AEROSMITH will perform at the inaugural Social Star Awards in Singapore this Saturday, May 25. The band will take to the stage with other performers, including Cee Lo Green and BLUSH, at the world's first social media awards and also at a post-ceremony concert for fans called The Singapore Social.
On Wednesday (May 22), the members of AEROSMITH took part in a media conference. Check out video footage from Imagine TV network below.
AEROMITH lead singer Steven Tyler, 65, described local women as “a great melting pot… there are a lot of different kinds… delicious."
Asked how he stays youthful, funny and flirtatious, Tyler answered simply: "Music. I live vicariously through music, and through it, I can become Peter Pan. That's the thing about music, everybody loves to dance and sing to it, and at the same time keeps you young. I've married it, I've lived it, I've breathed it and it has offered me that [youth]. Plus, women do something to me, too, that I can't explain."
The Social Star Awards will be a unique 24-hour event with an incredible 288 awards (one every 5 minutes) presented to the biggest stars and brands across the world.
At the Social Star Awards, the world will shine a spotlight on Singapore to discover the world’s most popular stars in social media globally over the past 12 months in this three-hour celebration event.
Danish melodic death metallers MERCENARY have completed mixing their seventh album, "Through Our Darkest Days", for a July 26 release via NoiseArt Records. The CD was recorded at Hansen Studios in Ribe, Denmark with longtime producer Jacob Hansen (RAUNCHY, VOLBEAT, NIGHTRAGE, HATESPHERE, PYRAMAZE). The cover art was created by Mircea Eftemie (guitarist of MNEMIC), who has previously worked with SOILWORK, ILLDISPOSED and others.
The "Through Our Darkest Days" title track can be streamed using the SoundCloud widget below.
Says the band: "We are proud to let you all hear the title track of our new album. We put a lot of effort, heart and soul into this beast and can't wait to unleash it on the world!
"For us, the song is very iconic and it embodies the melancholic and grand sound that has always been a trademark for MERCENARY."
MERCENARY comments on the cover: "Last year when we were busy with pre-productions, we considered reaching out to Mircea to ask if he'd like to give our new cover a shot, because we liked his recent stuff and wanted to try someone with a fresh approach. Against all odds, however, he actually beat us to it and contacted us first with the exact same offer, so it very much seemed as a collaboration that was meant to be.
"After a few sketches, we quickly locked on to the main motive of the cover, which we felt was both iconic, mysterious, and not least, oddly disturbing. Most importantly perhaps, we also felt that Mircea's artwork had managed in a natural way to combine something fresh with the style of our older album covers and their dark and atmospheric vibes.
"As our new album is very much a combination our latest material with a lot of the more traditional melodic and melancholic elements of previous MERCENARY albums, we felt that this was a perfect visual expression of MERCENARY's sound and identity in 2013.
"The cover symbolizes a darkness that we have gone through as a band, which we feel that we have finally been able to put behind us.
"The title of the album is meant very positively and thematizes both the journey through existential darkness as a general theme and the ability to break through it.
"The lyrical universe is very much about making the most of life and not getting caught up in negativity."
Adds Eftemie: "I wanted to make something that had a direct visual relation to the album title, but also follow the design patterns of the older MERCENARY album covers, to keep their identity and brand intact. After swapping ideas back and forth, we ended with a piece not too abstract, but dark and disturbing enough to portray the concept of the new album. It was absolutely a pleasure working on this piece!"
"Metamorphosis", the sixth album from MERCENARY, entered the official chart in the band's home country at position No. 42. The CD was released in the U.S. on March 29, 2011 via Prosthetic.
MERCENARY 2013 is:
Jakob Mølbjerg - Guitar René Pedersen - Bass, Vocals Martin Buus - Lead Guitar Peter Mathiesen - Drums
Fan-filmed video footage of GHOST's entire April 18 concert at Ogden Theatre in Denver, Colorado can be seen below.
GHOST's sophomore album, "Infestissumam", sold around 14,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 28 on The Billboard 200 chart.
The CD topped the official chart in the group's home country after selling nearly five times as many copies as the No. 2 album, MISS LI's "Wolves".
