Guitarist Robb Weir of the NWOBHM legends TYGERS OF PAN TANG has issued the following update:
"The TYGERS are currently having a short rest before 'roaring' again in a town near you! We are rehearsing some of the new songs to play live and working on a new show as well.
"August sees us off to Norway to play a festival with TWISTED SISTER amongst others. Plans are also in place for more touring in both the UK and Europe kicking off in October and stretching well into 2009.
"I shall also be attending Music Live at Birmingham's NEC in November, which we played live last year but this year as a guest to Spear Guitars who I have recently signed an endorsement contract with. The guitars are fantastic and great value for money so come and see me on the stand and I will try and explain why I think they are pound for pound the best guitar on the market today.
"Finally I see my old mate 'JS' (John Sykes) is playing the night before us with THIN LIZZY at Hard Rock Hell 2 festival in December. It's been a while since we got up to some mischief together and this will be the perfect opportunity to cause some mayhem…"
TYGERS OF PAN TANG's new album, "Animal Instinct", was released in Italy, Germany and Scandinavia on June 9, and will be made available and in Japan in mid-July via Marquee/Avalon. The CD is currently available in the UK and via the band's official web site, www.tygersofpantang.com.
According to a press release, "Animal Instinct", sees the band "go back to their early roots, playing hard-edged rock in the manner of 'Wildcat' and 'Spellbound'."
TYGERS OF PAN TANG's current lineup is:
Robb Weir - Guitar Dean Robertson - Guitar Jacopo Meille - Vocals Brian West - Bass Craig Ellis - Drums
Watch fan-filmed video footage of TYGERS OF PAN TANG performing at the Leeds Rio's, UK in February 2008:
Japanese metal quartet OUTRAGE has been confirmed as the "special guest" on the first three shows of the CHILDREN OF BODOM Japan tour which starts July 5 in Tokyo. OUTRAGE fill the slot vacated by ALL THAT REMAINS, who pulled out of the tour at the last minute due to the vocalist Philip Labonte's illness.
CHILDREN OF BODOM Japan Tour 2008:
July 05 - Tokyo - Studio Coast (with Outrage) July 06 - Tokyo - Studio Coast (with Outrage) July 07 - Nagoya - Club Diamond Hall (with Outrage) July 09 - Osaka - Namba Hatch July 10 - Hiroshima - Club Quattro July 11 - Fukuoka - Drum Logos
Due to other commitments, OUTRAGE won't play any dates beyond July 9 on this tour. Another Japanese band is expected to play the rest of the dates. The official announcement will be made soon.
OUTRAGE reunited with estranged vocalist Naoki Hashimoto, who had left the band in 1999, for the 20th anniversary tour last year. After completing the successful tour, Hashimoto officially rejoined the band in Feburary 2008.
OUTRAGE released the limited-edition double live CD "Awakening 2008" in Japan on June 25 through JVC Victor. Recorded during the three-night special show of the same name in Tokyo in March this year, the first disc features the entire "The Final Day" album (1991) in live form and the entire "Life Until Deaf" album (1995) in live form on the second disc.
OUTRAGE is currently working on material for a new studio album, tentatively due later this year.
A live clip taken from the 20th anniversary tour DVD "The Years of Rage":
Former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson, who currently works for Peavey Electronics (manufacturer of musical equipment, gear and accessories) as an artist relations representative, conducted an interview with Lauren Harris — daughter of IRON MAIDEN bassist Steve Harris — and her backing band during Lauren's recent U.S. run as the support act for MAIDEN. Watch the eight-minute PVTV report below.
Lauren Harris' debut album, "Calm Before The Storm", was written over the past three years, and features the lead track "Steal Your Fire", which is available for free download here.
IRON MAIDEN's Steve Harris guests on various tracks of the album, the first time he has played on any recording other than those of MAIDEN.
