Boss has built so many classic and essential pedals that some of the company’s coolest work goes unheralded. Curiously, Boss’s fuzzes always seem to fall in that category. And even though the monstrous FZ-2 Hyper Fuzz (a beast inspired by the Shin-Ei Super-Fuzz) and FZ-3 are now coveted by certain collectors, they were modest successes upon release (at least by Boss standards) and remain relative sleepers.In 2021, Boss jumped back in the fuzz game in spectacular fashion with the TB-2W, a high-profile, very limited, and now very expensive version of the germanium Tone Bender MkII. So, it’s less than surprising that the new FZ-1W Waza Craft—with its grinding, growling chord tones, burly, angry-bee buzz, and brash-to-singing high-register lead sounds—falls squarely in the Tone Bender’s sonic camp. And with surprisingly range-y tone and gain controls, and a modern mode that adds body and midrange presence, it’s a tantalizing option for vintage-curious players that crave more tone-shaping power than simple 2-knob fuzzes provide.Primordial BuzzThough Boss are quick to point out that the FZ-1W is an original design, they also say that much of the inspiration and practical insight that produced the pedal came by way of the TB-2W design experience. Played alongside authentic clones of various Tone Bender versions, the FZ-1W’s voice is unquestionably unique. But it’s easy to hear the influence of the Tone Bender’s big, brash attitude, and many similarities shine through.Like a Tone Bender MkII, the FZ-1W’s core tonality walks the line between the reediness of early fuzzes and more modern gain profiles. The voice is less open and throaty than germanium Tone Bender MkII or germanium Fuzz Face-style pedals, but even in its vintage mode the tight midrange focus gives leads a smoother, more vocal quality and makes punky power chords sound big and detailed without collapsing into a heap of compressed tone mud.The FZ-1W’s toppiest tone settings never sound shrill—even with a Telecaster bridge pickup and an old Fender piggyback on either end of the signal chain.Humbuckers produce absolutely massive tones in the vintage and more mid-forward modern mode. And players questing for ’60s sizzle on top of a measure of Big Muff-like mass will love the way woolier pickups pair with the FZ-1W’s wailing voice. Single-coil pickups accentuate the toppier side of the FZ-1W’s personality, but they sound no less aggressive. And it’s easy to imagine the heat and intensity of these single-coil sounds working as devastating counterpoint or doubling textures for big bass riffs.Tones in the ShadowsOne big difference between the FZ-1W and many vintage fuzzes is its effective tone control. It gives you a lot of leeway for crafting more creative and less canonically ’60s fuzz sounds. It also has a very wide range. The FZ-1Ws toppiest tone settings never sound shrill—even with a Telecaster bridge pickup and an old Fender piggyback on the ends of the signal chain. The darkest tones also remain menacing and substantial at high fuzz levels.The fuzz control provides even more interesting ways to expand and enhance the FZ-1Ws tone vocabulary. This too is a substantial difference between the FZ-1W and pedals like the Tone Bender MkII, which tend to sound supercharged with gain or just slightly less supercharged with gain. The sounds that lurk in these more modest ranges of the fuzz control aren’t always obviously beautiful, but they are often distinctive, uncommon tones that stand tall and sound unique in a mix, and in some ways better approximate the cool, if less ferocious, fuzz sounds that less-hip engineers forced upon overzealous players in studios in the mid-’60s.The FZ-1Ws silicon circuitry means it won’t be as dynamically responsive to volume attenuation as a germanium Fuzz Face or the less-dynamic Tone Bender Mk II. But if you’re running the gain at maximum, the fuzz can still be tamed into an aggressive purr that lives on the distorted side of the overdrive spectrum. Lower pedal gain settings and guitar volume attenuation can produce near-clean tones.The VerdictWhile the FZ-1W isn’t a Tone Bender clone, it speaks with a very similar accent. And with its less cantankerous silicon circuitry and more versatile control set, it dwells in a sweet spot between authentic mid-’60s-ness and more robust and flexible modern fuzz voices. At $199, it also lives in a very competitive neighborhood where authentic and versatile takes on vintage sounds abound. As with any vintage-voiced fuzz, it’s a good idea to explore how the FZ-1W’s bold tonalities work with your favorite guitar and amp. But if this Boss fits your rig, you can bet you’ll uncover a wealth of fuzz surprises that simpler, more traditional pedals will have a hard time delivering.Boss’ Sickest Silicon Fuzz?! FZ-1W Waza Craft Fuzz Demo | First LookSee how @BOSSchannel’s filthy vintage-style silicon fuzz delivers a mid-rich, high-gain bump with the flick of switch.More First Look videos: http://bit.ly/F…

In a new interview with Liz Barnes of Planet Rock’s “My Planet Rocks”, SCORPIONS singer Klaus Meine was asked if the title of the band’s new album, “Rock Believer”, is a message of sorts for the group’s fans around the world. He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “Maybe that’s because of the pandemic, it’s all a dialogue with the fans. Especially [since] we are blocked away from the world of touring for such a long time, it’s like you wanna stay in touch with your fanbase. And through the social media today — with the Facebooks, Instagrams and even TikTok [laughs], whatever comes along the way — you have a chance to be in touch with your fanbase and it’s a pretty cool dialogue. You get some feedback to what you say, and maybe it’s good, sometimes it’s maybe not so good.”

