SLIPKNOT's 'Psychosocial' Certified Gold In U.K.

SLIPKNOT’s “Psychosocial” has been certified gold in the United Kingdom.

To earn a gold certification for a single in the U.K., SLIPKNOT had to sell 400,000 units of the song.

The platinum, gold and silver certifications awarded by the British Phonographic Industry in recognition of sales milestones have included audio streaming data since June 2015, with 1,000 streams counting as one “sale.”

“Psychosocial” is taken from SLIPKNOT’s album “All Hope Is Gone”, which was certified gold back in September 2008, about a month after the LP’s release.

The official video for “Psychosocial” was uploaded to SLIPKNOT’s YouTube channel in October 2009 and has been viewed 415 million times.

SLIPKNOT’s latest album, “We Are Not Your Kind”, was certified silver in the U.K. in December 2019 for sales in excess of 60,000 copies.

In the U.S., “We Are Not Your Kind” sold 118,000 equivalent album units in the U.S. in its first week of release to land at position No. 1 on the Billboard 200 chart. Of that sum, 102,000 were in album sales.

“We Are Not Your Kind”‘s sales in the U.S. were boosted by a concert ticket/album sale redemption offer with SLIPKNOT’s summer 2019 tour.

Late last month, SLIPKNOT launched the 2021 incarnation of the “Knotfest Roadshow” with support from KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, FEVER 333 and CODE ORANGE. The 28-date run, produced by Live Nation, kicked off following the band’s Knotfest Iowa hometown show in Des Moines on September 25, and will wrap up in Arizona in early November.

Read more »

AGNOSTIC FRONT's ROGER MIRET Undergoes Another Surgery In His Battle With Cancer

AGNOSTIC FRONT vocalist Roger Miret says that he “should feel better soon” after undergoing another surgery in his battle with cancer.

Earlier this year, Miret was diagnosed with cancer. A long road of tests and diagnoses led to a complex initial surgery and lengthy hospital stay. Even though the original surgery was complicated, the results were extremely positive. The cancer was successfully removed and Roger is now in complete remission and all signs of cancer have disappeared.

On Sunday (October 3), AGNOSTIC FRONT’s official Instagram was updated with a new video message from Roger, apparently shot by his wife at a hospital, in which he says in part: “I just had a surgery done, and I’ll feel better really, really soon. I should feel better soon ’cause I had an infection. I was running a fever for two weeks straight. So, no need to worry, no one. We’re staying positive. And really, I’m so grateful of each and every one of you for just your love and support and everything you’ve all come together for. It’s been heartfelt.”

A GoFundMe page has been launched where fans can donate to help Roger pay medical care costs.

Born in Cuba, Miret fled with his family to the U.S. to escape the Castro regime. He joined AGNOSTIC FRONT in 1983, and the seminal New York harcore group released classics like “United Blood”, “Victim In Pain” and “Cause For Alarm” over the next several years.

In 2017, Miret released a memoir, “My Riot: Agnostic Front, Grit, Guts, And Glory”, which documented his struggles to adapt to life in the U.S. after his family fled the Castro regime. According to the Phoenix New Times, the book delved into many facets of Miret’s life: the grinding poverty of his childhood; living as a teenager squatter; becoming deeply enmeshed in downtown New York’s hardcore scene; and later turning to drug-running to support his family.

In addition to fronting AGNOSTIC FRONT, Miret has also played with ROGER MIRET AND THE DISASTERS and is a member of THE ALLIGATORS.

For the past several years, Roger has resided in Scottsdale, Arizona.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by AGNOSTIC FRONT (@agnosticfrontnyc)

Read more »

SABATON Announces Release Date And Track Listing For 'The War To End All Wars' Album

Swedish metallers SABATON will release their new album, “The War To End All Wars”, on March 4, 2022 via Nuclear Blast Records. Written and recorded during the COVID-19 global pandemic, the concept album of 11 brand-new songs once again dives deep into the atrocities, miracles, and events tied to the early 20th century’s World War I. The tenth album of the Falun-based five-piece will be available in an impressive variety of exclusive formats, including CD, vinyl, and cassette, with most available in limited editions.

