Professionally filmed video footage of METALLICA performing the song “The God That Failed” on October 10 at the Aftershock festival in Sacramento, California can be seen below.

Around 40,000 people attended each day over the course of the four-day event starting on October 7 at Sacramento’s Discovery Park.

A number of COVID protocols were in place for this year’s Aftershock, with Sacramento County Public Health issuing a statement saying they provided the festival organizers “information regarding the current California Department of Public Health guidance for mega-events which include requiring proof of vaccination or a negative COVID test.”

Chamie McCurry, chief marketing officer with production company Danny Wimmer Presents, said: “From the beginning of the year, as long as we were going to be allowed by the local authorities, we were going to be bringing this event back and we were going to be doing it safely.”

McCurry said that METALLICA was the biggest draw this year, performing two nights of the festival.

“It’s a truly unique experience for METALLICA fans to be able to see them two nights, never repeat a song. Two completely different sets,” McCurry told KCRA. “This is something that’s part of history.”

Mike Testa, president and CEO of Visit Sacramento, said that this year’s Aftershock was expected to generate an economic impact of close to $30 million.

In August, Danny Wimmer Presents announced that the sold-out Aftershock would require attendees, staff, crew and artists to provide proof they have been vaccinated against COVID-19 or a negative test within 72 hours of their first day at the festival. The festival also added a section to its web site about virus safety guidelines.

In a statement posted on social media, Danny Wimmer Presents founder Danny Wimmer said: “We are at an unprecedented crossroads with uncertainty about whether or not our festivals will happen this Fall. It is not my nature to idly sit back and let others decide our fate. Instead, I am going to do everything in my power to ensure that our festivals happen, even if that means enacting policies that some people may not agree with. But before you react negatively to our policy, please consider this. What I see is that the fans feel the world needs music festivals now more than ever. We need to bring people back together to heal from the past 18 months. We need to get the people and artists whose livelihoods depend on live events back to work. I am confident that these requirements are what is needed to guarantee that we have fun and safe festivals this Fall.”

Hear what Cleveland trio Noxis and new Philly-based quartet Cavern Womb have in common on this exclusive stream of their forthcoming split. Spoiler: It’s crushing sick death metal!
The post Split Premiere: Noxis & Cavern Womb – Communion of Corrupted Minds appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

EXODUS frontman Steve “Zetro” Souza has told The Metal Mixtape in a new interview that he and his bandmates are no longer partaking in the rock and roll debauchery on the road that earned them a reputation as being “wild men” during the group’s early years. “As we’ve gotten older, it’s just that natural progression,” he explained (as transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). “Gary [Holt, EXODUS guitarist] and I are 57, so we’re both grandfathers. So that’s not a part of our lifestyle anymore. I haven’t had alcohol in my system for years. I don’t drink soda or juice or anything; I just drink water. We cleaned that up a hundred percent. So the performances are much more clear; they’re much more memorable. And when you go up there, it’s all about the performance now. It’s not about, ‘Oh, shit, man. What’s going on after tonight? We’ve got a bunch of broads in here. I can’t wait to get offstage and pop a beer and go out and mingle and have a good time.’ It’s not like that anymore, and I mean not even close — it’s completely 180 [degrees] the other way.”

He continued: “There’s really nothing going on. There’s definitely no parties going on. There’s nobody running around girls. Like I said, we’re grandfathers — that shit doesn’t happen anymore. Nobody’s doing drugs; we don’t do drugs. So the hardest thing that’s going on is a couple of beers, a couple of shots, and between a few guys. ‘Cause Gary, Jack [Gibson, EXODUS bassist] and myself don’t drink. Gary is just recently sober. I haven’t drank since ’09; Jack, I think, a little bit after that. Every once in a while, we’ll be at a place and [someone will say], ‘Oh, man, you’ve gotta try this beer,’ and I’ll have a glass of beer. I don’t mind having a taste, but there’s no way I’m gonna sit there and go, ‘Dude, let’s just go.’ It’s just not where I’m at mentally.”

Last month, Holt told the “Talk Toomey” podcast that various members of EXODUS dabbling in methamphetamine was largely responsible for the band not achieving the same kind of success as some of their contemporaries.

“When four-fifths of your band — Jack being the only guy who wasn’t — was spun out of their minds, it kind of tends to put up some road blocks to success,” he said. “I laugh about it now. Any former tweaker will tell you this: There are some fun moments, some fun shit that happens when you’re sleep-deprived. But I’m so glad [that it’s behind me]. I never [wanna] go back there.”

