SLAYER is devastated to inform that their bandmate and brother, Jeff Hanneman, passed away at about 11AM this morning (May 2nd) near his Southern California home. He was 49. Hanneman was in an area hospital when he suffered liver failure. He is survived by his wife Kathy, his sister Kathy and his brothers Michael and Larry, and will be sorely missed.
We offer condolences to Hanneman’s family, friends and legion of fans.
“Our Brother Jeff Hanneman, May He Rest In Peace (1964 – 2013)”
We’ve posted a photo album with many pictures of Jeff here.
Some of the condolences and tributes messages follow below…
LOUDWIRE PREMIERES ANVIL ‘HOPE IN HELL’ FULL ALBUM STREAM
ANNOUNCE RELEASE PARTY AT THE KNITTING FACTORY MAY 30TH
‘HOPE IN HELL’ OUT MAY 28TH ON THE END RECORDS
Listen to Anvil’s highly anticipated 15th studio album in its entirety this week on Loudwire.
‘Hope in Hell’ kicks off with the haunting and sludgy title track before jumping into the speed metal sounds of ‘Eat Your Words.’ It’s nonstop classic metal from that point on, as Anvil stay true to their old-school roots throughout the disc.’ – Loudwire
LISTEN TO ‘HOPE IN HELL’ ON LOUDWIRE
PRE-ORDER ‘HOPE IN HELL’ BUNDLE PACKAGES
In related news, Anvil is set to perform a release party for the release May 30th at Brooklyn’s iconic Knitting Factory. Acrassicuda and Lords Of Mercy will be opening the show. For tickets and more information, please click here
‘HOPE IN HELL’ RELEASE SHOW
THE KNITTING FACTORY
361 Metropolitan Ave New York, NY 11211
THU 5/30
DOORS: 8:00PM / SHOW: 9:00PM
TICKETS: $15
‘HOPE IN HELL’ TRACKLISTING
01. Hope in Hell
02. Eat Your Words
03. Through with You
04. The Fight is Never Won
05. Pay the Toll
06.Flying
07.Call of Duty
08.Badass Rock n Roll
09.Time Shows No Mercy
10.Mankind Machine
11.Shut the Fuck Up
The man who forever changed the sound of rock ‘n’ roll when he invented distortion, Kink’s legend Dave Davies, has recorded a brand new solo album of all original material! To be released on Cleopatra Records on June 4th , ‘I Will Be Me’ features guest appearances by The Jayhawks, Anti-Flag, award winning UK blues guitarist Oli Brown, Chris Spedding, US stoner rock band Dead Meadow, Aussie rockers The Art, Geri X and others! In support of Dave’s new album release, a special engagement of Live performances in New York and Los Angeles are scheduled for the end of May to mid-June! (see below for complete list of shows)
Dave Davies founded the Kinks in the early 1960s and forever changed music after he sliced up the speaker cone of a little green amp and created a revolutionary, distorted guitar tone and frenetic solo on the song “You Really Got Me”. Musicologist Joe Harrington described the Kinks influence: ” ‘You Really Got Me’, ‘All Day And All Of The Night’ … were predecessors of the whole three-chord genre … The Kinks did a lot to help turn rock n roll into rock.” In 1998, writer Bill Crowley wrote, “As lead guitarist and founder of The Kinks, Dave Davies is one of the most unpredictable and original forces in rock, without whom guitar-rock styles including heavy metal and punk would have been inconceivable. A member of the Rock & Roll Hall of Fame, Dave’s massive guitar sounds have inspired bands from Van Halen to Green Day.”