The CD version of the album was released worldwide on June 23 through Demolition DR2 Records and includes an extra bonus track, a cover of UFO's "Natural Thing" and a separate DVD disc which includes the showreel, two full promo videos and slide show.
Says Lauren: "We have worked hard on this record for some time between out hectic touring schedule and are really delighted that it's finally coming out soon. We hope the many fans around the world who we have met on tour like it as much as we all do, and look forward to seeing many of you again on tour this summer at the MAIDEN shows and festivals we are playing."
Holland's FaceCulture recently conducted an interview with SOULFLY mainman Max Cavalera. Watch the first part of the chat below.
SOULFLY's new video, "Unleash", was directed by Robert Sexton, who has previously worked with MONDO GENERATOR, AMEN and ICED EARTH, among many others. The song is the first single from SOULFLY's new album, "Conquer", which is due on July 29 via Roadrunner Records.
In addition to the standard edition of SOULFLY's forthcoming album "Conquer", a special edition of the LP will be released featuring three bonus tracks and a bonus DVD containing a full 65-minute live concert.
Former MEGADETH bassist David Ellefson, who currently works for Peavey Electronics (manufacturer of musical equipment, gear and accessories) as an artist relations representative, conducted an interview with BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE vocalist/guitarist Matt Tuck during BULLET's recently completed Taste of Chaos tour. Watch the three-minute PVTV report below.
BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE will kick off its 2008 U.S. headlining tour on Tuesday, July 14 at the Rave in Milwaukee, WI. The dates are in support of the band's latest album "Scream Aim Fire", which debuted at No. 4 in the U.S. and simultaneously in the Top 5 in the UK, Australia, Germany and Japan.
Sponsored by the No Fear clothing company, the first leg of BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE's North American tour will run to mid-August (dates below); the second leg will run throughout September, dates to be announced shortly. Joining BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE for the tour will be BLEEDING THROUGH and on select dates, CANCER BATS and BLACK TIDE.
Danish thrashers HATESPHERE will team up with Italian bands METHEDRAS and NEURASTHENIA for the TMF On The Road mini-tour, set to take place in September.
Confirmed dates are as follows:
Sep. 17 - Solothurn, SWI - Kulturfabrik Kofmehl Sep. 18 - Milan, ITA - Music Drome Sep. 19 - Pescara, ITA - Rock House Sep. 20 - Modugno - Bari, ITA - Demodè Disco Club (Total Metal Festival) Sep. 21 - Pinarella Di Cervia - Ravenna, ITA - Rock Planet
HATESPHERE last month entered Antfarm Studios in Århus, Denmark with producer Tue Madsen to begin recording its new album for a late 2008 release.
HATESPHERE was honored in the "Hard Rock" category at the annual Danish Music Awards (the Danish Grammy Awards equivalent). The 40th Danish Music Awards show was held on February 23 at Tivoli in Copenhagen, Denmark and was broadcast live on MySpace.
JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford answers fans' questions in this week's Metal Hammer podcast. The 32-minute episode also features Metal Hammer's Gill and Bezer talking about the week's essential metal news, giving some controversial opinions on the new SLIPKNOT material and a whole lot more.
Download the podcast at this location (MP3 file, 30 MB).
JUDAS PRIEST will guest on the nationally syndicated radio show "Rockline", hosted by Bob Coburn, on Monday, July 21 at 11:30 p.m. EST/8:30 p.m. PST. Fans can talk live with JUDAS PRIEST by calling 800-344-ROCK (7625). To find a station near you or to listen to the show live via the Internet, go to www.rocklineradio.com.
POISONBLACK, the Finnish band featuring former SENTENCED frontman Ville Laihiala, has revealed the cover artwork (see below) for its third album, "A Dead Heavy Day", which is scheduled for release in August. The CD was recorded at Soundmix Studio in POISONBLACK's hometown of Oulu with Kari Vähäkuopus and was mixed by Aksu Hanttu at Grooveland Studio in Lahti.