According to Gary, drugs weren’t “a big problem” for EXODUS back in the 1980s. “We partied. Back in the early days, we’d get a little bag of meth and the whole band would function on it all night. It was in the ’90s when we reunited with [singer Paul] Baloff, and that’s when we got really fucking spun and started smoking meth,” he explained. “And shit got bad then. It fucking sucked. But I laid that cross to bear on the ground a long time ago — 2002. Hell, I’m 90 days sober today. [Laughs] I’m no fun at all anymore — no more meth, no more alcohol. I do smoke a little bit of weed nowadays though. It’s much better. It’s only an occasional thing for me, though. My wife’s a full-on stoner, and occasionally I’ll join her, like, ‘Hand me that.'”

EXODUS will release its new album, “Persona Non Grata”, on November 19 via Nuclear Blast Records. The LP was recorded at a studio in Lake Almanor, California and was engineered by Steve Lagudi and EXODUS. It was produced by EXODUS and was mixed by Andy Sneap. For the third time in the band’s history, they returned to Swedish artist Pär Olofsson to create the album artwork.

“Persona Non Grata” is the follow-up to 2014’s “Blood In Blood Out”, which was the San Francisco Bay Area thrashers’ first release since the departure of the group’s lead singer of nine years, Rob Dukes, and the return of Souza, who previously fronted EXODUS from 1986 to 1993 and from 2002 to 2004.

Doomed death dealers Worm emerge from Florida mire with rot-infested third album, Foreverglade, on 20 Buck Spin.
The post Album Premiere: Worm – “Foreverglade” appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

Rock And Roll Hall Of Famer and spirits trailblazer Sammy Hagar today announced plans for a four-concert tour of Texas with his supergroup THE CIRCLE, featuring Michael Anthony, the renowned bassist and fellow Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame inductee, who’s played with Sammy for the past 30 years in bands including VAN HALEN and CHICKENFOOT; Jason Bonham, the acclaimed journeyman drummer; and Vic Johnson, Hagar’s longtime guitar virtuoso. Hagar’s “A Toast To Texas” tour is presented by Sammy’s Beach Bar Cocktail Co., Hagar’s first line of canned sparkling rum cocktails which are launching in the Lone Star State in step with the shows. “A Toast To Texas” tour kicks off Friday, December 3 in Fort Worth and stops in San Antonio, Saturday, December 4, Austin, Monday, December 6 and wraps in Houston on Wednesday, December 8. Tickets go on sale this Friday, October 22.

Tour dates:

Dec. 03 – Billy Bob’s, Fort Worth, TX
Dec. 04 – Aztec Theater, San Antonio, TX
Dec. 06 – Moody Theater, Austin, TX
Dec. 08 – House of Blues, Houston, TX

“We chose cool, smaller venues on this tour so we could throw a party like we do in Cabo,” said Hagar. “It’s about the whole experience, fans can sample my new Beach Bar Cocktail Co. sparkling rum cocktails, along with some Santo Tequila and Beach Bar Rum, while listening to THE CIRCLE jam. We’ll be back next summer with the big rock shows, this is a party we’re throwing just for Texas.”

Hagar made history when he launched Sammy’s Beach Bar Cocktail Co. last month with the Las Vegas Strip’s first-ever rooftop performance for people on the Strip. The cocktails, made with Hagar’s award-winning Puerto Rico-made Beach Bar Rum, are available in four playful twists on classic flavors: Tangerine Dream, Pineapple Splash, Island Pop and Cherry Kola Chill. The flavorful canned cocktails will soon be available throughout Texas. The cocktails are now available in California, Nevada and Texas with more states coming soon.

For more than four decades, Hagar has been recognized as one of the best and most accomplished lead singers and songwriters in rock music. From breaking into the industry with the seminal hard rock band MONTROSE to his multi-platinum solo career to his ride as the frontman of VAN HALEN, CHICKENFOOT and his latest supergroup THE CIRCLE, Hagar has amassed 25 platinum albums on sales surpassing 50 million worldwide. Along his journey, he has set the tone for some of the greatest rock anthems ever and earned the highest respect of the music industry with a Grammy Award and induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame.

At THE CIRCLE shows, fans will experience the legendary artists performing some of Hagar’s greatest hits, spanning more than four decades, including songs like “I Can’t Drive 55”, “Dreams”, “Your Love Is Driving Me Crazy”, “Mas Tequila”, “Why Can’t This Be Love”, “Right Now” and many more.

Nikki Sixx says that he “understands” why David Lee Roth turned down an offer to take part in that MÖTLEY CRÜE’s “The Stadium Tour”.

In an article previewing Sixx’s just-released book, “The First 21: How I Became Nikki Sixx”, the Los Angeles Times revealed that when CRÜE invited Diamond Dave to share the bill with them on their highly anticipated reunion tour, the VAN HALEN singer responded, “I don’t open for bands that I influenced.”

