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AROUND THE HORN
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Featuring the unbridled wit and wisdom of some of the metal world's brotherhood and keeping it REAL !!






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[~ MG_Metalgoddess~] Tuesday, June 30, 2009 6:21:56 PM 

AC/DC guitarist revisits Scottish roots

By Domenica Goduto

LEGENDARY AC/DC Scots rocker Angus Young is planning to return to his roots in a Glasgow housing estate when his band plays at Hampden Park on Tuesday.

Young wants to visit the scheme at Cranhill in the city’s east end, where he lived before moving with his family to Australia in 1963 when the rock star was just eight years old.

In a weekend interview, Young joked about renaming the area “Angusland” and emblazoning his band’s distinctive “thunderflash” logo on the water tower overlooking the estate.

He said: “I might drive up to the water tower and put my flag up – it would be just like the Hollywood sign.”

Angus and his brother Malcolm founded the band and rose to global fame ten years after their father moved the family abroad in his quest to find work.

The band’s original lead singer, Ronald “Bon” Scott – who died in 1980 of alcohol poisoning – was also a Scottish immigrant, hailing originally from Kirriemuir, Angus.

Young attributed the band’s success in part to old-fashioned Scottish grit.

He said:”Our Scottish background gave us a good grounding – we had a kind of doggedness and determination.

“We kept at it and never let go of what we wanted to achieve.”

AC/DC are currently in the midst of their sell-out Black Ice world tour, described by Young as “our biggest tour yet”.

He said: “The longer you go, the more people want to see you.

“It’s been a long time since we played live, but it’s like swimming – once you’re in the water, it comes right back to you.”

Still, Young admits that he finds playing at Hampden Park intimidating, knowing that the grounds have previously witnessed the plays of such football heroes as Denis Law, Jim Baxter and Kenny Daglish.

He said: “Just thinking about those guys has got me scared, maybe I should learn how to do a little dribble with a ball and run up the park.

“It will be a proud moment to play on home soil in the national stadium.”

However, he admitted that touring at his age can be challenging: “I walk on stage and crawl off, it’s very physically demanding.

“But at 53, that’s what keeps me fit – that drive keeps me going.”

Young is known for dressing as what he calls “a little schoolboy devil” on stage, and says the persona helps him perform.

He said: “I still love putting the shorts, cap and school tie on before a show – it gives you that energy.

“I become not me but that guy in the school suit and that’s better in a way because I’d be standing up there feeling really shy otherwise.”

[ron h] Saturday, June 20, 2009 9:52:12 PM 
Christina Fuoco-Karasinski of LiveDaily recently conducted an interview with
JUDAS PRIEST frontman Rob Halford. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow
below.

On his newly established companues, Metal God Records and Metal God Apparel,
named after the "metal god" himself:

"I love what I do and I'm in my golden years as a metal singer. I turn 58 this
coming August, which I'm excited about. I'm even more excited about when I turn
60, but that's jumping the gun. I want to stay associated with everything that I
love for as long as I possibly can. Having these avenues like the record label
and the clothing line and other things, keep me vibrant and in a world that I
don't want to let go of."

On PRIEST's new live album, "A Touch of Evil - Live":

"It's the first live album in a while from PRIEST. We recorded loads and loads
of shows over the past couple of tours that we've done. We've tried to do
basically something we had not done before, which is put in tracks that we've
never released live in this format. I'm really pleased about it.

"It's a very, very strong, heavy, aggressive set of tunes. It really shows the
determination of the band three decades later, that we can still play our metal
with the same passion and power that we've always had."

On JUDAS PRIEST's longevity and contunued success:

"If you love what you do, you're going to put your heart and soul into it and
that's what we do in PRIEST. You have to think consistently about your
longevity. If you've had a long journey in rock 'n' roll, you put value and
importance to those songs, no matter how many hundreds of thousands of times
you've played them. Because at that particular moment when you're standing on
the stage in, say, the Detroit area and you're playing 'Breaking the Law' for
what may feel like the millionth time, it's for the first time in that moment in
time."

On celebrating the upcoming 30th anniversary of the "British Steel", originally
issued in April 1980, by performing the album in its entirety for the first time
on stages across the United States:

"We'll be recording all these shows and, at some point, we'll bring cameras in
and we'll release a wonderful package of the PRIEST and 'British Steel' next
year, which is the official 30th birthday.

"We wanted to do something a bit different on the second leg of the American
tour. The first tour with Metal Masters was a great success. We were looking to
give this particular tour another kind of exciting event edge to it. I think
that's what we've got with presenting 'British Steel', and we have some other
great people with us. We have David [Coverdale] and WHITESNAKE. That's another
great opportunity to see two of these bands back to back. We have POP EVIL
opening for us, which are doing great things in rock radio right now. They have
a Top 10 rock-radio track right now, so it's got to be exciting for those boys.
So, all in all, it's going to be a real wonderful night out for metal heads and
rock heads."



BackstageAxxess.com has issued an interview with JUDAS PRIEST guitarist K.K.
Downing. The following is an excerpt from the interview, conducted by Gus
Griesinger:

Q: In a couple of weeks, you guys are going out on tour with WHITESNAKE, which
is a completely different band than Priest. How did this package come about?

A: "I’m not really sure. I know someone suggested it. When the agents got wind
of it they said they really love it and wanted to do it. I wish I can say I
thought if it."

Q: So are you excited about the tour?

A: "Yeah totally. I was unaware that it has been 30 years since the release of
British Steel but I’m very happy to go out there to commemorate that. It was
such a crucial point in the bands career."

Q: Talking about British‘ Steel, you guys will be playing the album in its
entirety. Why did the band decide to play an entire album rather than play
select songs from your entire catalog?

A: "It’s always difficult to put a setlist together. The one good thing is at
least it’s a main start of a good set to play a whole album from front to
back. Also, it seems very popular, now that bands are doing this sort of thing.
Bands like QUEENSRŸCHE, MÖTLEY CRÜE, IRON MAIDEN, and some other bands, as
well, are doing it. Everybody is loving it so we are really pumped up about it!"
[J.D. DIAMOND] Thursday, June 18, 2009 4:10:05 PM 
Yeah,no shit MG!!   I guess it doesn't matter "what album" is being listened to 24/7!!!  Even if it were Painkiller"...how can somebody listen to an album 3 times a day for a fuckin year??!!!!! YUK!!!!!
  [Show/Hide Quoted Message] (Quoting Message by ~ MG_Metalgoddess~ from Thursday, June 18, 2009 3:48:38 PM)
[~ MG_Metalgoddess~] Thursday, June 18, 2009 3:48:38 PM 
LMAO  Yeah maybe he can be the next spokes person for prozac, or his family for that matter,  LOL
  [Show/Hide Quoted Message] (Quoting Message by J.D. DIAMOND from Thursday, June 18, 2009 3:42:46 PM)
[J.D. DIAMOND] Thursday, June 18, 2009 3:42:46 PM 
Jesus Christ  that hurts to read!!!  I bet his family hates the Nostradamus album now if they didn't before!!!   Listening to one album all the time is "sad".  

My roommate almost does this with Bruce Dickinson's last 3 solo albums and it drives me nuts!!!!!! How can somebody listen to ONE album "all the time"?

I can't fathom it.  If I were hanging out with this dude,I would of stole the Nostradamus CD from him and smashed it into a trillion pieces!!!!!!
  [Show/Hide Quoted Message] (Quoting Message by ronhartsell from Wednesday, June 17, 2009 7:44:49 PM)
[ron h] Wednesday, June 17, 2009 7:44:49 PM 
Monday, June 15, 2009 marks the 365th straight day Cleveland, Ohio JUDAS PRIEST
fan Jim Bartek has listened to Priest's Nostradamus from start to finish in its
entirety. Bartek's one year listening obsession was completed early on Monday
morning at 1:46 a.m. (EST). The double-disc concept album is based on the
mysterious, world-known 16th century French prophet Nostradamus. Bartek's
initial listen came on June 16, 2008 when he first obtained a copy of the album.
He has now spent approximately 624 hours (26 days) of his life listening to the
album. There have even been some days when Bartek has listened to the entire
album multiple times so the numbers are even higher than reported. He owns all
of the various configurations of Nostradamus (vinyl, deluxe CD, regular CD) and
has been a dedicated Priest fan dating back to 1978. The first Priest album he
purchased was Sin After Sin. He has an extensive collection that includes Priest
albums, posters, patches,
buttons, magazines, etc. "I've spent a lot of money on Judas Priest over the
years", says Bartek, "but it has all been money well spent. It is not hard for
anyone to figure out who my favourite band is".

Asked why this album has made such an impact in his life, Bartek responds, "I
wish I could answer that! I don't know, it just grabs me and I enjoy listening
to it. I honestly wish I could pinpoint and give a rock solid answer but I
can't." Bartek adds "The flow of the record and the way you can just feel what
the guy (Nostradamus) was going through from the way Priest play and sing it.
Rob's [Halford] vocals tell you exactly how the guy is feeling at a particular
moment. It all just fits perfectly. I'm not tired of it yet. It's an epic record
about a very interesting subject."

Bartek goes on to add, "This is the first album that has ever intrigued me so
much both musically and vocally. The subject matter is fascinating as well. I
did not know much about the man Nostradamus before the album was released and
ended up going to the library to do research to find out more about his life."
Hard pressed when asked the question, Bartek does finally reveal 'Pestilence And
Plague' as his personal favourite track from the album, with 'Prophecy' and
'Future Of Mankind' following close behind. He makes it clear though that he
loves ALL the songs on the album and enjoys listening to them as a complete set.

Bartek did come close to ending his listening streak once last fall. "I went
fishing in a remote area back in September and we did not come in off the lake
until after 9 p.m.", recants Bartek. "By the time I got back to the cabin, it
was already after 10 p.m. I started listening to the album and finished just
before midnight, with only 15 minutes to spare. That was a close call. At
midnight, I started it up again and listened all the way through for the next
day! This experience made me run out and buy a MP3 player that I carry with me
at all times in case an emergency like this arises again".
[hellrider 31038] Wednesday, June 17, 2009 6:42:17 PM 
bummer no machine gun..lol
[Vaillant 3.0] Tuesday, June 16, 2009 10:42:29 PM 
Here's a link to that same interview Ron mentioned below. GLENN IS BRINGING BACK THE RED LEATHER PANTS!!!

www.powerlinead.com/metal
  [Show/Hide Quoted Message] (Quoting Message by ronhartsell from Tuesday, June 16, 2009 4:52:25 AM)
[ron h] Tuesday, June 16, 2009 4:52:25 AM 
Powerline A.D.'s Patrick Prince has issued an interview with JUDAS PRIEST
guitarist Glenn Tipton. The following is an excerpt:

Q: British Steel seemed to be the perfect album to usher in the 1980s. It was an
exciting time because it felt like something special was happening in hard rock
music, especially in the breakthrough of heavy metal. Did you feel the same way?

