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Manos Spanos

MÖTLEY CRÜE Taps Producer JAMES MICHAEL For ‘Final Song’

Manos Spanos
MÖTLEY CRÜE held a press conference on January 28 at Hotel Roosevelt in Los Angeles where they announced that the band will launch its "Final Tour" later this year, with the group planning to play 72 shows in North America in 2014 and more overseas in 2015. Making it official, the four members of the band had their lawyer draw up a formal "cessation of touring" agreement that goes into effect at the end of 2015 and prohibits the members of the group from going on the road again under the MÖTLEY CRÜE banner. No mention was made of whether the CRÜE will record a new album to go along with the tour, although the group hinted at the possibility. Speaking to Artisan News at yesterday's (Wednesday, April 23) Revolver Golden Gods event at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, producer James Michael — who sings for MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx's SIXX: A.M. project — revealed that he has been tapped to helm what may very well turn out to be the CRÜE's final song. "As we know, the CRÜE is getting ready to hang it up. And we discussed for a while doing a final song," James said (see video below). "And that's a tall order. There was a lot of pressure on us to make sure that we did it right and that we celebrated everything that they were known for. So I think we've done it. I'm actually tracking drums with Tommy [Lee] tomorrow. And it's an outstanding song. I think it's gonna be an absolutely amazing way to go out swinging." During an appearance on the March 3 edition of Eddie Trunk's show "Trunk Nation" on SiriusXM's Hair Nation, MÖTLEY CRÜE guitarist Mick Mars revealed: "I just wrote a new song with Nikki, and we're gonna be finishing it up, like, within the next couple of months. There'll be a new single [released in time for the upcoming tour]." Sixx in January said that that it's unlikely that the band will release another full-length album of new material and will instead make select tracks available via special projects in order to maximize their impact. "My take on it right now and the way that things work is very much reverted back to the '60s where people buy singles," Mars told Trunk. "I don't want an album full of fillers. And that's why I said I would release [a solo] EP or singles." Sixx told the Rapid City, South Dakota radio station 95.1 KSKY: "We have music written, [but] it's not put together yet." He added: "It's hard, to be honest with you, to spend six [or] nine months to write eleven songs — all those lyrics… everything… the vocals, the guitars, the bass, the sonics, the mixing, the mastering, the artwork… You put it out and nothing [happens], because now people cherry-pick songs. So we go, 'Why don't we write songs and find vehicles to get one, two or four songs to ten million people rather than eleven songs to a hundred thousand people. That's how we're thinking. I don't know if it's right or wrong, but that's how we're thinking." MÖTLEY CRÜE in 2012 released a brand new song called "Sex" to coincide with the launch of the band's North American co-headlining tour with KISS. Written when the group 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". The song was recorded at MÖTLEY CRÜE drummer Tommy Lee's studio called The Atrium in Calabasas, California.
03 min read

GRAVE DIGGER: ‘Return Of The Reaper’ Track Listing Revealed

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German power metallers GRAVE DIGGER will release their 1th studio album, "Return Of The Reaper", via Napalm Records on the following dates: July 11: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Finland, Benelux July 16: Spain, Sweden, Norway July 14: Rest of Europe July 15: USA, Canada The "Return Of The Reaper" cover artwork (see below) was created by Gyula Havancsák of Hjules Illustration And Design, who has been responsible for all GRAVE DIGGER artwork since 2004's "The Last Supper". The CD was recorded at Principal Studios (KREATOR, IN EXTREMO, GRAVE DIGGER) in Senden, Germany. GRAVE DIGGER vocalist Chris Boltendahl recently revealed that "Return Of The Reaper" will be stylistically reminiscent of GRAVE DIGGER's classic albums "Heavy Metal Breakdown" (1984), "Witch Hunter" (1985) and "The Reaper" (1993). "Return Of The Reaper" track listing: 01. Return Of The Reaper 02. Hell Funeral 03. War God 04. Tattooed Rider 05. Resurrection Day 06. Season Of The Witch 07. Road Rage Killer 08. Dia De Los Muertos 09. Satan's Host 10. Grave Desecrator 11. Death Smiles At All Of Us 12. Nothing To Believe GRAVE DIGGER's last album, "Clash Of The Gods", was released on August 31 , 2012 in Europe and September 4, 2012 in North America via Napalm Records. A six-song mini-CD, "Home At Last", preceded the full-length effort on July 27, 2012 in Europe and August 7, 2012 in North America. "The Clans Are Still Marching", the latest DVD from GRAVE DIGGER, entered the German Media Control chart at position No. 56 (German chart rules allow music DVDs to enter album charts).
01 min read