Dave’s new album ‘I Will Be Me’ is a return to his groundbreaking guitar sound and innovative songwriting. His classically English voice shows off a new depth but still hits his famous high notes in this collection. The hard rocking track “Livin’ In The Past”, takes a look at obsession with all things retro but, ever the Mod, Dave surprises with the lyric, “No matter what they do or say, the future’s here to stay!” He takes a look back with “Little Green Amp”, a playful, punk homage to days when his jagged, blues driven sound wave ripped ahead of the British Invasion through stereos the world over. “Cote du Rhone (I Will Be Me)”, an uncensored look at ugliness in the world today, is as angry and biting as any song in Dave’s repertoire with an innovative yet heavy slide guitar tone. Soothing lyrics and sounds of Jonathan Lea’s sitar playing on “Healing Boy” show Dave’s sensitive side. In a recent radio interview he said, “Rock music is a positive force for good.” This hopeful and optimistic vision manifests and bridges themes personal, social and universal in ‘I Will Be Me’.
Since the early days, Dave Davies has worked on a slew of critically acclaimed records, ranging from solo hit single “Death of a Clown”, to experimental Kinks records like ‘Village Green Preservation Society’ and ‘Arthur’ as well as the classic single “Lola” in the ’70s. In the ’80s Dave released experimentally prescient solo work like the eponymous album titled ‘Dave Davies’ or ‘AFL1-3603′ named after himself and/or the barcode symbol face cover art. His mainstream success continued in the 80s on hit Kinks albums ‘Low Budget’ and ‘State of Confusion’. In the ’90s he released more solo work such as ‘Bug’ and the compilation ‘Unfinished Business’. His songs have been featured in films by John Carpenter and on TV shows like ‘The Sopranos’, which used his tune “Living On A Thin Line”. His tell-all autobiographical book ‘Kink’ was well received in the late ’90s as well. In recent years, Dave has collaborated creatively with his sons. In 2010 he worked with son Russell Davies to create the hauntingly, beautiful rock electronica album, the Aschere Project. The film ‘Mystical Journey’, directed by son Martin Davies, narrates Dave’s longtime interest in the paranormal, Eastern philosophies and spirituality (the film inspired Julien Temple s BBC documentary ‘Kinkdom Kome’). No matter how diverse the ambition, Dave Davies puts his heart and soul in all of his projects.
Tracks include:
1. Little Green Amp
2. Livin’ In The Past
3. The Healing Boy
4. Midnight In L.A.
5. In The Mainframe
6. Energy Fields
7. When I First Saw You
8. The Actress
9. Erotic Neurotic
10. You Can Break My Heart
11. Walker Through The Worlds
12. Remember The Future
13. Cote Du Rhone (I Will Be Me)
Dave Davies tour dates:
May 27, 28 & 29 – City Winery – New York, NY
May 30 – The Bull Run – Shirley, MA
May 31 – Infinity Hall – Norfolk, CT
June 1 – Musikfest Cafe – Bethlehem, PA
June 2 – The Arcada Theatre – St. Charles, IL
June 6 – Sainte Rocke – Hermosa Beach, CA
June 7 – Coach House – San Juan Capistrano, CA
June 9 – The Canyon Club – Agoura Hills, CA
June 11- Del Mar Fairgrounds – Del Mar, CA
More dates to come!
When it was announced that the nu-metal masters Drowning Pool will be paying a visit to London’s Relentless Garage, it was more than clear that those who truly enjoy going a little crazy while listening to “Bodies” are in for a treat. To make it even better, it was confirmed that Drowning Pool will be sharing the stage with Fozzy and Revoker, so there was no chance we could have missed such a show. Read the rest of this entry »
It’s a Friday night in downtown Austin and a small gathering of metal fans have turned out for the rare opportunity to witness Cuban metal bands performing for the first time on North American shores. The SXSW festival is in full swing in Austin, Texas and just making your way to the venue is a challenge unto itself. Well, there’s the whole finding a parking spot thing (Roughly, a sixty-minute investment) not to mention the endless stampede of out of town industry types, revelers, journalists, pedicabbers, musicians and celebrities parading through the now litter filled downtown streets. Inside the club, the air smells like stale smoke and even staler piss. A supposed A-List hip-hop event is roped off on the other side of the club and woofers boom insipid top forty chart toppers. Tonight’s bill is made up of Ancestor, Escape and Agonizer all hailing from Cuba. Joining them are Motor from Mexico, Eminence and Attomica from Brazil. I’ll admit it struck me as a little disheartening in regards to the lack of turnout for such a rare occasion as this (especially considering the sacrifice all participating bands made to get here) but the bands gave it there all none the less and it was a solid night of headbanging to the Latin American Assault. Read the rest of this entry »
More than thirty years after the start of his career with Savatage, and successive projects/bands like Trans-Siberian Orchestra and Jon Oliva’s Pain, now legendary songwriter und performer Jon Oliva releases his first ever solo album, titled „Raise The Curtain”.