A: "Yeah, I think British Steel is certainly a landmark album in terms of the
Priest catalog. It's got such a strong character with tracks like 'Metal Gods',
'Breaking The Law', 'Grinder', 'Don't Have To Be Old To Be Wise'... There's a
definite attitude in the album. It will be a great album to perform live from
start to finish."
[kiamat] Monday, June 15, 2009 4:27:09 AM 
Are we suggesting that Priest cover Abba then?

'THHEEE WIIIINNEERRR TAKES IIIIT AAAALLLLL!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!' Cue widdly guitar solo....

Okay I'll stop right there...
[hellrider 31038] Saturday, June 13, 2009 9:10:48 PM 
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sWe7JWNNeyY and now for some   judas priest heavy   metttt    ttttaaaallll
CRANK IT AHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHHH AND FEEL THE JUDAS PRIEST HEAVY METAL RUSH OF POOOOOWWWWEEEERRRR.
[hellrider 31038] Saturday, June 13, 2009 9:04:45 PM 
i do not consider it on my top 10 and i also do not hate it there are a few great tracks on it that i do not fall asleep to.(falling asleep to heavy metal lol.but i have to admit that i am getting some inner anger for it abba songs wtf.BRING ON THE SCREAMING  RIP YOUR FACE OFF EDENALINE PUMPING,TOTAL RUSH OF POOOOWWWWEEEERRRR HEAVY METTTTT    TTTTTAAAALLLL  MIGHTY PAAAAINKIIIILLLLLLER STYLE 
  [Show/Hide Quoted Message] (Quoting Message by Deep Freeze from Saturday, June 13, 2009 1:47:01 PM)
[Deep Freeze] Saturday, June 13, 2009 1:47:01 PM 

Well, I think it is a highly subjective matter. I mean, is it their best?? Depends on what criteria you are using. Is it their most popular? No, I do not think so. I guess it really comes down to what you are looking for in a Priest album. JD has made his thoughts very clear.  He prefers that driving, "classic" sound. Others appreciate Nostradamus for it's complexity.

I do not consider it one of MY top five but I do not hate it. Clearly it takes some getting used to and there are those that simply will never appreciate it. Either way, I know that I am looking forward to the tour this year!!  The opportunity to see the Priest live is what really matters to me!!!!!! If they want to do ABBA songs, that's fine. I just enjoy listening to them.... HA!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


  [Show/Hide Quoted Message] (Quoting Message by hellrider 31038 from Saturday, June 13, 2009 1:37:19 PM)
[hellrider 31038] Saturday, June 13, 2009 1:37:19 PM 
 personally i would MUCH rather another studio album.what would you perfer?.all this time being spent with nostradamus you can bet on getting atleast 1 less album maybe 2 studio albums of posible priest at there finest .nostramus in my opinion is DEFINATLY NOT priest at there finest.WHAT DO YOU THINK?   [Show/Hide Quoted Message] (Quoting Message by Bazooka Joe from Friday, June 12, 2009 6:58:47 AM)
Edited at: Saturday, June 13, 2009 1:39:25 PM
[ron h] Friday, June 12, 2009 5:57:25 PM 
Noisecreep has issued the following report from Amy Sciarretto:

Longevity and evolution have been the keys to JUDAS PRIEST's success.

"We have a rich history and back catalog, but we're still making contributions,
like we did last year with our double CD, Nostradamus," Judas Priest vocalist
ROB HALFORD told Noisecreep.

"It's about how good you can be at what you do. We're not trapped in some of the
fashionable, disposable aspects of certain types of popular music. None of us
expected to be here all these years later, but we're thrilled. We're indebted to
the fans and it's a wonderful thing."

While the band will spend it's summer playing the entirety of British Steel
while on tour, it's not lost on Halford and his band that they could have very
well done the same thing with Nostradamus, a concept album that is based on the
prognostications of the ancient seer, since the lyrical material lends itself to
such an endeavor.

But it'd be a risky move, since fans always want to hear the hits.

When probed about whether or not Priest would do a Nostradamus set, Halford
said, "We would love to. In fact, we jumped the gun. We anticipated doing it
towards the end of this year. It will be a massive presentation and undertaking,
but we have no time to do it the way we want to, yet. So let us do British Steel
and at the end of this tour, we'll get into production mode to celebrate the new
album. We have great ideas and we'd love to present it, but it has to be a
special event environment. Nostradamus is a metal album and has a tremendous
amount of potential to be interpreted in different ways."
[CountessErzebethBathory9] Friday, June 12, 2009 1:04:24 PM 

Ooooh!! now i cant wait to have it!!!


  [Show/Hide Quoted Message] (Quoting Message by Bazooka Joe from Friday, June 12, 2009 6:59:26 AM)
[Bazookajoe_666] Friday, June 12, 2009 7:06:54 AM 
Headcrusher!

Members of MEGADETH's official fan club, MegaFanClub, are now able to view a six-minute video featuring the band's British producer Andy "Undie" Sneap (NEVERMORE, ARCH ENEMY, EXODUS) describing the process of mixing the new MEGADETH track "Headcrusher" at his studio in Derbyshire, U.K. Watch Andy work at the mixing console and listen to "Headcrusher" from MEGADETH's forthcoming album, set to be released in September via Roadrunner Records.

Says Sneap: "It's certainly old-school MEGADETH — that's what I like."

MEGADETH's twelfth studio album was recorded at the band's own Vic's Garage studio in San Marcos, California.

Other songtitles set to appear on the CD include "Nothing Left To Lose But My Mind", "The Hardest Part of Letting Go... Is Saying Goodbye", "Bite The Hand That Feeds", "1320", "How The Story Ends", "This Day We Fight" and "Endgame".

MEGADETH's forthcoming LP will be the group's first with guitarist Chris Broderick, who replaced Glen Drover at the end of 2007.

MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine recently stated about the band's new CD, "It is fast, it is heavy, there is singing, yelling, speaking, and guest voices (maybe not singing — more like in 'Captive Honor'), the soloing is insane." He added, "We have some great song concepts, like 'Nothing Left To Lose' is a song about having been wiped out, like so many Americans, from the recession and potential depression years of 2000, or 'Bite The Hand That Feeds', which is a song about the greed of the fiduciary leaders of the financial world and how they just didn't care about the responsibility they had to the public. There are also songs like '1320', a song about nitro fuel funny cars (something I enjoy), 'How The Story Ends' and 'This Day We Fight', both inspired by warrior creed from the great Sun Tzu with the use of drums and flags in ancient war, and an impassioned plea from Aragorn to his loyal fighters in 'Lord of the Rings' trilogy, respectively. I also have some bizarre songs, like 'Headcrusher', which is about the medieval torture device, and 'Endgame', which is about a bill that ex-President George W. Bush signed into law that gave him the power to put American citizens in concentration camps that are actually called 'detention centers' here in the United States, and a favorite lyric of mine on this record about the North Hollywood bank robbery of 1997 (or 1998)."

[Bazookajoe_666] Friday, June 12, 2009 7:04:19 AM 
Eddie Van Halen Interview

Spinner.com
recently conducted an interview with legendary guitarist Eddie Van Halen. An excerpt from the chat follows below.

Spinner.com: You didn't start off playing guitar, did you?

Eddie: I never took guitar lessons. I took classical piano lessons from the age of six when we lived in Holland. And when we moved to America, it was just the typical thing except I was really good at it; so was my brother. Long Beach City College had this contest, it was a piano recital, and I won three years in a row. But I stopped playing piano for one reason: I was forced to do it and I wasn't allowed to play what I wanted, so it wasn't fun. So I rebelled and bought myself a drum kit. And my brother quit playing piano, too, and he started playing guitar. Well, Alex started playing my drums and he got better than me, so I said, "OK, fuck you, I'll play your guitar."

Spinner.com: Talk about your recording/writing technique now.

Eddie: It takes me a good hour to loosen up my fingers and I always just leave the DAT tape rolling or something, or a cassette, anything, and after two and a half, three hours, you kind of get into a zone that I'm kind of relearning because I'm not drinking anymore. When I used to drink, it would get me there quicker. It's kind of the zone where you're not thinking, where you're just open to anything and I just believe that when you play long enough you're able to execute with your fingers, whatever God gives you, and God's not gonna give you nothing if you don't practice or play. So after a couple, three hours, God says, "OK, he's ready. I'll throw him a bone." And God's got a sense of humor, too — sometimes he gives me shit, 'cause not everything I do I like.

Spinner.com: I think every writer hits upon moments where you know you've reached something special. What are a couple of those moments for you?

Eddie: It's like "Jump": It was our only No. 1 single, and believe it or not I built my studio to put that song on our record 'cause everyone hated it, same with the song "Right Now". Alex and I tracked the whole thing, certain people didn't want to be a part of it, then it wins a Grammy and a MTV Award for Video of the Year, and all of a sudden it's like, "Hey, yeah, great!" But it was like pulling teeth to get the person to sing the damn song. And there are certain things that I fight for because I do write all the music so I think I have a little bit of say in how things should go. I'm not a tyrant, as a lot of people think. I just expect other people, if you're in this band, to work as hard as I do.

Read the entire interview at Spinner.com.
[Bazookajoe_666] Friday, June 12, 2009 7:01:55 AM 
Bret Michaels Releases Statement On Tony Awards

POISON singer Bret Michaels has released the following statement regarding the incident at Sunday's (June 7) Tony Awards when he got clocked in the head by a descending set piece during his band's performance.

"I am trying to remain very positive and somewhat humorous about the whole situation.

"I apologize that I did not make a statement earlier as I have been feeling pretty beat up over the last few days. The fact is I was honored to be asked to perform at the event. The entire 'Rock of Ages' production [with whom POISON performed] were awesome, and even though I was completely out of my element, I was really enjoying myself prior to my injury. In fact, all involved at the awards show treated me good.

"I had a great time at the Tonys right up until I got blindsided. I must admit it was a little blurry after that. In hindsight, there is no doubt I got my bell rung. Unfortunately, it has been posted and perhaps funny to watch, but I can assure you it has been painful to experience.

