| [Bazookajoe_666] Tuesday, June 02, 2009 12:08:40 PM | |
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Ozzy Joins "Brutal Legend" Voice Casting
According to The Escapist, the upcoming Brütal Legend game will feature the voice and likeness of BLACK SABBATH vocalist Ozzy Osbourne as The Guardian Of Metal.
At EA's E3 press conference, Double Fine studio head and Brütal Legend creator Tim Schafer announced (see video below) that Osbourne would join a cast that includes metal greats like Rob Halford (JUDAS PRIEST), Ronnie James Dio (HEAVEN & HELL, BLACK SABBATH), Lemmy Kilmister (MOTÖRHEAD) and Lita Ford.
Brütal Legend will be available for the Xbox 360 video game and entertainment system and the PlayStation computer entertainment system on October 13 in North America and on October 16 in Europe.
Brütal Legend is a third-person action game rich in combat, imagery and storytelling, delivering lighter-flicking fun sure to melt your face off.
Those ready to rock can start by visiting the newly re-launched Brütal Legend web site (www.brutallegend.com), the best source online for all things Brütal Legend, from trailers to screenshots, concept art to exclusive blogs from the Double Fine studio team, epic polls and more! Over time, the site and its content will evolve and grow, so remember to check in whenever you feel the Metal Gods calling you. Sign up for exclusive updates through the Brütal Legend newsletter, or follow Brütal Legend on Twitter for intimate access and new information nearly every day.
Brütal Legend tells the tale of Eddie Riggs, played by Jack Black. The ultimate roadie, Eddie is the first person anyone calls when they need guitars tuned or stages rigged, and has a love for hot rods and a photographic memory for every heavy metal album cover, and the lyrics those albums contained. One night, a stage accident knocks Eddie unconscious, and he awakens in a world that looks very strange yet oddly familiar, a world where every heavy metal album cover and lyric Eddie knows has come to life, and where the evil emperor Doviculus and his demon army, The Tainted Coil, have enslaved the last remaining humans. When an oppressed people request Eddie's knowledge of modern warfare, he pulls from his own experience in the only occupation he's ever had, a roadie for a heavy metal band, and under his command, this barbaric force of hot-rods, Marshall stacks, leather, and chrome will bring this ancient world into the age of metal. |
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| [Bazookajoe_666] Tuesday, June 02, 2009 12:07:09 PM | |
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Another Top Whatever List
Headbang, a Turkish rock and metal magazine which is sold as a Blue Jean magazine supplement, has published its list of top 30 heavy metal and hard rock vocalists of all time (as compiled by the magazine's writers). It is as follows:
01. Bruce Dickinson (IRON MAIDEN, BRUCE DICKINSON)
02. Ronnie James Dio (ex-ELF, ex-RAINBOW, ex-BLACK SABBATH, DIO, HEAVEN AND HELL)
03. Rob Halford (JUDAS PRIEST, FIGTH, 2WO, HALFORD)
04. Ozzy Osbourne (ex-BLACK SABBATH, OZZY OSBOURNE)
05. James Hetfield (METALLICA)
06. Mike Patton (FAITH NO MORE, MR. BUNGLE, FANTOMAS, TOMAHAWK, PEEPING TOM...)
07. Sebastian Bach (ex-SKID ROW, DAMNOCRACY, SEBASTIAN BACH)
08. Klaus Meine (SCORPIONS)
09. Bon Scott (AC/DC)
10. Blackie Lawless (W.A.S.P.)
11. King Diamond (KING DIAMOND, MERCYFUL FATE)
12. Serj Tankian (SYSTEM OF A DOWN, SERJ TANKIAN)
13. Ian Gillan (ex-EPISODE SIX, ex-BLACK SABBATH, DEEP PURPLE, GILLAN)
14. Alice Cooper (ALICE COOPER)
15. Axl Rose (GUNS N' ROSES)
16. Geoff Tate (QUEENSRŸCHE)
17. Corey Taylor (SLIPKNOT, STONE SOUR)
18. Eric Adams (MANOWAR)
19. Michael Kiske (ex-HELLOWEEN, SUPARED, AVANTASIA, PLACE VENDOME)
20. Lemmy Kilmister (ex-HAWKWIND, MOTÖRHEAD, THE HEAD CAT)
21. Jon Oliva (SAVATAGE, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, JON OLIVA'S PAIN)
22. Max Cavalera (ex-SEPULTURA, SOULFLY, NAILBOMB, THE CAVALERA CONSPIRACY)
23. Jonathan Davis (KORN, JONATHAN DAVIS)
24. Philip Anselmo (ex-PANTERA, DOWN, SUPERJOINT RITUAL, ARSON ANTHEM)
25. Udo Dirkschneider (ex-ACCEPT, U.D.O)
26. Mike Muir (SUICIDAL TENDENCIES, INFECTIOUS GROOVES, CYCO MIKO, NO MERCY)
27. Brian Johnson (AC/DC)
28. David Coverdale (WHITESNAKE, EX-DEEP PURPLE)
29. Paul Di'Anno (ex-IRON MAIDEN)
30. Jorn Lande (VAGABOND, MASTERPLAN, ARK, MILLENNIUM, BEYOND TWILIGHT, AYREON, AVANTASIA)
Launched in 1987, Blue Jean is Turkey's oldest youth and music magazine with a monthly circulation of 20-25,000.
Headbang, which was first published in March 2007, is the most popular rock and metal magazine in Turkey. It is also said to be the country's only monthly music magazine with rock and metal content. |
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| [Bazookajoe_666] Tuesday, June 02, 2009 12:05:52 PM | |
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Eddie Van Halen Interview
David Wild of RollingStone.com conducted an interview with Eddie Van Halen at the third annual Spike Guys' Choice Awards, which was taped this past Saturday night (May 30) in Culver City, California. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
RollingStone.com: The VAN HALEN tour was such a success. Were you pleasantly surprised?
Eddie Van Halen: You never know. But I do know this. Janie [ Eddie's fiancée/publicist] and I are getting married on the 27th of June, and then we'll go on a honeymoon. Then Dave [ Lee Roth], Wolfie [ Van Halen], Alex [ Van Halen] and I are going into the studio and record some new music and go on tour about a year from now.