The release date of "Infestissumam" was reportedly pushed back a week to April 16 after four compact disc manufacturers allegedly refused to print a piece of artwork that was meant for the deluxe version of the new CD. The manufacturers all took issue with the sacrilegious imagery, inspired by the work of Gustave Dore, which showcases what looks like a forest nymph orgy.
"We kept on getting turned down because of the CD art, which is basically a 16th century illustration of an orgy," a source close to the band told SPIN.com. "[The bandmembers] weren't surprised. The comment was 'Well, I thought this would have happened sooner.' The artwork was meant to provoke some sort of thought, but it's been one obstacle after another."
The controversial art can still be found on both the vinyl and European copies of the "Infestissuman" CD. "Vinyl manufacturers don't have a problem with the artwork. Neither does Europe," the source told SPIN.com.
GHOST was forced to modify its name in the U.S. to GHOST B.C. for "legal reasons."
Hailing from Linköping, Sweden, GHOST formed in in 2008. They released their heralded debut album, "Opus Eponymous", in 2010. In 2011, GHOST performed at the annual Download festival in the United Kingdom. The band's fanbase began to swell and not long after added some of hard rock's finest to this group. Additionally that year, GHOST took part in the "Defenders Of Faith III" tour with TRIVIUM, IN FLAMES and RISE TO REMAIN. In early 2012, they embarked on their first tour of the United States and later that year shared the stage with MASTODON and OPETH on their "Heritage Hunter Tour" in North America. That summer the band was invited by METALLICA's James Hetfield to perform on the main stage of METALLICA's first annual Orion Music + More festival.
Washed Up Media conducted an interview with the New Jersey-based "mathcore" act THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN at the 15th annual New England Metal & Hardcore Festival, which was held April 19-21 at The Palladium in Worcester, Massachusetts. You can now watch the chat below.
THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN's fifth full-length album, "One Of Us Is The Killer", sold around 15,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 25 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was released on May 14 through the band's own Party Smasher Inc., in partnership with Sumerian Records in North America. Party Smasher's partnership with BMG covers the rest of the world, including licensing deals with Grind House for Japan and Remote Control in Australia.
THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN' 2010 CD, "Option Paralysis", opened with around 7,100 units to land at No. 78. This was roughly in line with the opening tally of the band'sprevious album, "Ire Works", which landed at No. 142 on the Billboard chart after premiering with 6,900 units back in November 2007.
"One Of Us Is The Killer" was recorded in Southern California with longtime producer Steve Evetts (GLASSJAW, THE CURE, SUICIDE SILENCE), with additional production at guitarist/co-founder Ben Weinman's studio. Mastering was handled by Tom Baker (DEFTONES, NINE INCH NAILS, BEASTIE BOYS).
Fat Guy conducted an interview with KORN guitarist Brian "Head" Welch at this year's Rock On The Range festival, which took place May 17-19 at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. You can now watch the chat below.
KORN recently completed work on its 11th studio CD and first with founding guitarist Brian "Head" Welch back in the fold since 2003's "Take A Look In The Mirror".
Speaking to Loudwire, Welch stated about the songwriting process for the new KORN album, "It was effortless. It just kind of fell into place and it was better than before."
Asked how much involvement Welch has had in the creative process so far, KORN guitarist James "Munky" Shaffer said: "He had a huge role in everything. This guy is the melody-chorus master. He's the best. He can come up with melodies and choruses all day long and that was a huge help for me, 'cause for a long time I was trying to come up with choruses and verses and wrangle the whole thing. It's been so much work and for him to come in and have these fresh ideas, it's just been so refreshing."
Added Welch: "And it goes both ways, because I came in and then we started, but it was… Like, my favorite song on the album is one that [Munky] came up with. I'm a fan of his writing, he's a fan of my writing, and it all just works great."
Welch left KORN in 2005 to pursue a solo career and devote more of his life to Christianity, but rejoined them for one gig last year and several more in 2013, leading to plans to record together again.
Welch told Rolling Stone, "We knew we would have a blast playing together, because we love each other so much, but we really wanted to make sure the music felt right before we committed to making a whole album together. But since we got in the studio, everything just started pouring out, now I can't wait until our fans hear this stuff!"
The new KORN set is due out in late summer and will follow up 2011's "The Path Of Totality", which found the group experimenting with dubstep.