On June 21st (USA: July 2nd) the master’s new piece of work will be available as CD Digipak (first edition) and 2-vinyl (gatefold, limited to 800 copies worldwide).
The album will be released simply under the banner „OLIVA“ and you can expect a mixture of Jon Oliva’s early influences and the material he wrote and recorded throughout his whole artistic career.
Tracklisting:
01. Raise The Curtain
02. Soul Chaser
03. Ten Years
04. Father Time
05. I Know
06. Big Brother
07. Armageddon
08. Soldier
09. Stalker
10. The Witch
11. Can’t Get Away
12. The Truth (Bonus Track)
Mike Tramp
Cobblestone Street
2013, Target Records
Rating: 4.5/5
Tracklist:
01. Cobblestone Street
02. Caught In The Storm
03. New Day
04. Ain’t The Life I Asked For
05. Revolution
06. We’ll Be Alright
07. Angel Or Devil
08. Find It In Your Heart
09. What Are You Gonna Do
10. Once
Mike Tramp burst onto the music scene back in the 80’s with the band White Lion. Here we are some 30 + years later and Mike is still cranking out the tunes. For his latest release, COBBLESTONE STREET we find Tramp emphasizing his songwriting. Some of the songs date back 20 years and some were written just a week prior to recording. Once he got into the studio he recorded the songs as he wrote them, on an acoustic.
COBBLESTONE STREET is not a White Lion styled album in anyway. The only comparison is that it is the same singer songwriter and there are similarities to White Lion songs such as “When The Children Cry” and “Wait”. This album was quite a surprise when I first heard it. I was expecting a Rock n Roll record but what came out of my speakers was something completely different.
While listening to the album I found myself visualizing the songs in my head. He is telling a story with each song and they sound as if they could be very autobiographical, especially the title track where he mentions Copenhagen. Tramp has taken a very simplistic approach with this new album and letting the words take the forefront. The drums, bass, instrumentation are more secondary here. The acoustic guitar is slightly higher in the mix compared to the rest but not overpowering. It compliments his voice perfectly along with the snare drum which is fairly prominent throughout. Another song that comes across as autobiographical is “Ain’t The Life I Asked For” where he mentions a ‘Rock n Roll Ride’ and how it’s ‘What I’ve Become’. Even at the very end of the album you heard an old film run out as if this is the soundtrack to Tramp’s life.
A fantastic album that highlights Mike’s voice and songwriting ability. A departure from the music that made him and his old band a household name. This is the year’s biggest and most refreshing surprise. A much needed album in today’s world.
Hatriot are from the Bay Area and of course the name of their game is Thrash Metal. The band has gained a reputation through the metal community as former Exodus singer Steve Zetro Souza is fronting the band. Hatriot’s debut album ‘Heroes Of Origin’ recently saw the light of day on Massacre Records and got nothing, but tremendous great reviews. Hatriot is definitely on the rise to the bigger league as they definitely deserve it. Here is the short interview with Steve Zetro Zouza about the deal, album, and their use of social media as a tool to promote the band.
Interview by Arto Lehtinen and Marcos Cardoso
What’s up in the Hatriot camp at the moment?
We are just doing a lot of press to promote the debut record, and are actually writing a lot of new material. I was hoping to have Hatriot on the road by now, but that hasn’t happened yet, so we are not wasting any time. We already have half of the next album written. I plan on hitting the studio again at the end of the summer.