Nikki discussed Roth’s decision to decline CRÜE’s invitation in a new interview with Forbes. He said: “Yeah, well, he probably influenced everybody. That band [VAN HALEN] is a monster. But, you know, understandably. We all get to make our choices and stuff. I just thought with the body of work that he has with a lot of people, it could be really exciting. I understand his position, too.”

Sixx also once again took issue with how Roth’s remarks were covered by the media, saying: “It’s interesting for me now, when I do press, I’m really aware that a lot of press outlets are looking for clickbait. And what I like about ‘The First 21’ is I don’t really feel like there’s a lot of clickbait in there. Maybe that’s a bad thing because, you know, you click on the link and someone gets five cents in advertising. I don’t want to sell advertising. I want to sell an experience of what these first 21 years are about. So I tried to be very honest, and ‘this is kind of how it is,’ but no [cheap] shots.”

Sixx previously blasted the press for sensationalizing his revelation that Roth turned down the CRÜE tour, writing on Twitter: “Media takes one sentence outta new book and makes it a headline. Clickbait. I’ve comes to despise bottom feeder press. Ripping off fans to sell advertisements..”

Back in October 2019, Roth reflected on the influence of VAN HALEN on bands that followed, telling KKLZ’s “The Mike & Carla Morning Show”: “Hair bands were the imitations of VAN HALEN. Yeah, it is true, and spandex was what they came up with as something visual. I started off in leather, with the same haircut that Bono and [Bruce] Springsteen and the guys in METALLICA had. A famous haircut — if I had that same haircut today, it’d have its own Instagram. But VAN HALEN was a ’70s band — we started off in 1972, and our first two albums were in the ’70s. We sold our first 10 million records before the ’70s were over. We spawned a whole lot of imitators who resorted to gimmickry and trade crap. It’s easier to imitate a haircut and a kind of pants and to exhibit bad behavior.”

“The Stadium Tour”, which also features 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 crisis.

When it happens, “The Stadium Tour” will mark the CRÜE’s first live dates since wrapping its 2014/2015 farewell tour. CRÜE toured with POISON back in 2011 and DEF LEPPARD teamed up with POISON for a string of road dates in 2017 — but the upcoming jaunt marks the first time all four acts have hit the road together for an extended tour.

Roth performed as the opening act for the February/March 2020 North American leg of KISS’s farewell tour, but is not making any appearances on the rescheduled KISS shows which kicked off on August 18 in Mansfield, Massachusetts.

In March 2020, Roth postponed the final six shows of his Las Vegas residency due to the coronavirus pandemic.

Earlier this month, the legendary VAN HALEN singer announced that he was ending his career with his Vegas shows during the first weeks of January. “I am throwing in the shoes. I’m retiring,” Roth told the Las Vegas Review-Journal. “These are my last five shows.”

Media takes one sentence outta new book and makes it a headline.Clickbait. I’ve comes to despise bottom feeder press. Ripping off fans to sell advertisements..
— ? (@NikkiSixx) September 1, 2021

Last month, progressive metal giants DREAM THEATER announced that they were postponing their previously announced North American tour to early 2022 due to COVID-19 concerns. The trek was scheduled to kick off on October 28 in Mesa, Arizona and conclude on December 14 in St. Petersburg, Florida.

In a new interview with Robert Cavuoto of Sonic Perspectives, DREAM THEATER guitarist John Petrucci spoke about the band’s decision to push back the tour, saying: “Well, it’s an unfortunate decision. John [Myung, bass] and I really wanted to tour, and are dying to tour — dying to get out there and support the [new DREAM THEATER] record. And unfortunately, we couldn’t convince the other guys that it was safe. So, it wasn’t a unanimous decision, unfortunately.

“It’s frustrating for me, because everything has opened up and concerts are going on, and theaters and arenas and clubs and everything is open,” he continued. “Bands are out there, and a lot of my friends are touring successfully. And there are ways to do it safely, which we were very prepared to do. But, like I said, we couldn’t convince the other guys it’d be safe, and so we had to push it off.

“I’m the type of person where I hate disappointing people, I hate disappointing our fans. So, it was definitely an unfortunate decision.”

DREAM THEATER shared the news of the postponement in a statement posted on social media on September 27. The group wrote: “DREAM THEATER have made the difficult decision to move their October-December 2021 North American tour dates to early 2022. In light of current instabilities to touring that remain due to the COVID-19 pandemic, we feel confident that this is the right decision.

“Know that we are as disappointed as you are that we will have to wait a little longer to bring DREAM THEATER music to you live. We miss performing for you all and can’t wait until we can be on stage bringing our new album and fan-favorites to you.

“This was an extraordinarily challenging decision to make but needed to be done after taking into consideration the varying local mandates across North America. In an effort to present the absolute most complete and engaging DREAM THEATER experience that our fans around the globe have come to expect, we feel we are all best served to postpone all touring activities to early 2022.