“The War To End All Wars” track listing:

01. Sarajevo
02. Stormtroopers
03. Dreadnought
04. The Unkillable Soldier
05. Soldier Of Heaven
06. Hellfighters
07. Race To The Sea
08. Lady Of The Dark
09. The Valley Of Death
10. Christmas Truce
11. Versailles

“The War To End All Wars” will be available in the following formats:

– Jewelcase CD
– Limited Gold CD [Supporter Edition – various versions with translated booklets]
– History Edition
– NB Mailorder Exclusive Edition [ltd. to 1500 copies]
– Earbook [limited to 6000 copies]
– Black Vinyl
– Azure Blue Vinyl [bandshop exclusive, ltd. to 300 copies]
– Inca Gold Vinyl [bandshop exclusive, ltd. to 500 copies]
– Copper Vinyl [ltd. to 500 copies]
– Fluorescent Orange Vinyl [ltd. to 500 copies]
– Leaf Green Vinyl [Sweden exclusive]
– Fluorescent Yellow Vinyl [Ginza exclusive]
– Dusk Vinyl [Levik exclusive]
– Soft Grey Vinyl [Nordics exclusive]
– Lavender Vinyl [FNAC exclusive]
– Rosewood Vinyl [Mystic exclusive]
– Fluorescent Green Vinyl [UK exclusive]
– Pacific Blue Vinyl
– Polar White Vinyl [limited to 300 copies]
– Dewdrop Vinyl [limited to 500 copies, EMP exclusive]
– Blue cassette [limited to 100 copies, bandshop exclusive]
– Green cassette [limited to 100 copies]
– Grey cassette [limited to 300 copies]
– Red cassette [limited to 500 copies]
– Black cassette [limited to 250 copies]
– Smokey cassette [limited to 200 copies]
– White cassette [limited 100 copies]

In a recent interview with Canada’s The Metal Voice, SABATON frontman Joakim Brodén said about the musical direction of the band’s new material (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “It’s very much a SABATON album in that way. We’ve been an evolutionary band always and not a revolutionary band. There’s always surprises on a SABATON album but we’re never gonna flip the coin and do something totally different on every song on a new album. There’s gonna be surprises on every album. I’m actually listening to and approving the master of the new album right now.

“It’s always subjective,” he continued. “I think it’s pathetic when an artist goes, ‘It’s the best album we’ve ever made,’ and they keep promoting the same tired line. I say it’s up to the listener to decide that, but I know for a fact that everybody in the band, without even sitting in the same room together, because I sort of shipped out the pre-mixes to everyone, and everybody — this is the only time in our history this has happened — everybody came back with, ‘Fuck. That sounds great.’ Everybody is super happy with the production. We were always happy before, but it was, like, ‘Maybe this, maybe that.’ Now it was more like, ‘Okay, yeah, I have some suggestions and ideas, but wow.’ We’re really happy with the sound.”

Following a 29-date headline tour of Sweden, SABATON will launch the release of the new album with “The Tour To End All Tours”, a massive five-week European trek supported by THE HU and LORDI.

SABATON is considered to be one the most important bands to emerge from the Swedish modern metal scene, having been honored with five Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards (including “Best Live Band” three different years) and nominated several times for the Swedish equivalent of the Grammy Awards, the Grammis. In 2016, SABATON’s “The Last Stand” album debuted at No. 1 in three different European countries and cracked the Top 3 in four others. Joakim Brodén (vocals), Pär Sundström (bass), Chris Rörland (guitar), Hannes Van Dahl (drums) and Tommy Johansson (guitar) curate a festival of their own, Sabaton Open Air, that started back in 2008, as well as their own forward-thinking Sabaton Cruise which has been held since 2009.