"In all honesty, I had absolutely no idea what struck my head. Upon impact, I thought a piece of the lighting rig had fallen out of the ceiling and as I fell back it seemed like my head struck the stage and I blacked out for a second. When I opened my eyes, I noticed a large set prop coming down straight for me. I immediately pushed myself out of the way, and amidst the chaos, I laid on the floor and asked, 'What the hell just happened?' My nose, mouth and the back of my head felt numb. I vaguely remember asking Big John [head of Bret's security], 'Do I have any teeth left in my mouth?' I knew I could move my arms and legs and that was an instant relief. Somebody handed me a towel to wipe the blood from my face, and in my dazed state, I recall staring at what seemed to be Shrek, a talking goat head and several monkey like creatures.

"Over the last few days, a lot of speculation as to what happened and who is to blame have surfaced. I need to make clear at no point since the incident occurred do I feel like the accident was malicious in any way and I feel this will all work itself out. However, I must state I found it a little strange that the only statement released by the Tony organization was that I missed my mark and that I was completely fine. First, I thought, 'What mark?' as there was no official mark, just a retracting drum riser and an overhead prop being rapidly lowered which was out of my view. Second, I think it was slightly irresponsible for them to report that I was fine without full knowledge of my condition when a doctor hadn't even looked at me yet and I surely don't remember any x-ray machines backstage.

"I am not looking for an apology; I only hoped that on a human level that the Tony organization's representative would have expressed some concern for injury in their statement or at the very least claim they would be looking into the matter. Whether it was a miscommunication, missed cue or missed mark, no matter what the situation was, the prop should have been stopped, or at least slowed for a few more seconds, until I cleared the stage. I apparently had less than two seconds to avoid being hit. It was evident I was backing up and moving in the direction to exit the stage for at least 30 to 40 feet and it is plain to see I had no clue this prop was descending. For God's sake, they have at least a five second delay to prevent the airing of unapproved expletives and nudity!

"For the record, never at any point during my Sunday morning rehearsal was I ever instructed that the piece was coming down and that I had very little time to get off the stage; otherwise, believe me, I would have stopped or at least ducked so as not to be knocked out at the Tonys.

"Trust me, I never wanted any of this to happen. I was simply doing as I was told, which was to exit the stage as POISON's song 'Nothin' but a Good Time' came to a close.

"I feel for the actors and actresses who put in so much time and hard work on or off Broadway to get to the Tonys. This is their moment and I am sorry that some of it may have gotten overshadowed by my thick rocker cranium being struck by a stage prop.

"On a high note, I hear it was the highest-rated Tonys they have had in years. However, I was bummed that I did not get to see any of the acts perform during the Tonys as I have never seen a play on Broadway before. [I] probably would have enjoyed it, and [I was] even more bummed that I did not get to attend the after parties, 'cuz rumor has it Anne Hathaway was going to be there and she is hot.

"I would like to personally thank Bobby and C.C., Mark Hogue, Larry Morand and my crew, along with Liza Minnelli, Mark Indelicato and Carole Propp, for rushing to my dressing room to check on my condition.

"In closing, I truly appreciate everyone's concern. I thank the good Lord I have a thick skull and I have a feeling this may have been my first and final curtain call at the Tonys."

Photos of Bret Michaels' nose fracture and busted lip can be viewed below. The POISON singer and reality TV star's publicist Joann Mignano said that Michaels received three stitches in his lip and had a CAT scan on Monday (June 8) as a precautionary measure. "His neck was hurt in an accident years ago, so he's being cautious," she told People magazine. "He said he wanted to make sure this was all looked at and taken care of, and I said it was the right thing to do."

Michaels, who is currently on a solo tour, postponed his show scheduled for last night in Myrtle Beach to Thursday, August 6. Bret Michaels solo tour dates will resume June 12 in Gadsden Alabama and will continue throughout the summer.
[Bazookajoe_666] Friday, June 12, 2009 6:59:26 AM 
Metal Mike Solo Album Title Revealed

Guitarist "Metal" Mike Chlasciak (HALFORD, PAINMUSEUM, SEBASTIAN BACH) has set "The Metalworker" as the title of his upcoming solo album. Songtitles set to apear on the CD include "Don't Shoot The Crown", "Tonight We Ride", "Grand Tourismo Berlinetta" and "Sever The Gods".

"The Metalworker" will be accompanied by a heavy metal guitar instructional DVD showcasing the album tracks.

Mike last year concluded a U.S. trek as a sideman axe-slinger for ex-SKID ROW singer Sebastian Bach. Bach played the sheds and arenas last summer with DOKKEN and POISON on the "Live, Raw & Uncut" tour.

[Bazookajoe_666] Friday, June 12, 2009 6:58:47 AM 
Yup, and I'm still looking forward to it.
  [Show/Hide Quoted Message] (Quoting Message by hellrider 31038 from Thursday, June 11, 2009 10:24:07 PM)
[hellrider 31038] Thursday, June 11, 2009 10:24:07 PM 

  [Show/Hide Quoted Message] (Quoting Message by Bazooka Joe from Thursday, June 11, 2009 9:32:01 AM)
[Bazookajoe_666] Thursday, June 11, 2009 9:44:58 AM 
New Manowar EP

MANOWAR's new album, "Hammer Of The Gods", which is the first installment of "The Asgard Saga", the band's unique multimedia fantasy adventure with best-selling author Wolfgang Hohlbein, is tentatively due this fall. An EP, "Thunder in the Sky", will precede the full-length CD and will feature the following track listing:

CD 1:

01. Thunder In The Sky
02. God Or Man
03. Let The Gods Decide
04. Father
05. Die With Honor
06. The Crown And The Ring (2008)

CD 2:

"Father" sung in the following languages:

* German
* Italian
* Romanian
* Hungarian
* Bulgarian
* Norwegian
* Spanish
* French
* Greek
* Turkish
* Polish
* Japanese
* Croatian
* Portuguese
* Finnish

MANOWAR will head to Moscow, Russia for an exclusive concert on July 24 at the outdoor Gorky Park Green Theater. This will be the seventh major event that the band will be headlining this summer and the first time MANOWAR will perform at an outdoor arena in Russia!

MANOWAR is scheduled to headline six of Europe's largest heavy metal festivals as part of the "Death To Infidels Tour!" The self-proclaimed "Kings of Metal" have long crusaded to keep the spirit of "true metal" alive. In 2009, the crusade blazes through Europe armed with allies, HOLYHELL, and the legions of faithful metal warriors following the call to raise their arms, lock their wrists and sound the cry "hail and kill!"

The band sets forth on the crusade to conquer false metal tyranny, starting with Europe this summer while headlining Provinssirock in Seinajoki, Finland on June 13, 2009; Hellfest in Clisson, France on June 21, 2009; the Metalway festival in Zaragoza, Spain on June 27, 2009; the B'estfest Aftershock in Bucharest, Romania on July 5, 2009; and the Norway Rock Festival in Kvindesal on July 10, 2009. The grand finale of the tour will be MANOWAR's call to arms for true metal warriors the world over , the Magic Circle Festival III, on July 18, 2009 at the Loreley on the Rhine River in Germany where the world premiere of songs from their forthcoming CD will be performed.
[Bazookajoe_666] Thursday, June 11, 2009 9:42:30 AM 
Anvil Supporting AC/DC On Certain Dates

Steve "Lips" Kudlow, the guitarist/vocalist of the Canadian heavy metal legends ANVIL, spoke to the National Post about his band's upcoming opening-act shows with AC/DC at the Gillette Stadium in Foxborough, Massachusetts on July 28 and Giants Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey on July 31.

"Doing the gig is the easy part, getting the gig is what's tough," says Lips. "I last saw AC/DC with my 11-year-old at the Air Canada Centre. Now, he'll get to see me open for the band in the States. It's bombastic, man. Really, really incredible stuff."

ANVIL landed the gigs based on the overwhelming response to and incredible buzz created by the critically acclaimed documentary "Anvil! The Story of Anvil".

"What it came down to is the fact that AC/DC will benefit because they're the guys who extended a hand to help ANVIL out," Lips adds. "I don't know if they saw the movie or not. I just know a decision was made by Angus [Young, AC/DC's guitarist] and he wanted see ANVIL triumph and succeed."

In between recording their new album and playing Gillete Stadium in Boston on July 28 and Giant Stadium on July 31, ANVIL is also looking at possible tour dates with METALLICA and hoping to join AC/DC on August's Canadian leg of their tour.

"All this stuff that’s happening to us now could never have happened if we didn’t play for more than thirty years," Lips says. "I got to tell you, man, it couldn't happen at a better time in our lives. It bought me a retirement fund, if nothing else."

"Anvil! The Story of Anvil" is the directorial debut of screenwriter Sacha Gervasi ("The Terminal") and was produced by Rebecca Yeldham ("The Kite Runner" and "The Motorcycle Diaries"). The film follows Steve "Lips" Kudlow and Robb Reiner and their band, ANVIL, which released one of the heaviest albums in metal history, 1982's "Metal on Metal". The album influenced an entire musical generation of rock bands, including METALLICA, SLAYER, and ANTHRAX, who all went on to sell millions of records. ANVIL, on the other hand, took a different path — straight to obscurity. The film is both entertaining and touching as it follows their last-ditch quest for the fame and fortune that has been so elusive to them. "Anvil! The Story of Anvil" is a timeless tale of survival and the unadulterated passion it takes to follow your dream, year after year.

Praised as "the best documentary I've seen in years," by documentarian Michael Moore, "Anvil! The Story of Anvil" contains appearances by an array of heavy metal icons, including METALLICA's Lars Ulrich, former member of GUNS N' ROSES, Slash, ANTHRAX's Scott Ian, and SLAYER's Tom Araya, among others.
[Bazookajoe_666] Thursday, June 11, 2009 9:39:21 AM 
Nicko McBrain Talks "Flight 666"

Mark Morton of Heavy Metal Examiner recently conducted an interview with IRON MAIDEN drummer Nicko McBrain. An excerpt from the chat follows below.

Heavy Metal Examiner: Was there an extensive group discussion about participating in the ["Flight 666"] movie, or was it an executive decision from Rod Smallwood [manager] saying that you had to do it?

Nicko: No, no, no, Lord almighty. There were many, many discussions. It kicked off one night after a show in Europe. We were talking amongst the band — we do talk to each other, contrary to popular belief. Bruce [Dickinson, vocals] came up with the idea about getting our own jet airliner and touring around the world.

We discussed the places we've never been to, places we wanted to go to, how much money it costs to tour these places, and how cost-prohibitive these places were. And Bruce said, "Well, we'll have our own magic carpet!" Then we started thinking that that might be a great idea; we could get a 747! And Bruce said that he was thinking more along the lines of a 757, because he wasn't rated for the 747. Then we pitched it to Rod, and discussed the logistics of where we wanted to go. And originally, the idea for taking the 757 was so we could take all our gear, have Bruce pilot it, and bring all of our family along. Then someone said, "Well, we have to take all the journalists of the world with us, too, because this is an historic event!"

