In a new interview with Montreal Rocks, guitarist Andreas Kisser was asked what makes a “perfect SEPULTURA show.” He responded (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET): “It depends. There are so many variables during a day. I think the perfect show is when you really put everything out of the normal life or the normal day and you put yourself, during an hour and a half, in a different world and you really go to the stage and you go to a different place — you act different and you feel different. Every artist will tell you that. If you see somebody on stage, off stage is very different characteristics and atmosphere. So, once we are able to do that, that’s great — that we’re gonna enjoy ourselves and really sing the lyrics with our fans and lights and all the stuff and really be there without really thinking anything else. And I have to say we are like that naturally.”

He continued: “It really helps, the whole atmosphere of being on stage, celebrating music and stuff and really enjoy ourselves and really play the songs that we want to play and not really think about, ‘What’s the formation of the band of this music or this album, which label and stuff?’ We don’t do like, let’s say, a political setlist — we play [songs] from ‘Bestial Devastation’ to ‘Quadra’, everything; whatever we feel pleased like and whatever the concept of the tour is. And the fans, they don’t wanna know about all this bullshit that happens backstage, like fights with labels and managers and all that crap; they wanna go there and really enjoy the music, and that’s what we do. And as long as we keep this feeling and this spirit, it’s gonna be a great show, for sure.”

Formed in 1984 in Brazil, SEPULTURA has gone on to sell over millions of records and solidify its legacy as one of the greatest metal bands of the 1980s, 1990s, and beyond. Today, SEPULTURA is still going strong, 15 albums deep into one of the hardest-hitting discographies in history.

While the pandemic paralyzed the entire world and prevented bands from touring, Latin America’s biggest metal export SEPULTURA refused to sit back and feel like animals trapped in a cage. Therefore, in early 2020, the band seized the moment to start its own weekly “SepulQuarta” video podcast in which they invited other famous musicians from all over the world to not only discuss important topics but also perform a track from SEPULTURA’s massive catalog together with the group. The resulting full-length compilation was released in August 2021, with the album containing 15 classics featuring internationally renowned guests and friends.

SEPULTURA comprises Kisser, vocalist Derrick Green, bassist Paulo Xisto Pinto Jr., and drummer Eloy Casagrande.

SEPULTURA was formed in Belo Horizonte by brothers Max and Igor Cavalera, who are no longer with the band.