He continued: “I’ll tell you a story. In the middle of the pandemic, and way before we recorded the first track of this album, I wrote a little song in my studio back home just to put something out on the social media without saying, ‘Here’s a new single from the SCORPIONS.’ It was just a little song. And the song was ‘Sign Of Hope’. It was maybe two minutes something — not a big song. And I wanted to get in touch and just say, ‘Stay strong. Take good care of yourself. We’ll see you again. Let’s go through this pandemic together.’ And by the end of the year, we put out three [‘Sign Of Hope’] fan videos and reached a lot of people. And it was such a nice interaction with the fans. And the same goes for the lyrics in ‘Rock Believer’. We are the essence of rock believers, yes, but also we’ve heard so many years: ‘Rock is dead.’ There is grunge, there is hip-hop, there is rap. Yes, those genres are very popular these days, no question about it — especially hip-hop and rap — but we see every time we go on the road rock is not dead at all; it’s well and alive. And ‘Rock Believer’ is directed to this community, saying, ‘We love you and we hope you love this new album as much as we do. And I’m a rock believer just like you.’ It’s a clear message.”

“Rock Believer” will be released on February 25. The LP was recorded primarily at Peppermint Park Studios in Hannover, Germany and was mixed at the legendary Hansa Studios in Berlin, Germany with engineer Michael Ilbert, who has earned multiple Grammy nominations for his mix work with producer Max Martin on albums by Taylor Swift and Katy Perry.

SCORPIONS’ new album will mark their first release since 2017’s “Born To Touch Your Feelings – Best Of Rock Ballads”, which was an anthology of new and classic material.

SCORPIONS originally intended to record the new album in Los Angeles with producer Greg Fidelman, whose previous credits include SLIPKNOT and METALLICA. However, because of the pandemic, some of the initial work was done with Greg remotely, after which SCORPIONS opted to helm the recordings themselves with the help of their engineer Hans-Martin Buff.

Meine previously told Talking Metal that the goal with using Fidelman to produce “Rock Believer” was to bring “the old vibe from albums like ‘Blackout’, ‘Love At First Sting’ or even ‘Lovedrive’. We try to focus on those albums and this attitude,” he said. “If we get there, who knows — it’s so many years later. But it’s the spirit and it’s the whole vibe around this album. This time, the focus is on the harder songs.”

SCORPIONS will kick off their “Rock Believer” world tour in March in Las Vegas where the band will play nine shows as part of their residency at Planet Hollywood Hotel. Afterwards they will cross the Atlantic to Europe where they will play six concerts in France and six shows In Germany supported by Wolfgang Van Halen’s new band MAMMOTH WVH.

SCORPIONS’ last full-length collection of new recordings was the aforementioned “Return To Forever”, partially comprising songs the band had in the vault from the ’80s. It was the final recorded appearance of SCORPIONS’ longtime drummer James Kottak, who was dismissed from the band in September 2016. He has since been replaced by Mikkey Dee, formerly of MOTÖRHEAD.

We Summon the Darkness is a fun, Satanic Panic-inspired horror film.
The post Heavy Metal Horror: ‘We Summon the Darkness’ appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

Screaming Butterfly Entertainment recently announced a partnership with former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson and his Ellefson Films on the upcoming feature-length documentary “This Was My Life: The Story Of Nick Menza”. Ellefson has signed on as a co-producer of the film, and also will provide narration to guide the viewer through the exploration of the late MEGADETH drummer’s life. The film is being produced/directed and edited by Holly Mollohan from Screaming Butterfly Entertainment.

Speaking to Rock You Radio about how he came to be involved with the project, Ellefson said (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “It’s a labor of love, the whole thing. We’re doing it, basically, to just try to raise money. The funds will then go to his family; he’s got two young boys.

“Nick just grew up in a very loving, warm — and it’s like that today; it’s a very warm family and they’re very inviting,” he continued. “So I really appreciate them allowing this film to happen because there have been a couple of, I think, ideas — I don’t wanna call ’em false starts — but a couple of intentions to get it going, and now it’s finally going; it’s moving. So I’m glad to be invited in to just kind of fire the gun, get it across the starting line and let’s get the horses going.

