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Manos Spanos

OBITUARY Performs Three New Songs In Tampa; Video Available

Manos Spanos
Florida death metal icons OBITUARY performed three brand new songs during their January 24 concert at The Brass Mug in Tampa, Florida. Fan-filmed video footage of the entire show can be seen below. OBITUARY's setlist was as follows: 01. Stinkupuss 02. Intro X 03. Bloodsoaked 04. Immortal 05. Gates To Hell 06. Infected 07. [New Song] 08. [New Song] 09. Chopped In Half / Turned Inside Out 10. Back To One 11. The End Complete 12. Dead Silence 13. [New Song] 14. I'm In Pain 15. Slowly We Rot OBITUARY is celebrating the 25th anniversary of its landmark "Slowly We Rot" full-length debut. The band last year offered up a pay-per-view, professionally shot live stream of its homecoming performance at The Orpheum which featured a pummeling all-classics setlist from its first three platters of brutality: 1989's "Slowly We Rot" 1990's "Cause Of Death" and 1992's "The End Complete". Due later in the year, OBITUARY's new album is being recorded with the Kickstarter funding help of their legion of dedicated fans around the globe. The campaign was rooted in an honest desire to produce the next record on the band's own terms. "We've been creating death metal since 1984," the band commented. "It's who we are...it's in our blood. "If there's one thing that we've learned touring all these years, it's that OBITUARY fans are among the most loyal and supportive motherfuckers in the world! "We've been trying to find better ways to engage with and give back to our fans. "Over the past couple of years, we've streamed concerts live from around the globe, given away tons of merch packages and dozens of all-access backstage passes. It's inspiring to see and share in your excitement about OBITUARY, and the inspiration that provides keeps us going. This is about putting our trust, our music, our career, and our new album in fans' hands! We want to make music for the people who still come out to shows, still sport our gear, and still have a 'Slowly We Rot' cassette in their car." OBITUARY 2014 is: John Tardy - Vocals Trevor Peres - Guitar Donald Tardy - Drums Terry Butler - Bass Kenny Andrews - Guitar Guitarist Ralph Santolla, who joined OBITUARY in 2007 as the replacement for Allen West, has not played any shows with the group since 2011. OBITUARY's next album will be the follow-up to the "Darkest Day" full-length CD, released in 2009 via Candlelight Records. "Darkest Day" landed at position No. 32 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.
03 min read

LAMB OF GOD’s RANDY BLYTHE Won’t Be Thinking About Playing Heavy Metal ‘For A Good Long While’

Manos Spanos
Richmond, Virginia metallers LAMB OF GOD are planning to take a long break from the road following the completion of the touring activities in support of the band's 2012 album, "Resolution". In a post on his official Instagram account, LAMB OF GOD frontman Randy Blythe writes: "And so another album cycle comes to an end. "This has been a very eventful, at times VERY STRESSFUL, album cycle, and it's been about three years since we started on this one in our practice space. "I need a break. "Tomorrow is a 19-hour flight back to the USA, and then another one home to [Richmond], and except for two festival shows in 2014, I will not be thinking about LAMB OF GOD, touring, playing heavy metal, writing new LAMB OF GOD material — NONE OF THAT STUFF AT ALL — for a good long while. "[It's] time to do other things for a bit, and let my brain regroup, and be a somewhat normal human being. "This has been a pretty wild ride, though, and to end it in Africa of all places still amazes the crap outta me. "So thanks, Johannesburg, for an awesome end to the 'Resolution' tour cycle." LAMB OF GOD entered into a worldwide distribution deal with Specticast (LED ZEPPELIN's "Celebration Day", Paul McCartney's "Rock Show") for their Don Argott-directed ("Last Days Here", "Art Of The Steal", "School Of Rock") feature film "As The Palaces Burn". Filming for the movie began in 2012 and concluded in March of 2013. "As The Palaces Burn", which should not be confused with the making-of documentary packaged with the recent re-release of the 2003 LAMB OF GOD album of the same name, was conceived to be a documentary focused on the power of music and its impact on cultures around the world and its ability to bring together people of all nationalities regardless of religious or political differences. After a worldwide casting call, filming took place in Colombia, Venezuela, Israel, India, and the United States. As filming reached its conclusion, the documentary was forced to take a major turn when the band's lead singer, Randy Blythe, was arrested in the Czech Republic and charged with the murder of a fan in June 2012. Granted unique access to Blythe's saga, Argott's filming covered Blythe's 38-day imprisonment in Prague, his release and the band's return to live performances, and finally Blythe's trial for murder in Prague in February 2013.
02 min read

