truly feels like the climax of both the progression of Solberg’s and Suhrke’s songwriting and the chemistry of this incarnation of the band.

The 2021 version of LEPROUS has mastered the art of residing in the happy medium between the more radio-friendly output of progressive-metal stalwarts such as PORCUPINE TREE and the harder-edged riff-progression of acts such as MESHUGGAH. The overall tone of the group’s current musical ambitions on “Aphelion” does ultimately end up within the former, though Surhke and second guitarist Robin Ogdenal’s guitar tones — as well as some of drummer Baard Kolstad’s rhythms — still reside in the latter. Opening track “Running Low” is a slow burn that is carried by Solberg’s emotionally powerful vocals and background orchestration that would have been at home within the proggier-side of the LED ZEPPELIN catalog. Chunkier riffs emerge during “Out of Here”‘s second half which show Solberg’s understated whispers gradually build to forceful falsettos as the music escalates alongside him.

It’s the band’s mastery of tasteful escalation that proves key to elevating many of “Aphelion”‘s tracks. Solberg and Suhrke manage to keep their composition from feeling like tedious wandering, pretentious over-emoting, or musical chaos for the sake of musical chaos. “All The Moments” is a beautiful marriage of blues-rock guitar and swarming orchestration with Solberg’s vocal shifts leading ebbs and flows through a cathartic crescendo. Frenetic guitar work reminiscent of REFUSED’s “New Noise” carries the opening half of “The Silent Revelation”. The song is the album’s most overtly rock track, with Solberg emitting brief vocal passages as whispers, which build to a roaring climax of big riffs and arena-level vocal shouts.

Even as there are plenty of individual performances that shine throughout the record, LEPROUS also remains that rare breed where those stand-out moments remain in the service of a strong song, as opposed to flashy musicianship. Even the record’s flashiest guitar solo, during the back half of “The Shadow Side”, is still fairly restrained compared to other guitarists who may go a bit more over-the-top in a similar situation. Solberg is also a leader of this practice behind the microphone. His vocals attain an operatic grandeur during more bombastic moments — most notably during “On Hold” — without spilling over into comical pomposity. He also still proves capable of emitting more guttural, throaty screams during the climactic album closer, “Nighttime Disguise”.

Plenty of bands over the last decade have attempted to fuse well-worn progressive-metal sounds with a more modern rock touch. LEPROUS is one of the few that seemed to have landed in a space that fully works to pull that off well and continue to assert their mastery on “Aphelion”.

BMG has set an October 29 release date for a new career-spanning MOTÖRHEAD set, titled “Everything Louder Forever – The Very Best Of”. The definitive collection will be available on 2CD, 2LP and 4LP. The 2CD digipak and 4LP fold out sets will feature 42 tracks, including “Ace Of Spades”, “Killed By Death”, “Overkill”, “I’m So Bad (Baby I Don’t Care)”, “The Game” and many more. The 2LP set will include 22 tracks in a gatefold package.

MOTÖRHEAD are the true embodiment of rock ‘n’ roll excess. A hybrid of rock, punk and heavy metal played with relentless, ear-curdling power, they were a force of nature and nothing short of life-changing for millions. As for their approach to life and music, there was no “off” switch, and they became legends as a result.

Fronted for the entirety of their career by Ian “Lemmy” Kilmister, they released 22 studio albums over their 40 years together, amassing chart-topping records, a Grammy Award and racking up 15 million worldwide sales. Their signature song “Ace Of Spades” perfectly captured everything great about hard rock, heavy metal, and punk, amped it all up to 11, and came racing out of the gates at what felt like a million miles an hour, pushing at every musical boundary. Nothing was harder, nothing was faster and certainly nothing was louder. Anyone disputing this fact need look no further than any heavy metal gig and play “spot the MOTÖRHEAD T-shirt and jacket.” MOTÖRHEAD fans still outnumber anyone else, hands down.

MOTÖRHEAD has truly become a lifestyle for several generations of rockers, metalheads, punks, bikers, athletes, rebels, outcasts, and freethinkers all around the world. Few bands in modern history can instantly ignite the adrenaline of music fans the way they can. They changed the course of hard rock…forever.

CD1

01. Overkill
02. We Are Motörhead
03. Snaggletooth
04. Rock It
05. Orgasmatron
06. Brotherhood Of Man
07. In The Name Of Tragedy
08. Bomber
09. Sacrifice
10. The Thousand Names Of God
11. Love For Sale
12. Killed By Death
13. I’m So Bad (Baby I Don’t Care)
14. Smiling Like A Killer
15. Sharpshooter
16. Queen Of The Damned
17. Keys To The Kingdom
18. Cradle To The Grave
19. Lost Johnny
20. The Game