"A Dead Heavy Day" track listing:
01. Intro 02. Diane 03. Left Behind 04. Bear The Cross 05. A Dead Heavy Day 06. Me Myself And I 07. X 08. Human-Compost 09. The Days Between 10. Hatelove 11. Low Life 12. Only You Can Tear Me Apart
The song "Left Behind" is available for streaming on POISONBLACK's MySpace page.
Commented Ville Laihiala: "As usual, it took a year of adventures in life and relationships to put my innermost feelings into the shape of songs. Everything is straight from inside of my head. Compositions and lyrics are supposed to support each other as good as possible to express my innermost emotions."
The first single, "Bear The Cross", will be released in Finland on August 13. It will feature two brand-new songs from "A Dead Heavy Day" as well as a semi-acoustic live track the band performed on Oulu's Radio Mega.
"A Dead Heavy Day" will be released through Century Media Records in Europe on the following dates:
* Finland: Wednesday, August 27 * Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Benelux, Italy: * Friday, August 29 * UK, France, Greece, Denmark, Norway, Rest Of Europe: Monday, September 1 * Spain, Portugal: Tuesday, September 2 * Sweden, Hungary: Wednesday, September 3
POISONBLACK filmed a video for the song "Bear The Cross" at the end of June with Klaffi Productions.
POISONBLACK drummer Tarmo Kanerva previously stated about the new material, "On one hand, there is going to be some really melodic songs, and on the other hand, the heavy stuff is heavier than anything we have ever done before. Still, you won't need to be afraid of dramatic changes. It'll be the typical POISONBLACK sound."
POISONBLACK in 2006 entered the Finnish national album chart with its sophomore CD, "Lust Stained Despair", at position No. 2.
Video footage from "A Dead Heavy Day" recording sessions:
Metal Mick from Metal Gods TV conducted an interview with guitarist Gus G. of the Greek metal band FIREWIND at this year's Download festival, which was held June 13-15 at Donington Park, Leicestershire, UK. Watch the six-minute chat below.
FIREWIND had its latest album, "The Premonition", released in Japan on June 25 through King Records. The LP was made available on a limited-edition CD+DVD including four songs from the band's acclaimed hometown show in Thessaloniki on January 12, 2008, plus in-depth interviews with all bandmembers. In addition, the album contains three bonus tracks: "Ride To The Rainbow's End", "Spirits In A Digital World" and "Mercenary Man" (acoustic version).
FIREWIND's "Mercenary Man" single entered the Greek chart at position No. 6.
Belgium's TMF channel aired an interview with JUDAS PRIEST and footage from the band's June 27, 2008 performance at the Graspop Metal Meeting in Dessel, Belgium. Watch the coverage in two parts below.
JUDAS PRIEST will guest on the nationally syndicated radio show "Rockline", hosted by Bob Coburn, on Monday, July 21 at 11:30 p.m. EST/8:30 p.m. PST. Fans can talk live with JUDAS PRIEST by calling 800-344-ROCK (7625). To find a station near you or to listen to the show live via the Internet, go to www.rocklineradio.com.
JUDAS PRIEST's new double-disc concept album, "Nostradamus", sold 42,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 11 on The Billboard 200 chart. This marks the band's highest-ever chart position in the U.S. In Canada, the CD opened at position No. 9 after shifting close to 4,000 units.
JUDAS PRIEST's last CD, "Angel of Retribution", premiered with 58,000 copies in the U.S. back in March 2005 to debut at No. 13.
Musica Metal has posted video footage of Australian rock and roll legends ROSE TATTOO performing on June 27, 2008 at the Gods of Metal festival in Bologna, Italy. Watch the clip below.
Wacken Records/SPV recently released a "special edition" of "Blood Brothers" (cover artwork), the latest album from ROSE TATTOO. Besides the regular album, the "special edition" features a DVD containing the Wacken Open Air show from 2006 plus the Tatts TV interviews.
