Month: August 2021

In a new interview with Brazil’s Wikimetal, legendary bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes (DEEP PURPLE, BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION) discussed the rapid popularization of the Internet technology and how it changed the way people listen to music and communicate with each other.

“Back in the days, before the Internet, you didn’t get to connect with anyone,” he said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). “It was run by record executives; some of ’em didn’t have a clue what they were doing. Most record executives don’t understand music at all; it’s all business. And that’s the problem I’ve got with a lot of music today — it’s all about business and it’s all about money, throwing money into something that maybe isn’t fantastic. It’s all corporate. No one’s getting developed — no young artists are getting developed, like they used to do 30 years ago. That’s the problem I’ve got. But on the other side, if we don’t embrace the now, if we don’t embrace the change, those people that don’t embrace will get left behind. So I’ve embraced the Internet. I have a social network team and we embrace it. I connect with as lot of people on the Internet. I enjoy the back-and-forth. But music is my life. Nothing comes before the music. So I’m always about making new music to give and to perform to new music fans — and old music fans.”

Hughes made his live debut with THE DEAD DAISIES on June 23 at Boca Black Box in Boca Raton, Florida. He is joined in the band’s current lineup includes Doug Aldrich (DIO, WHITESNAKE) on guitar, Tommy Clufetos (BLACK SABBATH, OZZY OSBOURNE) on drums and David Lowy (RED PHOENIX, MINK) on guitar.

THE DEAD DAISIES’ latest album, “Holy Ground”, was released in January. Recorded at La Fabrique Studios in the south of France with producer Ben Grosse, the LP is the band’s first to feature Hughes, who joined the group in 2019 as its new bassist and vocalist, replacing John Corabi (MÖTLEY CRÜE) and Marco Mendoza (THIN LIZZY).

Drummer Deen Castronovo announced his exit from THE DEAD DAISIES in January, two days after the band’s publicist revealed that Clufetos would rejoin THE DEAD DAISIES when they hit the road in support of “Holy Ground”. Clufetos previously toured with THE DEAD DAISIES in 2015.

THE DEAD DAISIES will embark on a full U.S. tour in the late summer/early fall. Support on the “Like No Other” trek will come from the “rock and roll comedian” Don Jamieson.

Last month, TIMES OF GRACE, featuring Adam Dutkiewicz and Jesse Leach of KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, released its long-awaited second album, “Songs Of Loss And Separation”, via the band’s own imprint label, Wicked Good Records, distributed by ADA Worldwide. Asked in a new interview with Australia’s Maniacs what led to the decision to go the independent route, Leach said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “A long time of negotiating and just kind of weighing where we are with the band and where we are in this world right now. We have KILLSWITCH, we have our career, and with TIMES OF GRACE, it just felt like, ‘Let’s keep this free.’ There’s no guarantees what’s gonna happen with it. We don’t wanna owe a record label a bunch of money. We don’t wanna have any pressure to have someone say, ‘You need to tour on this.’ ‘Cause if you’re signing a record contract, there’s a lot of things that go with that. And we had some pretty crazy offers with some really staggering money. And it was just, like, that’s not who are. That’s not what we’re trying to do. So we’re able to steer the ship in a whole different way. We’re calling all the shots. And if the album sells well, if people care enough to buy a record these days, which that’s not an expectation of ours, we’re gonna see a ton more money from album sales, which is nuts. And then owning the rights, retaining the rights to it, years down the line, we can remix it, we can do whatever we want and not ask anybody permission or have to go through a lawyer. There’s none of that; we took it all out. And it just seemed like a quote-unquote risk to take.

“If you’ve got the means to do it… ADA, the distribution company we work with, they fronted some money, but not half as much as you would get with a record label,” he explained. “It’s low risk, and it potentially is better for the future, for what we’re gonna do. And retaining your ownership, I think it’s really important these days, ’cause no one’s really selling a ton of records, so it’s not about that anymore.”