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Adam Shoenfeld has helped shape the tone of modern country guitar. How? Well, the Nashville-based session star, producer, and frontman has played on hundreds of albums and 45 No. 1 country hits, starting with Jason Aldean’s “Hicktown,” since 2005. Plus, he’s found time for several bands of his own as well as the first studio album under his own name, All the Birds Sing, which drops January 28.Shoenfeld recently let PG’s John Bohlinger in on some of his sonic secrets, running through his session rig at East Nashville’s 3Sirens studio.[Brought to you by D’Addario Nexxus 360 Rechargeable Tuner: http://ddar.io/Nexxus.RigRundown]Melody Maker MagicShoenfeld’s choice of guitar depends on the song, but a good deal of the time he plays his 1964-’65 Gibson Melody Maker. Before Adam got it, the guitar had been modded with a Badass bridge and the original pickup was swapped for a DiMarzio X2N engraved “1979.” All his electric guitars are strung with D’Addario NYXLs, gauged .010–.052.It’s That StratPeople think they’re hearing humbuckers on Jason Aldean’s “Hicktown,” but it was played on this stock American-built 1998 Fender Stratocaster.Orange SqueezerNext in the arsenal is this Bigsby-equipped Gretsch 6120 from the early 2000s.P-90 PowerhouseFor a P-90 tone, Shoenfeld goes with this 1964 Gibson SG Junior. Other than the bridge, the instrument is all stock.Nashville NecessityTo cover country’s de rigueur twangy bite, Shoenfeld employs this Fender ’72 Telecaster Custom reissue, built in 2004.Tricky RickyA rare, exotic gem, this all-stock 1964 Rickenbacker 330 is used by Shoenfeld for sessions and is his main guitar when he’s fronting his own project.Morgan WorkhorseShoenfeld describes this Morgan SW-50, modded by Joe Morgan for more headroom, as “very Bassman-ish, but a little squishier … tubier.”First BassmanHe also relies on this racked blonde Fender Bassman from the early ’60s.Ver-Z-tilityThis jack-of-all-tones Dr. Z MAZ-38 has been modded by Nashville-based boutique amp make Ebo Customs.Conjugatin’ VerbEbo Customs also made this sweet tube-driven E-Verb reverb unit. You’ll find one of these in fellow studio ace Tom Bukovac’s rack, too.Vox BoxThe Vox Cambridge was introduced in 1965. This one’s from the next year, when both tube and solid-state versions were made. Check out the video for the inside scoop on this doggie.50 Watts of LawThe Marshall JMP combo is a truly iconic amp—with big teeth and big tone. This all-stock example was built in 1977.Hemp PowerThis Fender 2×12 Bandmaster bottom cab carries some fat: It’s loaded with a pair of Tone Tubby Hempcones.Board, Not BoredThere’s plenty to get excited about in this pedalboard built by Nashville’s XAct Tone Solutions (XTS). First stop is an XTS buffer box, with in/out pass-throughs, an FX insert (between the Xotic AC Booster and Dyna Comp), a MIDI-in for the Line6 M9, external expression inputs, a click-in for the Lightfoot Labs Goatkeeper, plus a buffer that’s always on, a ground switch, and an extra pedal power jack. Next: a Dunlop Volume (X), a ZVEX Box of Rock, the AC Booster, an MXR Dyna Comp, an EHX Pitch Fork, and Xotic X-Blender (keeping an EHX Micro-Synth and Jetpack Mods XP1000 modulation and filter pedal on tap), an original Ibanez TS808 Tube Screamer, a Catalinbread Teaser Stallion fuzz, the Lightfoot Labs Goatkeeper tremolo, a Strymon Mobius, a Strymon El Capistan, and a Line 6 M9. Finally, there’s a versatile db Instrument Amp expression pedal with two left/right pots and two up/down pots. A Voodoo Labs Mondo supplies the juice.

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Eddie Van Halen’s family members and former bandmates have shared messages on social media in remembrance of the legendary VAN HALEN guitarist on what would have been his 67th birthday.

Eddie’s brother, VAN HALEN drummer Alex Van Halen, wrote: “Hey Ed, Happy birthday! May your light never dim. Love you, miss you and btw… Wolf is killin’ it.”

Eddie’s son Wolfgang Van Halen said: “Happy birthday, Pop. I love and miss you more than you could ever know.”

Sammy Hagar wrote: “Happy birthday my dear friend, I sure do miss you. Thank God we still and always will have the music to celebrate. On this day 24 hours of VH in order.”

VAN HALEN bassist Michael Anthony said: “Happy birthday Ed, I miss ya brother! You were such a huge part of my life, I will always celebrate and wave the VH flag high!!”

Eddie died in October 2020 at Providence Saint John’s Health Center in Santa Monica, California. Following his death, fans left flowers at his childhood home on Las Lunas Street in Pasadena, California. Additional flowers, candles and fan mementos were placed on Allen Avenue where Eddie and his brother, VAN HALEN drummer Alex, scratched their band’s name into the wet cement of a sidewalk when they were teenagers.

After Eddie was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer, he began flying to Germany for treatments. Eventually, the cancer spread to Eddie’s spine and brain. Just a few months later, Eddie died at age 65.

The 30-year-old Wolfgang speculated to The Washington Post that his father could have flown to Germany for more radiation had the coronavirus crisis not happened, possibly prolonging his life.

In November 2020, Wolfgang said that doctors told Eddie he had “six weeks” after he was diagnosed with stage four lung cancer. “And then he went to Germany,” Wolfgang told Howard Stern on his SiriusXM show. “Whatever the fuck they do over there, it’s amazing, because I got three more years with him.”

In December 2020, Eddie’s immediate cause of death was revealed to be a cerebrovascular event, such as a stroke. Pneumonia, the blood disorder myelodysplastic syndrome and lung cancer were also cited as underlying causes in his death certificate, which was obtained by TMZ. The certificate also listed a number of other “significant conditions” that contributed to Eddie’s death, including squamous cell carcinoma (skin cancer) of the head and neck, and atrial fibrillation, a condition that causes irregular heartbeat and elevates stroke risk.

