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Manos Spanos

Video: OZZY OSBOURNE Guitarist GUS G. Performs ‘Crazy Train’ With STEEL PANTHER

Manos Spanos
FIREWIND and OZZY OSBOURNE guitarist Gus G. (real name: Kostas Karamitroudis) joined Los Angeles glam-metal jokesters STEEL PANTHERon stage this past Monday, July 22 at the House Of Blues in West Hollywood, California to perform the OZZY classic "Crazy Train". Fan-filmed video footage of his appearance can be seen below. Photos are available at this location. STEEL PANTHER recently spent time in the studio putting the finishing touches on its third full-length album at a studio in Sherman Oaks, California with producer Jay Ruston (ANTHRAX, STONE SOUR,MEATLOAF) for a fall release. Speaking to the South Bend Tribune, STEEL PANTHER drummer Stix Zadinia (real name: Darren Leader) stated about the band's as-yet-untitled new CD: "If you liked [2009's] 'Feel The Steel' and [2011's] 'Balls Out', you will love this record. It is more heavy metal songs that are hooky and great and fun and make you want to rock and make you want to have a good time and party. Also, there is a lot of riffage on this album that I think anybody who has ever questioned this band — 'Oh, those guys wear spandex and it is 2000-whatever' — these songs are going to put all of that to rest." Regarding naysayers that say STEEL PANTHER is a joke-metal band,Zadinia said: "Listen to our record and tell us that our songs aren't better than most of the bands out there. How funny is that? At the end of the day, it comes down to the songs. I think our songs — without sounding egotistical — I think our songs are great. When you hear the hooks in our songs, you hear the playing and you hear the vocals, you throw that up against any band in any era, and I think it stands up."
02 min read

COREY TAYLOR: ‘I’ll Never Lose The Anger, I’ll Never Lose That Fighting Hate’

Manos Spanos
Envision Radio Networks' "Hangar 19" recently welcomed another heavy metal legend into the Hangar, SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR lead vocalist Corey Taylor. In his two-part interview with host Cutter, Taylorspoke about his recent robbery, how he handles his anger and his new book. While in Europe on tour, Taylor had $36,000 worth of music gear stolen from him by a friend he left in charge while he was away. Taylor toldCutter that, although he and his wife have gotten about 98% of the stolen items back, he is still dealing with the situation. "There are a handful of things that are still missing," he said. "We are slowly but surely trying to get the stuff back. It sucks. You know, you think you trust somebody and then you turn around and they're sliding the knife out of your back." Faced with a betrayal of this proportion, Taylor said he has learned to channel his anger and become a more positive person. "15 years ago I was really much closer to the guy in SLIPKNOT than I am [to] the guy today, obviously," he explained. "I mean, I had a lot of anger issues, had a lot of deep-seated, like, crazy issues that, luckily, because of the things that I have been able to do with SLIPKNOT and some of the stuff I have been able to do with STONE SOUR and whatnot, I've been able to kind of let go of and channel into to more positive aspects of my life. Today I am a lot closer to just kind of being a family man."
02 min read

BLACK SABBATH Kicks Off North American Tour In Houston; Video Available

Manos Spanos
BLACK SABBATH kicked off its 20-date North American tour last night (Thursday, July 25) at the Cynthia Woods Mitchell Pavilion in The Woodlands (a suburb of Houston), Texas. The band's setlist was as follows: 01. War Pigs 02. Into The Void 03. Under The Sun 04. Snowblind 05. Age Of Reason 06. Black Sabbath 07. Behind The Wall Of Sleep 08. N.I.B. 09. End Of The Beginning 10. Fairies Wear Boots 11. Methademic 12. Rat Salad/Drum Solo 13. Iron Man 14. God Is Dead? 15. Dirty Women 16. Children Of The Grave 17. Paranoid Fan-filmed video footage of the concert can be seen below. After 35 years, three original members of BLACK SABBATH released a new disc on June 11 called "13". The first SABBATH record since 1978's"Never Say Die!" to feature singer Ozzy Osbourne, along with guitaristTony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler, it's their second attempt at new music together after a previous effort failed in 2001. The new disc does not feature founding drummer Bill Ward, who has sat out the reunion over contractual issues.
02 min read

AEROSMITH: ‘Love In An Elevator’ Performance Clip From ‘Rock For The Rising Sun’ DVD

