Long Island-based heavy metal powerhouse MAELSTROM has issued an update regarding the enormous reception received by the Halloween 2012 digital reissue of their critically-acclaimed EP, It Was Predestined. Widely-praised by critics across the globe in 2009, when the EP was originally self-released, and again last year when Itchy Metal Entertainment (IME) offered the release to metal fans worldwide, It Was Predestined exploded onto the CMJ Loud Rock charts this month. MAELSTROM vocalist Gary Vosganian had this to say about the accomplishment,
“It is with great pride that I can say - MaelstroM has hit the US radio charts with our EP It Was Predestined – debuting at #20 on the Nationwide CMJ Loud Rock charts and as the 4th most added album in the country. Thank you to all that have helped and have been fans since the start and congrats to my partner in this effort the true guitar virtuoso Mr. Joey Lodes. Our label partners Itchy Metal Entertainment our PR group ClawHammer PR and of course our radio promoter Munsey Ricci and Skateboard Marketing Ltd. without whom this would have never happened, and of course all the fantastic Djs that are supporting us with their spins – it is sincerely appreciated. There is much work to be done as guitar tracking for the balance of the album has begun this week. But I will take a little time to really absorb the news about CMJ and celebrate this victory! Thanks again to all the fans who have stuck by MaelstroM your unwavering support has been amazing. Keep it Heavy!”As Vosganian stated, the band is currently at work on new material for the follow-up to It Was Predestined. Details on the next release will be announced as they come. Stay tuned!
It Was Predestined is available at www.itchymetal.com. Famed music journalist Martin Popoff called the release “A symphony of progressiveness the likes of which has pretty much never been articulated, invented, or heard, before now,” and world renowned publications such as Terrorizer, Metal Hammer and MetalSucks.net all sang MAELSTROM’s praises upon the EP’s release.
With a press release on their official website www.overtures.it the Italian heavy/power metallers Overtures announce that they finished the recordings of their new album “Entering the Maze”. The album has been mastered by Sascha Paeth(Avantasia, Kamelot, Epica, Edguy) at Gate Studio in Wolfsburg, Germany. “Entering the maze”, Overtures’ third album, will be released by the Greek label ”Sleaszy Rider Records”(www.sleaszyrider.com) that already published their previous CD “Rebirth” in 2010.
Here is the track listing:
1. The Maze
2. Under the Northern Star
3. Of Nightmares
4. Savior
5. Empty Trails
6. Consequences
7. In the Middle of Nowhere
8. Programmed to Serve
9. A Different Point of View
10. The Oracle
During the next weeks Overtures will also shot a new videoclip for the song “Savior”, and a lot of bonus stuff will be published from now on to the release date, scheduled for May 2013.
Manilla Road is back with their landmark 16th full length album, Mysterium; due out February 19th on Shadow Kingdom Records.
After a career that has spanned more than three decades, the band shows absolutely no signs of slowing down. In fact they’re more active now than ever with all of the live shows booked for 2013; including an appearance at this year’s Maryland Death Fest. The time has come for Manilla Road to break out of the underground bubble and get to the level where they can get some wider acclaim to all of the hard work that’s been put forth all of these years. Mysterium is another quality Manilla Road release that sounds a lot more classic/traditional than their previous, more experimental album Playground of the Damned. The production on Mysterium is a step above anything Manilla Road has released in the past, bringing the band into the modern era without sacrificing an ounce of their legendary style. With all of their albums, there’s nothing that’s ever the same with the albums they create or the production they have, but that’s what makes Manilla Road, Manilla Road.
Mysterium is currently streaming in full at this location.
Canadian Viking/folk metal band VALFREYA have announced that they will be direct support to ARKONA, on their Canadian Tour 2013 in April.
The 17 City Tour will sweep right across Canada starting with Western Dates; then the Tour will head East, hitting the Ontario and Quebec markets.
Formed in February of 2009, VALFREYA are a sextet based in Montreal, Canada. The band’s charismatic frontwoman, Crook, has a vocal range of symphonic clean vocals to that of guttural growls.
Their debut album ‘Path to Eternity’ was released worldwide by Maple Metal Records last July. ‘Path to Eternity’ was produced by the band, and was recorded, mixed and mastered in late 2011 at Silver Wings Studio in Montreal..
Vancouver based folk metallers SCYTHIA will be joining ARKONA and VALFREYA on the Western dates.