Mikael Åkerfeldt (vocals, guitar) and Fredrik Åkesson (guitar) of the Swedish progressive metal band OPETH were recently interviewed by "Whiplash", a weekly metal show on Belgian national radio Studio Brussel, hosted by AFTER ALL guitarist Dries Van Damme. Listen to the chat in streaming audio in two parts: Part#1, Part#2.
OPETH was recently forced to cancel its appearances at the Peace & Love (Borlänge, Sweden on June 26), Hovefestivalen (Norway on June 27), Metaltown (Gothenborg, Sweden on June 28), and Graspop Metal Meeting (Dessel, Belgium on June 29) festivals after Mikael Åkerfeldt contracted varicella (chicken pox).
"Watershed", the new album from OPETH, sold more than 19,000 copies of in the United States in its first week of release.
"Watershed" is the follow-up to the band's acclaimed "Ghost Reveries" CD, which debuted at No. 64 on the Billboard chart back in September 2005 with first-week sales of just under 15,000. OPETH's 2003 album, "Damnation", opened with a little over 5,000 copies.
"Ghost Reveries" has sold more than 95,000 copes in the United States since its 2005 release, according to Nielsen SoundScan.
Earache Records has announced the signing of the Chicago death metal band OCEANO to a multi-album, worldwide recording deal.
Conceived in 2006, OCEANO "comprises of former members of several Chicago metal outfits, and together are rapidly becoming one of the standouts of the Chicago extreme metal scene.," according to a press release. "Describing themselves as one of the angriest bands on Earth, OCEANO channel this through their music, creating in the process some of the heaviest, most guttural and all-out brutal music to be found anywhere. Having already completed numerous successful tours in the Midwest playing with the likes of HATEBREED and SUFFOCATION, OCEANO are constantly growing in popularity and with a record deal under their belts, are now ready to spread their path of destruction far and wide, and will be soon levelling a town near you."
Musica Metal has posted video footage of New Jersey mathcore band THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN's performance at the Gods of Metal festival on June 28, 2008 in Bologna, Italy. Watch the clip below.
THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN recently completed an Australian and New Zealand headlining tour. The band is currently in Europe for dates with MESHUGGAH and a number of festival appearances, including Gods Of Metal, Roskilde and more. THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN has also been added to a portion of this summer's Warped Tour followed by a U.S. tour with CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, THROWDOWN, and BURY YOUR DEAD. THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN will also perform as part of the Monsters Of Rock Festival in Calgary along with OZZY OSBOURNE, JUDAS PRIEST, HATEBREED, VOIVOD, and more.
Kevin Donahue, an amateur drummer who works as a Surgical Coordinator at Children's Hospital in Boston, recently won a drumming lesson with GODSMACK frontman Sully Erna as part of Entercom Radio's "Get Schooled" program via the local radio station WAAF FM.
"Ironically, a friend of mine is actually friends with Sully," Donahue told Wicked Local. "She told me to check out the contest to win a drumming lesson from Sully Erna of GODSMACK. You had to write why you entered the contest in 50 words or less. That's two sentences worth of essay.
"I wrote that I'd followed GODSMACK from the beginning, and Sully was the reason I took up drumming in the first place."
During the lesson Donahue told Erna he is left-handed and has always been ordered to play right-handed.
"So I told him everything feels backwards to me," said Donahue. "He said, 'The best thing I can tell you is to be comfortable. If you want to play left-handed, play left-handed. You should be able to close your eyes and feel where your drums are.'
"Then he closed his eyes and did this amazing drum solo that left everyone with their jaws hanging open. He suggested learning the foundation when you start studying drumming, picking up the drumbeat and getting your timing down by listening to good bands like AC/DC, RUSH and LED ZEPPELIN. He gave me some tips on how to play drums without injuring my shoulder any further."