Read more »

MÖTLEY CRÜE's 40th Anniversary Celebrations Continue With Digital Remaster Of 'Shout At The Devil'

Legendary rock band MÖTLEY CRÜE continues its 40th anniversary celebration with the release of the digital remaster of its iconic album “Shout At The Devil”. Hits such as “Looks That Kill”, “Too Young To Fall In Love” and title track “Shout At The Devil” are amplified on this version of the band’s breakthrough album. Selling over 200,000 copies in the first two weeks, “Shout At The Devil” established MÖTLEY CRÜE as one of the top-selling rock acts of the 1980s.

Released in September 1983, the band’s second studio album reached No. 17 on the Billboard 200. With two of its singles charting on the Billboard Hot 100, “Shout At The Devil” also featured a cover of THE BEATLES’ 1968 song “Helter Skelter”. Moving over four million copies in the U.S., the album is now certified quadruple platinum in the U.S., triple platinum in Canada and gold in Australia. Most recently, Rolling Stone magazine ranked the album N. 44 in its list of “The 100 Greatest Metal Albums Of All Time” in 2017.

MÖTLEY CRÜE’s 40th anniversary celebrations will culminate with the digital remaster of their album “Too Fast For Love”, arriving exactly 40 years to the original release date of November 10, 1981. Their debut album was recorded at Hit City West Studios and made available via their own label Leathür Records. Eventually reaching platinum status in the U.S. and charting on the Billboard 200, the album was ranked No. 22 on Rolling Stone’s “The 100 Greatest Metal Albums Of All Time.”

The new remasters join the recently released digital remasters of “Dr. Feelgood”, “Girls, Girls, Girls” and “Theatre Of Pain”, which kicked off the band’s 40th-anniversary celebrations earlier this year.

The recently launched Mötley Crüe 101 Spotify playlist includes hits from the band’s entire discography. It gives new and existing fans a comprehensive guide to the band’s iconic musical legacy, taking them on a celebratory sonic journey for this special anniversary.

MÖTLEY CRÜE’s “The Stadium Tour” with DEF LEPPARD, POISON and JOAN JETT & THE BLACKHEARTS was originally scheduled to take place last summer but ended up being pushed back to 2021, and then to 2022, due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Neil, Sixx, Mars and Lee are firmly ingrained in the fabric of rock history. MÖTLEY CRÜE has sold over 100 million albums worldwide, achieving seven USA platinum and multi-platinum albums, 22 Top 40 mainstream rock hits, six Top 20 pop singles and three Grammy nominations.

The band’s biography “The Dirt: Confessions Of The World’s Most Notorious Rock Band”, first published in 2001, became a New York Times best-seller and has sold over one million copies worldwide. In addition, the band members have authored three other New York Times best-sellers.

2019 saw “The Dirt” released as a feature-length biopic. The film became one of the biggest releases of that year and scored a 94% positive audience score on Rotten Tomatoes.

Read more »

DAVE GROHL Says He Has 'Many Ideas' For New 'Nevermind' Cover In Wake Of Child Sexual Exploitation Lawsuit

Dave Grohl says that he is open to the idea of changing the cover of “Nevermind” for any subsequent reissues of the iconic NIRVANA album.

The former NIRVANA drummer touched upon the prospect of a new “Nevermind” cover while speaking to The Sunday Times about the lawsuit filed by Spencer Elden, the man who claims he was the baby featured in the image, against the surviving members of NIRVANA as well as the estate of Kurt Cobain. Elden alleges the photo of the baby reaching for a dollar in a swimming pool violated federal child pornography statutes and argues child sexual exploitation.

Regarding the “Nevermind” artwork, Grohl said: “I have many ideas of how we should alter that cover, but we’ll see what happens. We’ll let you know. I’m sure we’ll come up with something good.”

As for how the lawsuit might pan out, Grohl said that he isn’t overly concerned. “I think that there’s much more to look forward to and much more to life than getting bogged down in those kinds of things,” he explained. “And, fortunately, I don’t have to do the paperwork.”