“At this time, we ask that everyone hold on to their tickets as we are working frantically to finalize the reschedule of all of these dates. All shows are currently being re-booked to begin in February 2022. Please keep an eye on our website, and we’ll have a complete, updated itinerary shortly. All previously purchased tickets will be honored. Please consult your local point of purchase for any inquiries regarding refunds.

“We know that we all have eagerly awaited a return to normalcy, and the opportunity to enjoy live DREAM THEATER music together again. We apologize profusely but hope that everyone can understand the logic behind this decision.

“Playing music for our fans is all we ever want to do. We look forward to seeing each and every one of our fans as soon as possible. We wish it could have been sooner, but we are counting the days until we can see you all again.”

DREAM THEATER’s 15th studio album, “A View From The Top Of The World”, is due on October 22. The seven-song LP marks the band’s second studio album with InsideOut Music/Sony Music. The artwork was created by longtime cover collaborator Hugh Syme (RUSH, IRON MAIDEN, STONE SOUR). “A View From The Top Of The World” was produced by Petrucci, engineered and additional production by James “Jimmy T” Meslin and mixed/mastered by Andy Sneap.

This is your chance to own of piece of death metal history. Former Carcass drummer Ken Owen is auctioning off the drum kit he used on a pair of classic recordings.
The post Original Carcass Drummer Ken Owen Auctioning Drum Kit Used on ‘Necroticism’ and ‘Heartwork’ LPs appeared first on Decibel Magazine.

In a new interview with Knotfest.com, MASTODON’s Brann Dailor once again paid tribute to his longtime friend Joey Jordison, saying the late SLIPKNOT drummer was “one of the pillars of metal drumming. He will always be that, you know,” he added. “He’s up there with Vinnie [Paul Abbott, PANTERA] and [Dave] Lombardo [SLAYER] and all those guys. It’s huge, his contribution. I mean, there’s a whole genre of music that kind of sprung up around what SLIPKNOT put forth. And he’s the heartbeat of it all — he was the driving force. The drums are really fucking loud on SLIPKNOT records for a reason.”

Dailor went on to say that Jordison’s recent passing has given him the impetus to “give that little bit extra” when performing live in his memory.

“I bet he wants to be there and he can’t, and so I’m like… I don’t know… There’s this feeling that I’m having when I’m playing that I want to do better and play better for him somehow,” he explained. “I don’t know. It’s kind of weird. But yeah, that’s how I feel about it. Because I really do. I just feel terrible that things ended up the way that they did. But then, you know, there was nothing anybody could do.”

Dailor previously discussed Jordison’s passing two months ago during a appearance on “The Jasta Show”, hosted by HATEBREED frontman Jamey Jasta. After Jasta noted that Joey “lived more in 46 years than a lot of people live in a hundred,” Brann said: “It was grandiose. That’s for sure. Everything he did was big, and his personality was huge, even though he was just a little guy. The kid was hilarious, and it was always so fun to hang with him, just ’cause he was just a little crazy ball of energy. And his mind was just going constantly — ideas, ideas. [He was] a funny dude. I got along with him right off the bat.

“I think the first time I ever met him was on tour with you guys [HATEBREED] and our first time ever doing any kind of arena anything over in the U.K. with you guys and SLAYER and SLIPKNOT,” he continued. “And we got there the day before for the production day, and I saw him checking out our soundcheck or whatever. And I went over and talked to him when we were done. We were pretty close friends ever since then — just on that tour. I rode on their tour bus a bunch of times and just had some nights. It was pretty wild. But it was really fun.

“Joey and I, I don’t think we ever talked about drums or drumming or other drummers. Maybe very occasionally. He was a lot like me in that regard where he loved playing drums, loved doing that thing and loved being on tour and being in a band and doing the whole thing but rarely talking about gear.

“He was a total sweetheart guy — amazing with the fans,” Dailor added. “He’d be out there forever talking to ’em and just telling ’em how grateful he was. It never looked like he got bored or disinterested in what this 13-year-old kid is telling him about playing drums. It almost makes you forget how phenomenal of a player he was. And then you sit and watch him and you’re, like, ‘Jesus Christ! The stuff that this guy is pulling off is just insane.’ What a monster player he was. And so influential — not just staying in his own lane, but his influence is felt in many different genres, I think, of people sort of emulating the different things that he would do.”

Jordison’s family confirmed that he passed away “peacefully in his sleep” on July 26 of an unspecified cause. He was 46 years old.

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. He also collaborated with former DRAGONFORCE and current KREATOR bassist Frédéric Leclercq in SINSAENUM.

Photo courtesy of MASTODON

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