As for whether he would advise up-and-coming bands to release their recordings themselves instead of signing with a record company, Leach said: “Yeah, but I think the landscape is changing. I think that being said, even where we are with streaming and Zoom, there’s so many possibilities now for younger bands to take advantage of. You don’t have to go out and sell a ton of records or pound the pavement on the road for two years and go broke anymore. You could have an incredible streaming thing in your own living room with Internet cameras and an audio rig. You can do so much on your own and build your audience and have streaming numbers that promoters will look at and go, ‘Wow. That person did it all on their own. They didn’t need a record label.’ I would say the one thing that you’re gonna need is Internet presence and you’re gonna need promotion.”

He continued: “As far as a record label, they’re pretty much just a bank that gives you a loan and then helps you figure out how to do stuff. But in this day and age, there’s so many independent people you can hire on yourself — P.R. people, marketing people — that are kids. There’s so many people just doing it rogue. You don’t really need to sign a contract anywhere. So I would say take full advantage of everything you’ve got and just be smart and be careful who you do business with. It’s like the Wild, Wild West right now with the Internet. And now that we’ve got a way to stream, there’s so many things you can do with that. You don’t need anybody.”

TIMES OF GRACE’s debut album, “The Hymn Of A Broken Man”, arrived in 2011, nearly a decade after Leach’s exit from KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, the pivotal New Wave Of American Heavy Metal band the duo co-founded with friends in 1999. The first music from TIMES OF GRACE materialized during Dutkiewicz’s arduous recovery from near-crippling back surgery. A collection of songs the multi-instrumentalist and producer knew would suit his once and future bandmate. The first album earned acclaim from BBC Music, The Aquarian and Rock Sound. It willfully upended expectations, with flourishes of shoegaze and ambiance in its songs.

Photo credit: Hristo Shindov

Welcome to Hell. Dark death metal trio Qrixkuor will be your guide.
The post Full Album Stream: Qrixkuor – “Poison Palinopsia” appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

METALLICA has teamed up with Amazon to create “The Metallica Podcast”. According to the band, the podcast will launch with eight episodes taking a look behind the scenes at METALLICA’s self-titled 1991 LP, better known as “The Black Album.” An exact release date for the podcast has not yet been announced.

The Black Album is one of the most commercially successful and critically acclaimed records of all time. Its 1991 release not only gave METALLICA its first No. 1 album in no fewer than 10 countries, including a four-week run at No. 1 in the U.S., its unrelenting series of singles — “Enter Sandman”, “The Unforgiven”, “Nothing Else Matters”, “Wherever I May Roam” and “Sad But True” — fueled the band’s rise to stadium headlining, radio and MTV dominating household name status. The album’s reception from the press was similarly charged, building over the years from the top 10 of the 1991 Village Voice Pazz & Jop national critics poll to becoming a constant presence in the likes of Rolling Stone’s 500 Greatest Albums Of All Time. The album’s impact and relevance continue to grow — as proven by one indisputable fact: The Black Album remains unchallenged as the best-selling album in the history of Nielsen SoundScan, outselling every release in every genre over the past 30 years.

To commemorate its 30th anniversary, the Grammy-winning, 16-times-platinum-certified Black Album is receiving its definitive re-release on September 10 via the band’s own Blackened Recordings. Remastered for ultimate sound quality, The Black Album remaster will be available in multiple configurations including 180-gram double vinyl LP, standard CD and 3 CD expanded edition, digital, and limited-edition deluxe box set (containing the album remastered on 180-gram 2LP, a picture disc, three live LPs, 14 CDs (containing rough mixes, demos, interviews, live shows), 6 DVDs (containing outtakes, behind the scenes, official videos, live shows), a 120-page hardcover book, four tour laminates, three lithos, three guitar picks, a METALLICA lanyard, a folder with lyric sheets, and a download card).

METALLICA’s self-titled LP in 2014 became the first album to sell 16 million copies since Nielsen SoundScan started tracking sales in 1991.

“Metallica” was already certified 16 times platinum on December 13, 2012 by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association Of America) for shipments in excess of 16 million copies in the U.S.

The album in 2009 surpassed SHANIA TWAIN’s 1997 record, “Come On Over”, as the best-selling CD of the SoundScan era.

“Metallica” was the first of four collaborations with producer Bob Rock, with whom the band clashed throughout the recording of the disc.

METALLICA performed “the black album” in its entirety at a number of European festivals in 2012.

