ARCH ENEMY frontwoman and animal rights activist Alissa White-Gluz delivered the opening speech at the “Animal Liberation March” in New York City on Saturday, September 2. A short video of her speech can be seen below.
The “Animal Liberation March” was designed to unite the vegan community, educate…

KAMELOT has recruited Swedish drummer Adde Larsson (HOW WE END, RED WOLF, CYHRA) to sit behind the kit for several shows on the band’s U.S. tour. Larsson is filling in for regular KAMELOT drummer Alex Landenburg, who had to miss a few of the dates due to a non-medical family commitment.
Video of Lar…

THE BLACK CROWES kicked off their U.S. tour as the support act for AEROSMITH last night (Saturday, September 2) at the Wells Fargo Center in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.
Joining singer Chris Robinson and guitarist Rich Robinson in the new BLACK CROWES lineup are returning bassist Sven Pipien, who pla…

The Keith Sharward YouTube channel has uploaded video of QUEENSRŸCHE’s September 2 concert at Feather Falls Casino & Lodge in Oroville, California. Check out the clips below.
Earlier this year, QUEENSRŸCHE completed its 2023 U.S. headlining tour with support from former MEGADETH guitarist M…

For a young amp company, Victory has had more than its share of, well, victories among their amp releases. These days, though, the company’s overdrive pedals, which are effectively amp-in-a-box versions of the firm’s flagship products, threaten to glean as much attention as their celebrated tube-loaded siblings. Designed in conjunction with Adrian Thorpe of ThorpyFX, the V1 Copper squeezes the essence of Victory’s archetypal AC30-inspired, EL84-driven VC35 Copper amp head into a 5-knob gain and tone-shaping device. And it has the power to transform the right amp in true transatlantic style from a murky mess into a chiming, jangling, crispy, and crunchy overdrive machine.On His Majesty’s Overdrive ServiceLike Victory’s amps, and Adrian Thorpe’s very exacting pedals, the V1 Copper is handsome and built to last. The rugged, folded-steel enclosure measures 4.75″ x 2.5″ x 1.5″ and is slanted gently toward the player to aid control visibility. We’re not sure whether it’s named after the British slang for a penny or a policeman. Either way, the piece that forms the top, front, and back is finished in metallic copper and decorated with a heraldry-style lion and unicorn on either side of the footswitch, a purple amp-style jewel light, and a shining crown between the knobs.The control complement offers a slight modification of the gain, volume, and 3-band EQ control configuration on the VC35 Copper amp. Instead of a mids control, there is a tone control. It’s effectively a stand-in for the cut control on the top-boost AC30s that inspired the VC35 Copper amp. On an AC30, the cut control adjusts the treble at the output stage, and the V1 Copper’s tone control assumes a similar role to very practical effect.”The Copper has a lot of transformative, tone-twisting capabilities. But it’s important to consider the amp you want to revoice before switching the thing on.”Both the input and output are on the crown of the enclosure, with a center-negative 9V DC input between them. The pedal draws a mere 15.3 mA. There’s no room inside for a battery, and the 1.1 pound heft of the thing suggests it’s pretty well packed with quality components. Switching is true bypass.Spend a PennyThe Copper has a lot of transformative, tone-twisting capabilities. But it’s important to consider the amp you want to revoice before switching the thing on. It might be self-evident, but it’s worth noting that a pedal intended to perform like a top-boost AC30 works best with an amp that’s lacking life on the treble side. With a very Vox-like 65Amps London, for instance, the pedal was altogether too much, yielding trebly, brittle results without aggressive EQ adjustments at the amp, which left the London too dark to enjoy once the pedal was switched off again. With a darker, warmer tweed-Deluxe clone, however, the Copper’s transformative powers shone more brightly and usefully. It’s still predisposed to some eviscerating brightness—probably just the way a lot of top boost AC30 fans like it—but the tone knob does a great job of tailoring that treble edge to suit the amp you’re driving.Like the top end, the gain in this pedal comes on strong, especially for a design that’s not categorically a high-gain pedal. Unity gain usually hits at about 8 o’clock on the pedal’s gain and volume controls. By the time I reached noon on each control, I was slamming my amp much harder than I normally would. That said, the Copper’s capacity for gain means you can tap into a lot of really fun, gnarly, cranked-amp-style lead and crunch sounds. And when that’s what a song calls for, the Copper delivers. It doesn’t just excel in high-gain applications, though. At subtler settings, the Copper is great for enlivening a dark amp or adding sparkle and a hint of grind to your basic signal—a lot like a good top-boost AC30 might.The VerdictAt restrained settings, the Copper offers a fast track to the chime and trebly bite of a top-boost preamp and EL84 output tubes. It churns out loads of gnarly overdrive when pushed. But all that available gain means it needs to be used judiciously with intrinsically bright amps. In the right setting, though, and with the right amp, it’s a perfect vehicle for a quick trip to London circa 1965. Victory Amplification V1 The Copper Pedal

In an interview with JJ’s One Girl Band conducted at last month’s Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany, DARK TRANQULLITY frontman Mikael Stanne was asked about possible lyrical concept for the band’s upcoming follow-up to 2020’s “Moment” album. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET…

In a new interview with Jerry Kurunen of Finland’s Rauta, POSSESSED frontman Jeff Becerra was asked if his band is rightfully credited with initially creating the term “death metal” in 1983. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “One hundred percent. I had the copyright in 1983. POSSESSED wa…

Before METALLICA’s “M72” tour played the first of its two scheduled concerts at State Farm Stadium in Glendale, Arizona this weekend, FOX 10’s Danielle Miller sat down with METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich for an exclusive interview. Miller also got a a behind-the-scenes look at what it takes for crews…

In a new interview with Australia’s May The Rock Be With You, EXTREME guitarist Nuno Bettencourt discussed the overwhelmingly positive response to the band’s latest album, “Six”, in particular the song “Rise”, which features a guitarist solo that Total Guitar magazine has called “one of the 21st cen…