A month after filing his lawsuit, Elden, who is now 30, requested his genitalia be removed from “all future album covers” on the 30th anniversary of the project.

“Today, like each year on this date, our client Spencer Elden has had to brace himself for renewed unwanted attention from the media and fans alike throughout the world,” his attorneys told USA Today. “This is a choice that he has never had.”

The attorneys said that they plan on continuing the legal proceedings in order to “bring long-awaited privacy and dignity back to our client.”

“We implore the NIRVANA defendants to right the wrongs of their past, by acknowledging the harm they have perpetrated and redacting the image of Mr. Elden’s genitalia from further reproductions of ‘Nevermind’ because behind every cover is a person pleading for their privacy back,” they added.

A deluxe 30th-anniversary reissue of “Nevermind” is due on November 12. Pre-orders for the set still show the album with its original cover artwork.

In Elden’s complaint filed in Los Angeles federal court, which also named photographer Kirk Weddle and the various record companies behind the album’s release, Elden claimed that his “identity and legal name are forever tied to the commercial sexual exploitation he experienced as a minor which has been distributed and sold worldwide from the time he was a baby to the present day.”

According to the suit, the defendants “knowingly produced, possessed, and advertised commercial child pornography depicting Spencer, and they knowingly received value in exchange for doing so. … Despite this knowledge, defendants failed to take reasonable steps to protect Spencer and prevent his widespread sexual exploitation and image trafficking.”

Elden claimed that his parents never signed a release authorizing the use of the photos, which were taken in a Pasadena aquatic center in 1990. He alleges that the band promised to cover his genitals with a sticker, which was never incorporated into the album art.

“To ensure the album cover would trigger a visceral sexual response from the viewer, Weddle activated Spencer’s ‘gag reflex’ before throwing him underwater in poses highlighting and emphasizing Spencer’s exposed genitals,” the complaint stated.

The suit further alleged the defendants “used child pornography depicting Spencer as an essential element of a record promotion scheme commonly utilized in the music industry to get attention, wherein album covers posed children in a sexually provocative manner to gain notoriety, drive sales, and garner media attention, and critical reviews.”

Elden is seeking damages of either $150,000 from each of the 17 defendants or unspecified damages to be determined at trial, attorney fees, an injunction to prohibit all parties “from continuing to engage in the unlawful acts and practices described herein,” and a trial by jury.

“The permanent harm he has proximately suffered includes but is not limited to extreme and permanent emotional distress with physical manifestations, interference with his normal development and educational progress, lifelong loss of income earning capacity, loss of past and future wages, past and future expenses for medical and psychological treatment, loss of enjoyment of life, and other losses to be described and proven at trial of this matter,” the lawsuit stated.

Elden’s parents were reportedly paid only $200 for the photos, and the shoot lasted around 15 seconds.

In a 2016 interview with Time magazine, Elden said: “It’s a trip. Everyone involved in the album has tons and tons of money. I feel like I’m the last little bit of grunge rock. I’m living in my mom’s house and driving a Honda Civic.

“It’s hard not to get upset when you hear how much money was involved,” Elden added. “I go to a baseball game and think about it: ‘Man, everybody at this baseball game has probably seen my little baby penis,’ I feel like I got part of my human rights revoked.”

“Nevermind” has sold over 30 million copies worldwide and was certified diamond by the RIAA for sales in excess of 10 million copies in the U.S. alone.

Read more »