"Hhhhhmmmm," said Rod, "why don't we document this here bloody trip. It is historic, after all. Nobody's ever done this before — customize a 757 and whatnot. Even better, we should have a documentary crew 24/7 for the duration of the tour!" Boy, that's when it went down like a fountain in a 2-man submarine, believe me. There was a bit of rumbling, a bit of grumbling, some trepidation…my lord, trepidation! So yeah, it wasn't a matter of "yeah, let's all do it."

There were a few of us who weren't very happy with the idea of these people coming and living with us for two months, with access to us 24/7. There were a couple of meetings we had where we ended up convinced that it was the best thing to do, because it was so historic. And to be very honest with you, I'm glad we did it, because we came out with this wonderful "Flight 666" movie.

And I have to take my hat off to Rod Smallwood, because he oversaw the running of how the film was presented, chronologically. He did a fantastic job editing that film with Scot McFadyen and Sam Dunn. But yeah, we had a bit of a problem with agreeing to give these guys access to us, but through the love-hate relationship, we came out with more love than hate. And I'm pleased to say that Scot and Sam and all the crew are now very much a part of the IRON MAIDEN family.

Heavy Metal Examiner: Obviously, there had to be a period of adjustment with these guys in your faces all the time. Were there any eruptions or rows that developed out of this, off camera?

Nicko: Not really, no. There were moments where I'm sure they got some growling and grumblings on film somewhere; especially from me… 'cause I told them to f*** off more than once. Me, moreso than anyone else in the band. Yeah, Janick [Gers, guitar] used to tell them to just p*** off and whatever. The one thing I have to say is that they went above the call of duty when they were recording the concert footage for the movie. They would come up to me about an hour before the show, and Sam would say, "Hey Nick, we'd like to shoot you tonight from this side of the stage. Are you okay with that?" And I would go, "F*** yeah, of course you can!" It was always a "whatever you want" kinda vibe, and they never stepped on anyone's toes.

And that is one of the hardest things to do — film IRON MAIDEN live. If someone comes up to the front with a camera, and Bruce is there, he'll put a boot in it. During Rock In Rio, I'm not sure if you can see it, but at one point, there was a camera pointed down at me, and he climbed up this ladder and ripped it right out — $30,000 worth of camera, just gone! But no, we didn't really have any problems with them. If we weren't happy about something, they wouldn't tape or overstep the line.

Read the entire interview from Heavy Metal Examiner.
[Bazookajoe_666] Thursday, June 11, 2009 9:38:11 AM 
Metal Mike To Release Guitar Instructional Dvd

Guitarist "Metal" Mike Chlasciak (HALFORD, SEBASTIAN BACH, PAINMUSEUM) has issued the following update:

"In addition to my upcoming solo record, I have a special surprise to all the guitar players. Yep, you guessed it — I'm preparing my first guitar instructional DVD.

I'm excited about this. Well, I guess I do not need to state that the DVD will be about heavy metal — do I? Honestly, what else could it be? One piece of information that I can share with you all is that I have partnered with a well-known distributor to release a no-holds-barred DVD teaching all the metalheads specific things on the guitar — Metal Mike-style! More news soon.

"For those who can not wait, check out my guitar instructional books that are currently available at the MetalMikeArmoryStore.com.

"'Ridiculous Riffs For The Terrifying Guitarist': Awesome licks, trick, tips and ideas on metal soloing. Everything is explained right with theory. Including regular notation and tablature. Only $20.

"'Monster Coordination - Guitar Boot Camp': Killer work out manual to get you improving and on track. As a bonus, I answer many many questions I have been asked from students all over the world. Only $20."
[Bazookajoe_666] Thursday, June 11, 2009 9:35:38 AM 

He's Still Trying to Pucker...... *slaps forehead*

Photos of Bret Michaels' nose fracture and busted lip, which he suffered after getting hit in the head by a set piece during Sunday's (June 7) Tony Awards, can be viewed below. The POISON singer and reality TV star's publicist Joann Mignano said that Michaels received three stitches in his lip and had a CAT scan on Monday (June 8) as a precautionary measure. "His neck was hurt in an accident years ago, so he's being cautious," she told People magazine. "He said he wanted to make sure this was all looked at and taken care of, and I said it was the right thing to do."

Michael' rep also said reports that the accident was caused by Michaels missing his mark are inaccurate. "He did exactly what they asked him to do in rehearsal, where everything went fine. And when the sign came down [at the show], it smacked him on the head."

Michaels, who is currently on a solo tour, has postponed show scheduled for tonight in Myrtle Beach to Thursday, August 6. Bret Michaels solo tour dates will resume June 12 in Gadsden Alabama and will continue throughout the summer.

Michaels and POISON performed during the show's opening number. Michaels' injury occurred as he was leaving the stage and smacked into a piece of scenery.

In a lengthy statement released late Tuesday, Michaels' representatives blasted the Tonys for dismissing the incident, and put the blame for Bret's injuries squarely on a "lack of communication" between the "Rock of Love" star and "the producers, directors, stage managers and crew" of the awards show.

"I find it surprising that a Tony spokesperson would brush off this incident with a comment stating 'Mr. Michaels missed his mark' with no mention of concern for his condition," spokesperson Janna Elias says in the statement. "If everyone at the Tonys [was] aware that Bret missed his mark, then they should have been aware enough to stop the set piece from hitting him or at least slowed it down until he cleared the stage. I feel had this incident happened to Liza Minnelli, Dolly Parton or Elton John, the Tonys would have at least issued a letter of concern.

"Bret has performed live, with POISON or solo, for over 20 years and on a daily basis is around pyro, lasers and a moving light show. He understands that there is always an element of risk in any live performance, but Bret entrusts his safety to the crew, whose job it is to make sure the show goes off without a hitch," the statement continues. "However, in this situation Bret was not on his stage but was at the mercy of the Tonys. He was performing on the Tonys stage and had the reasonable expectation that that safety of the artist was a priority, and at no time did he do anything over-the-top or outlandish that would have put himself or others in a dangerous situation."



[Bazookajoe_666] Thursday, June 11, 2009 9:33:24 AM 
Bruce Dickinson Interview

JAM! Music
recently conducted an interview with vocalist Bruce Dickinson of British heavy metal legends IRON MAIDEN. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

JAM! Music: Flying every day and playing every night seems like a heck of a schedule.

Bruce: Well, it would be if I did that. The documentary ["Flight 666"] might give that impression, but that's just something people have read into it. If we did an aviation documentary, you'd see how it actually works. I'm not allowed to fly after doing a show — I have to wait 12 hours. That's a regulatory issue. So when you see me flying, we've had a rest day after the show and then left the next day. And at all times on the airplane, we had three pilots as an insurance policy against one getting sick. In fact, one did get food poisoning and I had to take over. If they'd shown that, you'd have seen me flying in shorts and a T-shirt.

JAM! Music: Are there similarities between being a pilot and being a rock singer?

Bruce: Well, the image of the pilot is somebody who is always in control. And the image of a rock star is somebody who is always out of control. The truth is, as a pilot, you're not as in control as some people think. You're constantly managing risk. Doesn't mean the airplane's not safe; but the amount of control you have over nature is not absolute. Now flip to your rock-star head and you're running around on stage salivating like a maniac, yelling, screaming, snarling. But in fact, the show is quite tightly controlled. If it weren't disciplined, the band would fall apart. So the appearances are different. But under the surface, they're not so different. A pilot has to be aware of his environment and all the things that might affect the airplane. As a singer, you're juggling the audience's emotions and you've got to be aware of all the things that might affect that evening's proceedings.

JAM! Music: Tell me about working with Sam Dunn and Scot McFadyen. How did you pick them?

Bruce: They kind of picked us, really. When we met them, we were a little suspicious at first. We're always suspicious of people with cameras. We've trusted people in the past who have been rather vile. Our worry was that we were going to end up with (METALLICA's) "Some Kind of Monster". Which is not us, but I know how the cutting room works. But then we got to trust them. And what they came up with was great. It wasn't a live performance; it wasn't about big egos; it wasn't blowing smoke up everybody's ass; it was about the fans. The audience are the stars of this documentary. They just did a fantastic job. They got under all of our skins without getting on our nerves.

JAM! Music: You've got so many oars in the water — singing, flying, fencing, writing, hosting TV programs. How do you juggle all those balls?

Bruce: I just do loads of interviews. It makes it so easy; I don't have to do any of that. I just talk about it.

JAM! Music: If you had to only do one thing, which would it be?

Bruce: I'd have to sing. You can train people to fly. But there must be something to what I do that's special to a lot of people. And you have to go with the thing that's the most special.

Read the entire interview at JAM! Music.
[Bazookajoe_666] Thursday, June 11, 2009 9:32:01 AM 
Rob Halford Says Nostradamus Is Still Going to Be Performed

JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford has told Noisecreep that the band is still planning on performing its latest album, "Nostradamus", in its entirety on an upcoming tour, since the lyrical material lends itself to such an endeavor. When probed about whether or not PRIEST would do a "Nostradamus" set, Halford said, "We would love to. In fact, we jumped the gun. We anticipated doing it towards the end of this year. It will be a massive presentation and undertaking, but we have no time to do it the way we want to, yet. So let us do 'British Steel' and at the end of this tour, we'll get into production mode to celebrate the new album. We have great ideas and we'd love to present it, but it has to be a special event environment. 'Nostradamus' is a metal album and has a tremendous amount of potential to be interpreted in different ways."

Halford hinted that the album can be performed as a full-fledged classical opera or by an instrumental orchestra. "Anything is possible in today's wonderful world," he said. "The entertainment world is full of crossovers, like the musical 'Wicked', which I hope to go see next week. Book and movies can be turned it Broadway musicals so we can transform 'Nostradamus' anyway we'd like."
[Vaillant 3.0] Tuesday, June 09, 2009 2:24:44 PM 
Awwwww!!!!! How cute!!
  [Show/Hide Quoted Message] (Quoting Message by Bazooka Joe from Tuesday, June 09, 2009 10:47:50 AM)
[Bazookajoe_666] Tuesday, June 09, 2009 10:49:57 AM 
Possible New Metallica DVD Setlist

The four members of METALLICA took part in a press conference prior to the band's June 4, 2009 concert at Foro Sol in Mexico City, Mexico. A four-minute clip featuring highlights from the press conference can be viewed below. Also available is footage from the tuning room where the band can be seen rehearsing songs for the Mexico City show.