RollingStone.com: Did the VAN HALEN tour help fire up some new musical ideas?
Eddie Van Halen: No, I am always writing, you know. But we're a true band now. It wasn't just a reunion one-off thing. I've already gone to Dave's house four or five times over the last month. I've got so much music. It's just trying to figure out what Dave's into because we haven't written together in a long time. But it's great. It feels like we've always felt in the beginning. But I'm sober, so it's different. He's sober, so it's different. It's a wonderful feeling.
RollingStone.com: Have you heard CHICKENFOOT?
Eddie Van Halen: No, I haven't.
RollingStone.com: No particular interest?
Eddie Van Halen: Well, I don't listen to anything really, for one.
RollingStone.com: You make your own music?
Eddie Van Halen: Yeah, I'm too busy doing my own thing. I wish them well. The funny thing is that everyone who quits the band always claims they got fired by me. Hey, I'm not the bad guy here. When [ Sammy] Hagar left the band, Mike [ Michael Anthony] went with him. Then when we get back together with Dave, and all of a sudden, he wants back in. It's like, "No, dude, you quit the band." So my son became the bass player. But we didn't give Mike the boot to have my son play. He was around. We didn't have a bass player. "Hey Wolfie, you want to play?"
Read the entire interview from RollingStone.com. |
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| [Bazookajoe_666] Tuesday, June 02, 2009 12:03:50 PM | |
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Paul Di'Anno "Comments" On Iron Maiden
Former IRON MAIDEN singer Paul Di'Anno took part in a press conference last month during his solo tour of Argentina. When asked about the rumors that his drug use had something to do with his split with IRON MAIDEN, Di'Anno responded, "Where the fuck do you people get this from? I left IRON MAIDEN because they were going too heavy metal, and IRON MAIDEN is a money-making machine, and I don't give a fuck about it. It was not about drugs; it was nothing like that. Me and Steve [Harris]... I [wrote] the song 'Killers', Steve had [what he thought] were better songs. I thought his songs were shit. Nothing to do with drugs; nothing whatsoever. Check your facts or otherwise this interview is over... I hate that! I fucking hate that! Because people... You say something but you don't know. Well, I'm telling you. IRON MAIDEN is Steve Harris' band. It doesn't matter about anybody else — whether it's Dave Murray, Clive [Burr], me... it's Steve Harris' band and all it is is money, money, money, money — nobody else counts. And I wrote fuckin' 20-times better songs than his, but I only got one song on the 'Killers' album because it's Steve's — he must have this. Fuckin' Adolf Hitler. I'm not interested. So there you go. But you need to take drugs when you're with IRON MAIDEN because they're so fucking boring. And the only drugs were aspirin, because Steve [making hand gesture as if someone is speaking into his ear]... Fuckin' headache."
Video footage of the question-and-answer session can be viewed below. (Note: The above quote can be heard starting at around the six-minute, 25-second mark.)
In a recent interview with PyroMusic.net, Paul Di'Anno stated about the status of his new solo album, "We started to record it last year in Germany, but have since had some business problems associated with the production company involved with this project, so I may start another new album quite soon now. At the moment I am just concentrating on touring, as this is taking up 100% of my time right now."
Regarding his autobiography, entitled "The Beast", which came out several years ago, Di'Anno said, "Well, I thought if I am gonna write an autobiography, then I had better go for it with nothing held back. I didn't want it to be just another one of those poncy, pampering my ego autobiography rock books, where I would spend the whole time trying to fucking congratulate myself like so many others, so I just told it like it was. Also I was fucking sick and tired of every other fucker writing whatever they felt like writing about me, so this was a way of shutting them all up and telling them all to fuck off. After it was released, I got some mixed reactions, but generally it has worked for me as putting my life out there as it was." |
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| [Bazookajoe_666] Tuesday, June 02, 2009 12:01:51 PM | |
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Read the whole article.
[Show/Hide Quoted Message] (Quoting Message by kiamat from Friday, May 29, 2009 3:50:12 PM)| |  | kiamat wrote: | | Everyone knows Tony Iommi is the heart and soul of Sabbath. Anyhow, if Ozzy's going to get an interest and profits, why not Geezer or Bill Ward? Ozzys voice I can take or leave, its the heaviness of all the intruments that made the music what it was.
| | | Head banger wrote: | | what an ass.
| | | Bazooka Joe wrote: | | Ozzy Files Lawsuit Against Tony Iommi For "Black Sabbath" Name
According to the New York Post, Ozzy Osbourne has filed a lawsuit against his BLACK SABBATH bandmate Tony Iommi, claiming that Iommi illegally took sole ownership of the band's name in a filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Osbourne is suing Iommi for a 50 percent interest in the "Black Sabbath" trademark, along with a portion of Iommi's profits from use of the name.
The Manhattan federal court suit also charges that Osbourne's "signature lead vocals" are largely responsible for the band's "extraordinary success," noting that its popularity plummeted during his absence from 1980 through 1996.
Ozzy's suit follows one filed by Iommi in December 2008 against Live Nation. In that filing, Iommi claims the concert giant sold merchandise bearing the band's logo, despite the 2006 expiration of a merchandising deal, reportedly worth nearly $80 million. Soon after that agreement concluded, Iommi reclaimed the band's trademark.
Iommi's suit argues Live Nation continued to sell more than 100 items of merchandise featuring the band's likeness, name and logo, despite the receipt of cease-and-desist orders from the guitarist's camp. Iommi's suit seeks damages in the amount of three times the profits from the merchandise sales, plus a halt to the BLACK SABBATH product sales.
Iommi and Geezer Butler have both said some less than kind things about working with Osbourne in a new interview with Decibel magazine. The pair recently completed a new studio album as HEAVEN & HELL, the post-Ozzy version of SABBATH featuring vocalist Ronnie James Dio, and Butler said that working with Dio was much easier than Osbourne. He explained, "Ronnie's a songwriter in his own right — he's got tons of ideas. Whereas Ozzy . . . in the old days, he'd come up with a vocal line and I'd write the lyrics. Ronnie is 100 percent involved in both the musical side and the vocal side, and he writes his own lyrics as well."