SLAYER’s JEFF HANNEMAN Snubbed During GRAMMY ‘In Memoriam’ Tribute

Manos Spanos
Even though SLAYER guitarist Jeff Hanneman died last year from alcohol-related cirrhosis of the liver, he was excluded from the list of faces and names showcased during Grammy Awards' "In Memoriam" segment last night (Sunday, January 26). Other notable hard rock and heavy metal musicians who passed away in 2013 but weren't recognized at last night's event included former IRON MAIDEN drummer Clive Burr and VIXEN's founding guitarist Jan Kuehnemund. SLAYER has been nominated for a "Best Metal Performance" Grammy Award five times and has won twice: in 2007 for "Eyes Of The Insane" and in 2008 for "Final Six". When SLIPKNOT bassist Paul Gray and TYPE O NEGATIVE's Peter Steele failed to make the "In Memoriam" segment in 2011, less than a year after both of them passed away, Neil Portnow, president of the National Academy of Recording Arts and Sciences (NARAS), addressed the issue of stars being left out, saying that the "'In Memoriam' segment is a real connundrum, because we keep a list — and it's a sad job — of when we lose people in our industry, actually, starting this past week [for next year's awards show], because if it's very late, it's not something we can factor in. And this past year [2010] we had over 300 people in the industry pass, and many of them — all of them — important, so we have to, at the end of the day, make a selection, and you can't get everybody there, and we try to have a broad represenation of different genres and generations and so on. We're never happy with how that exactly turns out, [but] we have the list of everybody [who died] in our program book every year." Hanneman is credited for writing many of SLAYER's classic songs, including "Angel Of Death" and "South Of Heaven". The guitarist, who passed away in Los Angeles on May 2, 2013, had actually not been playing with SLAYER for more than two years since he contracted necrotizing fasciitis, also known as flesh-eating disease, from a spider bite in his backyard in January 2011. The infection ravaged the flesh and tissues of Hanneman's arm, leading to numerous surgeries, skin grafts and intense periods of rehab that forced him into semi-retirement and left him near death at several points. Hanneman's last appearance with SLAYER was in April 2011, when he played an encore with the band at the "Big Four" concert in Indio, California.
02 min read

ERIK DANIELSSON: ‘WATAIN Is A Mouthpiece Of Satan’

Manos Spanos
Raymond Westland of Ghost Cult magazine recently conducted an interview with Erik Danielsson of Swedish black metallers WATAIN. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below. Ghost Cult: "The Wild Hunt" should be seen as a standalone release and not so much as a continuation from the previous works. Can you clarify this, please? Erik: I do not know how you drew that conclusion but no, that is not correct. Every WATAIN album is a "continuation" of our journey, and although that journey always takes us to new places that may appear different from those we have visited in the past, it is still very much a living continuum. Every WATAIN album should be seen as a monument erected at a specific point in time and space, but still transcending that point by reaching beyond the tangible and the defined. Ghost Cult: "The Wild Hunt" is a very rich and diverse record and it far exceeds the traditional black metal aesthetics. To which extent was this the thing you set out do? Erik: We set out to make another WATAIN album, and as always we let the currents of our Temple lead the way. As these currents are and have always been strongly rooted in the black metal cult, that obviously reflects on the album as well. But WATAIN is first and foremost a world on its own, a place in which we can do whatever we feel the need to do, unbound by musical genre. We do not answer to any expectations of anyone else but those of our own. WATAIN is a mouthpiece of Satan, and as such we can not limit our ways of expression, we must always be open to learn new languages in order to express that which needs to be expressed. Ghost Cult: Can you take us through the motions of writing and recording the album? What did you really set out to achieve? Erik: The album was written over a period of three years, starting after "Lawless Darkness". Many of the lyrics were written on the road, in Australia, Japan, USA and Transylvania. The recording itself was four months long and took place in different places in Scandinavia which altogether made for the diversity that you mentioned earlier. The nomadic impulse of WATAIN, and the ever on going pilgrimage we find ourselves on, were things that became quite central in the album. We took the time to look back on past experiences and the evolution of the band, and eventually framed it inside a spiritual, even mythological, context. "The Wild Hunt" is the long, hard and yet incredible rewarding road which we have walked upon for the past 15 years. Read the entire interview at Ghost Cult magazine.
02 min read