In the Howard Stern interview, Wolf said the cause of his dad’s death had been “misattributed” by some media outlets as throat cancer. Eddie had previously battled tongue cancer in the early 2000s, which Eddie blamed on holding a metal pick in his mouth.

Wolf said it was “certainly feasible” that Eddie got tongue cancer from the pick but he shot down the suggestion that he died from throat cancer.

“People love to give him shit about that,” Wolfgang said, before adding, “He would hold that pick in the same spot all the time, and that’s the exact area that he got the squamous cell carcinoma in his tongue that he had to get cut out.

“When it’s reported, it’s always attributed to the throat cancer and then everybody instead of going ‘Oh shit. His cancer’s back,’ people are just going ‘What an idiot. He thinks he got throat cancer from a pick?’ And it just totally derails the whole thing,” he said.

VAN HALEN was inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in 2007.

Rolling Stone magazine ranked Eddie Van Halen No. 8 in its list of the 100 greatest guitarists.

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A post shared by Van Hagar / Other Half (@vanhagarotherhalf)

Happy Birthday, Pop. I love and miss you more than you could ever know. pic.twitter.com/FmATNkfm9s
— Wolf Van Halen ? ? ? (@WolfVanHalen) January 26, 2022

? pic.twitter.com/uu9JVEKdR8
— ?? Valerie Bertinelli (@Wolfiesmom) January 26, 2022

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During an appearance on a recent episode of the “Talk Is Jericho” podcast, hosted by FOZZY frontman and wrestling superstar Chris Jericho, IRON MAIDEN singer Bruce Dickinson admitted that he still suffers performance anxiety, or “stage fright” as it is more commonly known.

“I get nervous right before I go on stage with IRON MAIDEN, especially at the beginning of a tour,” he said. “Once you’re sort of, like, five or six, seven shows into the tour, you’re kind of back into the routine. So you kind of know what’s gonna happen. But the big fear, especially for a singer, is that you walk on stage and open your mouth and garbage comes out, or nothing at all. And that’s irrational, but it’s valid. So just own up to it. I mean, I keep a copy of the lyric sheet backstage. I never look at it, but if I knew it wasn’t there, I’d freak out. Then every tour, once I get to, like, six or seven shows in, the training wheels come off and I leave it in the wardrobe case. But the one-man show’s a bit different because it’s just you,” he said, referring to his current spoken-word tour. “And if you stop, it all stops. If I forget the words [while performing with IRON MAIDEN], the band carries on.”

Two years ago, Dickinson called out singers who use teleprompters during live performances, saying, “I don’t use an autocue on stage. A lot of singers now, they just have the words there: ‘Breaking the law, breaking the law, breaking the law, breaking the law, breaking the law, breaking the law, breaking the law.’ Breaking the what? ‘Breaking the law. Breaking the law.'”

A teleprompter, or autocue, is a display device that prompts the person speaking with an electronic visual text of a speech or script, and it is usually used by vocalists — including JUDAS PRIEST’s Rob Halford and BLACK SABBATH’s Ozzy Osbourne — who are getting on a bit and have a large body of work to remember.

Bruce previously brought up the topic of singers relying on teleprompters in a 2014 interview with The Guardian. He said at the time: “I never realized that people were using autocues. What the fuck is that all about? People pay good money and you can’t even remember the sodding words.”

The now-63-year-old vocalist continued: “The daftest one I ever saw was [JUDAS PRIEST’s] ‘Breaking The Law’. It’s on the fucking autocue. ‘Breaking the law, breaking the law/Breaking the law, breaking the law/Breaking the law, breaking the law/Breaking the law’ — guess what? — ‘breaking the law.’ It’s ludicrous.”

A few weeks after Dickinson’s The Guardian interview was published, Halford was asked about the MAIDEN frontman’s comments during a chat with Australia’s AndrewHaug.com. Rob said: “Well, the first thing I’ll say about that is Bruce Dickinson is a good mate of mine; I love him to death. I think he’s an incredible singer, he’s a great showman, he’s in a wonderful band, IRON MAIDEN, who are one of the biggest metal bands in the world. And as far as what people say about each other, I don’t think it really means that much, to be quite honest. We say whatever we say, depending on the day and the emotion that we’re at. I know Bruce’s heart is in the right place, and he just said what he said, and that’s all there is to it to comment, in that respect.”