Butler added that Osbourne didn't take him seriously as a songwriter, saying, "If we were with Ozzy and I came in with the killer riff of all time, Ozzy wouldn't even think of doing it because I'm not the guitarist and that's the way he thinks . . . That's why it was so bloody hard to write anything."
Butler said about HEAVEN & HELL's debut CD, "The Devil You Know", "If we'd written this album with Ozzy, we'd still be working on the first track."
Iommi added that there was a sharp difference between the singers live as well, saying, "It was great being with Ozzy on the road . . . but with Ronnie it's a lot different, because we go out and we know exactly what we're gonna be doing. With Ozzy, we didn't really know. It was touch and go sometimes on some of those early shows, whether he was gonna turn up, if he'd be able to sing, if his voice was gone, or what. We'd have to cancel shows, which Geezer and myself really hated. But with Ronnie, we've never canceled a show."
HEAVEN & HELL will tour Europe later this spring and summer, with North American dates scheduled for August.
Ozzy Osbourne is currently working on his next solo album.
Tony Iommi's filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office:
BLACK SABBATH "reunion" promotional photo (1999):
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| [Metallark] Friday, May 29, 2009 6:58:15 PM | |
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Good point MG!
As much as I enjoy OZZY as a vocalist I think Iommi's creativity is the stamp on Sabbath. |
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| [~ MG_Metalgoddess~] Friday, May 29, 2009 4:24:22 PM | |
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Like does OZZY even remember being in Sabbath,,,,, 
[Show/Hide Quoted Message] (Quoting Message by Head banger from Friday, May 29, 2009 12:44:04 PM)| | | Head banger wrote: | | what an ass.
| | | Bazooka Joe wrote: | | Ozzy Files Lawsuit Against Tony Iommi For "Black Sabbath" Name
According to the New York Post, Ozzy Osbourne has filed a lawsuit against his BLACK SABBATH bandmate Tony Iommi, claiming that Iommi illegally took sole ownership of the band's name in a filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Osbourne is suing Iommi for a 50 percent interest in the "Black Sabbath" trademark, along with a portion of Iommi's profits from use of the name.
The Manhattan federal court suit also charges that Osbourne's "signature lead vocals" are largely responsible for the band's "extraordinary success," noting that its popularity plummeted during his absence from 1980 through 1996.
Ozzy's suit follows one filed by Iommi in December 2008 against Live Nation. In that filing, Iommi claims the concert giant sold merchandise bearing the band's logo, despite the 2006 expiration of a merchandising deal, reportedly worth nearly $80 million. Soon after that agreement concluded, Iommi reclaimed the band's trademark.
Iommi's suit argues Live Nation continued to sell more than 100 items of merchandise featuring the band's likeness, name and logo, despite the receipt of cease-and-desist orders from the guitarist's camp. Iommi's suit seeks damages in the amount of three times the profits from the merchandise sales, plus a halt to the BLACK SABBATH product sales.
Iommi and Geezer Butler have both said some less than kind things about working with Osbourne in a new interview with Decibel magazine. The pair recently completed a new studio album as HEAVEN & HELL, the post-Ozzy version of SABBATH featuring vocalist Ronnie James Dio, and Butler said that working with Dio was much easier than Osbourne. He explained, "Ronnie's a songwriter in his own right — he's got tons of ideas. Whereas Ozzy . . . in the old days, he'd come up with a vocal line and I'd write the lyrics. Ronnie is 100 percent involved in both the musical side and the vocal side, and he writes his own lyrics as well."
Butler added that Osbourne didn't take him seriously as a songwriter, saying, "If we were with Ozzy and I came in with the killer riff of all time, Ozzy wouldn't even think of doing it because I'm not the guitarist and that's the way he thinks . . . That's why it was so bloody hard to write anything."
Butler said about HEAVEN & HELL's debut CD, "The Devil You Know", "If we'd written this album with Ozzy, we'd still be working on the first track."
Iommi added that there was a sharp difference between the singers live as well, saying, "It was great being with Ozzy on the road . . . but with Ronnie it's a lot different, because we go out and we know exactly what we're gonna be doing. With Ozzy, we didn't really know. It was touch and go sometimes on some of those early shows, whether he was gonna turn up, if he'd be able to sing, if his voice was gone, or what. We'd have to cancel shows, which Geezer and myself really hated. But with Ronnie, we've never canceled a show."
HEAVEN & HELL will tour Europe later this spring and summer, with North American dates scheduled for August.
Ozzy Osbourne is currently working on his next solo album.
Tony Iommi's filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office:
BLACK SABBATH "reunion" promotional photo (1999):
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| [kiamat] Friday, May 29, 2009 3:50:12 PM | |
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Everyone knows Tony Iommi is the heart and soul of Sabbath. Anyhow, if Ozzy's going to get an interest and profits, why not Geezer or Bill Ward? Ozzys voice I can take or leave, its the heaviness of all the intruments that made the music what it was.
[Show/Hide Quoted Message] (Quoting Message by Head banger from Friday, May 29, 2009 12:44:04 PM)| | | Head banger wrote: | | what an ass.
| | | Bazooka Joe wrote: | | Ozzy Files Lawsuit Against Tony Iommi For "Black Sabbath" Name
According to the New York Post, Ozzy Osbourne has filed a lawsuit against his BLACK SABBATH bandmate Tony Iommi, claiming that Iommi illegally took sole ownership of the band's name in a filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Osbourne is suing Iommi for a 50 percent interest in the "Black Sabbath" trademark, along with a portion of Iommi's profits from use of the name.
The Manhattan federal court suit also charges that Osbourne's "signature lead vocals" are largely responsible for the band's "extraordinary success," noting that its popularity plummeted during his absence from 1980 through 1996.
Ozzy's suit follows one filed by Iommi in December 2008 against Live Nation. In that filing, Iommi claims the concert giant sold merchandise bearing the band's logo, despite the 2006 expiration of a merchandising deal, reportedly worth nearly $80 million. Soon after that agreement concluded, Iommi reclaimed the band's trademark.