The Tour Dates are as follows:
18.04 – Edmonton, AB – The Pawn Shop
19.04 – Prince-George, BC – venue tba
20.04 – Vancouver, BC – venue tba
21.04 – Kamloops, BC – venue tba
22.04 – Vernon, BC – venue tba
23.04 – Calgary, AB – venue tba
24.04 – Winnipeg, MB – venue tba
25.04 – Thunder Bay, ON – venue tba
26.04 – Rouyn-Noranda, QC – venue tba
27.04 – Sherbooke, QC – Bar Le Magog
28.04 – Trois-Rivières, QC – venue tba
29.04 – Toronto, ON – venue tba
30.04 – Guelph, ON – venue tba
01.05 – Montreal, QC – Foufounes Électriques
02.05 – Quebec, QC – Bar L’agitée
03.05 – Rimouski, QC (without Valfreya) – venue tba
04.05 – Ste-Hyacinthe, QC – Bar Le Trash
VALFREYA have shared the stage with such bands as Korpiklaani, Moonsorrow, Tyr, Unexpect, Despised Icon, Nordheim, and many more on the Ontario & Quebec metal circuit, in their short existence.
The first single off Lordi’s new album “To Beast Or Not To Beast” called “The Riff” comes to the airwaves and all good digital platforms today, the 8th of February.
With it’s gripping opening and driving White Zombie like swagger, “The Riff” is just part of the band’s brand new album, but it promises to be a floor-filler up and down the country when the band plays 7 shows here in the UK in May.
Australia’s Airbourne will release Black Dog Barking on Roadrunner Records, May 21, 2013. Produced by award winning producer Brian Howes, this is Airbourne’s third album and the follow up to No Guts. No Glory. which was released in 2010.
Airbourne’s infectious music has been used in more than 20 video games, countless films, trailers, garnered two Top 5 and two Top 10 radio smashes across the Canadian airwaves. Inspired by the likes of Judas Priest, Thin Lizzy, AC/DC and Motörhead, Airbourne has been winning fans since 2003 with their high energy, whiplash-inducing, working man’s rock ‘n’ roll. Airbourne has also racked up numerous accolades and awards including one they took home in 2008 from the Metal Hammer Golden Gods. Their first album Runnin’ Wild was named the year’s Best Debut Album. Spin said “Runnin’ Wild, Airbourne’s debut, is a smorgasbord of sledgehammer riffs, crass sex puns, and boozy sing-alongs.”
Hailing from Warrnambool, a small drinking town on the southwestern coast of Victoria, Australia, Airbourne has steadily gained an immense following with their explosive live shows and main stage festival appearances including a headliner spot at Wacken 2011, Rock Am Ring/Park (Germany) and Download (UK). It’s been a long year and a half for Airbourne since coming off the road mid-2011 to work on Black Dog Barking. Said the band, “A lot of thought and effort has gone into this record not only by the band, but by the production crew who worked countless hours, seven days a week, even through Christmas and New Year’s Eve to achieve the best possible performances, backed by real undying tones. Now we’re handing it over to you… so crank it up, crack a beer and stick some rock ‘n’ roll in your ear!”
Airbourne is Joel O’Keeffe (Vocals/Lead Guitar), Ryan O’Keeffe (Drums), David Roads (Guitar), Justin Street (Bass).
New York death metal veterans, SUFFOCATION, have posted a short documentary chronicling the making of their most recent video clip for the song “As Grace Descends” here http://youtu.be/Exe0lU1lAmU. The clip was shot by director Tommy Jones (KATAKLYSM, SOILWORK, DEATH ANGEL) at Duff’s in Brooklyn, NY where several fans showed up for the filming. The song comes from their upcoming soon-to-be-death-metal-classic, Pinnacle of Bedlam. Photos from the shoot can also be found here https://www.facebook.com/media/set/?set=a.10152111275674298.496675.62183074297&type=1.
Pinnacle of Bedlam is now available for pre-order! Order the CD or deluxe CD/DVD digipak version of the record, with or without an exclusive t-shirt design while supplies last, from the following location http://jsrdirect.com/webstores/nuclearblast/. Pinnacle of Bedlam will be released on February 15th in Europe and on February 19th in North America.