Manos Spanos
AEROSMITH's latest concert film, "Rock For The Rising Sun", was released via Eagle Rock Entertainment on July 23. The group's connection with Japan began in 1977, when the band first played to capacity crowds in the Far East. And as evidenced by "Rock For The Rising Sun", the band-fan bond remains strong to this day. The director behind the release, Casey Patrick Tebo, is well-versed in not only his'SMITH (he directed their music video for "Legendary Child"), but has also worked with such renowned acts as MÖTLEY CRÜE, JUDAS PRIEST,STEVIE NICKS, LADY ANTEBELLUM, THE AVETT BROTHERS, and RUN-DMC, among countless others. Tebo first began working with AEROSMITH in 2006, when Steven Tylerand Tebo met through a colleague, and the singer invited the up-and-coming director (who was in film school at the time) to shoot a few of the band's shows — for just the band's personal viewing. Soon after, the band was so impressed with Tebo's work that they hired him to start directing their live shows. Fast forward to 2011, and AEROSMITH was hard at work on their 15th studio album, "Music From Another Dimension!", but took a break from recording to play shows in Latin America and Japan. Sadly, the Japanese dates occurred not long after tragedy struck the region, as the country experienced a massive earthquake, a monstrous tsunami, and the subsequent meltdown of the Fukushima nuclear plant. Despite warnings about possibly being exposed to radiation, AEROSMITHand crew, including Tebo, braved the risks and followed through with their visit to Japan. "I shot all this stuff and interviewed all these
04 min read

TARJA TURUNEN: Part One Of ‘Colours In The Dark’ Track-By-Track Breakdown (Video)

Manos Spanos
The first in a series of clips featuring a track-by-track breakdown of former NIGHTWISH singer Tarja Turunen's forthcoming album, "Colours In The Dark", can be seen below. Tarja Turunen released a new single, "Victim Of Ritual", as a digital download, CD single and on seven-inch vinyl on July 12 via earMUSIC, the Hamburg, Germany-based international rock label which is part of Edel Group. The official "Victim Of Ritual" video can be seen below. An evocative snare-drum that sounds like it was coming from a mysterious place, the tender sound of an orchestra joins followed by a familiar and seductive melody played by an oboe. When Tarja's distinctive voice resounds through the speakers, her warm timbre fills the room. Her melody is full of emotions and tender, before the song explodes into an epic, heavy chorus: "Hysterical, tragical, Victim of ritual, Cynical, critical, Victim of ritual, She's a killer, killer, She's a killer, killer." Inspired by the one-movement orchestral piece "Boléro" by Maurice Ravel, the almost-six-minutes-long "Victim Of Ritual" is the first single from Tarja's forthcoming album, "Colours In The Dark". Both physical releases will surely become rare collector's items, being made available in strictly limited quantities. The four-song digipak CD-single is limited to 3,000 copies worldwide, whereas the two-track sevn-inch vinyl is limited to only 1,500 units worldwide.
05 min read

ENTOMBED: ‘To Ride, Shoot Straight And Speak The Truth’ Reissue Bonus Material Detailed

Manos Spanos
Swedish metal veterans ENTOMBED recently teamed up with PledgeMusic to launch a reissue campaign for some of their albums. Says the band: "We know many of you have pledged already for theThreeman deluxe edition 2CD and gatefold vinyl of [1997's] 'To Ride, Shoot Straight And Speak The Truth' without even knowing what the track list of bonus material would be. So today we can announce what we have found and what we intend to put on the bonus disc. We still have to choose two live tracks and maybe you can help us decide which live versions from tracks on the album you would like us to include. "Originally the album was released in three versions: 1. Regular CD (1 disc) with just the album. 2. Digipak double with a bonus disc of 4 covers 3. Double vinyl gatefold with 6 covers on the bonus disc.
05 min read

ROB ZOMBIE On Upcoming Concert DVD: ‘I Figured At Least Once We Should Film It’