In a 2010 interview with the QMI Agency, Halford spoke about how using a teleprompter helped him when he was asked to fill in for Ozzy with BLACK SABBATH for a show after Osbourne was taken ill. “[Like Ozzy], I use a teleprompter now too because I do so many things,” he said. “I can’t remember. I wish I was like my mate Bruce Dickinson and could do everything, but I need that safety blanket.”

During the 2005 edition of Ozzfest, the traveling festival’s founder, Ozzy’s wife and manager Sharon Osbourne, famously cut the venue’s public-address system and the main stage’s power on at least three occasions during MAIDEN’s performance at the tour’s final stop in Devore, California because she said that Dickinson was “talking shit about my family, night after night,” and was being “disrespectful” to her husband during Bruce’s “nightly outbursts from the stage” by saying that “we don’t need a teleprompter’ [like Ozzy].”

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Riding the high of a successful comeback to the scene in 2021, Furnace Fest has announced its return to Sloss Furnaces in Birmingham, Alabama on Friday, September 23 through Sunday, September 25 for a weekend of performances from 90 bands across three stages.

The three-day festival will bring rock fans from all over together for performances by THE GHOST INSIDE, ALEXISONFIRE, NEW FOUND GLORY, THE ACACIA STRAIN, ANTI-FLAG, EARTH CRISIS, ELLIOTT, THE JOY FORMIDABLE, KUBLAI KHAN TX, NOTHING, SHADOWS FALL, STRETCH ARMSTRONG, STRIKE ANYWHERE and many more. Sixty additional bands will be announced later in the year.

“Furnace Fest took a seventeen-year nap before a group of us banded together with hopes of a one-time reunion,” the Furnace Fest team shares. “After countless difficulties (like a global pandemic and rescheduling three times) the ‘one-time resurrection’ went so well that we knew it was only fair to share the experience again. We’re beyond excited to share this first wave of artist announcements and are thrilled to welcome 90 total bands on four stages in one, if not the, most unique venues on the planet. To us, Furnace Fest isn’t a festival. This is a family reunion of the most epic kind.”

For more information, including a full lineup, ticket prices, payment plan options, hotel accommodations and more, visit www.furnacefest.us and follow Furnace Fest on Twitter and Instagram at @furnacefest and Facebook at @wearefurnacefest.

Founded by Chad Johnson of Takehold Records, Furnace Fest was originally a three-day music festival held annually from 2000-2003 at Sloss Furnace Historic Landmark. From 2000-2003, Furnace Fest hosted more than 300 bands on two stages. Takehold Records was a Birmingham, Alabama-based independent music label founded by Johnson in 1999. Under Chad’s directive, the label signed and released the very first recordings of FURTHER SEEMS FOREVER (featuring a then-unknown Chris Carrabba), UNDEROATH, TWOTHIRTYEIGHT, HOPESFALL, and many others.

Joining Chad in producing Furnace Fest 2022 are years-long friend and local entrepreneur Johnny Grimes, co-owner (with wife/stylist Courtney Grimes) of the highly lauded Wheelhouse Hair Salon and Neighbors Ice Cream (both in Birmingham), along with veteran independent promoters Mike Ziemer (So What?! Music Festival) and Ryan Luther.

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German black metal cosmonauts Vorga plunge you into a starless sky on their new album, Striving Toward Oblivion.
The post Album Premiere: Vorga – ‘Striving Toward Oblivion’ appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

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GHOST leader Tobias Forge has revealed to Kerrang! magazine that the band’s new song “Grift Wood”, from the upcoming album “Impera”, takes aim at Donald Trump-era U.S. vice president Mike Pence who led Christian evangelicals into becoming apologists for what many believe was the most destructive president of modern times, while at the same time preaching righteousness and goodness.

“That song’s about him and anyone like him who’s willing to soil everything they’ve worked for,” Forge explained. “They definitely qualify for a front-row ticket to Hell. Which is so ironic, because that’s what they believe in. [People like that] completely demean themselves, and just eat shit out of someone’s ass in order to achieve whatever they’re trying to achieve.