Guitarist Ron Jarzombek (WATCHTOWER, SPASTIC INK, BLOTTED SCIENCE) has issued the following update:
"Well, what do you know? BLOTTED SCIENCE finally got a chance to play together live! Yes! Eight months after our first release, 'The Machinations Of Dementia', and we’re finally in the same room together with our musical instruments! After a few months of working around our schedules, we ended up at Mana Studios in St. Petersburg, Florida. Alex's [Webster, BLOTTED SCIENCE/CANNIBAL CORPSE bassist] good friend Erik Rutan [HATE ETERNAL, ex-MORBID ANGEL; owner of Mana studio] was cool enough to let us hang out and get in a few days of rehearsal.
"We documented the rehearsal sessions a bit by setting up a few video cameras around as Alex's wifey took a few pics. No, we didn't do any studio reEQing, or any of that hi-tech technical stuff, just got the raw sound from video cameras, and that's what you get. Just the three of us playing our tunes.
"We have just signed a deal with Cargo UK so BLOTTED SCIENCE, both SPASTIC INK releases, and my solo CD should become more readily available around Europe.
"I'm still hard at work on my instructional guitar DVDs, have a lot done, but am nowhere near completion. I'm not going to pull a 'Mathematics' [WATCHTOWER's long-in-the-works new CD] on any of you, but I'm now shooting for an early 2009 release. These DVDs will include lots of playing examples, theoretical concepts, and animated explanations, featuring songs and excerpts from both SPASTIC INK CDs, both my solo albums, and, of course, the BLOTTED SCIENCE CD 'The Machinations Of Dementia'.
"I'm happy to announce that I am one of the guest players on NEVERMORE guitarist Jeff Loomis' forthcoming solo album, 'Zero Order Phase', which is due September 30 on Century Media. Jeff and his engineer Neil Kernon approached me a couple of months ago about doing a solo and needless to say I felt quite honored as Jeff is an amazing player. I'm splitting solos with Jeff on the song 'Jato Unit'; other guests include Mr. Kernon himself, Pat O'Brien from CANNIBAL CORPSE, and bass virtuoso Michael Manring, who also did a track on the second SPASTIC INK album for me."
Former QUIET RIOT guitarist Alex Grossi will guest on "Caffeine Bomb Radio" today (Friday, July 4) between 10:00 p.m. and midnight EST on 91.7 FM WHUS. The program can be streamed live via the Internet at www.whus.org.
HOOKERS 'N' BLOW, the band featuring Grossi alongside GUNS N' ROSES keyboardist Dizzy Reed, has scheduled the following dates:
July 11 - Sticky Fingerz - Little Rock, AR July 12 - Outlaws Bar And Grill - Farmington, MO July 13 - Expo Five Expo Center - Louisville, KY
VAN HALEN kicked off the Québec City Summer Festival (Le Festival d’été de Québec) in Québec City, Québec, Canada last night (Thursday, July 3) on the Scène Bell stage in front of the largest crowd ever in the event's 41-year history. An estimated 90,000 people attended the first of more than 400 shows that are scheduled to take place over the course of the next 10 days.
VAN HALEN's setlist was as follows:
01. You Really Got Me 02. I'm The One 03. Runnin With The Devil 04. Romeo Delight 05. Somebody Get Me A Doctor 06. Beautiful Girls 07. Dance The Night Away 08. Atomic Punk 09. Everybody Wants Some 10. So This Is Love? 11. Mean Street 12. Pretty Woman 13. Alex Van Halen Solo 14. Unchained 15. I'll Wait 16. And The Cradle Will Rock… 17. Hot For Teacher 18. Little Dreamer 19. Jamie's Crying 20. Ice Cream Man 21. Panama 22. Eddie Van Halen Solo 23. Ain't Talkin Bout Love 24. 1984 25. Jump
Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be viewed below.