XANDRIA: ‘Nightfall’ Video Released

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"Sacrificium", the sixth album from German symphonic metallers XANDRIA, will be released on May 6 (one day earlier internationally) via Napalm Records. According to the band, the follow-up to 2012's "Neverworld's End" will "continue the musical journey and direction" of the last CD but "will bring in even more of everything people liked" about "Neverworld's End". "Sacrificium" track listing: 01. Temple Of Hate 02. Stardust 03. Dreamkeeper 04. Nightfall 05. Sacrificium 06. Our Neverworld 07. Little Red Relish 08. Come With Me 09. Until The End 10. Betrayer 11. Sweet Atonement 12. The Undiscovered Land The official video for the song "Nightfall" can be seen below. XANDRIA last fall parted ways with their singer of three years, Manuela Kraller. Her replacement is the "astonishing 28-year-old Dutch talent" Dianne Van Giersbergen, who also fronts the progressive metal outfit EX LIBRIS. Said Manuela in a statement: "After three years with the boys in XANDRIA, I decided to follow a different path and go my own musical way." The sympathethic Bavarian singer left with regret but also full of gratitude, thanking band and fans for the time they had together and being grateful for the "wonderful moments in mutual tours and shows." Manuela also wished Dianne and band "all the very best for the future!" Dianne Van Giersbergen made her live debut with XANDRIA at the end of November 2013 on a Spanish tour. Fans had a last chance to see Kraller singing with XANDRIA in October 2013 in Leipzig, Germany and Pratteln, Switzerland, where she performed at the Masters Of Symphonic Metal festival at Z7.
02 min read

JACOBY SHADDIX Says PAPA ROACH Is Making Its ‘Sickest, Most Illest Record To Date’

Manos Spanos
PAPA ROACH has spent the last few months recording its eighth album at The Hideout Recording Studio, owned and operated by Kevin Churko (OZZY OSBOURNE, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH, IN THIS MOMENT). Speaking to Loudwire at yesterday's (Wednesday, April 23) Revolver Golden Gods awards show in Los Angeles, PAPA ROACH singer Jacoby Shaddix said: "[We've been] in the studio working with the one and the only Kevin and Kane Churko, father-and-son production combo, and we are making the sickest, most illest P-ROACH record to date, guaranteed. It's fiery, that's how I explain it. It's fiery. It's like I'm holding a light orb in my hand and when I put it to the sky, I take off like a superhero, if that makes any sense. It's for real." He continued: "We've got a song called 'Just As Broken As Me' that's about forgiveness, when you don't want to forgive but you know it's the best thing to do. We have a song called 'Never Have To Say Goodbye'. It's about a really good friend of mine who passed away the last couple of years. It's just my song … I never got to say my piece, and he was someone who really helped me when I was down and out and helped me clean my life up and then I went out there and lived that wicked life again, and when I was out there, he passed away. I've always had a hole in my heart from that so I decided to write a song about that. "What else? I just finished another song called 'Face Everything and Rise', which is just the P-ROACH mode of operation, you know. That's what I'm all about. It's about stepping up to your problems and connecting with my God and walking through those things." Shaddix also spoke about his knack for putting himself out there for the listeners without holding back. "That's just my spirit, man," he explained. "The more that I put myself out there 100 percent and fully, the more that I find it humanizes me, makes me real and connects me with the fans of PAPA ROACH. That's the most important thing and that's what our fans love about what we do and our band. I'll continue to do that. The more I shed the shell and be honest, it's just great." Back in February, Shaddix spoke in an online chat about another new song, "Gravity" that "Jerry [Horton, guitar] was working on, and we all heard it, and we were just, like, 'This just sounds cool," he said. "It just sounds like the sound of us driving down this desert road.' And it just sounded like the environment that we were in." Shaddix further explained what the song "Gravity" was about. He said, "'Gravity' is about what are the things in the world that keep pulling you back to reality or back down to the ground or back down to earth or back down to who you really are. And so that's a great track. And for me, that was just something really different. I was, like, Jerry wrote the song, and I started lyricizing on it, and I was, like, 'This song seems like it would be cool if I rapped on it.' Everybody was, kind of, 'Huh?! Really?' And then I did it. And I remember I was just getting really painfully honest about some of the dark moments in my life that I never spoke about. I think that that's when I really expose myself in the most vulnerable ways and step out of my comfort zone and really put myself out there, like, 'You guys are gonna know this about me now?' That's when I think the best art is created . . . when you're pulled the furthest out of your comfort zone. And that's why PAPA ROACH records are so diverse." Shaddix and his wife, Kelly, welcomed a baby boy, Brixton Gabriel Shaddix, last summer. During the making of PA
04 min read