The group's setlist was as follows:

01. That Was Just Your Life
02. The End Of The Line
03. Creeping Death
04. Holier Than Thou
05. One
06. Broken, Beat And Scarred
07. Cyanide
08. Sad But True
09. The Unforgiven
10. All Nightmare Long
11. The Day That Never Comes
12. Master Of Puppets
13. Blackened
14. Nothing Else Matters
15. Enter Sandman
- - - - - - - -
16. Helpless
17. Trapped Under Ice
18. Seek and Destroy

METALLICA filmed its three concerts in Mexico City for a future DVD release. The band played Mexico City for the first time in a decade on June 4, June 6 and June 7, with the group keeping the shows on its schedule despite the recent outbreak of swine flu that originated in the area.

AVENGED SEVENFOLD and a Mexican act called RESORTE served as the opening acts.

METALLICA is also scheduled to shoot footage for a DVD this summer, when the band plays a show in France on July 7. That DVD, however, will be a French release only.

METALLICA has issued several DVDs in the past, including "Cliff 'Em All", "Cunning Stunts", "S&M With The San Francisco Symphony Orchestra" and "A Year And A Half".
[Bazookajoe_666] Tuesday, June 09, 2009 10:47:50 AM 
KISS!

Promotional Partners
company will release a series of KISS Mr. Potato Head toys, complete with interchangeable parts. This collectors set includes all four members of KISS: The Demon, The Spaceman, The Catman and The Starchild. A variety of KISS costumes, instruments, hairstyles, footwear and faces are included to mix and match.

The KISS Potato Heads are scheduled for a mid-July release.

[Bazookajoe_666] Tuesday, June 09, 2009 10:42:44 AM 
David Coverdale Interview

Metro.co.uk
recently conducted an interview with WHITESNAKE frontman David Coverdale. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Metro.co.uk: Have you got a guilty karaoke song?

Coverdale: No. I f***in' don't, but my hairdresser is the king of karaoke. I told him to stay clear of BON JOV songs because that's a bit too high for his butchness. And he disobeyed my guidance and paid the price for it in front of 60 of his nearest and dearest. I think I did a Sinatra melody. It must have been instantly forgettable because I completely forgot about it until right this second. But that is my only karaoke experience other than signing off on agent stuff. It's actually big money these days to let them use your tunes.

Metro.co.uk: Is it true you have a four-octave range?

Coverdale: I have no idea. I practice rock 'n' roll ventriloquism: I throw the voice and hopefully it gets there. It's going very well, seeing that dogs can hear it. I am delighted that I go from a whisper to a scream. Ritchie Blackmore said it is a man's voice and that's a big compliment. I like having a man's voice.

Metro.co.uk: Any idea how many people have popped their cherry to "Slide It In"?

Coverdale: Certainly a lot of people in the media — reluctantly at times — tell me they did. It's also very good for pole dancing. All these things do not figure when one's putting these songs together. I am 58 this September, so I have got a couple of good years left and I got a gold record for a new album in days when you're not supposed to be able to sell records. Somebody out there seems to support the SNAKE.

Metro.co.uk: Didn't the model on the "Slide It In" cover faint because of the snake?

Coverdale: There were actually two girls. The first one was 17 years old and she fainted dead away. We had to get another model in to do the back cover. Basically the press dictated the sexist response from WHITESNAKE. The more the press jumped on that, the more I pushed back with the sexist aspect. Regardless, we had a very high percentage of fine young ladies at our shows. They were the loudest singing along to "Slide It In", to be perfectly honest. A lot of other songs were tongue-in-cheek stuff. And fortunately I had the substance of other songs to forge a soon-to-be 40-year career.

Metro.co.uk: What has been your most rock 'n' roll moment?

Coverdale: When we were in California we jammed with DEEP PURPLE and we had this beautiful private plane called the Starship and we had Warner Brothers sending movies that hadn't been released. We kept getting this message that somebody called Miss Lovelace wanted to see us but we ignored it. We actually got on the plane and took off and put on "Deep Throat" and only then found out who Linda Lovelace was. That was a sad moment, but there you go.

Read the entire interview at Metro.co.uk.


New Blaze Bayley Live Cd Released

British heavy metal vocalist Blaze Bayley (ex-IRON MAIDEN, WOLFSBANE) has just released "The Night That Will Not Die", a double live CD containing his entire December 13, 2008 concert at Z7 in Pratteln, Switzerland. It features two hours of live perfomance material, including songs from the new album, "The Man Who Would Not Die". A concert DVD, "The Night That Will Not Die", was released in April via Blaze Bayley Recordings.

The track listing for the "The Night That Will Not Die" two-CD set is as follows:

Disc 1:

01. The Man Who Would Not Die
02. Blackmailer
03. Smile Back At Death
04. Alive
05. Identity
06. Kill And Destroy
07. Ghost In The Machine
08. Ten Seconds
09. Futureal
10. The Launch
11. Lord Of The Flies
12. Leap Of Faith

Disc 2:

01. Edge Of Darkness
02. Crack In The System
03. Voices From The Past
04. Stare At The Sun
05. Born As A Stranger
06. Man On The Edge
07. While You Were Gone
08. Samurai
09. Robot

You can order a copy at this location.

Blaze reportedly dedicated the song "While You Were Gone" at the Pratteln concert to his wife/manager Debbie Hartland, who died in late September after suffering a brain hemorrhage while in the hospital.

[Bazookajoe_666] Monday, June 08, 2009 7:34:39 AM 
Michael Anthony Interview

Earlier this week, Jeb Wright of Classic Rock Revisited conducted an interview with former VAN HALEN and current CHICKENFOOT bassist Michael Anthony. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Classic Rock Revisited: How much do personalities have to do with a band like CHICKENFOOT?

Michael: It has a lot to do with it. On stage is one thing, but off stage is another. It is kind of interesting, because sometimes you wonder how these four personalities are going to mesh. I have partied enough times with Chad [Smith, drums] down in Cabo to know what he is like. We are saying now, that we should have called this band "ONE GENIUS & A BUNCH OF IDIOTS." Joe [Satriani] balances the rest of us out. Joe Satriani is a methodical, and structured, kind of guy — thank God for that. Every day, he came to the studio with his staff paper while the rest of us were saying that we should put up a blackboard and scribble down what we needed to work on. Joe would say, "No, we are not going to do that." You really need someone like that in the studio. Of course, we had Andy Johns [producer] in to do this thing with us. He is a great engineer and a great producer. He really was like the fifth member of the band. He was out in the studio with us, making suggestions and everything. He knew when we had a take. He would say, "Play it as many times as you want, but that is the one right there." He would go outside and have a cigarette and say, "Let me know when you guys are through goofing around because this is the take we are using." We just went out on a little nine-show thing and everyone got along great. I was wondering if Chad was going to make us wear socks on our dicks. I told him that he should leave his socks at home.

Classic Rock Revisited: Does being around great guitar players and great producers even phase you anymore?

Michael: No, it really doesn't. Playing with Eddie [Van Halen], and now playing with Joe, where there is not another guitar player . . . Sammy didn't even put on a guitar while we were doing this. When we are live, he plays a little bit here and there. My position is to really anchor the thing down. CREAM was one of the only bands that when [Eric] Clapton went into a solo, it was almost like there were three different solos going on. They would, somehow, come right back into the song. You can lose your perspective and wonder where the song is going, and even, what song it is, but Chad and I click so well together that we can play anything and know where we are. We play so well together, that when Joe plays a solo, it doesn't sound like anything drops out. That shows that everyone knows what they need to do in a band like this. It shows that everyone knows how to make it sound good.

Classic Rock Revisited: Eddie Van Halen told RollingStone.com that Michael quit VAN HALEN and was not fired.

Michael: I am so far past that… I wish that he would be too. Unfortunately, he is a bitter guy. At my age, at this point in my life, I don't want to be bitter. I want to hang around positive people, and I could not find three more positive guys than the guys I am playing with now. Why keep rehashing the past? They were asking Eddie questions that had nothing to do with that. They said, "Have you heard CHICKENFOOT?" And he goes, "Yeah, but by the way, Michael Anthony wasn't fired; he quit." It had nothing to do with anything. I never quit the band. At one point, I was forced to make a decision to sit on my hands, at home, and do nothing for a number of years, or go out and play some shows on a tour with Sammy and Dave [Lee Roth]. What would you do? I felt that I was doing those guys a service by going out and flying the VAN HALEN flag and letting people know that VAN HALEN is still here. My last name is not "Van Halen." People tend to forget you. I didn't want people to go, "That is that guy that used to play in VAN HALEN. What's his name again?" The fans wanted to hear that music. I was kind of forced into a situation like that. I never quit the band. When we did the 2004 reunion, Eddie didn't even want me to be a part of that because he was so torqued up that I was buddies with Sammy. Why can't I be buddies with Sammy and still play with VAN HALEN? With those guys, it was a cut-and-dried situation. You are in or you are out. You are with us or you are not. He still keeps bringing this stuff up. I talked to Joe Bosso [of MusicRadar.com] yesterday about it, because Rolling Stone was on his back for a response. I wanted the fans to know that I never left the band. For whatever happened, I am not a bitter person about it. I loved VAN HALEN; I loved everything we did. Hell, I was one of the only two guys who showed up for the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction. I love the legacy of the band but I am moving on. I am in a great place with CHICKENFOOT. Ed needs to do that too. [Eddie says he's] got a studio right there at [his] house, and [he says] that [he has] a million songs written. Well, go ahead and record some, and go out and have fun. Let's look back fondly at VAN HALEN and what it was. How was that? I am not a guy who gets mad. A lot of people are looking at my response and going, "Oh my God, Mike grew a set of balls." I didn't grow a set of balls. I just got tired of rehashing this shit. I am tired of it. I would always skate around the subject, but this is the way it is. I have gotten on with it and they need to get on with it too. They need to go out and remember why they are in this business.

Read the entire interview from Classic Rock Revisited
[Bazookajoe_666] Monday, June 08, 2009 7:33:23 AM 
Nicko McBrain Talks "Flight 666"

Kory Grow of Revolver magazine recently conducted an interview with IRON MAIDEN drummer Nicko McBrain. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

Revolver: IRON MAIDEN have done so many concert films, documentaries, and music-video DVDs over the years. Other than the jet, what makes "Flight 666" special for you?

McBrain: It's a bit of the agony and the ecstasy on this one. It was the first time that we had had 24-7 cameras with us. Not just filming the backstage stuff and the concert; it was filming us going to work and coming from work, while we're at work, and then when we're not working. We were always a very private band. We never were and we still aren't a band that would chase the limelight, chase the paparazzi. We steer clear of places where we knew people would be at to take photographs for OK magazine. When you look at the film… they had 500 hours worth of film to edit from. And there's a lot of it [laughs] that are those sort of things that you didn't want people to see that's on the cutting-room floor. They did a fantastic job.

