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Manos Spanos

CARCASS Frontman: ‘We’re Not Trying To Compete With Any Bands That Are Influenced By Us’

Manos Spanos
David E. Gehlke of DeadRhetoric.com recently conducted an interview with bassist/vocalist Jeff Walker of reactivated British extreme-metal pioneers CARCASS. A few excerpts from the chat follow below. DeadRhetoric.com: With the new album ["Surgical Steel"], what was your "Hey, this is going to work" moment? Walker: In the rehearsal room; it's that simple. Bill [Steer, guitar] actually was like, "Okay, let's try this out and if it works, great, if not, we haven't lost anything." My attitude was that it will work, like, "Don't worry, Bill." I have enough confidence in myself and him as a guitar player, and Daniel [Wilding] is a fantastic drummer and I was never under any illusion that we couldn't pull something great off. I mean, we're hungry and we have something to prove after 17 years and we don't want to disappoint people. We don't want to be one of these bands who come back after a long period of time with an album that people are like, "That album sucks!" We already made that album — it's called "Swansong". It's important we don't shit on our legacy. This is almost like making our first album. We've done this off our own volition, with our own time, and our own money. No one was dangling a carrot in front of us. We could have easily found a record deal, then made this album. But I think it was out of pride — especially from my side that it was more important we put our money where our mouth is. We kept it secret, and we didn't want to be accused of doing it for the money. DeadRhetoric.com: There's no money in metal anyway. Walker: I disagree. [laughs] Joking aside, it's easy to deal with those kind of snipes, but I don't want to give people ammunition.
04 min read

ENTOMBED Signs with CENTURY MEDIA RECORDS; New Album Title, Artwork Unveiled

Manos Spanos
Swedish metal veterans ENTOMBED have inked a deal with Century Media Records. The band's tenth album, "Back To The Front", will be released on October 29 (one day earlier internationally). The CD was recorded at Studio Bohus (ABBA, EUROPE) in Kungälv, Sweden with producer Roberto Laghi (IN FLAMES, HARDCORE SUPERSTAR). The cover artwork was painted by Zbigniew Bielak (WATAIN, VADER) and can be seen below. A press release states: "Don't be afraid that it will sound like ABBA — it's 666% true to the ENTOMBED everybody loves. While not falling for total regression back to the early classics 'Left Hand Path' or 'Clandestine', expect a total bone-crushing opus that will have fans of 'Wolverine Blues', 'To Ride…' or 'Morning Star' cry tears of joy. From the morbid, pissed-off lyrics over detuned, massive riffs to the inimitable brick-heavy groove and L.G. Petrov's titanic roar, 'Back To The Front' has it all, so get ready for a stone-cold stunner!" Comments singer L.G. Petrov: "After almost seven years of studio absence, w
03 min read

QUEENSRŸCHE Trial Delayed Until January

Manos Spanos
Singer Geoff Tate — who was fired from the Seattle progressive rock band QUEENSRŸCHE last year after fronting it for three decades — was granted a continuance until January 27, 2014 in his legal battle with his former bandmates over the rights to the group's name. Tate and his wife, Susan, QUEENSRŸCHE's former manager, filed a lawsuit in June 2012 asking the judge to award them the rights to the band's name in exchange for Tate paying Eddie Jackson (bass), Michael Wilton (guitar) and Scott Rockenfield (drums) the fair market value for their interests in the QUEENSRŸCHE companies. Wilton, Rockenfield and Jackson filed a countersuit against the Tates in which they accused Geoff of creative obstruction and violent behavior, and Susan Tate of questionable business practices. In their August 9 motion to continue the trial date — originally scheduled for November 18 — and amend the case schedule, the Tates requested "a minimum 180-day continuance to provide sufficient time for the parties to continue active settlement negotiations without incurring substantial trial preparation costs and, if such efforts fail, to provide sufficient time to complete discovery and properly prepare for what will be a very lengthy trial." The Tates added that "80 potential witnesses" have been identified for trial and they estimated that the parties will need to collectively take 20 to 40 depositions. Further complicating the scheduling of depositions is the fact that Tate's former bandmates will be traveling for most of September and will be unavailable for depositions. Said the Tates in their motion, which can be viewed on the The Breakdown Room web site: "There simply is not enough time to properly prepare for trial. Discovery is incomplete. Even if the parties only depose a fraction of the witnesses identified, doing so will take 20 to 30 days. Many of these witnesses are located out of state. The facts that underlie this dispute span nearly 30 years. Trial could take three to four weeks with 20 to 40 witnesses."
05 min read

MIKE PORTNOY: BLACK SABBATH Without BILL WARD Is ‘Not A Reunion’