Video: METALLICA Performs ‘One’ With Chinese Pianist LANG LANG

Manos Spanos
METALLICA played its classic song "One" with Chinese concert pianist Lang Lang earlier tonight (Sunday, January 26) at the 56th annual Grammy Awards. Video footage of the performance can be seen below. During the rehearsals for tonight's show, METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich spoke to Artisan News about playing with Lang Lang and how it feels to be back in primetime at the awards. "It's been 22 years, I do believe [since we last performed at the Grammys], so we're excited to be back," he said. "That's a long time to be away from anything, so we've got a lot of energy stored up that we're ready to unleash. "Obviously, the Grammys are mostly about mashups, and so we're doing a very cool one with our new best friend, which is the worldwide renowned pianist Lang Lang." Speaking about the collaboration with Lang Lang, Ulrich said: "Well, I would like to think that on a broader scale that music is music. We have a tendency in METALLICA to not look much beyond that in terms of definitions. But, obviously, he's a very talented musician, he's a very dynamic musician, he projects himself very well. I mean, when he plays, he's really full of energy and he's got a lot of kind of showmanship and kind of energy that protrudes off the stage and right into people's hearts and souls. So I would like to think that it's a good collaboration." METALLICA guitarist Kirk Hammett told Rolling Stone that the band's performance at the Grammy Awards would be "completely insane." He explained, "Lang Lang has interjected himself into the song in a way I don't think anyone else has ever done in the course of our career. He's going to be playing major parts of the song. He's going to be playing through the melody." Hammett told The Pulse Of Radio that the song's arrangement highlighted Lang Lang's playing without changing the song. "We're not lightening up the song just for him," he said. "We're still hanging onto all the heavy parts and it's gonna be amazing. He's just an amazing pianist, and at one point he's going to be, like, weaving in and out of my guitar solo and playing parts of my guitar solo with me. That's gonna be interesting. I've never, ever experienced that ever before with anyone we've ever played with." "One" was the first single released from METALLICA's 1988 album "…And Justice For All", becoming the first song from the band to gain substantial commercial radio airplay. It was also the basis for the first music video the group ever did. Hammett told Rolling Stone that METALLICA has recorded a demo of "One" with Lang Lang's contributions on it.
02 min read

EPICA’s MARK JANSEN ‘Can’t Get Enough’ Of His Band’s Just-Completed Sixth Album

Manos Spanos
Dutch female-fronted symphonic metallers EPICA recently finished recording their sixth album for a spring release via Nuclear Blast. The follow-up to "Requiem For The Indifferent" was produced by Joost Van Den Broek (the former AFTER FOREVER and AYREON keyboard player who has previously worked with REVAMP and STREAM OF PASSION). Says EPICA guitarist/vocalist Mark Jansen: "[I] have been listening to our new album the whole day now and I can't get enough of it! It sounds more modern but with all typical EPICA elements inside. Refreshing might be the right word. This album has also been the result of a real group effort. "It was great to see everyone being so motivated to create our best album! "Even though the sound is more heavy (the guitars, bass and drums sound so brutal!!!), it's still a very catchy album as well. Some old influences from our earliest work, some references to 'Design Your Universe' and some new elements. "[I] can't wait 'till the moment you'll be able to listen to our newborn which makes us all very proud!" EPICA will return to the stage on April 30 for a CD-release performance at 013 in Tilburg, The Netherlands. After taking a break from the road due the pregnancy of lead singer Simone Simons, the release of a new concert DVD, "Retrospect", as well as the writing and recording of the band's upcoming album, the sextet will put on a memorable concert, with plans to perform both old and new songs. EPICA celebrated its 10th anniversary with a one-night-only event, dubbed "Retrospect", on March 23, 2013 in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. The band was accompanied by the seventy-piece Reményi Ede Chamber Orchestra and the Miskolc National Theatre Choir, playing an unforgettable three-hour best-of set. On November 8, 2013, Nuclear Blast released "Retrospect" as a deluxe hardcover book with 48 pages, both as a 2DVD/3CD and 2Blu-ray/3CD version. "Retrospect" features this massive performance in its entirety, as well as exclusive interviews with all band members and behind-the-scenes footage from the show.
02 min read