“Holly Mollohan is the director and producer. I originally was gonna… They called me and said, ‘Would you wanna narrate it?’ I said, ‘Yeah,’ but I said, ‘Look, if I’m gonna get involved, I wanna be all in. Otherwise, it’s just sort of a session I do on the side,'” Ellefson explained. “And quite honestly, the deeper I got into it, I quickly became the guy and the monkey in the middle to kind of bring all the parts and all the people together and really make it all happen so that it was connected, that it’s congruent and get everything marching in the same direction. So that’s where I came in as a co-producer on it.”

“This Was My Life” will be the first-ever film to memorialize Menza’s legacy and celebrate his life exactly how it was. It is described in a press release as “an unflinching exploration into the life of one of the most successful thrash-metal drummers of all time, authorized by the Menza family. From his childhood all the way through to the end of his life Including a true blow-by-blow account of the repeated failed attempts of the classic ‘Rust In Peace’ lineup.”

“This Was My Life” will feature rare and never-before-seen photos and video footage from Nick’s archived VHS tape collection, personally filmed by Menza himself from 1988 through 1991. Included will be exclusive content showcasing Nick working at the studio, personal home movies, casual time and party time with his fellow bandmembers, as well as other well-known artists of the era that Nick toured with.

The cover photo for the film was shot by Los Angeles music photographer Alex Solca and designed by Brazilian artwork designer Alcides Burn of Burn Artworks.

Late in the evening on May 21, 2016, Nick collapsed after suffering a heart attack during a concert with Chris Poland and Robertino “Pag” Pagliari in their band OHM: at The Baked Potato in Studio City, California and was pronounced dead upon arrival at the hospital. The Los Angeles County Department of Medical Examiner-Coroner said Menza died of hypertensive and atherosclerotic cardiovascular disease.

You could WIN a D1 High-Fidelity Stereo Delay from Walrus Audio in today’s giveaway! Ends Feb. 8, 2022.D1 High-Fidelity Stereo DelayThe D1 is a powerful multi-function delay with five studio-grade, high-fidelity, custom-tuned programs. Create inspiring echoes from Digital, Modulated, Vintage, Dual Delay, and Reverse. Each can be tuned and tweaked with modulation, tone, age, and tap/clock subdivisions. The attack knob adds another dynamic to each program, opening up a new world for creating soundscapes. The D1 boasts stereo in and out, midi control, adjustable stereo width, and onboard presets. A workhorse of a delay that is just as ready for the road as it is the studio.I Love Pedals Day #7: Walrus Audio

A MetOnTour video edit of METALLICA performing the song “The End Of The Line” on December 19, 2021 at Chase Center in San Francisco, California can be seen below. The show was the second of METALLICA’s two 40th-anniversary concerts which featured different setlists. They were part of METALLICA’s “San Francisco Takeover”, a four-day citywide celebration of the band’s 40th anniversary that also included a film festival, photo exhibit and curated lineup of smaller venue shows featuring other acts.

The 40th-anniversary shows marked METALLICA’s return to Chase Center for the first time since the September 2019 “S&M²” concerts that also served as the venue’s grand opening. Those two shows grossed more than $4.1 million over the course of its two nights, according to reports submitted to Pollstar’s Boxoffice, and the band ranked at No. 4 on Pollstar’s worldwide touring chart that same year with a global gross of $175 million.

Formed in 1981 by drummer Lars Ulrich and guitarist/vocalist James Hetfield, METALLICA has become one of the most influential and successful rock bands in history, having sold nearly 120 million albums worldwide and generating more than 2.5 billion streams while playing to millions of fans on literally all seven continents. The band’s several multi-platinum albums include “Kill ‘Em All”, “Ride The Lightning”, “Master Of Puppets”, “… And Justice For All”, “Metallica” (commonly referred to as The Black Album), “Load”, “Reload”, “St. Anger”, “Death Magnetic” and “Hardwired… To Self-Destruct”, released in November 2016 and charting at No. 1 in 32 countries.

METALLICA’s awards and accolades include nine Grammy Awards, two American Music Awards, multiple MTV Video Music Awards, and its 2009 induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame. In June of 2018, the band was awarded one of the most prestigious musical honors in the world: Sweden’s Polar Music Prize.

On December 16, San Francisco mayor London Breed presented Ulrich and bassist Robert Trujillo with a special declaration marking the day as “Metallica Day” in the city.

“When you talk about San Francisco,” Breed said at the news conference, “you talk about cable cars and then you talk about METALLICA.”