Coming soon… The Metallica Podcast! We’re starting with eight episodes taking a look behind the scenes at “The Black Album.”
Subscribe for free wherever you like to listen and stay tuned for details: https://t.co/UlA4kEUfv1#BlackAlbum2021 pic.twitter.com/XpaOwCwsig

— Metallica (@Metallica) August 5, 2021

California rockers PAPA ROACH have unveiled their swagger-packed motorcade music video directed by Darren Craig (SLIPKNOT, RIHANNA, BIG SEAN, JUSTIN TIMBERLAKE) for their new track “Swerve”. The high-octane thrill ride featuring the outspoken frontman of FEVER 333, Jason Aalon Butler, and rising Los Angeles-based rapper Sueco is the first track pulled from the band’s forthcoming studio album.

“This track came at the very end of the writing process for our upcoming album and truly feels like the culmination of years of experimenting with our sound coming back to a new version of PAPA ROACH,” shares PAPA ROACH frontman Jacoby Shaddix. “Filming this music video with Jason and Sueco was one of the most fun experiences we’ve had and I am so excited to share it with the world.”

The genre-bending banger was produced by Colin “Doc” Brittain and Nick Furlong (ALL TIME LOW, A DAY TO REMEMBER, AVICII), and features the saxophone stylings of co-collaborator Spencer Nezey, showcasing PAPA ROACH’s bravado at an all-time high.

“This is one of the favorite songs I’ve ever made,” Sueco shares on the collab. “PAPA ROACH has been an inspiration of mine since I was a kid, so working with them was super dope and a dream come true!”

Butler adds: “I’ve said it before and I’ll say it again — this band has somehow managed to be a legacy AND relevant all at once. So, naturally, when I got the call to hop on this track there was no question. With Sueco doing his thing, the track’s got three different vibes that all work together. This shit is different and that’s exactly what rock needs. More DIFFERENT shit. Thanks to these modern legends for making sure it happened.”

Along with the song release, PAPA ROACH also announced that it has entered into a new global distribution and marketing services agreement with ADA (WMG’s independent label and artist services arm). Of the partnership, Cat Kreidich, ADA president, shares: “We couldn’t be more elated to have PAPA ROACH in the ADA family. With our talented teams and strong relationships across various territories, we look forward to activating an even wider global audience, as we support them in this new musical chapter.” In addition, PAPA ROACH has also reactivated its own label, New Noize Records, a second incarnation of the band’s early 2000s label enterprise.

PAPA ROACH will be joining BREAKING BENJAMIN on a handful of shows this fall while also taking the stage at both the Blue Ridge Rock festival and the inaugural Rebel Rock Fest.

FEAR FACTORY’s Dino Cazares will play guitar for SOULFLY on the Max Cavalera-fronted band’s upcoming U.S. tour. The 33-date trek kicks off on August 20 in Albuquerque, New Mexico and will make stops in New York, Chicago and Austin before concluding in Tempe, Arizona on September 25. The final date will be a family celebration as it will include performances by INCITE, GO AHEAD AND DIE and HEALING MAGIC. Joining the band for select dates are NIVIANE and SUICIDE PUPPETS.

Cavalera comments: “I’m very excited to be sharing the stage with Dino. He is a true OG riff master, It’s going to sound heavier than SOULFLY has ever sounded before! Dino’s legendary FEAR FACTORY crunch guitar sound mixed with SOULFLY is going to sound insane.”

Cazares states: “The first time I met Max in 1991, I knew we were going to be longtime friends. I was standing at the bar, he grabbed my arm and yelled ‘Papa Capado.’ I was like ‘who the F@#% are you? He said ‘I’m Max’ and from there we just hit it off. That same night I played him the FEAR FACTORY demo tape on his cassette Walkman in his hotel room while we were attending a music convention in Los Angeles. He liked it so much that he wouldn’t give it back, so I had to wrestle him and take it out of his Walkman, haha. It was my only copy. Max told Monte Conner, the A&R director from Roadrunner Records, that we had a new demo that he needed to check out, so our manager at the time sent our demo to Monte after many labels turned us down. The rest is history.