The new record will feature four-fifths of the original KORN lineup, with only founding drummer David Silveria not on board.
KORN played its first full show in eight years with Welch on May 15 at Rostraver Ice Garden in Belle Vernon, Pennsylvania. Welch first appeared onstage with them for one song at last year's Carolina Rebellion festival.
Bazillion Points Books has announced the upcoming release of "Heavy Metal Movies", by Mike "McBeardo" McPadden. Lavishly illustrated, and featuring more than two-times-666 of the most metallic movie moments of all time, "Heavy Metal Movies" is the ultimate guidebook to the complete molten musical cinema experience.
The unadulterated journey through searing celluloid spans concert movies and trippy midnight flicks from the dawn of heaviosity, inspirational depictions of ancient times and future apocalypses, and today's raw hand-held digital video productions. "Heavy Metal Movies" rounds up, reviews, and canonizes all known incidents of heavy metal in motion pictures, including performance films, feature documentaries, occult rock 'n' roll horror, primal headbanger characters, soundtrack standouts, namesake inspirations, lyrical references, aesthetic archetypes, and much more. As brash, irreverent, and visceral as both the music and the movies themselves, "Heavy Metal Movies" is the ultimate guidebook to the complete molten musical cinema experience.
Brooklyn-born Mike "McBeardo" McPadden is the head writer of the online phenomenon Mr. Skin. In addition to years of freelance journalism (Esquire, Black Book, New York Press), and more than a decade as a Hustler editor and correspondent, Mr. McPadden has also done time as a B-movie screenwriter.
Italian death metallers HOUR OF PENANCE will embark on a European tour this fall alongside Australian tech-death act PSYCROPTIC and U.K. death outfit DYSCARNATE. Prior to the trek — which kicks off in Belgium on September 20 — HOUR OF PENANCE will appear at several of the summer's heaviest international festivals.
Comments HOUR OF PENANCE guitarist Giulio Moschini: "We're extremely happy to tour again with our friends in PSYCROPTIC and DYSCARNATE and most of all to play again in Europe after the successful tour we did with CANNIBAL CORPSE, DEVILDRIVER and THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER in February. For the first time, HOUR OF PENANCE will also play in Ireland! Be there!"
HOUR OF PENANCE is also excited to reveal that it has begun work on material for its next album, expected out in early 2014.
Adds Moschini: "Since the release of [2012's] 'Sedition', the band has played over 150 shows throughout the U.S., Europe and Asia. We have had great times on the road and would like to thank all the fans who came to our shows and bought 'Sedition', as well as all the people we worked with during this year. This was, without a doubt, a big source of inspiration for us, and while at home or between shows, we started collecting ideas for our next record. Even if what we have right now are only demos of the new songs, we can already say that if you loved 'Sedition' and our past albums, you'll go crazy with this new record. We worked our asses off and meticulously worked on improving our music once again, so we're very glad to announce that a new album will be recorded after this tour!"
Says guitarist Paolo Pieri: "We're currently working on the lyrics and vocals for the new songs. This album will be more varied and brutal than everything we've done so far. The new material sounds totally fresh and will be a bone-crushing feast for old and new fans of HOUR OF PENANCE."
Amp Rock TV recently conducted an interview with guitarist/vocalist Matt Tuck of Welsh metallers BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE. You can now watch the chat below.
BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE's fourth album, "Temper, Temper", sold 44,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 13 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD arrived in stores on February 12 via RCA.
BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE's previous effort, 2010's "Fever", opened with 71,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at No. 3. It was also a Top 10 release in the U.K., Japan, Australia, Austria, Canada, Germany and Switzerland.
The Welsh quartet changed the way they approached making an album this time around, with guitarist/vocalist Matt Tuck and drummer Michael "Moose" Thomas traveling to Thailand to do the initial writing and recording for the album. Tuck told The Pulse Of Radio why they made the trip. "It was just nice being in a studio 24/7, really, you know, with no distractions from home and stuff," he said. "So that was kind of the main reason why we went there and it just worked out well, you know, because we didn't have any pressures from having to travel, having to cook your own food — just all the stuff that is an everyday process obviously takes a lot of time out of the day to be creative. So just being there, being able to write 24/7, was a huge advantage."