Manos Spanos
Drummer Mike Portnoy (THE WINERY DOGS, DREAM THEATER, AVENGED SEVENFOLD, ADRENALINE MOB) was interviewed on the latest edition of former RIP magazine editor and veteran music journalist Lonn Friend's "Energize With Lonn Friend" podcast. Commenting on BLACK SABBATH's decision to record and tour without original drummer Bill Ward, Portnoy said: "Here's my issue with it. I have no issue if Bill Ward is not fit to play in SABBATH, as they're saying. Or I have no issue with it if they're having money litigations and problems and they couldn't agree on something that was fair. My issue is that they're calling it a BLACK SABBATH reunion. It's not a BLACK SABBATH reunion without the four of them. It is now just the latest BLACK SABBATH lineup. " He continued: "Why is this BLACK SABBATH, but HEAVEN & HELL wasn't BLACK SABBATH? I mean, we all know the real reason for it. But it's not a true BLACK SABBATH reunion without Bill Ward. And if they need to do it without Bill, then they do it without Bill. But don't call it a reunion. It's just BLACK SABBATH 2013. " Portnoy, who co-founded DREAM THEATER more than 27 years ago, abruptly quit the band in September 2010 while on tour with AVENGED SEVENFOLD. He has since been replaced by Mike Mangini (ANNIHILATOR, EXTREME, JAMES LABRIE, STEVE VAI).
01 min read

SONATA ARCTICA Parts Ways With Bassist, Announces Replacement

Manos Spanos
Finnish melodic metallers SONATA ARCTICA have parted ways with bassist Marko Paasikoski. Says Marko in a statement: "I have come to a situation in my life where being a part of a touring band is not an option for me anymore and it's time to explore other things. "I wish to thank all the fans and my bandmates for all the good times, great shows and adventures that we have had over the last decade. The memories from this time will stay with me forever but at the moment I don't have the motivation or the passion that is required to be in the band so it's better for all parties involved that we go our separate ways. I wish all the best for the guys." Added the remaining members of the band: ""We understand Marko's decision and this is, of course, a thing that we have talked about during the last tour. We appreciate Marko being a stand-up guy and finishing up the 'Stones Grow Her Name' world tour. Thank you, Marko, for all these years and best of luck and fortunes with your future endeaveurs. We'll miss you, bro. "Our new bass player is Pasi Kauppinen (SILENT VOICES, ex-REQUIEM, WINTERBORN). We've known him for many years and he has mixed both our DVDs as well as recorded parts of our last three studio albums. He will join the band starting with the upcoming album. "SONATA ARCTICA will start rehearsing in September and enter the studio in October. The new studio album will be out next spring with a world tour to follow." According to Timo Isoaho of Finland's Soundi magazine, SONATA ARCTICA vocalist Tony Kakko has written around 50 songs for the follow-up to 2012's "Stones Grow Her Name", with plans to track and mix the effort over a three-month period.
03 min read

MICK MARS Says His Health Is Not The Reason For MÖTLEY CRÜE’s Retirement Plans

Manos Spanos
MÖTLEY CRÜE guitarist Mick Mars has dismissed reports that his poor health is partly to blame for the band's decision to retire from touring. In a recent interview with the Oakland Press, CRÜE singer Vince Neil said that Mars' ongoing battle with Ankylosing spondylitis, a painful form of chronic arthritis that causes vertebrae in the spine to fuse together, as well as the band's desire to "go out on top" were the primary reasons for CRÜE's revelation that they will call it quits after 2015. "It's just time," Neil said. "Mick's health is not that good, and touring is tough on him. I'm sure in five, 10 years' time, we'll probably do something together again, but it's not gonna be like a KISS farewell to the farewell to the farewell tour. We're not gonna be like that." He added: "We want to go out on top. We don't want to be one of those bands that people are like, 'Oh, they're playing a little club now.' We still sell out arenas and do stadium shows and stuff like that, and that's how we want to be remembered." However, in a posting on his Twitter account, Mars painted a different picture, claiming that his medical condition had never affected his playing. "Any rumors regarding a farewell tour due to 'my poor health' are BS," he said. "I am doing fine, my AS has never kept me from touring and never will." MÖTLEY CRÜE will return to Las Vegas for an exclusive twelve-show engagement September 18 through October 6 at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
01 min read