Check out Québec media coverage of last night's show:
MEGADETH's official web site has been updated with the following message:
"MEGADETH fans know that Dave Mustaine has an opinion about pretty much everything. When he stopped by the Sirius Radio's Hard Attack studios, he didn't disappoint. The one-hour interview was broadcast on the 'Hard Files' program on channel 27 last Thursday, June 26 and repeated for days after. Listen to some excerpts of the interview with Dave."
Dave Mustaine will take part in the next installment of Guitar Center Sessions on July 10 at the Guitar Center in Hollywood, California. The event is free and open to the public.
Designed to provide informative, provocative conversation and hands-on tutorials, GC Sessions serves as an incubator for musicians, providing them an opportunity to network with their peers in an intimate setting and gain career-fostering advice from their heroes. For this evening's event, Dave Mustaine will offer guitar techniques, discuss his favorite gear (including his signature guitars and Marshall amps), and provide advice on marketing, monetizing and touring in today’s music business.
July 10, 2008 at 6:00 p.m. Guitar Center Hollywood 7425 Sunset Blvd. Hollywood, CA
A private media-only portion of the evening will begin at 5:00 p.m.
Musica Metal has posted video footage of legendary Florida death metallers MORBID ANGEL performing a brand new song, "Nevermore", at the Gods of Metal festival on June 29, 2008 in Bologna, Italy. Watch the clip below.
MORBID ANGEL played its first show with new touring guitarist, ZYKLON's longtime axemeister Destructhor (a.k.a. Thor Anders Myhren), on June 22 at the Hellfest in Clisson, France.
"Obviously the urgency to get a [new second] guitar player in the band working with us kind of put the writing [for the upcoming MORBID ANGEL album] on hold," the group's frontman, David Vincent, revealed to Norway's "Tinitus" radio show in an interview that aired last month. "But we're looking forward to getting right back to it as soon as we're finished with these European festivals in July."
Although MORBID ANGEL's upcoming album does not currently have a name, its title will likely begin with the letter "I", in keeping with the band's tradition of titling their albums in alphabetical order beginning with 1989's "Altars of Madness", and continuing through "Heretic".
"A lot of people around the world have come up with titles that they thought it would be," Vincent told "Tinitus". "There is no title yet — we've not decided on it. We've not decided whether it's going to continue following the alphabet or not. So anything that you hear or read on the Internet is totally speculation by anyone."
MORBID ANGEL's follow-up to 2003's "Heretic" will mark the group's first release to feature David Vincent since 1995's "Domination".
MORBID ANGEL is presently unsigned, having parted ways with Earache Records following "Heretic"'s release.
Regarding Destructhor's addition to the band's touring lineup, Vincent said, "We had a fairly long audition process. We looked long and hard at this. We decided when we began this process that it was gonna be a unanimous decision. We had several people [apply for the job] — very good players from, really, all over the world — and we got a video from Thor — the same video that we asked from all the different players; the same two songs — and some people didn't get past the initial discussion stage, and then some people went on to the next stage and it ended up that the band unanimously felt that Thor would be the best guitarist for the band."
MORBID ANGEL's current lineup is rounded out by guitarist Trey Azagthoth and drummer Pete Sandoval.
Upcoming MORBID ANGEL shows:
July 04 - Leipzig, GER @ With Full Force July 05 - Bergum, NETH @ Waldrock July 07 - Tolmin, SLO @ Metalcamp July 09 - Athens, GRE @ Rockwave
Hollywood glam rock heroes and Corporate Punishment Records recording artists SPIDERS & SNAKES are set to appear on "Crüe Believers", a tribute to MÖTLEY CRÜE being released by Deadline/Cleopatra Records this fall. Appearing on the tribute with SPIDERS & SNAKES will be L.A. GUNS, BULLETBOYS, ENUFF Z'NUFF, Gilby Clarke from GUNS N' ROSES, Jack Russell from GREAT WHITE, Stevie Rachelle from TUFF and many others.