The first single from "Temper, Temper" is called "Riot".
BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE is currently headlining the fifth edition of the "HardDrive Live" tour, which kicked off on April 12 in Denver. Joining them are main support HALESTORM, plus special guests YOUNG GUNS and openers STARS IN STEREO. The trek is sponsored by "HardDrive".
Guitarist Alex Lifeson of Canadian rock legends RUSH recently answered a number of questions for listeners of the U.K. digital radio station Planet Rock. Check out the footage below.
Two new digital-only RUSH collections, entitled "The Complete Mercury Years" and "The Studio Albums 1989-2007", were released via iTunes on May 14.
"The Complete Mercury Years" contains RUSH's complete Mercury catalog (all their albums up through "A Show Of Hands") for $79.99, including the new "2112" Deluxe Edition and the 2008 "Working Man" compilation.
"Rush: The Studio Albums 1989-2007" contains the entire Atlantic-era RUSH studio catalog ("Presto" through "Snakes & Arrows") for $49.99. Both collections are digital only and mastered for iTunes.
RUSH was honored in the "Rock Album Of The Year" category at this year's Juno Awards (the Canadian equivalent of the Grammy Awards), for their latest studio CD, "Clockwork Angels".
RUSH's first new collection of original material in over five years and their first studio release via Anthem/Roadrunner Records, "Clockwork Angels", sold 103,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 2 on The Billboard chart.
The title track of "Legions Of The North", the new album from the Swedish "Viking metal" act MÅNEGARM, can be streamed in the YouTube clip below. The CD will be release on June 28 via Napalm Records.
Commented guitarist Markus Andé: "'Legions Of The North' is an album full of hard-hitting melodies and ear-catching refrains, all spiced with the special MÅNEGARM flavor and served to you all in the best way. We're very proud to present this new album and we really hope that you will enjoy it. The Wolf is back…prepare for war!!"
"Legions Of The North" track listing:
01. Arise 02. Legions Of The North 03. Eternity Awaits 04. Helvegr 05. Hordes Of Hel 06. Tor Hjälpe 07. Wake The Gods - Bonus Track 08. Vigverk 09. Sons Of War 10. Echoes From The Past 11. Fallen 12. Forged In Fire 13. Raadh
Violin player Janne Liljekvist has left MÅNEGARM in June 2012 "due to lack of motivation."
MÅNEGARM's most recent CD, "Nattväsen", was released in November 2009 via Regain Records.
The first of two clips featuring behind-the-scenes footage from the making of "The Sun Comes Out Tonight", the sixth studio album from the rock act FILTER, can be seen below. Due on June 4 via Wind-Up Records, the CD was recorded in Los Angeles at Blue Room studios with producer Bob Marlette (BLACK SABBATH, ATREYU, SALIVA). The follow-up to 2010's "The Trouble With Angels" was written and recorded by leader Richard Patrick and guitarist Jonny Radtke, as well as collaborator Marlette. There are also performances from touring members Jeff Friedl and Elias Mallin (drums) and Phil Buckman (bass).
The song "Surprise" can now be streamed using the SoundCloud widget below.
"The Sun Comes Out Tonight" track listing:
01. We Hate It When You Get What You Want 02. What Do You Say 03. Surprise 04. Watch The Sun Come Out Tonight 05. It's Got To Be Right Now 06. This Finger's For You 07. Self Inflicted 08. First You Break It 09. Burn It 10. Take That Knife Out Of My Back 11. It's My Time 12. It's Just You
In a 2012 interview with "All Knowing Force", Patrick said about the songwriting process for the new CD, "One of the main things we set out to do, we said let's make a song with all the elements of 'Hey Man Nice Shot', and we sat there and it wrote itself." He added, "We didn't want to write the same bass line or guitar progression, but it had to be an amazing riff; let's start with that. The riff was so good, it's a two-bar pattern, and we throw guitar over it with drums and I scream and the bass line never changes, it's a nonstop bass line that never ever changes."
Regarding the inspiration for the new material, Patrick said, "We were talking about some of the things that are going on in my life; there's been a lot of betrayal from people surrounding me. So we were thinking 'Hey Man Nice Shot', that's something that describes a desperate man's actions and trying to make sense of it, almost like a joke. So we started talking about betrayal and we played around with the words 'Take That Knife Out of My Back' and all of a sudden this song just wrote itself."