SLAYER Signs With NUCLEAR BLAST RECORDS

Manos Spanos
Last night at the Revolver Golden Gods awards held at the Nokia Theatre in Los Angeles, SLAYER surprised the capacity crowd with an unannounced performance, kicking off the show with a three-song set that included the global premiere of "Implode", the band's first new studio recording in five years. Recorded earlier this month at Henson Studios in Los Angeles and produced by Terry Date and co-produced by Greg Fidelman, "Implode" is now available as a free download as a "thank you” to the band's fans for their continued support. Or, as Kerry King put it, "you have been waiting for us, now we are delivering for you." Registered members of SLAYER's fan club were sent an email right around midnight giving them the link to the song and a chance to hear it before it was made public. "Implode" can now be downloaded at www.slayer.net. Later this year, the two-time Grammy-winning SLAYER will begin recording a new album, tentatively set for an early 2015 release date. The album will make SLAYER history as it will be released on Nuclear Blast Records through the band's own label imprint, closing out a 28-year relationship with Rick Rubin and American Recordings. No name for the imprint has been decided on yet. "Rick has played a huge role in our career, we've made some great albums with him,” said SLAYER's Tom Araya. "But today is a new day, record companies don't play the kind of role they once did, and we really like the idea of going out on our own, connecting directly with our fans, and Nuclear Blast is fired up about taking on that challenge with us." All future recordings on the band's label imprint will be released worldwide exclusively through Nuclear Blast. "I was a teenage rebel when 'Show No Mercy' came out," said Markus Staiger, owner of Nuclear Blast, "and I identified with that record. It was the most extreme, aggressive thing at the time. They were then and still are the most brutal metal band on the planet! I really cannot express how proud I am that we are able to work with SLAYER to join the Nuclear Blast family. We are ready for that next record and, I'm sure it will go into metal history!" Added Nuclear Blast label manager Gerardo Martinez, "The prospect of helping SLAYER take a leading role in the creative process surrounding their releases, projects and other cross-promotional opportunities is the ultimate honor for me, a metalhead who grew up in Los Angeles listening to SLAYER. Nowhere in my wildest dreams would I have imagined that Nuclear Blast would be making history alongside one of the best bands in metal.” SLAYER will spend the next few months on the road touring major North American and European festivals as well as headlining dates, sharing the stages with METALLICA, IRON MAIDEN and more, but is expected to be back in the studio in the fall to record the rest of the new album. Joining bassist/vocalist Tom Araya and guitarist Kerry King during the sessions for SLAYER's new album are returning drummer Paul Bostaph, who replaced Dave Lombardo last year, and guitarist Gary Holt (also of EXODUS), who has been filling in for late SLAYER axeman Jeff Hanneman on tour for the past four years. Bostaph was SLAYER's drummer from 1992 until 2001 and recorded four albums with the band — the gold-certified "Divine Intervention" (1994), the 1996 punk covers album "Undisputed Attitude", "Diab
04 min read

Singer STEPHEN PEARCY Quits RATT

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RATT frontman Stephen Pearcy has released the following statement: "After 30 years creating the band RATT and losing a real brother, Robbin [Crosby, late RATT guitarist], it's time that I personally part ways with the band. "I am officially done with having anything to do with them due to the constant turmoil, unresolved business, personal attacks/threats in the public forum, and most of all, the disrespect to the fans. "I'm very content and proud of the legacy and the music I’ve created. This music will live well beyond any of our lifetimes. "I owe no one anything but a huge heartfelt thank you for coming to the party for the last 30 years. "With much respect, life goes on and the music I created will continue to be heard for years to come despite the dark clouds that have lingered for far too long. "I will personally continue to make music and perform live shows." "See you out there." RATT recently canceled its appearance on the Monsters Of Rock cruise due to the death of Stephen Pearcy's sister. RATT drummer Bobby Blotzer was slated to sit out the band's appearance at the Monsters Of Rock cruise because he had not yet fully recovered from the neck surgery he underwent last October. Filling in for him once again was supposed to be Jimmy DeGrasso, who has previously played with Y&T, WHITE LION and MEGADETH, among others. Blotzer previously missed three RATT shows in January. All three dates were played with DeGrasso behind the kit. RATT's first studio record in 11 years, "Infestation", sold around 14,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 30 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was issued on April 20, 2010 via Loud & Proud.
02 min read

IRON MAIDEN Retro-Cloth Figure Celebrates 30th Anniversary Of ‘Powerslave’

Manos Spanos
According to Action Figure Fury, NECA (National Entertainment Collectibles Association) has released the details of an IRON MAIDEN retro-cloth figure, to arrive in stores this September for around $30. The Mummy Eddy was created in celebration of the 30th anniversary of the classic metal masterpiece — IRON MAIDEN's "Powerslave". This eight-inch tall Eddie features a real metal chain that can be connected to the mouth or unhooked for when he breaks free. Mummy Eddie is also going to be coming with an alternate, unwrapped head sculpt that really shows the true beast hiding underneath the bandages.
00 min read

JUDAS PRIEST To Reveal First Details Of Their New Studio Album Next Week?