The band will contribute the track "Public Enemy #1" which was written by SPIDERS & SNAKES frontman Lizzie Grey and originally appeared on MÖTLEY CRÜE's "Too Fast For Love" debut album.
In other news, the SPIDERS & SNAKES trio is once again a quartet, having added former RATT touring guitarist Jimmy Wigle to its lineup. Wigle made his live debut with the band last week at its well-received Club Vodka gig at Los Angeles' Knitting Factory, which was also the screening party for the Cleopatra Records motion picture documentary "Hollywood Rocks". The show sold-out and was well-attended by many rock superstars, including members of MÖTLEY CRÜE, RATT, W.A.S.P., POISON, MICHAEL SCHENKER GROUP, GUNS N' ROSES, FASTER PUSSYCAT, GREAT WHITE, WHITE LION and many more musicians who appeared in the film.
Montreal, Quebec, Canada band THE PLASMARIFLE has posted the song "Haunted by the Ghost of a Dead Actress" on its MySpace page. The track comes off the group's forthcoming album, "While you Were Sleeping the World Forever Changed in an Instant", due on September 30 via Seige of Amida Records/Ferret Music.
According to a press release, THE PLASMARIFLE "is the next generation in the grand tradition of Montreal metal bands like VOIVOD, GORGUTS, CRYPTOPSY and KATAKLYSM who merge a high level of technical skill with creative exploration. It’s punishing music that should appeal to fans of being hit by 18-wheelers, eating broken glass, and having their dick slammed in a door."
THE PLASMARIFLE also recently successfully completed the Montreal Assault tour with DESPISED ICON, ION DISSONANCE and BENEATH THE MASSACRE.
SIC, the metal band from the Faroe Islands, has released its video for the song "To Dare To Risk To Regret". Watch the clip below.
"To Dare To Risk To Regret" comes off the band's debut studio CD, "Pandemonium", which was released in early 2007 through Tutl Records. The album was produced by Tommy Hansen at Jailhouse Studios.
SIC is:
Eddie Jacobsen (guitar) Mikkjal G. Hansen (vocals) Magnus Hansen (drums) Frans Galan (guitar) Gudmar Hansen (bass)
Ozzfest co-founder Sharon Osbourne checked in with 93.3 The Bone in Dallas, Texas in early June on the "Cindy Scull & Robert Miguel Morning Show" to chat about this year's one-day Ozzfest, which is set to take place on August 9 at Pizza Hut Park in Dallas. Listen to the interview at this location (click on "Sharon Osbourne" in the audio player).
The official Ozzfest 2008 "gydget" can be found below.
Gydget is a widget maker providing marketing solutions focused to the entertainment industry. The service is aimed at bands, sports teams, and celebrities looking to get the word out to fans across the social networks they visit. The service is the spawn of former city events info provider Attendio.com.
Ozzfest organizers confirmed earlier in May through a post at the official web site that the festival, a touring event for more than a decade, will transform into a "destination festival" this summer. OZZY OSBOURNE and METALLICA will headline the one-day show on August 9. Also appearing on the main stage are SERJ TANKIAN, KORN singer Jonathan Davis, HELLYEAH, CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, SHADOWS FALL, APOCALYPTICA, IN THIS MOMENT and what's being billed as an "all-star tribute" to slain PANTERA and DAMAGEPLAN guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott.
Sharon Osbourne said in the post, "We're going to be a stadium destination festival for now — we have gone past doing the sheds every summer. We've given everyone else the blueprint and we have to keep evolving Ozzfest. This is just the beginning; (promoter) AEG Live and I have a lot of new ideas for Ozzfest."