BLACK SABBATH Wins ‘Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance’ GRAMMY Award

Manos Spanos
BLACK SABBATH was honored with a Grammy in the "Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance" category in the pre-telecast ceremony at the 56th annual Grammy Awards, which is being held tonight (Sunday, January 26) at the Staples Center in Los Angeles. BLACK SABBATH was nominated for the track "God Is Dead?", from the band's 2013 comeback album "13". The SABBATH members did not personally accept the award at the pre-telecast ceremony because they were busy preparing to be one of the presenters during the main show. Pop singer Cyndi Lauper, who co-hosted the pre-telecast, said that she spoke with them prior to the event and that they were grateful for the honor. "I know that Ozzy is not here and I saw them last night," she said. "They asked me to accept this award for them. It's awesome. And I'm sure he thanks the Academy. They had to be next door to do something. Thank you, thank you, thank you to everybody." Osbourne came up with the title for "God Is Dead?", but bassist Geezer Butler wanted to call it something else. Ozzy told Shortlist, "I was in a doctor's office and there was a magazine in there with that line on the cover. I thought, 'Yeah — people flew planes into the World Trade Center because of God, there's all this fucking shit going on in the world in the name of God.'" Geezer added, "Ozzy gave me that line, and I wrote the lyrics. I wanted to call the song 'American Jihad'." Ozzy continued, "Fuck that. I'm the guy at the front singing it; I would have had a fucking army after me . . . In the early days [of BLACK SABBATH], there was a lot of backlash from religious groups . . . I was sent letters written in blood. In my house I must have 25 fucking Bibles, each with a marked-up passage that [the sender] wanted me to read." Butler told The Pulse Of Radio what the song was about. "It's about this guy that sets out to prove that God is still alive, and he has this voice in his head saying that God's dead, and he can't get rid of the voice telling him, so he goes out and kills everybody," he said. "13" debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard album chart in June 2013, the first SABBATH album to ever top the U.S. chart. The disc features Ozzy, Butler and guitarist Tony Iommi playing together for the first time in 35 years. Their last effort together was 1978's "Never Say Die!" The nominees in this year's "Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance" category were as follows: ANTHRAX - "T.N.T." Track from: "Anthems" Label: Megaforce BLACK SABBATH - "God Is Dead?" Track from: "13" Label: Vertigo/Republic DREAM THEATER - "The Enemy Inside" Track from: "Dream Theater" Label: Roadrunner Records KILLSWITCH ENGAGE - "In Due Time" Track from: "Disarm The Descent" Label: Roadrunner Records VOLBEAT feat. King Diamond - "Room 24" Track from: "Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies" Label: Republic Records BLACK SABBATH's "God Is Dead?" also picked up a nomination in the "Best Rock Song" category. In addition, the band's comeback CD, "13", earned a nod for "Best Rock Album", alongside LED ZEPPELIN's "Celebration Day" and QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE's "…Like Clockwork", among others. METALLICA's "Through The Never" received a nomination for "Best Recording Package" and ALICE IN CHAINS' "The Devil Put Dinosaurs Here" was up for the "Best Engineered Album, Non-Classical" award. Nominations for the 56th annual Grammy Awards were announced on December 6, 2013 by The Recording Academy and reflected an eclectic mix of the best and brightest in music over the past year, as determined by the voting members of The Academy. For the sixth year, nominations for the annual Grammy Awards were announced on primetime television as part of "The Grammy Nominations Concert Live! — Countdown To Music's Biggest Night", a one-hour CBS entertainment special broadcast live from Nokia Theatre L.A. Live. "This year's nominations reflect the talented community of music makers who represent some of the highest levels of excellence and artistry of the year in their respective fields," said Neil Portnow, President/CEO of The Recording Academy, in a statement. This year's Grammy Awards process registered more than 22,000 submissions over a 12-month eligibility period (October 1, 2012 - September 30, 2013). Grammy ballots for the final round of voting were mailed on December 11 to the voting members of The Recording Academy. They were due back to the accounting firm of Deloitte by January 8, when they were tabulated and the results kept secret until the 56th Grammy telecast. The 56th annual Grammy Awards are produced by AEG Ehrlich Ventures for The Recording Academy. Ken Ehrlich is executive producer, and Louis J. Horvitz is director. The Grammy Awards will air live on CBS tonight (Sunday, January 26) at 8 p.m. ET/PT.
05 min read