Wired – ECLIPSE

One part Bryan Adams’s “Run To You” and another part late-’80s BON JOVI, ECLIPSE’s “Dead Inside”, the bonus track from the band’s latest album, is a window into how contemporary hard rock music might sound today if grunge didn’t brainwash American radio programmers a generation ago into thinking that yorbeling — the vocal “technique” (also known as warbling and yarling) employed by the likes of Vedder, Weiland, Stapp, Kroeger and numerous other acts featured at a Danny Wimmer Presents festival near you — is an acceptable and enjoyable style of singing. The song features five exhilarating minutes of music that begin with a deceptively hooky guitar line that quickly builds into a driving, infectious anthem that would turn the heads of even Desmond Child and Jim Vallance.
It’s also “just” a bonus track on ECLIPSE’s new album, “Wired”. How any band can write a song this good and consider it a throwaway is a mystery, but apparently Erik Mårtensson — the band’s vocalist, producer and songwriter — continues to reap the benefits of whatever devil he bargained with at his Swedish crossroads a dozen years ago, when the debut album from W.E.T. (his side project with SONS OF APOLLO vocalist Jeff Scott Soto and WORK OF ART’s Robert Sall) kicked off an incredible run of high-quality melodic rock releases to which he’s contributed. “Wired” is yet another impressive feather in his cap, dripping with instantly memorable anthems (there’s that word again) and a repeat-listenability factor that — with all due respect to H.E.A.T, another excellent Swedish hard rock group who graduated with honors from the university of Mutt Lange and Bruce Fairbairn — is simply without peer in modern AOR.

“Wired” also gives Mårtensson the chance to show off a few new tricks. It might not be as drastic as Dylan going electric, but his recent switch to Gretsch guitars has added a new timbre to ECLIPSE’s music, much like his embrace of lilting, Gary Moore-like melodies on the group’s recent albums. Advance single “Bite The Bullet” is a perfect example. After opening with an uncharacteristically snarling riff, the song pauses for an extended musical break that eschews a traditional solo in favor of a moody, reverb-drenched guitar passage that sounds like frequent David Lynch collaborator Angelo Badalamenti scoring a duel in an imaginary western.

While Mårtensson is a master of building to choruses expeditiously, he’s also continuing to learn that sometimes, giving songs room to breathe makes them even more memorable. “Run For Cover” — which also features the new Gretsch influence, as well as a dazzling, letter-perfect solo by Mårtensson’s musical Robin, Magnus Henriksson — could have easily been a standard-fare, very good three-and-a-half minute ECLIPSE song, but by giving it more time to plead its case (much like “When The Winter Ends” on 2019’s excellent “Paradigm”), the track becomes a standout. Its final 90 seconds are pure musical bliss that wouldn’t sound out of place on a SAVATAGE rock opera.

Speaking of SAVATAGE, “Twilight” gives Mårtensson a chance to mash up that band’s sister group, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, with his well-documented affection for EUROPE. An uber-melodic, instantly infectious earworm with call-and-response vocals, the song’s coda sees Mårtensson’s impassioned cries of “whoa” give way to a STEELHEART-worthy scream that’s accompanied by the strains of Beethoven’s “Ode To Joy”. In less capable hands, the result would be musical goulash, but here, it works to perfection.

Perhaps the most interesting feature of “Wired” is that Mårtensson sequenced the album differently for CD and streaming services than he did for vinyl, and not because of side-length limitations. The analog version of the album opens with initial preview track “Saturday Night (Hallelujah)” , a bouncy and upbeat blast of sonic positivity that pays homage to the likes of “Working For The Weekend” and “I’ll Sleep When I’m Dead”, followed by the aforementioned “Twilight”. The digital versions, meanwhile, commence with the comparatively aggressive “Roses On Your Grave” and “Dying Breed”. Other songs are sequenced differently as well, which begs the question of how best to consider an album in an era dominated by playlists and singles – that is, is it simply a collection of songs where the arc and flow are now irrelevant? (Repeat listens to both sequences yielded no additional insight, but your mileage may vary.)

Notably, the vinyl edition features another excellent bonus track, “Ain’t No Fun”, that’s exclusive to the format — and even more interestingly, it’s sequenced as song #3 on the LP rather than being tacked on at the end. Thirty-five years ago, a track like this would have topped the “Dial MTV” countdown for weeks, but in 2021, it’s just another standout ECLIPSE song on just another standout ECLIPSE album.