Revolver: One thing that stood out in the video was, do you play barefoot?

McBrain: Yes, I do. It's something I used to do when I was a kid. As I started playing stronger, heavier, hard-hitting music as I got into my teenage and into my adult life, I started using a Ludwig Speed King pedal. You can't play one of them in bare feet, because it's not very smooth; there are holes in it. So I went to using boxing boots, and so over the years of my drumming, I went from barefoot to boxing boots to back to bare feet when I switched to a DW pedal. And I've been playing barefoot for, I don't know, eight or nine years. The only reason I like to play in bare feet is because I have more freedom.

Revolver: Is IRON MAIDEN working on a new album?

McBrain: We start working on a new record in November. We've got November and the first couple of weeks of December booked into writing. We're gonna do a new album in January 2010, and we should tour with that in late summer, fall time. That's the plan. Hopefully, God willing, everybody's health is good and we can get on with it and get out there again.

Read the entire interview from Revolver magazine.
[Bazookajoe_666] Monday, June 08, 2009 7:26:37 AM 
Joe Elliott STILL A Douchebag

InTheNews.co.uk
recently conducted an interview with DEF LEPPARD frontman Joe Elliott . A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

InTheNews.co.uk: Are there benefits to having a one-armed drummer?

Elliott: He's actually a better drummer now! He plays more to the song than the ego. If a drummer can do a complicated fill, he will. But if he can't, you can prove to yourself you don't need it. People always joke about Ringo [Starr] being a s**t drummer — he wasn't, he was a simple drummer! (laughs) So was Charlie Watts. We encourage Rick to do simple fills. We're not trying to write EMERSON LAKE AND PALMER! (laughs)

InTheNews.co.uk: "Adrenalize" is also being released and then came out at an interesting time too — the L.A. riots were going on and grunge was beginning to take off. Do you remember it having an affect on your sales or fans?

Elliott: Not at all. "Adrenalize" was exactly what everybody expected — we'd nailed America twice and this time beat Springsteen to number one and had five weeks at the top. Only about a dozen artists ever managed that in the '90s, really.

InTheNews.co.uk: So the sales weren't noticeably affected?

Elliott: No, grunge didn't really take root until late 92, early 93. It was like the rise of punk — in 1979, after the SEX PISTOLS had released their album and THE CLASH were heading to world domination, the biggest-selling record was "Breakfast in America" by SUPERTRAMP! (laughs) We were flying around the States in a private plane with an album that sold seven million copies — grunge was happening, and we were replying "So??" It didn't hurt us until '96. We need to go somewhere else with our sound and if anything, grunge gave us a kick.

InTheNews.co.uk: Was going back to basics with "Slang" a risk in 1996?

Elliott: We were looking at each other saying: "We are all aware that this is commercial suicide, right? Yep, we are? Ok… " But we were all really happy with that, we weren't doing it for the money — we didn't need it — we were doing it for the right reasons. We were trying not to be us, but another side of us. Every band does it, KISS did it with "The Elder", but that was actually a rubbish record!

InTheNews.co.uk: This year you've got the 40 cities tour with POISON and CHEAP TRICK. After so long in the band, can it be gruelling or is it still just great to be on the road?

Elliott: We can do 40 dates for breakfast! What gets gruelling is doing the same thing year-in, year-out. At every venue, those tours can feel like you were only there a week ago. But what's great about these big tour is being on the road with different people — last year, it was BILLY IDOL and JOAN JETT, the year before was STYX, FOREIGNER and REO SPEEDWAGON, the year before was JOURNEY and before that we were doing baseball stadiums with BRYAN ADAMS. That keeps it fresh for the time you're not on stage — you get to drink coffee with different rock stars!

Read the entire interview from InTheNews.co.uk.
[Bazookajoe_666] Thursday, June 04, 2009 12:18:41 PM 
New Slayer Album Title Revealed

BLABBERMOUTH.NET can exclusively reveal that California thrashers SLAYER have set "World Painted Blood" as the title of their new album, tentatively due late summer via American Recordings/Columbia Records. The forthcoming CD is being produced by Greg Fidelman and will include the album's title track and "Psychopathy Red" (both of which are Jeff Hanneman-penned tunes), the latter of which was made available as a limited-edition seven-inch vinyl disc on April 18, 2009 as part of the third annual Record Store Day.

Prior to the new album release, SLAYER will join forces with MEGADETH to perform together for the first time in more than 15 years when they co-headline four shows in Canada in late June. The tour, dubbed "Canadian Carnage", will also feature MACHINE HEAD and SUICIDE SILENCE, and will see MEGADETH and SLAYER each closing two of the four shows. SLAYER will also co-headline with MARILYN MANSON on the five-week Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival, set to kick off July 10 in Sacramento, California.

On May 19, BLABBERMOUTH.NET spoke to SLAYER guitarist Kerry King about the band's new CD and their upcoming touring activities. Highlights of that conversation follow below.

On the status of the new album recording sessions:

Kerry: "Probably today was the last day for touch-ups. The longer you let that go on, you can keep fixing it forever; you've just gotta cut the line at one point and say, 'We're done.' But I think Tom [Araya] finishes up vocals today, and then it's just gotta get mixed."

On whether producer Greg Fidelman is going to be mixing the album as well:

Kerry: "To my knowledge, I think he's doing it. I don't always pay attention to that. But I haven't heard anything to the contrary, so I would imagine, yeah."

On Greg Fidelman being a somewhat odd choice for a producer considering that a lot of fans seem to blame him for the distorted sound on METALLICA's "Death Magnetic" album:

Kerry: "I would never do that because — no offense to him or METALLICA — but it's not Greg's fault for the last 15 years of METALLICA. I think he made a decent record with them. I think 'Death Magnetic' is pretty cool. I mean, It's not the glory of the '80s, but it's better than 'St. Anger', you know what I mean?! You're dealing with hard-headed dudes. We're the same way. When you're in the business for as long as us and them [METALLICA] are, you don't always [listen to] everybody's opinion; you've kind of got your own opinion. I blame everybody, not just him. [Laughs]"

On the songwriting/recording process for the new album:

Kerry: "We were over-ready [when we recorded 2006's 'Christ Illusion']. My songs [for the new album] came together since the middle of January — that was super-fast. I [attended] the NAMM show in the middle of January [2009], the big trade show out here [in California]. I might have had some riffs [at that point], but I had no songs. So everything I've done [songwriting-wise] has been put together since then. And this time when we went into the studio, we were, like, under-ready, because there were songs that hadn't even been finished, so we actually had to teach Dave [Lombardo; drums] some of them in the studio, which is totally unique for us. When you do it like that, you risk songs sounding the same and vocal ideas being similar, but I think everything sounds really different. . . [We did it that way because] we had a window of time that we secured Greg Fidelman [for and] we wanted to keep that happening, so after the NAMM show came around, I went, 'Shit, I'd better get some fuckin' songs happening.' So I got off my ass and really worked at it."

On how he would describe the new material:

Kerry: "I think 'Christ Illusion' and 'God Hates Us All' [2001] were compared to faster records like 'Reign In Blood' [1986]. I think this one, when it's all said and done, will be compared to 'Seasons In The Abyss' [1990], because I think 'Seasons' was a little bit of everything, as far as SLAYER goes. I think this one has a little bit of everything — more so than anything we've done since 'Seasons'. So I would imagine people are gonna compare it to that one."

On how the songwriting is split between him and fellow guitarist Jeff Hanneman this time around:

Kerry: "I don't know which songs... We've got 13 songs. I don't even know if they're all done, it's been such a hectic recording thing, but musically I wrote six and he wrote seven. It's about as down the middle as you can get."

"I think, as a general description [I tend to write the faster stuff and Jeff comes up with the moodier material], but that's not to say that Jeff won't write fast and I won't write slow, but generally I'm the fast, thrashier dude and Jeff's definitely the more moodier guy, but trail off into each one's domain every once in a while."

"I think everything [Jeff's] done came up at least since November. Because we did those first three songs [including 'Psychopathy Red'] in October and those were all his. I don't know if he's worked just since January like I have. I would imagine he probably worked a little earlier than that."

On why not all 13 songs that are being recorded will make it to the finished album:

Kerry: "I got out of that mindset that was popular in the '90s when everybody put as much material on CDs as would fit. I just think that's a waste of time, and I think it's a waste of song ideas, because everybody I've ever heard do that, maybe two or three songs are good and the rest is just filler. All my favorite records from whan I was growing up had 10 songs tops, and they're all kick-ass, so I just [think back to] how I perceived records as when I was a fan."
[Bazookajoe_666] Thursday, June 04, 2009 12:15:50 PM 
Aerosmith To Play All of "Toys In The Attic"

Steven Tyler and Joey Kramer of AEROSMITH stopped by the WZLX radio station in Boston, Massachusetts on Tuesday, June 2. They talked to Chuck Nolan, Carter Alan, and Kenny Young about their upcoming tour, the upcoming books, jamming with members of LED ZEPPELIN in London and getting wedding invitations. They also confirmed reports that they will play the whole ""Toys In The Attic" album on the upcoming trek with ZZ TOP.

You can now listen to the interview at this location.

Asked which album he'd like to play in its entirety on tour, AEROSMITH guitarist Joe Perry recently told VH1 Classic Radio, "I think 'Toys In The Attic' would be fun. We do a lot of songs off the first four records anyway. We've jammed on 'Uncle Salty' onstage a few times. The later records with more songs on them, they would take up too much time in the set. We need to leave some room for some of the other standards."

"Toys In The Attic", AEROSMITH's third album, was released in 1975 and is one of their most successful efforts. It includes the classic singles "Walk This Way" and "Sweet Emotion", as well as "Adam's Apple", "Big Ten-Inch Record", "Round And Round", "Uncle Salty" and the title track.

By playing one record from front to back on this tour, AEROSMITH will join the ranks of other classic rock artists doing the same this summer. MÖTLEY CRÜE plans to perform 1989's "Dr. Feelgood" in its entirety, while JUDAS PRIEST is going to blast through all of 1980's "British Steel".

[DelivererofEvil] Thursday, June 04, 2009 12:14:12 PM 
RATT!
[Bazookajoe_666] Thursday, June 04, 2009 12:09:49 PM 
Ratt To Enter Studio This Month

Reactivated California rockers RATT will enter the studio mid-June to begin recording their first new material since 1999's self-titled album. A late 2009 release via Loud & Proud/Roadrunner Records is expected.