CD2

21. Ace Of Spades (40th Anniversary Master)
22. Burner
23. Stone Dead Forever
24. Bad Woman
25. Just Cos You Got The Power
26. Stay Out Of Jail
27. No Class
28. I Am The Sword
29. The Chase Is Better Than The Catch
30. God Save The Queen
31. R.A.M.O.N.E.S. (2006 Version)
32. Iron Fist
33. Rock Out
34. Dirty Love
35. Shine
36. Overnight Sensation
37. On Your Feet Or On Your Knees
38. I Ain’t No Nice Guy
39. Sucker
40. 1916
41. Choking On Your Screams
42. Motörhead

Pro wrestling-themed grindcore trio Matsunaga Was Right stream their second album.
The post Full Album Stream: Matsunaga Was Right – “Kings of the Deathmatch” appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

Germany’s Nocturnal returns with a album full of “Teutonic unholy thrash metal,” in all its raw, riff-powered glory.
The post Full Album Stream: Nocturnal – “Serpent Death” appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons recently joined forces with Nicholas Leone of Animazing Gallery at Grand Canal Shoppes at The Venetian Resort in Las Vegas for the debut of Gene Simmons ArtWorks October 14 through 16. The gallery showing will include a broad variety of artwork by Simmons — from sketches and drawings to small and large format paintings.

Speaking to KTNV’s “Las Vegas Morning Blend”, Simmons, whose art collection has never been displayed publicly, stated about his sketches and paintings: “The pandemic has been just horrible for everybody out there. But it also gave me a chance to be alone and not have all these other things — people and ideas — floating around, to just kind of not worry about what people thought: ‘Do I have to stick my tongue out and point it in your general direction?’ Ad infinitum, ad nauseam. And I’ve been secretly doodling all my life — ever since I was a kid; comic books, anything, when I’m sitting on planes or doing anything. And I didn’t know what I was doing; I’m not trained or anything. So it’s sort of stream of consciousness. I know what I like, and I experimented a lot. So, as you can tell by the different styles, some of it are Jackson Pollock-inspired. But I like to rub my fingers on a painting and feel the paint.”

Simmons, a serial entrepreneur who is recognized as much for his off-stage business and creative prowess as he is as for his bold onstage performances with KISS, has enjoyed success in many arenas. Well known as a branding expert, published author of numerous books, film and television star, public speaker, and founder of numerous businesses, Simmons has quietly held a secret passion for art for more than five decades.

The Gene Simmons ArtWorks debut at Animazing Gallery will feature a private VIP event for art collectors and celebrities on October 14, followed by two days of public showings with personal appearances by Simmons from 3 p.m. to 5 p.m. and 7 p.m. and 9 p.m. on October 15 and 16.

For more information about the Gene Simmons ArtWorks debut, visit www.animazing.com, e-mail info@animazing.com or call (702) 785-0061.

Los Angeles punk rock stalwarts THE BRONX has returned with its sixth album. It’s titled, ahem, “Bronx VI”, changing things up since its predecessor was “V” and all previous albums were simply titled “The Bronx”. Silly jokes and simplicity aside, THE BRONX is a fantastic punk rock band that fully embraces the depth of rock ‘n’ roll and all forms of guitar-oriented music. Their songs are reliably memorable, and their delivery is extremely passionate, especially that of frontman Matt Caughthran. The Californians have yet to release a subpar album, and that remains true with “Bronx VI”.

The ensemble’s hard-hitting rock ‘n’ roll energy and original take on punk rock sound is as fresh as ever, right from the get-go with album opener “White Shadow”. “Watering The Well” follows with a stronger focus upon melody, and a celebration of hedonism is evident as Caughthran roars, “I know what you’re thinking. Two wrongs don’t make a right, but two wrongs feel all right tonight.” The band’s charging, percussive assault has always worked in tandem with its inclination for melody, but the driving, punchy beats have never sounded as robust as they do now, since they drafted in drummer Joey Castillo, whose impressive resume includes QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, CIRCLE JERKS, SUGARTOOTH and DANZIG.

Elsewhere, the band’s rugged garage rock aesthetic comes to the forefront on “Curb Feelers” and “New Low”, songs that remain energetic and manic without ever becoming unhinged. “Peace Pipe” boasts nuanced, mid-tempo material that’s incredibly soulful and rich with melancholy. Indeed, THE BRONX has always excelled in terms of songwriting depth. And “Mexican Summer” taps into that key ingredient that’s so core to THE BRONX’s sound: mariachi. The song isn’t by any means full-on mariachi in style, but the flavor is most certainly present, not surprising considering that THE BRONX has a split personality, so to speak, as the band also performs as MARIACHI EL BRONX. The band’s long-standing marriage of punk and mariachi has resulted in a few albums released under that moniker, a musical cross-pollination stemming from Los Angeles’ rich cultural diversity.

“Bronx VI” isn’t by any means a conventional punk rock album. And that’s exactly what makes it authentic. Punk was never about following a rulebook. With “Bronx VI”, THE BRONX continues to creatively wander wherever the hell they want to, and they make it sound so damn good.