The year began with the release of W.E.T.’s fourth album, my review of which concluded with this line: “Unless (Mårtensson) has another trick up his 2021 sleeve, fans of melodic hard rock won’t have a more transcendent listening experience this year.” Perhaps it’s fitting that “Wired” is being released in October, as this trick is pure treat.

Read more »

MATT SORUM Looks Back On His Time With GUNS N' ROSES: 'It Was Probably The Greatest Period Of My Life'

Former GUNS N’ ROSES drummer Matt Sorum was a recent guest on “Dennis Miller +1”, an interview show hosted by American actor, comedian, talk show host and five-time Emmy award winner Dennis Miller. You can now watch the chat below.

Speaking about his time with GUNS N’ ROSES, Matt said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “God, you know when you used to watch those VH1 ‘Behind The Music’ [episodes], and [you’d go], ‘Oh, God. There it goes again.’ Sorry, it happened to me too. [Laughs] It was, like, do as much as you can until you can’t do it anymore. Things got crazy, and believe it or not, everybody in GUNS N’ ROSES is still alive. And that blows my mind. I got out alive.

“It was probably the greatest period of my life to actually be in a band like that,” he added. “I remember playing Madison Square Garden [in New York City]. We did four nights there, sold out. And I remember driving up that ramp. Remember [the LED ZEPPELIN movie] ‘The Song Remains The Same’ where they go, ‘Tour dates tomorrow and tomorrow’? And next thing they’re opening with ‘Rock And Roll’. I was driving up that same ramp with my bass player, Duff [McKagan]. And I look and I go, ‘Oh my God. We’re in the movie.’ It was beyond anyone’s wildest expectations or dreams as a kid wanting to be in a rock and roll band when you have those experiences.”

The 60-year-old musician, who has also played with THE CULT, VELVET REVOLVER and HOLLYWOOD VAMPIRES, is not involved with GN’R’s hugely successful reunion, which features singer Axl Rose, guitarist Slash and bassist Duff McKagan alongside drummer Frank Ferrer, keyboardist Dizzy Reed, guitarist Richard Fortus and second keyboardist Melissa Reese.

Sorum, who replaced Steven Adler in GUNS N’ ROSES, recorded the highly successful albums “Use Your Illusion I” and “Use Your Illusion II” (both 1991) and “The Spaghetti Incident” (1994). He also supported the group on the “Use Your Illusion” tour and can be heard on GUNS N’ ROSES’ “Live Era: ’87-’93” (1999) and “Greatest Hits” (2004).

Matt was among the GUNS N’ ROSES members who were inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in April 2012. He, Adler, Slash and McKagan attended the ceremony, while Rose and founding guitarist Izzy Stradlin stayed home.

Matt released his new book, “Double Talkin’ Jive: True Rock ‘N’ Roll Stories”, on September 7 via Rare Bird Books.

Read more »

CANDLEBOX Frontman On Touring During Pandemic: 'It's The First Time Ever I Felt Like This Is A Job'

CANDLEBOX frontman Kevin Martin spoke to Chris Akin of “Aftershocks” about what it has been like for him and his bandmates to tour during the pandemic. He said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “The response is great. The venues aren’t at full capacity — most of the ones that we’re playing — so that’s a little odd. But the audiences are great; people are showing up. That’s all you can really hope for. The weirdest thing, really, is just that you can’t really escape into the music like we’ve been able to do for so many years. In the back of your mind, the thought is always there, ‘Am I gonna catch COVID at this event?’ And that’s not only from the band; it’s the fans as well. It’s just one of those things that you can sense is in the back of everybody’s mind. So it makes it really difficult to just enjoy this as much as you’d like to.”

Asked if all the COVID-19 protocols have made touring seem like a “job” for the first time in CANDLEBOX’s career, Martin responded: “It does. It’s strange that way. You kind of feel like, ‘Okay, I’ve gotta be here, and I wanna make sure that everybody enjoys themselves.’ But, yeah, that’s kind of exactly what it is. It’s the first time ever I felt like this is a job.”