Fan-filmed video footage of RATT performing the song "Nobody Rides For Free" on May 28, 2009 at the Wildhorse Saloon in Nashville, Tennessee can be viewed below (courtesy of "Metalbabe86"). Photos of the concert are available at this location (courtesy of "Rockchick86"). Playing rhythm guitar for RATT during the show was John Corabi (MÖTLEY CRÜE, UNION), who was filling in for Carlos Cavazo (QUIET RIOT).

Over the past two years, RATT has toured the world in support of their releases "Tell The World - The Very Best Of Ratt" and their first-ever DVD, "Videos from the Cellar - The Atlantic Years". During this time, the current lineup of Stephen Pearcy, Warren DeMartini, Bobby Blotzer, Robbie Crane and Carlos Cavazo played shows in Australia, Colombia and Peru for the first time in their careers.
[Bazookajoe_666] Thursday, June 04, 2009 11:53:35 AM 
Extreme/Ratt Tourdates

Celebrated rock pioneers RATT and EXTREME have teamed up to bring you this summer's most rockin' tour lineup. The tour, which will feature sets from both bands with RATT closing, kicks off on July 12 in Amarillo, Texas and runs through August 7 in Hampton Beach, New Hampshire. It will cross the U.S. and cover 16 markets, with more to be announced soon. In celebration of the 25th anniversary of their landmark debut "Out Of The Cellar", RATT will be playing the album in its entirety.

Both bands are excited about the double bill. "Warren DeMartini and Nuno Bettencourt on same stage, same night?? 'Nuff said, we'll see you there!" says RATT's Bobby Blotzer. EXTREME's Nuno Bettencourt concurs, "One hot summer night. Two bands fully loaded with musicianship. Mix in one part memorable songwriting. Add nine ounces of passionate performers. Throw in three well-respected guitarists. Add a touch of West Coast raunch and a hint of East Coast funk. And you get yourself a recipe for one night of unforgettable rock and roll."

The dates are as follows:

Jul. 10 - Pryor, OK - Rocklahoma **
Jul. 12 - Amarillo, TX - Midnight Rodeo
Jul. 13 - San Antonio, TX - Scout Bar
Jul. 14 - Odessa, TX - Dos Amigos
Jul. 16 - Tempe, AZ - Marquee Theater
Jul. 17 - Los Angeles, CA - Wiltern Theater
Jul. 18 - Las Vegas, NV - Hard Rock
Jul. 19 - Anaheim, CA - Grove
Jul. 22 - Denver, CO - Ogdon Theater
Jul. 23 - Kansas City - Crossroads
Jul. 24 - Chicago, IL - House Of Blues
Jul. 25 - Toledo OH - Harley Davidson-LOT **
Jul. 26 - Cheswick, PA - Ches-a-rena
Jul. 28 - New York, NY - Nokia Theater
Jul. 30 - Westbury, NY - Westbury Theater
Aug. 02 - Allentown, PA - Crock Rock Festival
Aug. 05 - Springfield, VA - Jaxx ***
Aug. 06 - Sayreville, NJ - Starland Ballroom
Aug. 07 - Hampton Beach, NH - Hampton Beach Casino
Aug. 08 - Clearfield, PA - ClearfieldCountyFairgrounds **
Aug. 15 - Sky City, NM - Sky City Casino **
Aug. 29 - Uncasville, CT - Mohegan Sun Casino **

** RATT only
*** EXTREME only 

[Head banger] Tuesday, June 02, 2009 12:51:47 PM 
how the fuck did they get bruce there?
thanks for all this btw, is great reading
  [Show/Hide Quoted Message] (Quoting Message by Bazooka Joe from Tuesday, June 02, 2009 12:07:09 PM)
[Bazookajoe_666] Tuesday, June 02, 2009 12:27:29 PM 
Mmhmm, good to know somebody reads this stuff.
  [Show/Hide Quoted Message] (Quoting Message by LadyBathory9 from Tuesday, June 02, 2009 12:25:19 PM)
[CountessErzebethBathory9] Tuesday, June 02, 2009 12:25:19 PM 
I like reading what u posts..its always informative ...keep us to date..

  [Show/Hide Quoted Message] (Quoting Message by Bazooka Joe from Tuesday, June 02, 2009 12:21:18 PM)
[Bazookajoe_666] Tuesday, June 02, 2009 12:25:00 PM 
Tarja Turunen Checks In

Former NIGHTWISH singer Tarja Turunen has issued the following update:

"My friends, the tour is happily over. But very soon, we will start next shows in Europe.

"There is no time really to relax since I have to keep on rehearsing for them. I will go to make a visit at my vocal coach who is most probably going to 'kill' me again. Just kidding; she is just magnificent help and amazingly kind lady.

"Mexican show was great and it was nice to see the reaction of the audience when they heard the new songs in our set list. I spoke with many fans and they felt that the show was a lot better than my first visit in Mexico.

"As always, I learn new things about myself and from my music through my musical journey and it is very rewarding to hear good feedback from my supporters.

"Thank you Mexico! As I said during the show, I hope to see you next time with my new album.

"It was also wonderful to make for the first time a show in Venezuela and to see that I have an audience there! I got to meet many fans in the singing session I did in Caracas and the feeling was really overwhelming.

"The local promoter got very emotional to see how people were reacting towards me and told me that he had never seen anything like that before. The devotion of the fans was unexpected for him and for some local media. Not for me ;)

"The final challenge was to make four shows in Buenos Aires. Everything went fine and I was very happy to be able to finish the tour with these shows here. Especially the last two shows in La Trastienda were great, because the audience was seated and they could follow every little details of our show. For me it was nice to see their expressions closer and to feel their love.

"I would like to do similar kind of concerts in other countries, but promoters haven't realized yet that my fans would like it too.

"I am sure the band was happy with the tour. Every one of them already flew to different destinations and in couple of weeks we'll find each other in Budapest where we'll start rehearsing for the summer shows. Can't wait to get there!

"Next week I will face another challenge when I am performing with [Argentine] band RATA BLANCA in Luna Park stadium [in Buenos Aires]. I have to learn few of their songs, which means I am going to sing in Spanish again!!!!! Let's see how that goes. I am expecting to have a great time with RATA on stage. Was very nice to receive their invitation."

Tarja Turunen has set "What Lies Beneath" as the working title of her new solo CD, tentatively due before the end of the year. She says, "With [2007's] 'My Winter Storm', I chose the name of the album in the early stages and that helped me to create the concept for the album. With the new album, I decided to do it the same way, so I searched for an inspiring title and all the songs are one way or another related to it."

Regarding the songwriting process for the new CD, Turunen said, "In the last months I've been writing a lot of music for my new album. Songwriting is always an amazing learning experience, and it has been a pleasure to discuss music with different people.

"The album process is still going on and I have more songs that are in the working. It is sounding very promising. The songs are absolutely more mature, wild, and emotional and they sound more me, if I can say so.

"The biggest difference in preparing this new album is that I will be taking the time that I need until the songs are in a shape that I am happy with. No matter how long it takes. I want it to be perfect for me. No hurry; no pressure."
[Bazookajoe_666] Tuesday, June 02, 2009 12:21:18 PM 
Anvil Interview

Michael Dunaway of PasteMagazine.com recently conducted an interview with guitarist/vocalist Steve "Lips" Kudlow and drummer Robb Reiner of Canadian heavy metal legends ANVIL. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.

PasteMagazine.com: The movie has gotten an incredible reception, at Sundance and at several other festivals.

Steve "Lips" Kudlow: We debuted the movie at Sundance and it basically blew the roof off. But Sacha [Gervasi, director] is very clever. He didn't want to sell the movie cheap, and he didn't want to sell it alone. He wanted to keep the movie and the band intact together, as a unit. He wouldn't move on any deals unless the two were hand in hand. It took a year and a half of winning awards at all these film festivals, and eventually, VH1 heard about it.

Robb Reiner: And we found our right man.

Kudlow: And we found our right man. Rick Krim is one of the nicest people we've ever met, and he put the whole weight of VH1 behind us. And now we're off.

Reiner: Sacha could have sold out to someone like Miramax or Universal or whomever. He had those chances.

Kudlow: But then the band and the movie would have been separate, and it wouldn't have had the longevity. This is a slow burn; it's not a flash in the pan. We are utilizing the actual audience to spread the word rather than soaking the media with paid advertising.

Reiner: It's word of mouth. It's organic.

Kudlow: And what's beautiful and unique about it is that the epilogue is being written by the audience. It's a beautiful thing.

PasteMagazine.com: You've been on stage your whole life, and now Sacha is following you around with a camera the whole time. What was that like?

Kudlow: It was amazing, actually, the circumstances that led up to it. I mean, let's start from the beginning. We met this kid when he was 15 years old at the Marquee club in London, just this English headbanger, and he became our drum roadie. So we took him on the road, took him on the joyride of his life, he had all of his first sexual encounters, we really corrupted him well! We called him Teabag. And we gave him a life experience he would never forget. Eventually, of course, he had to finish school and he disappeared out of our lives. We never forgot about him, and we always wondered whatever happened to him. Then, in the summer of 2005, I got an e-mail from him, and it was like, "Holy shit! Teabag has returned! And he's this Hollywood bigshot now, working with Spielberg!" So we go down to his place in L.A., and he has a stack of every one of our albums. He says, "I was sitting down listening to an album by METALLICA, and I said, 'This sounds just like my friends ANVIL. I wonder what happened to them?'" And about a week later he comes to Toronto and says, "I want to make a film about you." I started bawling my eyes out. It was like we both went on our journeys, and now we've come back together to make this movie. It was like perfect kismet, everything we had both been through was focused to make this movie. And I thought, this is it! The moment has arrived!

PasteMagazine.com: That enthusiasm for what you do really comes through in this film, and it's really inspiring. It reminds me of that great Bill Mallonee line about the minor-league ballplayer, "We may not make it out of the bush leagues, but that's not why we're here." I watched this film thinking, "Even if these guys never make it back up to the top, they're going to rock it out every night because they love it so much." It's beautiful.

Reiner: That's really the truth.

Kudlow: It's like I always say, you don't have to win the race to enjoy the race. I think we all have a responsibility to make the best of our lives. And to enjoy our lives. And we get so much enjoyment and fun out of being in the band and creating this music. How could you ever stop that? It's like saying "I've already had kids, why would I keep having sex?" Well, no! When I'm up on stage playing and singing, that is the almighty orgasm for me. And I'm not going to give it up!

PasteMagazine.com: Tell me about the new album you're working on. It'll be your fourteenth album, right?

Reiner: That's right. It's called "Juggernaut of Justice". All of the songs are now written. We'll hopefully record it at the beginning of next year. We've also recorded the song "Thumb Hang", which is mentioned in the movie. It'll be on the soundtrack.