INKING A DEAL WITH MASSACRE
The debut album titled “Heroes Of Origin” came out the German label Massacre Records. I can’t help but wonder how many labels showed interest toward Hatriot and what made you after all ink a deal with Massacre Rec?
We did have a few other labels interested, but nobody was coming to the table ready to work. Massacre offered to get us in the studio immediately and get a record out into the market, which was what we were looking to do. We signed the deal in July and had the album turned into the label in September, so we were ready to work. One of our managers has other bands on Massacre, so he had a good working relationship with them, and it just made sense to go with a smaller label that has a lot of passion for metal. So far so good!
When inking the deal with Massacre, presumably you are familiar with legal issues etc. in the contract thing, did you go through carefully all the offers and deals before putting your signature on, I mean you may have got lessons with labels in the past?
Of course I did. I learned that lesson a long time ago. When Exodus signed our deal with Capitol it was almost 80 pages long, and I didn’t even read it. My lawyer said “sign here, here, and here” and that’s what we all did. I just wanted to continue to be a rock star, so I said sign me up. Needless to say that was a big lesson. This time is very different.
THE DEBUT ALBUM – Heroes Of Origin
As for the title of the album “Heroes Of Origin”, and the front cover, are they connected to each other in a way, by having a deeper meaning behind it?!
Not really. Mark DeVito did the art, and basically I told him I wanted a band picture on the front the way bands did back in the day, plus I wanted a lot of chaos and destruction going on. That was all the instruction I gave to him, and you see where he went with it. I love the album art. I think it stands out and is easily recognizable. It looks very “metal” and that’s what we were going for. I guess there could be a deeper meaning in there somewhere if you look for it. Part of the title is “heroes” and we are holding shields on the cover, so it’s almost like we are real life comic book heroes.
The album contains neck breaking skull crushing thrashing metal tracks with an intense grip. As you have a lot of experience in the studio, did you have to guide the rest of the band how to work and play in the studio environment or were the other guys of Hatriot immediately totally aware of how the working in the studio happens?
This album is ten songs of rip your face off thrash metal. To be honest, this was the first real recording experience for all of the other guys. They had done little demo things in the past, but this was their first real record. Juan Urteaga produced the record, and he is very good at making everyone feel very relaxed. It was really just like a rehearsal. We set everything up and started jamming, and Juan captured a lot of that vibe. The band was very tight and we were way ahead of schedule actually. We rehearsed the songs for a couple months prior to the sessions, playing them over and over. It paid off obviously.
Frankly, are you pleased with how the album turned out in terms of production and how the songs kick on the album ?!
I am very pleased. Again, Juan Urteaga can take a lot of the credit for that. He’s done work with a lot of big bands – Testament, Exodus, Machine Head, and more – so he knows how to get the right tones and the right performances out of the band. This is the heaviest record I have ever done, and that says a lot with my history.
You are coming from the old school background of the Bay Area thrash metal movement, whereas the rest of the members of Hatriot present the more modern approach ( I guess?) of nowadays, do you ever have a conflict and deep conversation about how riff or songs should sound like or do you have a mutual vision how Hatriot is supposed to sound?
It’s all a mutual vision. Fortunately, we have Kosta V on guitar, who is also our primary song writer. He writes and arranges all the riffs, and pretty much brings in a completed idea to the band to work up. Kosta is very well versed in metal. He knows his thrash and draws a lot of influence from the old scene. The other guys bring in some death and black metal influence here and there, because they are way young and influenced by other stuff, but they know what our core sound is and never stray from what we are trying to do.
How important are all the reviews about the album, what are the main things in reviews that you pay attention to them, do you basically just ignore them?
We do read all the reviews, but honestly it doesn’t affect what we do. I don’t let a person’s opinion affect how I write a song. I’ve done thrash metal for close to thirty years now, so I think I have it down at this point. I don’t need reassurance from the media. I appreciate their efforts of spreading the word, but if some journalist says “they should have done this” or “it would have been better done like this” I just fucking ignore it. I make albums and they don’t, and our fan base likes what we do, so there you go.