“Again, he stands as a symbol for people of all times, where the end game is wrapped with some sort of religious [thing],” Tobias continued. “He’s known as this sort of Bible thumper, believing that he has strong faith, and he’s just this awful, awful person in any way. He tries to tell the world that he serves God, that he’s part of the good side. Whereas at the end of the day, the only thing he wants is power. But it doesn’t have to necessarily be all about him. It’s about people like him: a lot of politicians, lot of preachers, a lot of clergymen throughout the history of time.”

Back in 2018, Forge stated about GHOST’s religious imagery: “As a very imaginative kid and grown-up, I just have a natural sort of gravity towards history and religion and stories. The same way that I’m interested in ‘Star Wars’, I found The Bible compelling. My mom is and has always been very interested in art, so where she has never really been religious, she is extremely liberal, and there was no censorship at home in terms of culture. There was French films playing on TV with people sort of halfway screwing each other, and there was rock and roll music all the time. There was a lot of grown-up culture in my home. She always used to work in art, and she was always very keen on taking me to church — not for mass, but for art. She was interested in the artifacts. I think it’s from spending a lot of time in cathedrals and churches. In my hometown where I grew up, there’s a very old Catholic church. It has all that sort of lavish Catholic splendor and that sort of flaunting. Every time I’m back in town, I try to go there, because it’s an old church and has a lot of history in there. The walls are literally whispering to you. A lot of that was inspirational for what we do now.”

“Impera” will be released on March 11 via Loma Vista/Concord.

GHOST kicked off its co-headlining tour with VOLBEAT last night (Tuesday, January 25) at the Reno Events Center in Reno, Nevada. During its 16-song set, GHOST performed the recently released single “Hunter’s Moon”, a cover of METALLICA’s “Enter Sandman” and debuted another song from “Impera”, called “Kaisarion”.

GHOST’s 26-date co-headlining U.S. arena tour with VOLBEAT and special guests TWIN TEMPLE will conclude on March 3 in Anaheim, California.

Forge performed as a “new” Papa Emeritus on each of GHOST’s first three LPs, with each version of Papa replacing the one that came before it. Papa Emeritus III was retired in favor of Cardinal Copia before the release of 2018’s “Prequelle”.