Iommi's suit argues Live Nation continued to sell more than 100 items of merchandise featuring the band's likeness, name and logo, despite the receipt of cease-and-desist orders from the guitarist's camp. Iommi's suit seeks damages in the amount of three times the profits from the merchandise sales, plus a halt to the BLACK SABBATH product sales.
Iommi and Geezer Butler have both said some less than kind things about working with Osbourne in a new interview with Decibel magazine. The pair recently completed a new studio album as HEAVEN & HELL, the post-Ozzy version of SABBATH featuring vocalist Ronnie James Dio, and Butler said that working with Dio was much easier than Osbourne. He explained, "Ronnie's a songwriter in his own right — he's got tons of ideas. Whereas Ozzy . . . in the old days, he'd come up with a vocal line and I'd write the lyrics. Ronnie is 100 percent involved in both the musical side and the vocal side, and he writes his own lyrics as well."
Butler added that Osbourne didn't take him seriously as a songwriter, saying, "If we were with Ozzy and I came in with the killer riff of all time, Ozzy wouldn't even think of doing it because I'm not the guitarist and that's the way he thinks . . . That's why it was so bloody hard to write anything."
Butler said about HEAVEN & HELL's debut CD, "The Devil You Know", "If we'd written this album with Ozzy, we'd still be working on the first track."
Iommi added that there was a sharp difference between the singers live as well, saying, "It was great being with Ozzy on the road . . . but with Ronnie it's a lot different, because we go out and we know exactly what we're gonna be doing. With Ozzy, we didn't really know. It was touch and go sometimes on some of those early shows, whether he was gonna turn up, if he'd be able to sing, if his voice was gone, or what. We'd have to cancel shows, which Geezer and myself really hated. But with Ronnie, we've never canceled a show."
HEAVEN & HELL will tour Europe later this spring and summer, with North American dates scheduled for August.
Ozzy Osbourne is currently working on his next solo album.
Tony Iommi's filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office:
BLACK SABBATH "reunion" promotional photo (1999):
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| [Head banger] Friday, May 29, 2009 12:44:04 PM | |
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what an ass.
[Show/Hide Quoted Message] (Quoting Message by Bazooka Joe from Friday, May 29, 2009 12:16:31 PM)| | | Bazooka Joe wrote: | | Ozzy Files Lawsuit Against Tony Iommi For "Black Sabbath" Name
According to the New York Post, Ozzy Osbourne has filed a lawsuit against his BLACK SABBATH bandmate Tony Iommi, claiming that Iommi illegally took sole ownership of the band's name in a filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Osbourne is suing Iommi for a 50 percent interest in the "Black Sabbath" trademark, along with a portion of Iommi's profits from use of the name.
The Manhattan federal court suit also charges that Osbourne's "signature lead vocals" are largely responsible for the band's "extraordinary success," noting that its popularity plummeted during his absence from 1980 through 1996.
Ozzy's suit follows one filed by Iommi in December 2008 against Live Nation. In that filing, Iommi claims the concert giant sold merchandise bearing the band's logo, despite the 2006 expiration of a merchandising deal, reportedly worth nearly $80 million. Soon after that agreement concluded, Iommi reclaimed the band's trademark.
Iommi's suit argues Live Nation continued to sell more than 100 items of merchandise featuring the band's likeness, name and logo, despite the receipt of cease-and-desist orders from the guitarist's camp. Iommi's suit seeks damages in the amount of three times the profits from the merchandise sales, plus a halt to the BLACK SABBATH product sales.
Iommi and Geezer Butler have both said some less than kind things about working with Osbourne in a new interview with Decibel magazine. The pair recently completed a new studio album as HEAVEN & HELL, the post-Ozzy version of SABBATH featuring vocalist Ronnie James Dio, and Butler said that working with Dio was much easier than Osbourne. He explained, "Ronnie's a songwriter in his own right — he's got tons of ideas. Whereas Ozzy . . . in the old days, he'd come up with a vocal line and I'd write the lyrics. Ronnie is 100 percent involved in both the musical side and the vocal side, and he writes his own lyrics as well."
Butler added that Osbourne didn't take him seriously as a songwriter, saying, "If we were with Ozzy and I came in with the killer riff of all time, Ozzy wouldn't even think of doing it because I'm not the guitarist and that's the way he thinks . . . That's why it was so bloody hard to write anything."
Butler said about HEAVEN & HELL's debut CD, "The Devil You Know", "If we'd written this album with Ozzy, we'd still be working on the first track."
Iommi added that there was a sharp difference between the singers live as well, saying, "It was great being with Ozzy on the road . . . but with Ronnie it's a lot different, because we go out and we know exactly what we're gonna be doing. With Ozzy, we didn't really know. It was touch and go sometimes on some of those early shows, whether he was gonna turn up, if he'd be able to sing, if his voice was gone, or what. We'd have to cancel shows, which Geezer and myself really hated. But with Ronnie, we've never canceled a show."
HEAVEN & HELL will tour Europe later this spring and summer, with North American dates scheduled for August.
Ozzy Osbourne is currently working on his next solo album.
Tony Iommi's filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office:
BLACK SABBATH "reunion" promotional photo (1999):
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| [Bazookajoe_666] Friday, May 29, 2009 12:19:30 PM | |
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New Steve Vai Boxset To Be Released
Legendary guitarist Steve Vai will release his famed "Naked Tracks" on CD for the first time in early June. Previously sold on Vai.com and iTunes as downloads only, Vai wanted to give his fans and players of all ages something special — an excellent practice tool for any guitarist.
Commented Vai: "Through the years, whenever I would mix my records I would usually do a mix of specific songs without the lead guitar. This allowed me to play along with the track or make loops to jam to, and because I figured perhaps some day maybe others would like to do the same. Voila! We have arrived at some day!"
"Naked Tracks" is housed in a special limited-edition digipack box set. This series of play-along CDs is designed to help create an atmosphere of focus so you can shred yourself into a personally-induced inspirational nirvana. Included in the set are five CDs featuring backing tracks from the following albums:
* "Passion And Warfare"
* "Sex & Religion"
* "Alien Love Secrets"
* "Fire Garden"
* "The Ultra Zone"
* "Alive In An Ultra World"
* "Real Illusions: Reflections"
You can download the liner notes, transcripts, tab, lead sheet and scores all available soon at www.vai.com/nakedtracks. Here Vai will give the various parameters regarding the key, scale, time signature and more of each track as well as guitar solo transcripts and tabs.