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British heavy metal legends JUDAS PRIEST have launched a countdown suggesting that they will reveal more information about their much-anticipated new studio album in five days via their official web site, JudasPriest.com. Speaking to Artisan News at last month's VIP listening party for the Ronnie James Dio tribute album "This Is Your Life" and awards gala at the Avalon in Hollywood, California, JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford stated about the band's new CD: "The record is finished; it's absolutely finished as of today." He added: "It's a relief. It's a relief because whenever PRIEST makes an album, like any band, you put your heart and soul into it; it is that typical 'blood, sweat and tears.' It's not an easy thing to do 40 years later. But PRIEST has always been up for the challenge of that, and it's one of things that we love to do more than anything else as we move on through our metal years. So this is a great time for PRIEST: 40th anniversary, a brand new record. Life couldn't be better." In a 2013 interview with Billboard.com, Halford described the new PRIEST CD's sound as "hard. It's heavy. It's something we think our PRIEST fans will be thrilled with. We know we have a reputation to maintain, and we know we have to deliver something really strong and solid. The album is going to be full of all the great things you love about JUDAS PRIEST — I don't think I can say anything more than that without being hung, drawn and quartered." Speaking to VH1 Radio Network's Dave Basner, Halford said about what fans can expect from JUDAS PRIEST's next LP: "We felt it was very important to follow up [2008's] 'Nostradamus', the last release, and that was a concept experiment and it was a real success for us and the fans loved it, but I think our fans and ourselves as a band, we want to get back to the side of PRIEST that we haven't heard for a few years and reemphasize and remake those big, heavy metal statements again." PRIEST's next album will mark the band's first release with Richie Faulkner, most recently guitarist in the backing band for Lauren Harris (daughter of IRON MAIDEN bassist Steve Harris). Faulkner joined PRIEST as the replacement for original PRIEST guitarist Kenneth "K.K." Downing, who announced his retirement from the band in April 2011. Asked how it has been collaborating on new music with Faulkner, Halford told Guitar World in a 2012 interview: "Really, really strong. Exciting. He's riffing and saying, 'Robby, I'm thinking of this and this and this.' It's really exciting to have that kind of energy, because you feed off of it." He added: "[Richie] went through the ritual on [the 'Epitaph'] tour, did great work on stage, the fans embraced him, so it's now time to see what we're capable of, the writing trio of Glenn [Tipton] and Richie and myself." Regarding whether technology has changed JUDAS PRIEST's songwriting process at all, Halford said: "It's dangerous to walk around with a flash drive on a bunch of keys. [Laughs] To a great extent, it doesn't really change. The technology is amazing in terms of the advantages it brings to music now, some of it good, some of it very bad. It's all about discipline and self-belief, determination, wanting to do the best you can do and not accepting anything that's below par. We've always had that attitude in PRIEST. We've always felt really strongly about any track that goes out for our fans. We're still doing it like we always have: firing up the riffs and finding a vocal melody to go with it, me going into me wonderful world of the Roget's Thesaurus and trying to come up with a new lyric and a new idea. And that's what we've been doing for four decades." Photo credit: Stephanie Cabral
04 min read

Video: BRUCE DICKINSON, GLENN HUGHES, IAN PAICE Pay Tribute To Late DEEP PURPLE Keyboardist JON LORD