Are there songs that come up from the album and are your fave tunes to play and why?!
I know it is the cliché answer, but I love all the songs on the album. There’s not a weak song on there. We play the entire record live when we do shows, so my favorite might change a little bit from time to time. Three of the songs were on our demo EP from a year ago, so they are not as fresh to me as some of the others, so I’d say “Murder American Style” and “Shadows Of The Buried” are my two favorites to play live right now. They are just so fucking heavy and the audience really responds to them.
What do you feel when you see your kids playing with you?
It is the greatest feeling in the world. I am so proud of them. It’s every father’s dream to share a common thing with his sons, and for that to be music makes everything in the past worth it. I left Exodus in 2004 because I needed to be there for my family. Now my boys are grown up and in my band, so it has all come full circle, and it’s honestly the greatest accomplishment of my career. That’s the truth.
PROMOTING THE BAND IN DIFFERENT WAYS
As far as I know, you have mostly been gigging in California after having got a deal with Massacre Rec. Therefore, can Hatriot be expected to be seen more on European soil ?! And what about a South American tour?
It is our goal to play in all parts of the world. Right now we are trying to secure a good booking agent, and a lot of that is based on how well the album sells, and what kind of demand we can create with the promoters. We’ve had a few offers come in but they were not really what we were looking for. I don’t want this band taking every show thrown our way. We want to be selective. It’s more about quality than quantity.
What kind of places and which band have you shared the stage with? And what kind of reception have you got from the audience? Classic songs of Exodus and Testament are in the set list?
So far we have only played in California, mainly shows with local bands and a few shows were with friends of ours from bigger national bands. We’ve opened for Testament, Death Angel, and Forbidden on bigger stages, which was very cool of them to let us get in front of their fanbases. We always get good audience reception. This isn’t a lot different from what I was doing in the later days of Exodus. The fans know what to expect from me, so they leave the show knowing that I still have it. We kick ass. Hatriot does have some of the classic Exodus and Legacy songs worked up and ready to go if we need them for an encore or something. That’s always fun, but the purpose of the shows is to play the Hatriot material. If time permits we may go down memory lane and do an Exodus cover or something.
Hatriot shot the video “And Your Children To Be Damned”, could you tell a bit more about the process of making the video and how you picked that particular song for the video?
We used director Mike Sloat for that video. He did our video for “Blood Stained Wings” as well. Mike has worked with a lot of big acts, ranging from Testament to Lynyrd Skynyrd, and he is a very talented guy with video production. The song is about Elizabeth Bathory and we basically wanted to show her story in visual form, so we did our best to recreate that setting. One of my managers rented an old restaurant after hours and we staged the shoot there. We brought in an old bath tub and filled it with fake blood, and basically made a sick fucking heavy metal video. There was no real reason for choosing the song other than it is very heavy and we like the story.
Do you view promoting the band with the video thru social media networks is without any doubts nothing but essential for Hatriot to gain the attention and recognition?
Social media is the new way of the world in many respects, but nothing beats a live show when it comes to promoting the band. I don’t do a lot of the social media stuff myself, but the kids in the band do, and our management team spends a lot of time networking with it. I think it is an amazing tool for reaching people in faraway places, but I think the newer generation of kids with bands think that all you have to do is add ‘friends’ all day and become famous. Nothing beats getting on tour and proving yourself in a live situation. Call me old school or whatever, but that’s just the truth. Social media is very helpful though and definitely did a lot for Hatriot when we wanted to get the word out in the beginning.
I found Hatriot via social media networks and seen pics of the band as well, presumably these new tools and methods are extremely important and vital for young and new bands to get their name spread?
That is cool that you found us that way. Again, it is a very good tool for bands to use, but it is not the be all end all. Bands like to get a cool picture and logo up on their page and they think that is it. Well, no it isn’t. First your music has to be good, and then you have to be killer live. Without that you are just another page in the internet.
Are you kind of surprised to have the enormous attention toward Hatriot, did you somehow expect to have it because of the background of Zetro?