Less than two months ago, Martin told Sofa King Cool about what it has been like for him and his bandmates to tour during the pandemic: “Our fans aren’t happy about it, but we’re not doing meet-and-greets, we’re not doing VIPs, we’re not any backstage, there’s no comp tickets — which is the first time in my career that I’ve ever had to do that. We just can’t afford it. I can’t afford for someone in my band to get COVID, or for me to get COVID, and have to shut this tour down for 10 days to quarantine.

“We were in Wichita on this last run we did, and there were two tour buses parked next to ours in the morning, and it was THE AVETT BROTHERS who had to cancel two shows because someone either on their crew or the venues they were going to tested positive,” he continued. “And that’s two days of sitting in Wichita [with] two tour buses at a thousand dollars a day, not to mention what you have to pay your crew members per day — all those types of things. It’s heavy, heavy duty.

“So, we wear masks everywhere,” he explained. “We don’t interact with any of the crew at the venues, which is unfortunate, because I know a lot of these guys at these venues we’re playing. And we don’t go out. We play the show, we hang out at the dressing room, shower, clean up, whatever, and we go straight to the bus and head to the next town. So we’re being as overly cautious as we can.

“Frankly, we’ve had a couple of instances of people yelling at our crew guys onstage, ‘Take your fucking mask off. You don’t need to be fucking masking,’ which is rude. I haven’t worked in fucking 18 months. Can I have a moment to make some money, please?”

In August, CANDLEBOX released “All Down Hill From Here”, a single from its latest album “Wolves”. Martin co-wrote the song with Christopher Thorne of BLIND MELON. The inspiration behind the song came from the two longtime friends musing on the fleeting nature of fame.

CANDLEBOX’s seventh studio album, “Wolves”, dropped worldwide on September 17 on Pavement Entertainment. The album is available on all formats (CD, vinyl, and through digital outlets).

Read more »

DEVILDRIVER Parts Ways With Guitarist NEAL TIEMANN

California metallers DEVILDRIVER have parted ways with their guitarist of the last six years. Neal Tiemann. Tiemann, formerly of BURN HALO, joined the band in 2015 as the replacement for Jeff Kendrick, who left DEVILDRIVER in October 2014.

Earlier today (Sunday, October 3), DEVILDRIVER frontman Dez Fafara released the following statement: “It’s at this time we are announcing the parting of ways with Neal. Neal filled in a time when we needed him most , we thank him for his touring & song writing efforts in DEVILDRIVER….it was an honor to have jammed with him. Adios Amigo good luck in whatever you do.”

In a 2016 interview with Distorted Sound, Fafara stated about Tiemann’s addition to DEVILDRIVER: “He basically replaced a departing member that had a lot of problems with other members due to lack of contributing to songs. The difference is that Neal came in with 12 songs [for 2016’s ‘Trust No One’ album]. Usually you bring in a new member and you’re, like, ‘Dude, you need to sit out for like a year and a half.’ But it wasn’t like that. We let everyone come in with what they have and the first song that we released [from ‘Trust No One’], ‘Daybreak’, was Neal’s. A lot of people didn’t know that I was working on a side project with him for like a year and a half before he joined, so I already wanted to do something with him and then the opportunity came for him to be in DEVILDRIVER.”

Last year, DEVILDRIVER announced a new double album, “Dealing With Demons”. The first volume — titled “Dealing With Demons I” — droped in October 2020 via Napalm Records and marked the band’s first release of new, original material since “Trust No One”.

DEVILDRIVER was formed in Santa Barbara, California in 2002 when Fafara’s previous band COAL CHAMBER was winding down, Originally signed to Roadrunner Records, the group’s original lineup featured guitarists Jeff Kendrick and Evan Pitts (who was replaced by Mike Spreitzer later that year), bassist Jon Miller and drummer John Boecklin.