Manos Spanos
Glenn Hughes (DEEP PURPLE, BLACK SABBATH, BLACK COUNTRY COMMUNION, CALIFORNIA BREED), Bruce Dickinson (IRON MAIDEN), Ian Paice (DEEP PURPLE), Don Airey (DEEP PURPLE, OZZY OSBOURNE, RAINBOW), Rick Wakeman (YES), and Micky Moody (WHITESNAKE) are among the musicians who celebrated late DEEP PURPLE keyboardist Jon Lord's life and music at a special concert on April 4 at London, England's Royal Albert Hall. Hughes was joined on stage by Dickinson for both "You Keep On Moving" and a storming "Burn" with a mesmerizing keyboard solo from Wakeman, followed by Hughes alone backed by an orchestra for a roof-raising vocal delivery on "This Time Around". Fan-filmed video footage of the performance can be seen below. Jon Lord died on July 16, 2012 at age 71 after a long battle with pancreatic cancer. Lord, who was known for his keyboard virtuosity and his reinvention of the Hammond B-3 organ sound, co-wrote such PURPLE classics as "Smoke On The Water" and "Child In Time", among others. Lord and drummer Ian Paice were the only original members to last through the band's initial run from 1968 to 1976. He was on board for their 1984 reunion and stayed on through to his 2002 retirement from the band, after which he's worked primarily in the classical field. Over the course of his career, Lord also worked with the ARTWOODS, FLOWER POT MEN, PAICE, ASHTON AND LORD, WHITESNAKE and good friend and neighbor, George Harrison. In an interview with Peter Makowski, METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich stated about Jon Lord: "I'm not sure that the people in today's hard rock world really truly understand how innovative this guy was. He wasn't just another keyboard player on the side of the stage. In '66/'67, when Hendrix, Townshend and Ritchie Blackmore were taking the electric guitar to a new level, by using banks of Marshall stacks beefing up the sound, Jon Lord was one of the first guys in hard rock to take the keyboards through the same process. He took a fairly standard instrument like a Hammond organ put it through amplifiers and Leslie cabinets and introduced a whole new way of forcing the sound out of the keyboards. "Ritchie Blackmore said the other day that Jon formed DEEP PURPLE; he was certainly the instigator that made things happen. If not the musical leader, Jon was the spiritual leader of the band. He was a pioneer, and I think that somehow that's gotten a little lost in the last few [months]. People are talking about, obviously, what a gentleman he was and what a fantastic band member but he really did something nobody had done before with the sound of the keyboards and I think that's probably the biggest thing to remember him for."
03 min read

BILL WARD On OZZY OSBOURNE: ‘I’ve Lost A Friend, As Far As I’m Concerned’

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Metal Chris of DCHeavyMetal.com recently conducted an interview with legendary BLACK SABBATH drummer Bill Ward. You can now listen to the chat using the SoundCloud widget below. DCHeavyMetal.com: In November, you did an interview with Rock Cellar Magazine and in that interview you said that you hadn't listened to any of the new BLACK SABBATH album, "13", except for maybe about 40 seconds of [the promotional track] "God Is Dead?" Have you listened to that album since then? Ward: No and I probably won't. DCHeavyMetal.com: You don't think you ever will? Ward: I, I… Maybe if I reach a point of serenity where I'm able to give it a listen but no there's nothing of value in there for me to listen to. I love the guys. I really hope that they receive blessings and wonderful things in their life. [I'm] communicating with Terry ["Geezer" Butler, BLACK SABBATH bass player], I'm communicating with Tony, privately. We always send our very, very best wishes to each other and our love to each other. But no, I'm not interested in the album. It was something that I wanted to play on. I was completely able to play on it. There's no question in my heart at all. So, you know, it's still something that I don't care, I don't care to listen to it. Even if it was the most brilliant album in the world, I don't care to listen to it. DCHeavyMetal.com: That leads me to the question, do you ever see yourself as a part of BLACK SABBATH again? Ward: Well, a lot of things have happened to me. Starting in September, 2013, I had a horrible illness, which I'm still recovering from, and it created some other things that I am still recovering from. That's one of the reasons why I didn't come to [my previously scheduled appearance in] Annapolis [for an art exhibition], you know. So aside from me now having to do a lot of work to gain my health and my strength back, you know, and I'd be the first to admit it if I can't cut it physically as a drummer, then my answer would be no. I would not be prepared to play with SABBATH, you know. I would never, ever, ever allude to being able to play with SABBATH if my health wasn't absolutely smack on. And my health right now is not bad, but it's not good enough to certainly play in any band, never mind BLACK SABBATH. I have to get a lot stronger than where I am. I lost a lot of weight. I've got to gain all my muscle back. I lost all my muscle. And I'm doing some stick practice, but if I was in a good position where I felt strong enough, I can overcome the hits that I took, the verbal hits, I can overcome all that stuff. I can overcome, you know, just the shutdown and the way that I felt and everything else. I can overcome all of those things. All of the things that were like at the time just like, "What the hell?" I can certainly recover from all that stuff, actually. I can do it pretty good. You know, in fact
09 min read

Manos Spanos

Manos Spanos (Metalpaths' co-editor-in-chief), eight years in this site but still can't be characterised as a metalhead.