Steve Vai is one of the most influential guitarists of our time. The "Naked Tracks" box-set is a testament to his vanguard approach and creative mindset. This box set is a must-have for the aspiring guitarist, the seasoned guitarist and for all Steve Vai collectors.
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| [Bazookajoe_666] Friday, May 29, 2009 12:16:31 PM | |
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Ozzy Files Lawsuit Against Tony Iommi For "Black Sabbath" Name
According to the New York Post, Ozzy Osbourne has filed a lawsuit against his BLACK SABBATH bandmate Tony Iommi, claiming that Iommi illegally took sole ownership of the band's name in a filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office.
Osbourne is suing Iommi for a 50 percent interest in the "Black Sabbath" trademark, along with a portion of Iommi's profits from use of the name.
The Manhattan federal court suit also charges that Osbourne's "signature lead vocals" are largely responsible for the band's "extraordinary success," noting that its popularity plummeted during his absence from 1980 through 1996.
Ozzy's suit follows one filed by Iommi in December 2008 against Live Nation. In that filing, Iommi claims the concert giant sold merchandise bearing the band's logo, despite the 2006 expiration of a merchandising deal, reportedly worth nearly $80 million. Soon after that agreement concluded, Iommi reclaimed the band's trademark.
Iommi's suit argues Live Nation continued to sell more than 100 items of merchandise featuring the band's likeness, name and logo, despite the receipt of cease-and-desist orders from the guitarist's camp. Iommi's suit seeks damages in the amount of three times the profits from the merchandise sales, plus a halt to the BLACK SABBATH product sales.
Iommi and Geezer Butler have both said some less than kind things about working with Osbourne in a new interview with Decibel magazine. The pair recently completed a new studio album as HEAVEN & HELL, the post-Ozzy version of SABBATH featuring vocalist Ronnie James Dio, and Butler said that working with Dio was much easier than Osbourne. He explained, "Ronnie's a songwriter in his own right — he's got tons of ideas. Whereas Ozzy . . . in the old days, he'd come up with a vocal line and I'd write the lyrics. Ronnie is 100 percent involved in both the musical side and the vocal side, and he writes his own lyrics as well."
Butler added that Osbourne didn't take him seriously as a songwriter, saying, "If we were with Ozzy and I came in with the killer riff of all time, Ozzy wouldn't even think of doing it because I'm not the guitarist and that's the way he thinks . . . That's why it was so bloody hard to write anything."
Butler said about HEAVEN & HELL's debut CD, "The Devil You Know", "If we'd written this album with Ozzy, we'd still be working on the first track."
Iommi added that there was a sharp difference between the singers live as well, saying, "It was great being with Ozzy on the road . . . but with Ronnie it's a lot different, because we go out and we know exactly what we're gonna be doing. With Ozzy, we didn't really know. It was touch and go sometimes on some of those early shows, whether he was gonna turn up, if he'd be able to sing, if his voice was gone, or what. We'd have to cancel shows, which Geezer and myself really hated. But with Ronnie, we've never canceled a show."
HEAVEN & HELL will tour Europe later this spring and summer, with North American dates scheduled for August.
Ozzy Osbourne is currently working on his next solo album.
Tony Iommi's filing with the U.S. Patent and Trademark Office:
BLACK SABBATH "reunion" promotional photo (1999):
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| [ron h] Thursday, May 28, 2009 7:07:01 PM | |
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Press Release
May 28, 2009
METAL GOD ROB HALFORD LAUNCHES METAL GOD RECORDS
ROB HALFORD ATTENDING E-3 ELECTRONIC ENTERTAINMENT EXPO
ROB HALFORD MEETING ALL NARM ATTENDEES THIS SUMMER
Metal God Entertainment and Rob Halford are pleased to announce the launch of Metal God Records - a new music label providing global physical and digital distribution services for the world's Rock and Metal performers.
'It's been a long desire of mine to be a co-owner and participate in the operation of a label focused on supporting the Rock and Metal communities,' explains Rob Halford. 'The infrastructure we have been assembling at Metal God Entertainment now allows myself and other artists to benefit from Metal God Records global physical and digital distribution networks, promotion and marketing services, apparel products and a broad range of Artist & Repertoire services.'
Metal God Entertainment and Rob Halford are also pleased to announce several new strategic relationships aligned with Metal God Records beginning with - ADA Global / Warner Music Group for the world excluding Japan; which is under license with Sony Music Japan; Canada operating under license with Conveyor / Universal Music Canada and beginning July 2009 in the USA Metal God Records is pleased to begin a new relationship with Fontana / Universal Music Group.
Metal God Records will debut Halford Crucible World Tour - Live In Anaheim DVD & Blu Ray Fall 2009.
Rob Halford will be appearing in Los Angeles, CA at the E-3 Electronic Entertainment Expo June 2 & 3.
Rob Halford will also be appearing in San Diego, CA at the NARM (The National Association of Recording Merchandisers) Convention June 7, 2009.
Please visit: www.MetalGodRecords.com and www.RobHalford.com for additional Halford news and release details. |
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| [Bazookajoe_666] Thursday, May 28, 2009 10:45:08 AM | |
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Metallica Comment On Upcoming DVD Shoots
METALLICA has posted the following message on the band's official web site:
"There's been a little chatter here and there about us filming a few shows this summer for potential release on DVD and among the countless Internet rumors, these ones are actually true! We thought it would be cool to document a few shows that are unique and sure to be extra memorable for us, and hopefully for you too . . . First up are the three sold out shows in Mexico City, Mexico at Foro Sol on June 4, 6, 7 and later this summer, we also plan to have the cameras rolling at the sold-out show in Nimes, France at Arenes de Nimes, the historic Roman amphitheatre where we'll be on July 7. For any METALLICA friends going to these shows, bring your war faces and don't be scared of the cameras!!"
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".
The band, recently inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame, continues to tour behind "Death Magnetic", which has sold 1.77 million copies in the United States, according to Nielsen SoundScan. They'll play Europe throughout the summer before returning to North America in the fall.