Manos Spanos
On July 20, Rob Zombie spoke to the Albany, New York radio stationQ103 about his plans to capture his band's current live show for an upcoming concert DVD. "[Doing a concert DVD] always seemed like a huge nuisance, truthfully,"Rob said. "We had a live record and that took a million years to do. And a live DVD, for some reason to me, always seems like a nuisance, because after the show is done, I don't care. I don't want to relive it. I mean, a certain member of the band films every show and wants to watch it immediately after the show. And it aggravates the fuck out of me. Who gives a shit? The show is over, I don't care. I never wanna har about it again, I never wanna see it again. Like, I never watch anything — a TV show I've been on; I don't care. Once it's done, it's done. But I figured at least once we should film it." He continued: "We've had so many big crazy stage shows over the last many, many years. And we never filmed anything with [Rob's former band]WHITE ZOMBIE back then. I mean, there's little clips here and there, like [footage from] Brazilian television or something…
02 min read

SEPULTURA Guitarist Talks Upcoming Album, Recording With DAVE LOMBARDO, Covering DEATH

Manos Spanos
JacksonGuitars.com recently conducted an interview with guitaristAndreas Kisser of Brazilian/American thrashers SEPULTURA. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below. JacksonGuitars.com: What can you tell us about working with producerRoss Robinson? Kisser: We're working with Ross again after doing the album "Roots" with him in 1995, and since then, we hadn't had the chance to work with each other. We finally got the opportunity because we're signed with Nuclear Blast after Roadrunner went away. Many of those people that were withRoadrunner are now with Nuclear Blast. So, old friends that used to work with SEPULTURA are now working with the band again, and that's very exciting. Ross is one of the best producers around for this style of music. We know each other so well, and the stuff we are doing right now is really mind-blowing. I'm really happy with it so far. JacksonGuitars.com: We heard you've been working with SLAYERdrummer Dave Lombardo. How did that happen? Kisser: Dave was with his dog and two kids walking around the beach, and he's good friends with Ross. He was in the neighborhood, and Rosssaid, "Why don't you come by and play on the SEPULTURA album?" He said, "Why not?" It was amazing, man. Two drummers, no cymbals. With just the drums themselves, it sounded very heavy. He's one of our biggest idols, and it's such an honor to have him with us on this album. And the way it happened was so natural, like friends just coming together.
03 min read

RED FANG To Release ‘Whales And Leeches’ In October

Manos Spanos
RED FANG will return this October with its third studio album titled"Whales And Leeches" on Relapse Records. For the new album, the Portland, Oregon-based group worked with producer Chris Funk(DECEMBERISTS) and mixer Vance Powell (THE WHITE STRIPES,RACONTEURS, KINGS OF LEON). This same team helmed RED FANG's last CD, "Murder The Mountains", which Alternative Press magazine hailed as "a near-masterpiece of tangled tar pit riffs and whisky-and-bong-hit vocals." The cover artwork for "Whales And Leeches" was designed by graphic artist Orion Landau and can be seen below. On Saturday August 17, RED FANG will head to Missoula, Montana to headline the 12th annual TotalFest. After blistering performances atSasquatch! and major European festivals all summer long, includingSonisphere, Download, Hellfest and With Full Force, RED FANG will announce a full U.S. tour for fall next week. Formed in 2005, RED FANG — Bryan Giles (guitar/vocals), Aaron Beam(bass/vocals), Da
01 min read

CARCASS: ‘Surgical Steel’ Box Set Packaged As First-Aid Kit

Manos Spanos
"Surgical Steel", the new full-length album from reactivated British extreme metal pioneers CARCASS, will be released on September 16 in the U.K., September 13 in the rest of Europe and September 17 in North America via Nuclear Blast Records. The effort was produced by Colin Richardson (FEAR FACTORY, MACHINE HEAD, NAPALM DEATH,SLIPKNOT, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE) and mixed by Andy Sneap(MEGADETH, ACCEPT, EXODUS, ARCH ENEMY). "Surgical Steel" will be made available in the following formats: CD, CD-Digi, Double-LP Black, Double-LP White (pictured below) and Nuclear Blast Mail Order Edition (pictured below). The "Surgical Steel" Mailorder Edition is limited to 666 units and is packaged as a first aid-kit. Joining guitarist Bill Steer and bassist/vocalist Jeff Walker in CARCASS' current incarnation are new drummer Dan Wilding (ABORTED, TRIGGER THE BLOODSHED) and guitarist Ben Ash (PIG IRON, DESOLATION,LIQUEFIED SKELETON). CARCASS' first studio LP since 1996's "Swansong" will feature guest vocals from original sticksman Ken Owen.
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.