DEVIN TOWNSEND Has ‘No Interest’ In STRAPPING YOUNG LAD Reunion

Manos Spanos
Aniruddh "Andrew" Bansal of Metal Assault recently conducted an interview with renowned Canadian multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter and producer Devin Townsend. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below. Metal Assault: The last time we did an interview, it was September of last year and at the time you were telling me about this "Retinal Circus" show that you were going to do soon after. Here we are almost a year later, and you're soon releasing a DVD of that show. First of all, for you what was that experience like, doing that show in London? Devin: It was basically every emotion sort of wrapped up into one. Being perfectly honest, overall it was a really good experience but it was fraught with technical hurdles and I didn't actually recognize what we had done until I started editing it. In hindsight, it's great but at that time it was just a lot of stress. Metal Assault: What kind of technical problems did you face? Devin: Well, the ideas that I typically have for "Retinal Circus" or "Ziltoid" or any number of projects that I do are usually on such a scope that there's no feasible way you can do it with the amount of money and time that we usually have. "Retinal" was an extreme version of that. There were a 100 people in our performing group, we had a day and a half worth of rehearsal, and overall, we did achieve what I had hoped to achieve from the show, but to get it to that point it was chaos. You can imagine when there are a 100 people, including circus performers, choir members and people that had no connection to what I've done or to the music itself. They had to become familiar with the music and being on our stage, and all these things that went into this three-hour performance. We had props, we were playing songs we'd never played before, and I think there were 50 or 60 wireless units going. Something as simple as trying to find the frequencies for the wireless units became a challenge when we had to go and do it amidst the chaos of pulling off something that was so bizarre. For me, on a personal level, narcissistic to the point of nausea, it was a heck of a thing! But ultimately, for me it was a success. I tend to be hyper-aware of what I do and what it is that I project into the audience, I real awkward sort of quasi-nerdy thing. So by doing "Retinal", which was so awkward and so nerdy, it allowed me to kind of liberate that. It's what people are going to say now,
06 min read

DEFTONES Have Learned To Take Important Breaks From Touring

Manos Spanos
David Deco Oosthuizen of The Metal Review conducted an interview with DEFTONES members Frank Delgado (turntables, keyboards) and Sergio Vega (bassist) prior to the band's August 10 performance at the Oppikoppi Festival 2013 in South Africa. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below. The Metal Review: Tell us about what's been happening with the band since your latest album, "Koi No Yokan", launched back in November 2012. Frank: Well, our touring schedule has been hectic, of course, but we have learned after many years to take some important breaks more frequently as needed. We all have family, so these breaks are more important perhaps than in our younger years, so it all works out. Sergio: For me, regular time home helps to balance all the important things in our lives. For "Diamond Eyes", for instance, we used to do three months solid touring runs, which were awesome, as we were tight and cooking as a band, but it did create a sense of distance with our families, so balance is very important. The Metal Review: Guys I have to ask, with the tragic passing of Chi Cheng on April 13, years after his 2008 accident which left him in a coma, it obviously affected you as a band. How have you managed to cope and come to terms with this sad event when it comes to the writing of new material? Frank: For us, the creative process and our music are organic and when we get into the st
03 min read

LEAVES’ EYES: ‘Symphonies Of The Night’ Cover Artwork Unveiled

Manos Spanos
LEAVES' EYES — the German/Norwegian band formed by ex-THEATRE OF TRAGEDY singer Liv Kristine Espenaes Krull and members of ATROCITY — has completed work on its new album, "Symphonies Of The Night", for a late 2013 release via Napalm Records. The CD is being produced by Liv's husband, ATROCITY singer and LEAVES' EYES co-vocalist Alexander Krull, at his Mastersound Studio in Germany. Says LEAVES' EYES: "We couldn't be more proud of the final result. "Expect this album to be the heaviest and most epic LEAVES' EYES experience to date: it will haunt you, even in your dreams. "We're also proud to unveil the cover of 'Symphonies Of The Night', designed by our longtime friend Heile [Stefan Heilemann]. "Be aware of more information concerning the album, release date and upcoming tours soon!"
02 min read

SOILWORK: Deluxe Edition Of ‘A Predator’s Portrait’ Due In October

Manos Spanos
Swedish metallers SOILWORK will release a lavish deluxe version of their 2001 classic breakthrough album "A Predator's Portrait" on October 18 in Europe and October 15 in the U.S. The effort will be reissued as a digipack with an all new artwork and will contain two previously unreleased live bonus tracks. Commented drummer Dirk Verbeuren: "I view 'A Predator's Portrait' as a milestone in several ways. It's our first recording for Nuclear Blast, still our home to this day, six albums later. It marks the first time Björn 'Speed' Strid pushes his vocal talents into the melodic realm. And it concludes the early SOILWORK years, with follow-up 'Natural Born Chaos' starting something new and different altogether. "Now that we've come full circle with our ninth album, 'The Living Infinite', the time is right to revisit 'A Predator's Portrait'. This ultimate re-release comes with re-imagined artwork by original cover artist and SOILWORK keyboardist Carlos Del Olmo Holmberg as well as two live renditions of classic 'A Predator's Portrait' tracks performed by the band's current lineup during the 2013 North American Infinity tour. "Enjoy this piece of pure Swedish melodic mayhem!" A picture of the digipack can be seen below.
02 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.