Ozzfest 2008 lineup:
Main Stage:
OZZY OSBOURNE METALLICA SERJ TANKIAN HELLYEAH JONATHAN DAVIS CAVALERA CONSPIRACY SHADOWS FALL APOCALYPTICA IN THIS MOMENT All-Star Tribute To "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott
Second Stage:
SEVENDUST DEVILDRIVER KINGDOM OF SORROW SOILENT GREEN WITCHCRAFT GOATWHORE
Texas (Third) Stage: *
THE SWORD DROWNING POOL RIGOR MORTIS WITHIN CHAOS THE DESTRO
* Homage to the "many great metal bands that come from Texas," according to Sharon Osbourne
Rumors had been circulating for months that Ozzfest would become a one-or-two-day event this summer, with METALLICAsurfacing as a potential headliner in the last few weeks. This will be the band's first Ozzfest appearance.
Last year's Ozzfest, which hit 25 cities, was a free event, with tickets handled through corporate sponsorship. The tour caused controversy by asking acts to play without getting paid, which many felt led to a weaker lineup.
Vocalist Fernando Ribeiro of the Portuguese metal band MOONSPELL was recently interviewed by "Whiplash", a weekly metal show on Belgian national radio Studio Brussel, hosted by AFTER ALL guitarist Dries Van Damme. Listen to the chat in streaming audio in two parts: Part#1, Part#2.
MOONSPELL's new album, "Night Eternal", was recorded at Antfarm studios in Denmark with producer Tue Madsen (THE HAUNTED, DARK TRANQUILLITY, HALFORD). Two editions of the record were made available: A limited double digipack with different artwork, one bonus track ("Age of Mothers"), a different version of the song "Scorpion Flower", the full album as well as a bonus DVD containing all video clips from "Memorial" plus "Finisterra" "making-of" footage and three live clips from last year's performance at the Wacken Open Air festival in Germany; plus the jewel case edition.
MOONSPELL's video for the track "Scorpion Flower" is one of two (along with "Night Eternal") off the group's new album, "Night Eternal", which were shot by Ivan Colic (TYPE O NEGATIVE, SYMPHONY X, HAMMERFALL) in Belgrade, Serbia. Colic previously worked with the group on the "Memorial" video for "Finisterra".
SHADOWSIDE lead singer Dani Nolden joined California's BENEDICTUM on stage at the second annual Flight of the Valkyries festival this past Saturday (June 28) in St. Paul, Minnesota for a rendition of the DIO classic "Rainbow in the Dark". Watch footage of the performance below.
Commented festival organizer Bobbie Dickerson: "It was certainly one of the highlights of the weekend! I came up with the idea after listening to the SHADOWSIDE CD one day. I knew that BENEDICTUM had done several covers of Dio songs previously (two on their first album — 'Heaven and Hell' and 'The Mob Rules') and just thought it would be a unique experience, not to mention a lot of fun for the fans and the bands. Thankfully, even with the limited time to work on this idea, Dani, Veronica and the guys from BENEDICTUM were able to pull this off incredibly well and I thank them endlessly for that!"
SHADOWSIDE co-headlined the Flight of the Valkyries festival alongside UNEXPECT from Canada.
SHADOWSIDE recently posted two new tracks on its MySpace page. The songs "Nation Hollow Mind" and "In the Night" will both be included on the group's forthcoming album, "Dare to Dream", due before the end of the year. The follow-up to "Theatre of Shadows" (2006 - Universal Music Brazil; 2007 - Chavis Records worldwide) was produced and mixed by Dave Schiffman (SYSTEM OF A DOWN, AUDIOSLAVE, AVENGED SEVENFOLD) and will be mastered by Howie Weinberg (AEROSMITH, IRON MAIDEN, METALLICA, PANTERA) at Masterdisk Studio in New York.
Chelsea of Vlazemetal.com recently conducted an interview with FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH vocalist Ivan Moody and drummer Jeremy Spencer. Watch the chat in four parts below.
FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH recently released a brand new song called "Never Enough" as a free download to fans who have already bought or are now buying the band's debut album, "The Way of the Fist". The track, which is also the band's new single, was written and recorded during some down time while singer Ivan Moody was recovering from a throat problem. He told The Pulse of Radio that some of the anxiety he was feeling at
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