Paul Rodgers To Spend 2009 Writing New Material
Apart from a brief set of summer dates with BAD COMPANY, Paul Rodgers says that he plans on spending the rest of 2009 at home relaxing and working on solo material. "Frankly, I have a fantastic happy home (laughs) and I overlook the lake," he tells The Pulse of Radio. "And I actually want to spend some more time creating the music. Y'know, one of my dreams was always to have a piano — a room with a piano overlooking the ocean or a lake. Well, I have that and I'd like to spend some time on it if I may, please. So that's what I plan to do this year."
Rodgers recently announced that he has parted ways with Brian May and Roger Taylor of QUEEN, ending their five-year association. Rumors began spreading when after last year's European dates behind their first studio album together, "The Cosmos Rocks", the band failed to announce any North American dates. Rodgers told Billboard, "At this point we're gonna sit back from this. My arrangement with (May and Taylor) was similar to my arrangement with Jimmy Page in THE FIRM in that it was never meant to be a permanent arrangement."
Rodgers, who'll be reuniting with BAD COMPANY this summer for a string of dates, added that he was ultimately proud of his association with QUEEN, saying, "I think we made a huge success of it, actually. We did two world tours and a couple of live recordings, and . . . made a studio album which was pretty historical for (them) because they hadn't really gone in the studio with anybody and recorded something like that for a very long time. So it was quite an achievement, I think."
He went on to say, "There were some fantastic emails we received that almost had me in tears . . . There were a lot of younger people who had given up the idea they'd ever see anything like QUEEN live again, and there it was, full-on. When Brian first called up and said, 'Do you fancy a couple dates, just for fun, in Europe, I said 'great' — and it turned into so much more than that."
Rodgers explained that he drew the line this summer when BAD COMPANY suggested that the band hit the road for longer than their 10-date reunion trek. "They did sort of want a sort of full on four-month tour," he said. "And I said, I'd rather keep it — I just came off a massive QUEEN tour, and to cut a long story short, I like to keep my touring brief. Y'know, short and sweet and I learned that lesson many years ago. And I went out with QUEEN for three or four months, and I thought (laughs), "Yeah, this is the last time I go out for three or four months.' I'm gonna go out and keep it short and sweet, so that's what we're doing here."
BAD COMPANY with special guests the DOOBIE BROTHERS kick off their summer dates on June 19 in Atlanta at Chastain Park Amphitheatre.
On August 8, the band will release their new concert DVD, "Bad Company - Hard Rock Live", which will be also be available exclusively at shows during the concert run. Prior to their one performance in 2008, the band had not performed together in nearly a decade.
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| [Bazookajoe_666] Thursday, May 28, 2009 10:40:29 AM | |
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Zakk Wylde On... Everything!
Gibson.com recently conducted an interview with Zakk Wylde ( BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, OZZY OSBOURNE). A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
On songwriting:
Zakk: "I don't just write lyrics; I write about things that are real to me. Let me tell you something that was hysterical. I was working on 'Down to Earth' with Ozzy and they brought in these professional songwriters. Meanwhile, I'm writing all these songs that later went into BLACK LABEL — like 'Love Reign Down', with that power riff that Ozzy sounds great singing over it, which was about my mother passing away, and 'Bleed for Me', which is about God … But what do I know. I guess I'm not a real songwriter, because these guys, I shit you not, decided to write a love song for Ozzy and came up with: 'Girl, you are so pretty/girl, you are so fine/girl, I brought you this flower/girl, would you be mine?' And Ozz is just sitting there saying nothing, and I'm saying, 'You're joking, right? Am I getting punked?' The truth is everybody just wants to get their two cents in, if they've earned it or not. I laugh when I go into a music store and there's a title called 'How to Write Songs'. You can't teach someone how to write a song. Angus Young didn't read a couple books to learn how to write 'Hells Bells'. All the bands and musicians I grew up on and loved, like LED ZEPPELIN and JIMI HENDRIX … it's their names that are on their songs. That's the beauty of buying a record by a real artist. GUNS N' ROSES' 'Appetite for Destruction' was written by GUNS N' ROSES, not some weak-asses like those lame songwriters for AEROSMITH. AEROSMITH wrote great songs like 'Dream On' and 'Back in the Saddle' when they were on booze and drugs. Next thing you know, they get sober and bring songwriters in and then it's the most watered down s***. If you can't write songs you're just a puppet as phony as BRITNEY SPEARS and all those boy bands. If you can't sit behind a piano or pick up a guitar and write a song, then you don't have any business making records."
On METALLICA and "Some Kind of Monster":
Zakk: "When I saw the guys, I said, 'What were you thinkin'?' Who needs a psychiatrist? Like I need marriage counseling? I've been married for 24 years. Look, I'm gonna get in fights with the wife and that's life, man. You got the high and the lows. You're in a band, you're gonna fight, you're gonna get over it or it wasn't meant to be any more. The bottom line is this: Tough times don't last; tough people do. Once Mom sent me to Promises rehab. I said, ' Promises rehab?' I'll make you a promise right now: either I'm going to cap myself or some mother is going to die in this joint.' And one of the bylaws of BLACK LABEL is 'suicide is not an option.' I got in there and had no time for those weak-willed assholes. One guy said he just couldn't get out of bed in the morning to get to the group therapy meetings. I said, 'Hey, sometimes I don't want to get up on that stage but you get your damn jock strap on, you man up, and you do it.' I've got no time for weak-willed bull****. I was cut from the same cloth as General Patton. Hey, lions are born lions. They are not made. Berserkers are born berserkers. They are not made. Marines are born Marines. They are not made. Get tough or get out."
Read the entire interview from Gibson.com. |
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| [Bazookajoe_666] Thursday, May 28, 2009 10:37:19 AM | |
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Steven Adler On GNR Reuion (It isn't happening just so you don't get your hopes up)
A BLABBERMOUTH.NET visitor by the name of Phillip O'Brien has submitted the following report:
Original GUNS N' ROSES drummer Steven Adler is still holding out for a reunion with the band's "Appetite For Destruction" lineup.
Adler, currently on a drum-clinic tour of Australia presented by Allans Music, answered a number of questions to fans at the Sydney clinic last night (Wednesday, May 27).