JEFF LOOMIS: Video Footage Of SCHECTER Demo

Manos Spanos
Video footage of former NEVERMORE guitarist Jeff Loomis' demo at the Schecter at this year's NAMM (National Association Of Music Merchants) show, which is taking place January 23-26 at the Anaheim Convention Center in Anaheim, California, can be seen below. The special tour edition of Loomis' latest album, "Plains Of Oblivion", was released on April 16, 2013 via Century Media Records. "Plains Of Oblivion - Tour Edition" features three bonus tracks, in addition to the original "Plains Of Oblivion" disc that was released in 2012. Loomis's second solo album, "Plains Of Oblivion", sold 2,900 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 179 on The Billboard 200 chart. The effort landed at No. 2 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200. "Plains Of Oblivion" was released on April 10, 2012 in North America (one day earlier in Europe) via Century Media Records. The CD was produced by Aaron Smith (7 HORNS 7 EYES) and features cover artwork by Colin Marks of Rain Song Design, who has previously worked with ALL SHALL PERISH, THE END and XERATH.
01 min read

Report: Monkey3, Tuber – Athens, Greece

Manos Spanos
Another awesome band planned a greek tour recently and I’m referring to Monkey3, a well-known instrumental space-rock and stoner rock band from Switzerland. The band has recently released ‘The 5th Sun’, its fifth record. The record’s major success leads Monkey3 to be considered as one of the hottest names in their music scene worldwide. Smoke the fuzz managed to arrange the concert in Athens, along with Tuber, a greek desert rock band from Serres. So, here we are, in Six Dogs, on a rainy Friday night, ready to get trippy by Tuber and Monkey3. I feel the need to mention the fact that the show was a sold-out one. The show started just in time and Tuber came on stage. Tuber, as it is mentioned before, is an instrumental desert rock band from Greece. I have never seen them on stage before and I was curious to watch them performing their latest release (‘Desert Overcrowded’), as well as songs off their two past releases. I am not a strong fan of instrumental music; however I find the specific music genre ideal for concerts and live performances because of its powerfulness and psychedelic influences. The band started their set and the sound was actually perfect; a little louder than usual maybe but I could hear every instrument loud and clear. Tuber, considering the fact that they were the one and only support band, stayed on stage about an hour and maybe some more, delivering some straight-edged, desert rock melodies. We had the chance to headbang to songs like ‘Firebird’ and ‘Desert Overcrowded’, as the band was giving its best effort to rock Six Dogs. The bass was of course the one giving the chills. Everyone got stuck to the significant bass lines, combined with the funky, blessed with delay, guitars. Times passed away, without even noticing it, having our minds travelling hundred miles away, to US’s dessert south, listening to the best soundtrack for this trip. After a while, it was time for Monkey3 to perform their music set. The band was completely pleased with the crowd that joined the show and made it a sold-out one. As a result, they couldn’t stop smiling and thanking the fans, gifting them with a special performance. The lights were turned off and ‘Icarus’ was about to start this unique performance… If there is a band that can reflect kraut rock and psychedelic music today, that band is definitely Monkey3. The band performed in front of a large video wall, were a trippy movie was projected. The ambient synthesizer’s background music, combined with stoner rock guitar riffs was totally mind-blowing. The band performed mostly songs off ‘The 5th Sun’, performing for about an hour and half. Boris is a hell of a rocker, delivering those blues guitar solos and getting completely crazy with the crowd. I loved his passion for music and his energy on stage. The man behind the synth and the keyboard was also responsible for making the performance even more compelling and astonishing. Monkey3 and Tuber gave their best for this show to become a special one and their goal was achieved! The memories were the best ones and I totally recommend the fans in Larissa and Thessaloniki to support Monkey3. They won’t regret it! I also feel the need to congratulate Smoke the Fuzz events for its excellent handling of the show and for the equipment they provided, which helped the Tuber and Monkey3 sound excellent.
04 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.