On the topic of the overall direction of the new CD, Patrick said, "We have this beautiful record that starts off heavy and mean and then it goes back to the more moody, almost joyful parts of life. For me, the record that we always try to model is the 'Title Of Record' era — that sets the standard in how heavy and how light we can go. We just aspire to make the songs as good and I think the songwriting is superior, we just have to make sure the performances are as desperate and powerful as those crazy takes I did when I was kid."
Canadian grinders FUCK THE FACTS have posted a new song and video for the track "L'enclume Et Le Marteau" from their upcoming EP, "Amer". Animation for the clip was created by Phil Osborne who has also made videos for DAIQUIRI and THE SUN THROUGH A TELESCOPE.
"Amer" was recorded and mixed at FUCK THE FACTS' own Apartment 2 Recording studio by the band's guitarist Topon Das and mastered by Scott Hull (PIG DESTROYER, AGORAPHOBIC NOSEBLEED) at Visceral Sound. The cover artwork was created by FUCK THE FACTS vocalist Mel Mongeon.
"Amer" track listing:
01. Une Triste Vue 02. Vent Du Nord 03. Panser La Plaie Au Lieu De Soigner Le Mal 04. A Void 05. Jour De Souffrance 06. L'enclume Et Le Marteau 07. Amère
"Amer" will be released independently on June 18 as a limited-edition 10-inch vinyl record, limited edition cassette and as a digital download.
VAN HALEN singer David Lee Roth has written and stars in a new short film where he takes on a group of Japanese thugs in a card game who try to take advantage of "the American" who they think can't speak English. Roth takes matters into his own hands as only Diamond Dave can do. Check out the bloody (but censored) video below.
Roth is a resident of Tokyo since May 2012 but maintains homes in New York City and Pasadena, California.
In a recent interview with Australia's Brisbane Times, the 57-year-old singer said: "I live in Tokyo and hang out with a girl half my age and it's no longer a legal issue. It was not an impulsive move to come here. We are in love and my girlfriend is Japanese."
ALMAH — the Brazilian metal band led by former ANGRA singer Eduardo "Edu" Falaschi — hs released another teaser for its upcoming as-yet-untitled fourth studio album.
The ALMAH bandmembers are currently finishing pre-production of new songs in a home studio of Falaschi, who states: "The new album will be more positive. While 'Motion' (2011) is a fucking heavy, tense and dark album, the new one will be hopeful with fast songs."
To keep fans updated on the recording process, Almah have launched a series of "making-of" videos. Edu comments: “The new album is almost ready; we are finishing the last songs now! We'd like to show you one part of a new song: it's a guitar duel with tapping and right now we are working at this idea! Very soon the whole new material will be ready for the recording!"
ALMAH's third studio album, "Motion", was released in Europe in October 2011 via AFM Records. The CD was recorded in May-June 2011 at Norcal Studios in São Paulo, Brazil and was mixed and mastered in July 2011 at Split Second Sound Studios in Amsterdam, Netherlands by Jochem Jacobs (TEXTURES).
AC/DC fans worldwide seem to be moving one step closer to a film paying homage to their late Australian rock hero Bon Scott. In fact, it looks more like a giant leap forward.
Key production team members from High Voltage Productions Pty., the current controlling production company overseeing "Bon Scott - The Legend Of AC/DC", are slated to engage in talks this week with "one of the world's leading production and entertainment companies," according to a posting on the project's web site. The film project is a docudrama chronicling the career of late Aussie frontman Bon Scott, of AC/DC who died tragically at age 33 in 1980 after only six years with the band. Starring in the film is American singer/actor Rob Liotti, who is also the credited screenwriter.
Liotti is no stranger to things AC/DC as he has performed on stage as Bon Scott for many years. And although this is his first lead feature film role, it has been made apparent that he is a natural for the role. Also on board the High Voltage team is director J. R. Getches, who brings a great deal of vision and television experience. The production company also recently announced the addition of producer Michael Meltzer to its team. Also brought on board was entertainment lawyer Rhett Klok, who advises on business affairs.