Most queries had to do with Adler's relationship with GN'R frontman Axl Rose and whether Steven is hopeful of a reunion.
Adler didn't hold back.
"Axl is being a real selfish prick about it," he said. "Forget about the original band for a second. Axl's not thinking about the fans. The fans want a reunion desperately. It's really sad because we are all still alive and I know there's so many people that want to see us. I hope Axl gets it together soon while the fans still want it."
Adler praised Axl Rose for his past efforts.
"Axl is a genius and I still love the guy," he insisted. "Last time we met — about two three years ago — things were great. We shared a $3000 bottle of tequila and things went smooth.
"I really hope for the fans that we do a reunion tour."
Adler said he'll return home from Australia later this week where he'll record a track on the upcoming solo album by former GN'R member Slash.
"I'm so happy that Slash asked me to be on this album and I record with him as soon as I return home," he said. "After that I'm going to hit the recording studio with (ADLER'S APPETITE) to do a new album. We'll be touring the U.S. after that.”
On his first drum kit:
"My first drum kit was actually my mother's Tupperware. I couldn't afford drums when I was a kid. I bought my first set of drums off a friend at school."
On his favourite GUNS N' ROSES song:
"I'd have to say 'Nightrain'. So much adrenaline rushes through me when I play that."
On whether he still listens to "Appetite For Destruction":
"All the time. I can never get sick of that."
On getting kicked out of GUNS N' ROSES:
"It was devastating. My dream had been taken away from me. Saddest part was I had their backs; we were a gang. There were so many times when I had their backs. I used to get into fights at bars defending them. We we a gang. I guess the hardest part was Slash not having my back. We were childhood friends and that was the hardest part not having Slash's back when I got kicked out. But my grandfather told me a good piece of advice and that's time heals all wounds. I'm excited to have Slash back as a friend and to be working with him again." |
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| [Bazookajoe_666] Wednesday, May 27, 2009 12:31:24 PM | |
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Rob Halford Discusses new Live Record
Gary Graff of Billboard.com reports: JUDAS PRIEST has chosen 10 songs not previously released in live album form for its next concert set — "A Touch of Evil: Live", which is due out July 14, in the midst of the band's U.S. summer tour.
"A Touch of Evil" includes live renderings of longtime fan favorites such as "Painkiller", "Dissident Aggressor", "Riding on the Wind", "Between the Hammer & the Anvil" and "Eat Me Alive", as well as "Hellrider" from "Angel of Retribution", the group's 2004 reunion album with frontman Rob Halford, and two tracks — "Death" and "Prophecy" — from last year's rock opera "Nostradamus".
"I love those songs," Halford tells Billboard.com. "All of those songs just crush. Because they've never been recorded live in this way, it's just something fresh to put out. And when you listen to it and think this band has been around for three decades, with a combined age of 250-something years...I mean, how cool is that? It's a very fierce record and just captures the band's attitude and feeling in a very strong, determined way."
Read the entire article from Billboard.com.
Recorded by Martin Walker and Brian Thorene during JUDAS PRIEST's mammoth 2005 and 2008 world tours, "A Touch Of Evil: Live" marks the first PRIEST album that producer Tom Allom has worked on since 1988 (co-producing along with the band). It was such Allom-produced albums as the aforementioned "Unleashed In The East", as well as "British Steel" and "Screaming For Vengeance" (among others) that made PRIEST not only one of the premier metal acts, but one of the leading global rock acts.
"A Touch Of Evil: Live" track listing:
01. Judas Rising
02. Hellrider
03. Between The Hammer & The Anvil
04. Riding On The Wind
05. Death
06. Beyond The Realms Of Death
07. Dissident Aggressor
08. A Touch Of Evil
09. Eat Me Alive
10. Prophecy
11. Painkiller |
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| [Bazookajoe_666] Wednesday, May 27, 2009 12:13:58 PM | |
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Tony Iommi Discusses The Devil You Know
Robert Gray of Ultimate-Guitar.com recently conducted an interview with HEAVEN & HELL / BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi as part of a series entitled "Hit The Lights." Topics of discussion included the HEAVEN & HELL album "The Devil You Know", working at Rockfield Studios, reuniting with Ronnie James Dio, and what has prevented the recording of a new BLACK SABBATH album with Ozzy Osbourne. Several excerpts from the interview follow below:
On how "The Devil You Know" came to fruition:
"We toured Japan as part of our last trek, and went out for dinner. We began chatting, and had a few drinks. Someone said, 'Does anybody fancy writing a new album?' and everyone replied, 'Yeah, that's an idea. Why don't we do that?' Really, that's how 'The Devil You Know' started."
On how things developed following initial writing sessions for "The Devil You Know":
"We just wrote some material at my studio — 'Breaking Into Heaven' was the first track we wrote, I think. I just then continued to write some riffs and gather some ideas, placing them onto a CD. The other members did the same. We agreed to meet up in Los Angeles, due to the simple reason that Geezer, Ronnie and Vinny are all based in Los Angeles. It made more sense for me to travel to Los Angeles, as opposed to everyone travelling to England. I travelled to Los Angeles, and we then just all presented our ideas. We listened to all our ideas in a room, and said, 'Yeah, let's work on this idea.' When we finished writing 'The Devil You Know' in Los Angeles, we went into a pre-production stage where we played everything live, and just kept on playing that material until we got used to playing each song. When we went to Wales, we could just enter the studio, and play those songs. We didn't have to play those songs five to six times, as we knew them, and could play them within the first two takes. That was the great thing about recording 'The Devil You Know'."
On "The Devil You Know" featuring many mid-paced tracks:
"Yeah, we did write a few mid-paced tracks. If you listen back to a lot of our material, you'll realize that it's very similarly mid-paced. Not everything we've written has been fast, though I think people seem to think that we always write fast tracks. We don't. We might include two to three quick tracks on an album, but that's usually about it. We've never written a whole album with solely fast material. We always wrote a selection of slow and fast songs, and that's really what we did in writing 'The Devil You Know''s tracks. We wrote two to three fast songs, while the the rest are mid-tempo. We could write an album of fast songs, but what we do is write material that we like at the time."