I’m not really surprised by it, but I am very thankful that the fans have embraced the band like they have. Obviously my days in Exodus have helped create an interest in what I’m doing now, but I feel the music of Hatriot stands on its own as well. This is the heaviest record I have ever done in my career, and I think the fans are happy to see that I did a true to form thrash metal record and didn’t stray from what I am known for. But I owe it all to the fans. They have the choice to like something or not, and to get behind a band and support it or not. Fortunately, in my case they have chosen to support Hatriot, and that is fucking killer.
Before concluding the interview what’s up with Dublin Death Patrol and AC/DZ ?
DDP is pretty much over with at this point. Chuck is just too busy with Testament, and I am going full speed ahead with Hatriot. It’s just too hard to coordinate that many schedules and make it work with DDP. We can’t tour with that project so there’s not really a point in putting much effort into promoting and writing for it. It was fun while it lasted, and I encourage fans to seek out the records because they are pretty good, but the band is pretty much done. As for AC/DZ, that is something I do for fun when time permits. If I want to be Bon Scott for an hour and a half I book a gig with them. That’s pretty much it. Hatriot takes up all my time!
Interviewed on April 25, 2013 at the Death to All show (Death To All Tour live at the Theater of the Living Arts, Philadelphia, PA, April 25, 2013)
Paul Masvidal – Death To All
When you think of Chuck Schuldiner and Death, your next thought is usually of gifted guitarist Paul Masvidal, who played on the classic HUMAN album and did various tours with Chuck. An extreme metal veteran with over 25 years of experience and a style all his own, Paul continues to play with his own band Cynic and has recently taken part in the Death To All tours, a celebration of the late Chuck Schuldiner’s music. Paul was kind enough to grant me a few moments of his time prior to the Death To All show in Philadelphia.
It’s an oddly sunny day outside the garage as we wait for another doom laden offering from Funeral of Mankind promotions. With the most recent success of Doom over London, this company is shaping up to be the one to watch for those who like it dark and depressing. Read the rest of this entry »
The Jeff Healey Band
House On Fire: Demos & Rarities
2013, Eagle Rock North
Rating: 4.5
Jeff Healey’s music needs no introduction. He was one of, if not the greatest Canadian guitarists to have ever lived. He combined the Blues and Rock perfectly and his playing was flawless. This disc of Demos & Rarities showcases his talent even in an unfinished state. Eight of the eleven tracks on here were recorded between March and July of 1992 when they were at their peak of popularity.
As soon as this CD arrived in my mailbox I opened it up an popped it into the player. Almost immediately I was reaching for the volume knob to crank it up. I was blown away from the first note. Finally I had some new Jeff Healey tunes to listen to. While they may have been recorded over 2 decades ago they are fresh and don’t sound the least bit dated. This is your typical JHB and every track is phenomenal. Not for a second do you want to skip ahead. His playing and singing are flawless. What else can I say? Jeff was a master at the guitar and he had a distinct sound that was all his own.
A must own for all Jeff Healey fans. This is Jeff at the peak of popularity and his creativity was massive during this period. If these were left unreleased for 20 years it makes you wonder how much more is there?
Danish death metal mercenaries PANZERCHRIST are releasing their seventh album, aptly entitled The 7th Offensive on July 15th on Listenable following their previous and highly- acclaimed 2011 release, Regiment Ragnarok.
Eagerly Anticipated Horror Anthology features 100+ Icons of Horror and Metal Coffin Joe, Ruggero Deodato, Tony Todd, cEvin Key, Laurence Harvey, Bai Ling, Chris Vrenna, Killjoy of Necrophagia, Mayhem, Clint Howard, and many more
AUSTIN, Texas—It’s less than six months before horror and metal collide in Central Texas at the inaugural Housecore Horror Film Festival – the ultimate 3-day, underground fan event celebrating the twisted line where horror films and heavy metal meet. Today, festival creators – legendary metal frontman Philip Anselmo and best-selling true crime author Corey Mitchell – announce that producers David Bond and Manda Manuel have personally selected to premiere thier eagerly anticipated international horror anthology, The Profane Exhibit, in the United States at the Housecore Horror Film Festival.