Kudlow: You know, we wrote that thing when we were about 14 and we had had a school lesson on the Spanish Inquisition. And we just put it away and never bothered with it. But after the movie, that's what everybody wants to hear. So Sacha put in the credits that we're going to finally record it and we said, "What? We are?"

Reiner: And it actually turns out to be a really good song.

Kudlow: Shockingly.

Read the entire interview from PasteMagazine.com.
[Bazookajoe_666] Tuesday, June 02, 2009 12:18:56 PM 
Tim Ripper Owens Interview

Robert Gray of Ultimate-Guitar.com recently conducted an interview with merican heavy metal vocalist Tim "Ripper" Owens (YNGWIE MALMSTEEN, BEYOND FEAR, ex-JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH) as part of a series entitled "Hit The Lights." Several excerpts from the chat follow below.

On how his solo debut, "Play My Game", came to fruition:

"After I left ICED EARTH, we began talking about possibly arranging tracks for BEYOND FEAR's next album. The management thought it would be a great time for me to issue a solo album, so the wheels started turning. I started writing some music, and made some phone calls. The project began to come together, and all these great musicians guested upon 'Play My Game'. We recorded the album in Los Angeles, and began the process roughly a year ago."

On whether he felt slightly restricting in past groups like JUDAS PRIEST and ICED EARTH:

"Yes, I was restricted. I couldn't really write with JUDAS PRIEST, but I actually understood the situation with JUDAS PRIEST. It didn't really bother me. I think it bothered me more with ICED EARTH, as I felt like I probably had something to give to the table that time. I really wasn't able to contribute, so I felt more restricted with ICED EARTH, though I understood. I understood it with both groups. This made me go onwards, and save all my material for my own project."

On how Chris Caffery and Bob Kulick came to contribute to "Play My Game":

"I've known them for years. I met Chris Caffery in '96, and we've been really good friends. Bob Kulick and I have appeared on some albums together for years, years and years. A lot of these guys who guested upon 'Play My Game' are friends. Michael Wilton, Jeff Loomis, Bobby Jarzombek — so many great musicians feature on the album who are friends. Also, I made new friends who I just met, ones who guested on 'Play My Game'Billy Sheehan, for example. Having so many stars to guest, and to meet them, was just awesome."

On whether scheduling conflicts prevented certain musicians from guesting upon "Play My Game":

"Yeah, scheduling conflicts were always a problem. TRIVIUM's Corey Beaulieu was interested in contributing, and even SEPULTURA's Andreas Kisser. Andreas and I have worked on some material, so I wanted him to play upon a song. He said that he couldn't, and was leaving for a tour the following day. Since he couldn't lay down a part here, or there, we were somewhat screwed."

On "Play My Game"'s lyrical content:

"I think the album's lyrics are much like 'Beyond Fear', in that the album pretty much tackles every topic. 'Play My Game' tackles many topics, whether it be losing a loved one, spaceships, the cover up of political scandals, or ex relationships. Whatever the topic might be, everything is really upon 'Play My Game'. 'Play My Game' has a song about cars, and a song about evil things in the shadows, for example. Really, the album's lyrics are right across the board, and that's how I always write. I'm not a dungeons-and-dragons writer, and am not a writer that will write about extremely corny subjects all the time. I'm a writer that'll write about everything. Whatever comes to mind, and whatever I feel needs to be written about, I'll write about."

Read the entire interview at Ultimate-Guitar.com.
[Bazookajoe_666] Tuesday, June 02, 2009 12:16:03 PM 
Marilyn Manson Comments On New Album

Amy Sciarretto of Noisecreep recently conducted an interview with Marilyn Manson. An excerpt from the chat follows below.

Noisecreep: How much did your reunion with bassist Twiggy Ramirez spark the creativity on this record?

Manson: It's about me realizing the importance of loss, I even say, "I am going to teach you about loss." There are various degrees of things going on in my life and when you get back with a friend, you realize the void that it created, when it's back together. It was as if no time had passed. Separately, we did a lot on our own and we both can stand on our own. What we do together on this record, no one else can do. This is the record we wanted to make, at the right time, as friends. We needed each other. We had gone through parallel emotions with relationships and didn't have each other as best friends to say, "I am going through this torment." He came to the plate with this music which sounded like what I wanted to say. It was intimidating, for me, that I had to take it up a level, and do and say something I had not said before. My part as the singer and lyricist took place between November and January 5. I finished on my birthday. During that period, I lived alone, which I had never done before. I had gone from living with my parents as everyone does, to starting a band, going on tour and living in hotels and in and out of different relationships. Then in November, the last relationship I was in ended with me living alone and it became a process. I spent, by choice, the holiday season alone!

Noisecreep: You don't seem like a big "holiday celebration" type guy!

Manson: I am not big on holidays, but I spent Christmas, New Year's Eve and my birthday entirely alone. I returned to the studio, did the last three tracks. I woke up thinking, "I have to sing this song and finish this record," which isn't about giving up what you are. It's about seeing what doesn't work and hating everyone and trying to destroy it. Without that feeling, the song "Devour" would not exist. That's about a murder/suicide that almost happened and the song is why it didn't happen, so it began the record. The person who wrote that song is not the same person who wrote the last track, "15". I changed, people make mistakes. Now, I see that showing kindness and love shouldn't be mistaken for weakness. I am not desperate for love; it is something I have decided upon. I could have ended [the record] being null, like ["American Psycho"'s] Patrick Bateman, without any sense of reality or contact with humanity. Track "15" is like when you walk out of theater, after the end title credits and what you didn't expect to happen...happened.

Read the entire interview from Noisecreep.
[Bazookajoe_666] Tuesday, June 02, 2009 12:14:14 PM 
The Cult Frontman Comments On Upcoming Tour

In July, THE CULT will kick off an international tour on which the band will play its seminal, 1985 "Love" album from start to finish.

The "Love" album is viewed by fans and worldwide media as THE CULT's pre-eminent release. From the immediately recognizable opening notes of "She Sells Sanctuary", through Billy Duffy's psychedelic guitar strains on "Phoenix", to the resolve of Ian Astbury's haunting baritone on "Brother Wolf, Sister Moon", THE CULT created an album that maneuvers as a tour de force.

"[Playing the album live] gives some context to what THE CULT are, in terms of what we do have a claim to — building this post-modern world," singer Ian Astbury told Billboard.com. "We're one of the principal architects to that world, in a way. For me, it's kind of like, 'Hey, wait a minute, I don't want my legacy to be 'Sonic Temple'. It's amazing how many people come up and say, 'Hey dude, where's the cowboy hat and long hair?' I haven't looked like that in like 16 years."

"The band is redefining the live album experience with the 'Love Live Tour'; nothing is comparable to witnessing THE CULT, fully engaged in the live creation of arguably their seminal album," stated stated THE CULT manager Tom Vitorino. "For fans this will be the greatest tour yet, and for those just discovering THE CULT, this staging will envelop them in a pure performance experience."

THE CULT will be delivering spectacular production, along with the intense performances that fans have come to expect. The evening's finale will include an encore of THE CULT's greatest hits, spanning the bands' storied career. The band has been working closely with their art/ design team creating an arresting set, with dramatic effects, using state-of-the art technology.

Continuing their historic creative partnership, Ian Astbury and Billy Duffy began writing together this winter, and have since recorded several songs at The Sunset Marquis Villa Recording Studios in Los Angeles, California. Their highly anticipated new tracks will be the follow up to THE CULT's 2007 release, the critically acclaimed "Born Into This". As of press time, the band is keeping options open to drop new tracks in conjunction with the tour.
[Bazookajoe_666] Tuesday, June 02, 2009 12:11:26 PM 
Def Leppard/Taylor Swift Concert DVD

CMT has partnered with Big Machine Records for the first DVD release of its critically acclaimed series "CMT Crossroads", when the episode featuring TAYLOR SWIFT and DEF LEPPARD hits stores on Tuesday, June 16. "CMT Crossroads: Taylor Swift And Def Leppard" includes 11 electrifying performances by 2008's best-selling artist among all genres of music and Great Britain's premier arena rock band. The DVD will be available exclusively at a low price of $11.88, in Wal-Mart stores in the U.S. and Canada, including Sam's Club and on Walmart.com, and hits shelves the same day SWIFT and DEF LEPPARD are scheduled to appear on the 2009 CMT Music Awards. Their performance of "Photograph" is also up for both "Performance of the Year" and "Wide Open Country Video" of the Year at the CMT Music Awards.

The DVD is currently available for presale at this location.

Taped before a standing-room only audience in Nashville, Swift fulfilled her "childhood dream" when she walked onstage and performed with DEF LEPPARD. Lead singer Joe Elliott and Swift swapped lyrics on such hit songs as "Photograph", "Hysteria", "Pour Some Sugar On Me", "Picture To Burn" and "Love Story". The DVD has special features that include extended and new interviews with the artists, and never-before-seen performances.

"CMT Crossroads: Taylor Swift And Def Leppard" DVD track listing is as follows:

01. Photograph
02. Picture To Burn
03. Love Story
04. Hysteria
05. Teardrops On My Guitar
06. When Love & Hate Collide
07. Should've Said No
08. Pour Some Sugar On Me

Exclusive Bonus Performances:

09. Our Song
10. Love
11. Two Steps Behind

"Performing with DEF LEPPARD was awesome!" said Swift. "It was the coolest thing in the world to have my band on stage with them, because for the past two years, before we go on stage we listen to DEF LEPPARD and just rock out and jump around. And then, we were playing on the same stage as they were. It was the most amazing feeling in the world, and we were all just trying to act cool the whole time."

"What an absolute pleasure it was to work with Taylor and her band who are a great set of musicians," says LEPPARD's Elliott. "Myself and Taylor blended really well together, I think, and everybody, both bands and the crowd, had a great time. I'm really glad we had the opportunity to do this."

In addition to the performances, the one-hour show featured reheasal, behind-the-scenes and interview footage.

Videos, picture galleres and information about the show can be found at CMT.com.

DEF LEPPARD and Taylor Swift join an elite group of performers who have taped "CMT Crossroads", which pairs country music stars with popular artists from other genrespop, rock, R&B to play together, swap stories, and share their common love of music. Previous episodes of "Crossroads" have included Lindsey Buckingham and LITTLE BIG TOWN; BON JOVI and SUGARLAND; John Fogerty and Keith Urban; Kelly Clarkson and Reba McEntire; Joss Stone and LeAnne Rimes; Robert Plant and Alison Krauss; and most recently MAROON 5 and Sara Evans.


Edited at: Tuesday, June 02, 2009 12:11:59 PM
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