Pinnacle of Bedlam deluxe digipak track listing:
01. Cycles Of Suffering
02. Purgatorial Punishment
03. Eminent Wrath
04. As Grace Descends
05. Sullen Days
06. Pinnacle Of Bedlam
07. My Demise
08. Inversion
09. Rapture Of Revocation
10. Beginning Of Sorrow
Bonus: The making of Pinnacle of Bedlam DVD
Pinnacle of Bedlam was produced by the band and tracked at Full Force Studios in New York by longtime collaborator Joe Cincotta. The mixing and mastering was handled this time around by world renowned producer/engineer Zeuss (HATEBREED, ARSIS, SUICIDESILENCE). Pinnacle of Bedlam features 10 genre-defining-bone-crushing tracks and also marks the return of drummer Dave Culross, who played with the band previously on their Despise The Sun EP. Artwork was handled by artist Raymond Swanland (DEEDS OF FLESH, PSYCROPTIC).
View the video clip for the track “Cataclysmic Purification” at this location http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=EEYSU4XGLpI. The footage was directed by David Brodsky (ARSIS, GOD FORBID, KATAKLYSM, SWASHBUCKLE) with animation by Tim Kellen.
Blood Oath, the follow-up to 2006′s self-titled record, was recorded by JoeCincotta (who worked on the band’s last two releases) and mixed by Zack Ohren (ALL SHALL PERISH, DECREPIT BIRTH). Cover artwork was once again brought to life by Jon Zig (DEEDS OF FLESH, DISGORGE, GORGASM). The album was released on July 14, 2009.
The news will come as a shock to some while others will shrug it off saying “It’s about time..,” but BW&BK has been informed directly that after approximately three years as the frontman for Florida-based progressive metal band CRIMSON GLORY, vocalist Todd La Torre has officially resigned.
La Torre was introduced to Crimson Glory by Matt La Porte (JON OLIVA’S PAIN / CIRCLE II CIRCLE), becoming an official member in 2010. He helped to ignite and give new life to the legendary band that had been on hiatus for nearly ten years, and mourning the loss of original vocalist Midnight. Crimson Glory emerged back into the world arena metal scene with very high praise and acceptance. La Torre toured as the new voice of Crimson Glory throughout Europe in celebration of the band’s 25th Anniversary with great success. Talk of a new album was highly anticipated and the band appeared to be firing on all cylinders.
“We were writing the new album and things were looking good, says La Torre. “We had interest from two major European labels, which was very promising. I was very honored and proud that we were on the rise, and the fans were embracing all that we were doing. We had wonderful momentum and we were working within an important window of time within which the new record should have been recorded and released to have the most impact given the bands resurgence. Unfortunately, the record never materialized despite my best efforts.”
“My involvement with Queensrÿche had nothing to do with the album progress,” he continues. “I haven’t been contacted to write with Crimson Glory for over six months. As a band, our writing sessions were slow, eventually becoming non-existent before I ever joined Queensrÿche. During the specific timeframe that I was in talks with Queensrÿche, members of CG were simultaneously occupied by other external and internal endeavors that apparently absorbed the time and/or will away from CG, which is not fallacious per se, but it proceeded in passivity. The main reason for my resignation from Crimson Glory is primarily due to its inertia status.”
“Crimson Glory was the catalyst that exposed me to the world as an undiscovered vocalist, and I am very thankful to them. Special thanks also to the amazing fans for their acceptance and support of not only Crimson Glory, but their continued support to me as an artist. Lastly, I sincerely wish my friends in Crimson Glory the absolute very best, both personally and professionally.”
For information and updates on La Torre and Queensrÿche, check out the following sites:
Anton Fig (born Cape Town, South Africa), is well-known session drummer and a longtime member of the CBS Orchestra, appearing nightly on Late Show with David Letterman. During this tenure he has played with scores of great artists including Miles Davis, James Brown and Bruce Springsteen. The CBS Orchestra has backed up a host of artists in other venues such as Little Richard, Lauren Hill and also BB King at the closing ceremonies of the summer Olympic Games in Atlanta (1996). The CBS Orchestra is also the house band for the annual Rock and Roll Hall of Fame ceremony. During the years Anton has made countless recordings with such artists as: Mick Jagger, Madonna, Joe Cocker, Gary Moore, Michael Monroe, Joan Armatrading, Blackmore’s Night and Joe Bonamassa among many others. In 1978 Anton was asked to play on KISS guitarist Ace Frehley’s solo album. That co-operation lead Anton to make recording sessions with KISS with whom Anton recorded albums DYNASTY (1979) and UNMASKED (1980). He was a member of Ace Frehley’s band Frehley’s Comet from 1984-1987 and later on he has played on numerous Ace’s solo albums including the latest release ANOMALY (2009). Well, there’s been, and is still, so much going on with this man career so it’s better to let the man himself to tell what he’s up to and of course it’s interesting to learn something about the past and future as well… Read on!
MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx spoke to Loudwire about the progress of the songwriting sessions for the band’s next studio album.
Sixx and his bandmates last year released a brand new song called “Sex” to coincide with the launch of MÖTLEY CRÜE’s North American co-headlining tour with KISS.
Written when the band was together during their residency in Las Vegas in February 2012, “Sex” was the first studio track from the CRÜE since their June 2008 release of “Saints Of Los Angeles”.
“We’ve been writing,” Sixx said. “We started the record with the song ‘Sex’ and I have a ton of riffs. I know Mick [Mars, guitar] has told me he has a ton of riffs and it’s just a matter of now collecting riffs. For a while, it was only writing segments of music and getting together and collaborating but now I’m starting to finish music more like I used to more — like I used to in the old days — and finish it top to bottom. So I look forward to getting in the room with my band and going, ‘Here’s ten of my ideas, what have you got?’ and then we kind of let that process happen.”
Asked about MÖTLEY CRÜE’s long-term future, Sixx said: “We haven’t been shy that MÖTLEY CRÜE has been talking about somewhere in the near future doing a farewell tour. We talked about it on ‘Piers Morgan’ and different interviews. It’s not that we hate each other or we don’t work together well. I think it’s just at some point we want to leave it with some sort of a legacy that’s leaving it in a good way. I just see some bands that keep fucking beating a dead horse and I’m like, ‘Get off the horse, dude, it’s dead.’ And MÖTLEY CRÜE is really at one of our highest points we’ve been and I would like to see us even climb higher by seeing us finish our movie, an album and then maybe announcing a farewell tour and going out at the top. It would be a really nice look.”
USA writer Ryan Bartek, best known for counterculture books ‘The Big Shiny Prison’ & ‘Fortress Europe,’ again returns with a new material from his current work in progress ‘Anticlimax Leviathan.’
Formerly promoted as ‘Acropolis Now,’ this new book ‘Anticlimax Leviathan’ is a massive departure from everything Bartek has ever released. Unlike his prior books, ‘Anticlimax Leviathan’ is purely autobiographical. This new book details the author’s life since 2002, and it is brimming with adventures alongside many of the misfit characters that have appeared in his earlier writings.
In acute detail Ryan Bartek presents the hopelessness that is American poverty in the first decade of the new millennium, and the effect it has had on individuals in the counterculture that are both extreme and absurd. Like many of the Great Depression/Beat Generation writers, Bartek assumes a similar role and uses ‘Anticlimax Leviathan’ to shine a spotlight on unconventional lives and desperate hopes that otherwise would be unrecorded and lost to time.
This freshly released chapter is entitled ‘The Curse of GhostNomad’ and fully demonstrates the wide range of writing styles in this new book.
The author has made this new chapter available in both PDF and Audio-Book form.
Says Bartek: “As a writer, ‘Anticlimax Leviathan‘ is the most important work of my career – it is also the most personal. This book focuses on the past 8 years of my life – everything in between the cracks of ‘The Big Shiny Prison‘ & ‘Fortress Europe‘ when the tape recorder stopped rolling. It is the story of a strange young man reaching adulthood and going against the grain of a society that is far stranger yet somehow aggressively masquerading as normal.”
“After waging a mental/emotional war of sorts in his homeworld of Detroit – drudging through a perplexing existence that resembles the plot convolution of ‘The Big Lebowski‘ – he eventually falls through the cracks of society completely, thus becoming a traveler in search the American Dream which has instead become an American Nightmare.”
“Eventually ending up on the West Coast as a sort of journalist drifter, he gets locked into a turbulent world of odd jobs and constantly collapsing living arrangements. Eventually he becomes homeless and lustfully embraces it while simultaneously being consumed by physical lust. He then re-creates himself as a sort of lead character in his own imaginary punk rock/heavy metal scumbag romance novel. Along the way he builds a legion of ‘West Coast Street Crazies’ that have fallen through the cracks as well, and step by step they build a new world out of the ashes of their former ghost lives. This all leads to a massive road saga through America and Europe, climaxing with the Occupy Portland encampment of 2011 and a final showdown with The 1% Power Elite at Bohemian Grove.”