Set in a club deep within the underbelly of Paris, The Profane Exhibit explores the inner workings of a secret, wicked society. At first it resembles an ordinary fetish or Goth nightclub, but hidden within the cavernous building are many rooms, one of which is known as “The Room of Souls,” a private gathering place of the world’s richest and most evil people. Their host is the elegant, yet frightening, Madame Sabatier. As the film unfolds, each member takes a turn and spins a true tale of their depravity for the amusement of the group.
Horror icons from around the world have been assembled to create this truly unique film experience. From the minds that created Cannibal Holocaust, At Midnight I’ll Take Your Soul, Philosophy of a Knife, Tokyo Gore Police, Hardware, Wax Mask, Cemetery Man, Theater Bizarre, The ABCs of Death, August Underground’s Mordem, Cannibal, Time Crimes, and Dread, come a collection of stories that serve as a mirror for looking deep inside our current world and inside ourselves.
Heaven & Earth
Dig
2013, Quarto Valley Records
Rating: 4/5
Heaven & Earth have been around for well over a decade but not consistently releasing music. The band is the brainchild of acclaimed guitarist Stuart Smith who received praise from Ritchie Blackmore. It was Blackmore’s encouragement that got Smith to move to L.A. from the U.K. and the rest is history as they say.
Melodic Rock is the best way to describe the music on DIG. It does have a slight Hard Rock edge in spots but overall it leans heavily toward the Rock side. As you would expect the release is guitar heavy with a lot of killer solo’s. Smith is no slouch when it comes to guitar playing. Once you listen to the album you will know exactly why he was praised by Blackmore.
It was the video for the debut single “No Money, No Love” that initially grabbed by attention. It has that Classic Deep Purple vibe to it (and I am a big Purple fan) which is very prominent, especially with the keyboards. It is one of the harder edged songs on the album and it really stands out amongst the rest. Another of the heavier tunes is “Man & Machine” which is probably the heaviest track on DIG. Yet again the Keyboard work is Jon Lord influenced in a major way. No complaints from me on that. Stuart has found himself one strong vocalist with Joe Retta. His vocal sound perfectly suits the music. Joe’s voice is fairly smooth sounding with just enough rasp to give it that little edge. There is also a Blues influence in places especially on the aptly-titled “House Of Blues”. The guitar and organ interaction here is nothing short of amazing. They way they play off one another adds a whole new dimension to the disc.
A fantastic release with some top rate musicians. Sadly many of the songs are not memorable. They are all excellent songs, they are just not memorable for the most part. It is an album that may take a spin or two to get into and appreciate but you will be glad you did.
Denver thrashers HAVOK today announce their first headlining tour of North America. Dates are set to commence July 22 and will see the band journey through the southern states, travelling up the eastern seaboard before making their debut performance at Montreal’s annual Heavy MTL festival on August 11. The tour will be in support of their forthcoming new album, Unnatural Selection, set for release June 25.
Reported last week, Unnatural Selection, the band’s third full-length album for Candlelight Records, was produced by guitarist David Sanchez and mixed by Terry Date (Pantera, Overkill, Deftones). The album features original artwork from Polish illustrator Rafal Wechterowicz (Slayer, Mastodon) and was mastered by James Murphy (Aborted, World Under Blood, Abigail Williams). Lead single, “Give Me Liberty… Or Give Me Death,” is set to impact Loud Rock/Metal Radio May 27. The topical thrash anthem delivers the young band’s classic thrash and old school metal sound.
SLAYER is devastated to inform that their bandmate and brother, Jeff Hanneman, passed away at about 11AM this morning (May 2nd) near his Southern California home. He was 49. Hanneman was in an area hospital when he suffered liver failure. He is survived by his wife Kathy, his sister Kathy and his brothers Michael and Larry, and will be sorely missed.