On what has prevented a new BLACK SABBATH album being recorded with Ozzy Osbourne:
"Really, one of the problems was communication, and being able to get down to work onto a new album. Ozzy had all these ongoing MTV projects, and various other projects. If you're going to record an album, you've got to channel all your concentration into that. You can't spend a day recording an album, spend another day handling a TV project, and spend another day conducting interviews. You've got to move onwards, and record an album. You have to channel your mind into recording that album, and become involved in making that album. You have to give a hundred percent commitment. Otherwise, it isn't worth making an album."
On bassist Geezer Butler stating that scrapped BLACK SABBATH material resembled Ozzy Osbourne's solo material:
"That's possible, though I can't remember. Ozzy has recorded a lot of solo material, and one of the problems with him is the fact that he tends to combine his solo career into what we're up to. We don't want our sound to be the same as his solo material. Sometimes he treated BLACK SABBATH like that, and we're not that type of group."
On whether HEAVEN & HELL will perform all of the tracks from "Heaven and Hell" during 2010 to celebrate its thirtieth anniversary:
"We might perform all of 'Heaven and Hell''s tracks live. To be honest, time creeps up on you so quickly that you forget how long it's been. The first SABBATH album was released nearly forty years ago."
Read the entire interview at Ultimate-Guitar.com. |
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| [Bazookajoe_666] Wednesday, May 27, 2009 12:10:04 PM | |
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LONG ass Tony Iommi Interview
In one of the most revealing and candid musician-to-musician interviews ever recorded, "Face To Face" host Rick Wakeman holds court with his longtime friend, the guitar icon Tony Iommi, who is best known as the founding member of pioneering heavy metal band BLACK SABBATH. Although it was over 30 years ago when Wakeman was asked to contribute his keyboard skills on BLACK SABBATH's legendary "Sabbath, Bloody Sabbath" album, the pair reminisce with ease, as Rick gathers the evidence on why Tony Iommi is widely recognized as one of the most important and influential guitarists in rock music. He is, after all, considered to be the man who, more or less, single-handedly invented the heavy metal riff.
Some phenomenal rock and roll anecdotage follows; recalling tales of his school years with Ozzy Osbourne, their evolving friendship, his early influences and the formation of SABBATH. Iommi explains some of the more unknown mechanics behind their writing and recording methods, right from their initial explosion into the industry, through to the relentless touring across the world, the drink, the drugs, the highs, the lows, the boozing on aeroplanes and the hedonistic happenings surrounding the departure of Ozzy from SABBATH in 1979.
Tony Iommi sets the record straight on some of the myths surrounding Ozzy's exit and the subsequent survival and success for SABBATH during the years before they reunited with him in the '90s. Iommi delivers the hilarious account of when he witnessed the unique meeting of Brian Wilson of the BEACH BOYS and Ozzy backstage at Buckingham Palace (a concert to celebrate the Queen's Golden Jubilee in 2002) and brings us up to speed on how it feels to be working with Ronnie James Dio, Geezer Butler, and Vinny Appice in the acclaimed HEAVEN & HELL band.
To view the entire 60-minute episode, visit www.rockondigital.com.
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| [kiamat] Sunday, May 24, 2009 9:08:24 AM | |
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Nicko on Radio 1 Rock Show Monday
Check out the Radio 1 Rock Show on Monday night (25th May) for a Nicko McBrain interview! You can listen live or podcast the show highlights via http://www.bbc.co.uk/radio1/rockshow/
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| [Bazookajoe_666] Thursday, May 21, 2009 12:42:34 PM | |
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Kerry King Interview
California thrashers SLAYER are putting the finishing touches on their new album with producer Greg Fidelman for a late summer release via American Recordings/Sony BMG. The forthcoming CD will include the song "Psychopathy Red", 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 Tuesday, 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."
On upcoming Canadian mini-tour with MEGADETH and MACHINE HEAD:
Kerry: "I think it's good for the fans because anybody that's been into this kind of music since the mid-'90s has never seen a tour like that. So, if it goes well, maybe a year or two down the line, we'll do it all through Europe, we'll do it all through America, but these first four [shows], they seem to be selling pretty awesome, and from a fan's perspective, I think it's cool. I think it's even cooler that MACHINE HEAD is on it — I think that's gonna be awesome. I've been trying to tour with them — again — for the last couple of years, so at least we'll get a few shows under our belt."
On whether he would ever consider playing an entire album again from beginning to end the way SLAYER started doing with "Reign In Blood" a few years ago:
Kerry: "I hope not. [Laughs] It alienates part of your crowd. Sure, we could do it with 'Reign In Blood' 'cause everybody thinks that's the quintessential thrash album of all time, so it means a lot to a lot people. But to dedicate that much of your set time to one record when there is so much of your career you're gonna leave out... It's cool, but I hope we never get in a... I'm getting ahead of myself. I'm sure somebody's gonna say, 'Hey, why don't you guys do 'Seasons'?' I hope we don't have to, because I like to do our setlist with a big variety of our history. We never really had a down period where people don't like what we've put out, so we don't have to let it gravitate to one time frame — we can play songs from the '80s, and we can play songs from the '90s and we can play songs from the last decade."
On whether he considers recording and putting out albums to be less important for SLAYER as a band because of the state of the record industry and whether releasing new CDs is nothing more than an excuse to go out on the road:
Kerry: "We don't really need an excuse. I think we're a band that's been around long enough to where when we come around, people will come out to see us, but I think new music definitely helps because there's something new to go see as part of your show. Every time you put one out, the industry's so different — you don't know how you're gonna market it, you don't know if it's gonna be a record that's [just] available online, but metal fans seem to like to have the disc and the artwork and all that other shit, so in my line of work, I think it's still important to have new music [available to promote]."
On whether he's contemplating retiring from SLAYER at some point in the not-too-distant future once he has reached a certain age:
Kerry: "I'm not, but I'm only one of four people, so... I don't know what's in everybody else's head. I'm into it. I'm thinking about — while we're on this hot writing spree — making up stuff for the next record and just leaving it sit until the time comes when we need it. I'm looking forward to the next record. I'm already thinking about stuff we can put on there." |
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