“This will be the book I will be remembered for, at least in a critical sense. Despite having become a solid name in the underground, the ruling literary establishment will not touch me with a 20,000 foot pole. 99% of these Manhattan literary agents won’t even read a single word. They are so out of touch with my generation and so eager to pigeon hole everything into tidy marketing strategies that they see the words ‘punk rock/heavy metal’ and immediately compartmentalize my work as some ‘music thing.’ The one’s who actually give me the time of day always are enthusiastic and think my work is quality, but they have no idea what to do with it.”
“It’s ok though – I have my audience, and it only continues to grow. It will take many decades before I reach a wide readership and I am very well aware that I may never live to see that happen, but I keep moving forward regardless. One day they will exhume my literary carcass just like the did Lautreamont or Miller, but for now, I offer this chapter to the true. The book is still nearing completion, and there is no set release date. But I didn’t want to hold back any longer. Stay tuned.”
Bartek is hard at work in the Northwest USA preparing a new record: “I’m on the verge of announcing a new band, which will be completely savage extreme metal making no concession to anyone or anything. Unlike the majority of my work which has always been about pushing the limits to convulsions, I’m actually setting out to do an album that is no-nonsense thrashing, grinding death metal madness. Imagine A.K.A. MABUS on steroids, on fire, with rabies. It will be a relentless juggernaut, built to destroy everything it’s path. Info TBA. To get a feel of my guitar work, the A.K.A. MABUS debut ‘Lord Of The Black Sheep‘ has been posted on YouTube: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xIfU2sef0zQ
Download Ryan Bartek’s previous books, as well as records from his bands A.K.A. MABUS, JACK CASSADY and SASQUATCH AGNOSTIC here 100% FREE: http://ryanbartek.angelfire.com/blog/
More first week chart positions have been revealed for HELLOWEEN’s new album, Straight Out Of Hell. The release has now achieved the following chart entries:
Japan – #2
Czech Republic – #4
Finland – #4
Germany – #4
Sweden – #6
Germany – #10
US – #97
The official video for the first single is the six-minute opus for ‘Nabataea’ which develops on several levels, including 3-D animation at motion picture level. The legendary kingdom Nabataea provides the atmospherically dense reference for the strong first release from Helloween’s new album. Check it out below:
WTVR.com are reporting that LAMB OF GOD singer Randy Blythe will return to the US this week after it was announced in court that his trial on manslaughter charges in the death of a fan, Daniel Nosek, at a Prague concert over two years ago, would be delayed. Nosek’s parents are demanding compensation of 10 million Czech Koruna (approximately $530,000).
Blythe’s defense team asked for the delay because a key witness was sick, according to Prague Post reporter Jonathan Crane who is helping cover the trial for WTVR.com. The defense team wanted that witness to testify in person. Another witness is scheduled to testify Thursday, after which the trial will be postponed until March 4th, Crane said.
Blythe will be allowed to return to the US until his trial resumes. He indicated in court that he would definitely return to Prague next month, Crane said.
Blythe was held in custody in the Czech Republic after being arrested on suspicion of manslaughter by Czech police at the Prague airport on Wednesday, June 27th. It is alleged that during a May 24th, 2010 Lamb Of God concert, Blythe pushed the 19-year-old fan, who had climbed onstage, back into the audience. The fan lapsed into a coma and died of bleeding in the brain fourteen days later.
More of WTVR.com’s coverage of the Randy Blythe trial can be found at this location.
Decibel Magazine to feature CATHEDRAL on the cover of their May issue
UK mainstays and international cult act CATHEDRAL, has released their first new recorded material in three years exclusively via Decibel Magazine’s subscriber-only Decibel Flexi Series. The song, Vengeance of the Blind Dead, can be heard in the flexi included in this month’s issue, which hits newsstands tomorrow. The track is also streaming on Decibel’s soundcloud page: soundcloud.com/decibelmagazine. Limited quantities of the issue with the flexi can be ordered on decibelmagazine.comHERE.
Additionally, CATHEDRAL will be the featured cover story for Decibel Magazine’s May issue, on newsstands in April. The feature will highlight the band’s storied career, as well as discuss their final studio release, The Last Spire. More info on The Last Spire, including cover art and music will be available shortly. The album is scheduled for worldwide release this April/May.
In 2011, CATHEDRAL released Anniversary, a two disc live album, captured during a special show at the Islington Academy in London. Disc one features the band’s original line up performing their 1991 debut, Forest of Equilibrium, in its entirety. The second set featured the longstanding line-up of Lee Dorrian, Garry Jennings, Brian Dixon and Leo Smee, in which they performed a raucous selection of songs old and new. Sample a track from Anniversary and order your copy at metalblade.com.