View this post on Instagram

A post shared by DevilDriver (@devildriver)

Read more »

ALL THAT REMAINS Singer Warns Of 'Authoritarian Takeover Of U.S. Government', Says Calling Capitol Riot An 'Insurrection' Is 'Ridiculous'

During an appearance on the latest episode of “The Chad Prather Show”, which airs through conservative media group Blaze Media, ALL THAT REMAINS singer Phil Labonte was asked for his opinion on the state of the world at the moment. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “There’s an attempt for an authoritarian takeover of the United States government in a way that is unprecedented in American history. And the worst part is the people that do want to fight it, they have to deal with — essentially, it’s just the most slanderous attacks. If you say ‘I’m for this’, someone will always say, ‘Oh, you just want to do this hurtful thing to this person or these people,’ or whatever.”

Labonte, who has previously described himself as “a libertarian,” went on to single out the trend by liberals and Democrats in referring to Republicans and conservatives in a typically derogatory way, saying: “Get used to the name calling, because it’s not about whether or not it’s true; it’s about if they can convince other people that you’re this bad thing. And that’s what they did with [former U.S. president] Donald Trump. Now, Donald Trump gave them a whole lot material to work with, but someone like [Florida governor] Ron DeSantis, who, I’m not super familiar with his history, but I assume a JAG officer doesn’t have those kind of skeletons in his closet. I assume there’s no Stormy Daniels looking to hit up Ron DeSantis,” he added, referencing the porn star who alleged she had an affair with Trump while his wife Melania was pregnant.

“And it goes back as far as I can think,” he continued. “I remember, and I don’t wanna sound like I’m criticizing this man because I’m a huge fan of him, but I remember in the ’90s, Kirk Hammett, the guitar player from METALLICA, on the DVD or video [documentary] that they put out, ‘A Year And A Half In The Life Of Metallica’, he called [right-wing firebrand] Pat Buchanan a Nazi. And back then I didn’t think anything of it. But then now, to think back, it’s, like, this narrative of conservatives being Nazis or being the most detestable thing that you can comp with, it’s not new; it’s been going on forever and ever and ever, and I think that it’s a bad thing.”

Labonte also touched upon the mob violence that happened on Capitol Hill on January 6, 2021, incited in large part by the false voter fraud claims of then-President Trump and his Republican allies, claiming that the destructive event has been improperly labeled.

“The idea that it was an insurrection is probably one of the most ridiculous ideas that I’ve ever been presented with,” Phil said. “On January 6th, I was watching it on the Internet, and I was just, like, ‘Man…’ There have been bombs that have gone off in the Capitol; that’s actually happened in the ’80s. So the idea that this was some kind of dramatic thing… The politicians did exactly what they intended to do in the same room on the same day. It was not an insurrection. That’s not how insurrections end up.” (As a legal term, an insurrection means, essentially, to incite, assist in or engage in a full-on rebellion against the government: a step beyond just conspiring against it, and requiring that significant violence be involved.)

In a 2012 interview with Noisecreep, Labonte said that he has never been afraid to state his opinion. “You get what you get,” he said. “I hate when lead singers and people in bands are so afraid of offending their fans that they don’t say how they really feel so they don’t bum people out. Well, everything you do might bum someone out, so simply be yourself. I don’t like rock stars. I didn’t start playing in bands to get chicks. When I started playing music, there were no chicks to be seen. It was a sea of virgins. I’m not afraid to say this is my opinion. If you don’t like, hit the road. What’s the big deal? If I have an opinion, it’s one individual opinion out of six and a half billion people on Earth. What does it mean? Absolutely nothing. So what if I said something that you don’t like. It’s not going to change the world one iota.”

Last year, Labonte confirmed to the FM99 WNOR radio station that ALL THAT REMAINS had commenced the songwriting process for the follow-up to 2018’s “Victim Of The New Disease” album.

“Victim Of The New Disease” was ALL THAT REMAINS’ final album to feature guitarist Oli Herbert, who was found dead in October 2018 at the edge of the pond on his Stafford Springs, Connecticut property. He has since been replaced by Jason Richardson, who has previously played with BORN OF OSIRIS and CHELSEA GRIN.

Read more »