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This month, I’d like to share the story of my 1964 Fender Vibrolux Reverb. It was a really risky purchase that had some big surprises.In October 2011, a black-panel Vibrolux Reverb appeared on eBay with a short bid time. It was poorly described with miserable pictures and barely any details or description of condition and origin. Normally I walk away from such auctions, but there was something that caught my eye. First, some red on the speaker labels led me to believe they were perhaps OEM Jensens. And while the amp’s faceplate was unreadable, I thought I saw a long pattern of four words with a very short last word, as in “Fender Electrical Instruments Co.,” and not the more common “Fender Musical Instruments.” What if this was a 1964–65 pre-CBS amp and no one else recognized it? In the automated eBay watch-and-bid sniper tool I used back then, I set up a $2,500 max bid to be placed 10 seconds before the auction ended. When I woke up the next morning, I had bought it for $1,860. I felt both happiness and regret. What had I gotten into?When the amp arrived in Oslo several weeks later, I was thrilled to see an all-original 1964 Vibrolux Reverb with Jensen C10N speakers—highly desirable among Fender amp players and collectors. I pulled out the chassis and noticed a well-preserved circuit board, with the death cap wired to the ground switch and a non-grounded two-prong power cord. The brown electrolytic Mallory DC and filter caps looked surprisingly nice and were not leaking. The resistors on the power tube sockets also seemed to be in good shape. It even had factory-original RCA tubes.When I woke up the next morning, I had bought it for $1,860. I felt both happiness and regret. What had I gotten into?If you see a leak on a 30-year-old electrolytic capacitor, I strongly recommend replacing it. Old electrolytic caps can mean little clean headroom and farty bass, since they can’t hold the required DC voltage when you strike a chord and the massive current starts flowing through the power circuitry to the tube plates. But I decided to not replace any tubes, caps, or resistors before testing the amp. And the grille? Wow! I don’t think I have ever seen such a dark brown—and nice—piece of cloth, with just minor rifts.I uninstalled the speakers and noticed the cones were marinated with a thick layer of dirt, dust, and smoke particles, probably from a long life in smoky clubs and bars. I screwed them back on the baffle without cleaning them. The wood was still whole and robust, but the Tolex had many scars and cigarette burns, and the faceplate and knobs indicated heavy but not rough usage. Surprisingly, the pots rotated very smoothly. All this indicates that an amp has been played on a regular basis. It looked like a true warrior.I found a 230/110V step-down transformer and flipped power and standby on for a 15-second interval. Without proper grounding, I was careful to not touch any other electrical equipment in the room, since you don’t know what voltage guitar strings might carry when connected to a non-grounded amp. I expected the regular background noise—scratchy pots and pop and crackle from bad tubes—but the amp was dead quiet! I stroked a heavy E chord and got a loud, mellow, and very dark and midrange-y tone. I flipped the bright switch on and increased the treble to 5, which is normally an extremely bright setting on Fender amps. The dusty speaker cones on these old and inefficient speakers filter out the sharp treble—a truly desirable feature in vintage amps. They really make your guitar and pedals sound smoother and creamier, and this was the darkest sounding Fender amp I have ever come upon. What makes the Vibrolux Reverb so good is the balance between the attack and responsiveness of the lightly driven 10″ speakers, and the compression from the smaller power and output transformers. I think Fender nailed it with the size, weight, and power of this 35-watt, dual-6L6GC creation.Later, I installed a grounded power cord and disabled the death cap and ground switch. I got a 230V high-quality power transformer from Mercury Magnetics. It’s 10 years later, and the amp has, incredibly, never failed me. I play it at carefully selected gigs with the original speakers, tubes, and caps still in place. Someday I might consider installing a 25k mid switch or pot on the back in the ground switch slot. This is a must-have and easily reversible mod for Fender amps lacking a mid-pot. It makes them break up much sooner, with a crunch outside the clean Fender tone borderline.An important point of this story is that we can’t typically expect this kind of luck with vintage amps. Some maintenance is usually required and will make an amp more reliable and durable. Be sure the electrolytic caps are in good condition, and always bring spare tubes to gigs and practices, or bring a backup amp.64 Fender Vibrolux Reverb vs 65 Super Reverb speakersHear Jens Mosbergvik compare his ’64 Vibrolux’s Jensen C10NS speakers against the CTS ceramic speakers found in a ’65 Super Reverb.

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So much has been written about the enduring influence of the New Wave Of British Heavy Metal over the decades that it’s easy to forget that only a few of its bands achieved any significant success. PRAYING MANTIS were never afforded the fortune or opportunities that came the way of the movement’s big names, and neither were they allowed the retrospective credibility latterly afforded to the more influential likes of ANGEL WITCH and VENOM. Instead, the Londoners took a singular approach, infusing their sound with more melody, harmony and prog-tinged pomp than any of their contemporaries, and casually pre-empting the hook-worshipping AOR and melodic rock movements that followed as the ’80s progressed. If it’s a classic NWOBHM album you want, then 1981’s “Time Tells No Lies” is always a solid choice.

Occasional hiatuses notwithstanding, PRAYING MANTIS have been more persistent than most of their peers in recent times. “Katharsis” is the fourth studio album since the band reunited (again) in 2008, and much like 2018’s “Gravity”, these songs eschew misty-eyed nostalgia in favor of a timeless, classic rock sound and songs with self-evident crowd-pleasing potential. Both “Cry For The Nations” and “Closer To Heaven” have that burly, UFO-like toughness going on, but “Sacrifice” is a likeable, cheerfully overwrought ballad; “Wheels In Motion” will sound glorious coming out of a car radio at sundown; “Masquerade” is all MAGNUM pomp and lovelorn resignation; “Don’t Call Us Now” is an infectious pop-rock shuffle, with the album’s strongest chorus and faint echoes of rock opera and JETHRO TULL.

All of the above confirm that PRAYING MANTIS excel when they think outside the box, however briefly. The downside to “Katharsis” is that songs like “Ain’t No Rock ‘N’ Roll In Heaven” and “Long Time Coming” are so straightforward and prosaic that they pale in comparison with the album’s deeper cuts. There is nothing wrong with simple, fun hard rock songs, of course, but there are smarter ways to state the obvious. Nonetheless, at its best, “Katharsis” tells of a veteran band with plenty of gas in the tank and a strong grip on their highly distinctive identity.



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