“Over the past 30 years, I’ve guested on a few of Max’s projects and jumped on stage whenever and wherever I could. Now it’s a great honor to be doing this tour alongside Max as the second guitarist. It’s going to be amazing for all the fans to see the two of us playing a selection of SOULFLY songs and a few familiar extras.

“Much respect to Max and his family — thank you for always making me feel at home with the SOULFLY Tribe. Let’s do this!!!! Um Dois Três Quatro”.

Longtime SOULFLY guitarist Marc Rizzo has not yet publicly commented on his apparent exit from the band.

Rizzo recently announced that he will hit the road with the heavy metal honky tonk duo WHISKEYDICK later this month.

Back in 2018, Max praised Rizzo, telling “The Classic Metal Show”: “He loves what he does; he loves playing in SOULFLY; he loves working with me. We are totally connected. He gives 150 percent every show, no matter if there’s ten people or ten thousand, which is rare. Sometimes when there’s not a lot of people, it’s hard to go out there and still be excited and he does it. I do believe he’s underrated big-time, but I’m kind of happy about that because if he gets too big, then he will go away. He will join a big band. I’ll be out looking for another guitar player and it would suck. It would really suck to lose Marc. I’m kind of happy. It’s almost like a secret thing that we have, this treasure that we have. He’s fantastic. He’s an amazing guitar player. I sit sometimes around the dressing room just to hear him play. Just go in the dressing room to hang out while he’s practicing just to hear him playing some of the flamenco sections in the dressing room or when he’s just shredding. He’s killer. He is a true, true guitar hero.”

Joey Jordison’s SINSAENUM bandmates have paid tribute to the recently deceased SLIPKNOT drummer, saying “his love and passion for music was unmatched” and calling him “one of the most influential” musicians in the extreme metal genre.

Jordison’s family confirmed that he passed away “peacefully in his sleep” on July 26 of an unspecified cause. He was 46 years old.
Earlier today (Thursday, August 5), the remaining members of SINSAENUM issued the following statement: “We are deeply saddened by the loss of our friend and brother Joey Jordison. He was of course one of the most influential drummers in the genre, completely rewriting the game of metal drumming, and it was truly an honor to share even just a small part of that with him. He brought something to the table that no other musician could, and his love and passion for music was unmatched in a world of jaded artists.

“For us Joey was family, and like family we argued and cried, but mostly laughed, and cared deeply for one another. His public image had a serious tone, with an evil exterior, yet he had the biggest heart, and we were lucky to be able to see the softer side of him. Joey also had his demons, and nothing hurts more than knowing that we did everything in our power to help and couldn’t get through to him. He never felt he was better than anyone and would go out of this way to put everything, and everyone above his own needs.

“Our hearts go out to [his ex-girlfriend] Amanda, to his family, and to the true friends that were checking in on him.

“And to all our fans and friends who reached out to us in this time of mourning, thank you.

“Considering everything; moving on will be difficult at first, especially since we had already started writing the new album, but we will persevere, and will honor his legacy in everything we do moving forward. This next record will be dedicated to the memory of him, as that’s what Joey would have wanted.

“Hails, and Horns as Joey would say. We miss you Jsaenum, and will love you forever.”

SLIPKNOT announced its split with Jordison in December 2013 but did not disclose the reasons for his exit. The drummer subsequently issued a statement saying that he did not quit the group.

The same year that he exited SLIPKNOT, Jordison launched the band SCAR THE MARTYR and later, VIMIC.

SINSAENUM, which also features former DRAGONFORCE and current KREATOR bassist Frédéric Leclercq, released its latest album, “Repulsion For Humanity”, in August 2018 via earMUSIC. The rest of the band consists of Sean Zatorsky (DÅÅTH, vocals), Stephane Buriez (LOUDBLAST, guitar), Heimoth (SETH, bass) and Attila Csihar (MAYHEM, vocals).

“Echoes Of The Tortured”, SINSAENUM’s first album, was nominated as “Best Debut” by Metal Hammer Germany and was praised worldwide as one of the freshest and finest approaches to death metal.

We are deeply saddened by the loss of our friend and brother Joey Jordison.

He was of course one of the most…

Posted by Sinsaenum on Thursday, August 5, 2021

Nuclear Blast Records has announced the signing of the Swedish black metal collective WATAIN. The band has now entered Necromorbus Studios, located inside of a church north of their hometown Uppsala, to record a new album and follow-up to the ferocious 2018 opus “Trident Wolf Eclipse”. The new full-length is scheduled for a release in the spring of 2022.

WATAIN states: “Ladies and gentlemen, it is with great reverence and infernal hunger alike that we now stand before the next chapter of WATAIN. Armed with the faith, force and fire accumulated during the ‘Trident Wolf Eclipse’ era, we are now entering terra incognita, to again face our inner selves and the ever-expanding abyss that roars within. A few months of hard noble work lay ahead, and we could not be more ready for it. We are most eagerly looking forward to sharing the result with you all in the wild times to come. Until then: stay hungry, stay deviant, stay free and fuck the world!”

Jens Prüter, head of A&R Europe at Nuclear Blast, comments: “I have always been fascinated how WATAIN build their own cosmos based on their primordial fire of will. It’s more than just music. It’s an universal experience of darkness and light.

“I first started working with WATAIN in 2013 and was thrilled to contribute then to their success and highest chart entries the band has ever had. It’s a pleasure to welcome them now to Nuclear Blast Records to continue accompanying their path — wherever it will take us because the path is the goal.”

WATAIN 2021 recording lineup:

Erik Danielsson
Pelle Forsberg
Alvaro Lillo
Hampus Eriksson
Emil Svensson

In a new interview with Bandbond, FEAR FACTORY guitarist Dino Cazares recalled a particularly funny incident from a major tour the band played in the mid-1990s. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “There was one time when we were touring with MEGADETH, and we did about five weeks with MEGADETH in the U.S. And right after the tour, we went on tour with IRON MAIDEN. And so every night, we always say on the microphone, ‘Hey, thank you for having us tonight. Are you guys ready for so-and-so?’ which is the headlining act. So we had just got off the MEGADETH tour. We went on to the IRON MAIDEN tour. And our singer [Burton C. Bell] says, ‘Hey, thank you for having us tonight. If you wanna go to the merch table, buy some merch… Blah blah blah… Are you guys ready for MEGADETH?’ And we were on tour with IRON MAIDEN. And it was really funny, because Steve Harris [IRON MAIDEN bassist] was standing on the side of the stage and I wanna say Janick Gers [IRON MAIDEN guitarist]. And they were just laughing at us, they were making fun of us, because [Burton] had one of those ‘Spinal Tap’ moments.”

Dino also talked about the lessons he and his bandmates learned while spending time on the road with some of the biggest names in heavy metal.

“In some ways, a lot of the bands that we toured with taught us how to tour,” he said. “Because some of these bands that we toured with was in the beginning of our career, or early on in our career. And just seeing how they do it and how the professionals do it, it was eye-opening. Just the knowledge of how they know how to go and direct the crowd, how the singer talks to the crowd, how the guitar player moves, the bass player, the drummer… All those things really inspired us. How they set up their stage, how they set up their gear. All that stuff really was very fun for us, because we were still learning. We were like a sponge; our mind was like a sponge. It was, like, ‘Oh, wow. They did that.’ ‘Oh, wow. They did this.’ ‘Oh, okay, that’s how you do that.’ So all of them inspired us and all of them showed us an interesting way of how they do things and how you can learn from those things. And so they were all fun to us — all of ’em.”

FEAR FACTORY’s latest album, “Aggression Continuum”, came out on June 18 via Nuclear Blast Records. The LP features Cazares; drummer Mike Heller; and former vocalist, lyricist, and co-founder Burton C. Bell. It was produced and engineered by Damien Rainaud (DRAGONFORCE, ONCE HUMAN), with keyboards by Igor Khoroshev (ex-YES), and programming on two songs from longtime collaborator Rhys Fulber (FRONT LINE ASSEMBLY). “Aggression Continuum” was mixed by Andy Sneap (MEGADETH, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, TRIVIUM), who also mixed FEAR FACTORY’s previous album, 2015’s “Genexus”.

Photo credit: Stephanie Cabral