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Manos Spanos

‘The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert’ To Be Released On 3DVD, Blu-Ray, And Digital Video

Manos Spanos
On September 3, Eagle Rock Entertainment will release "The Freddie Mercury Tribute Concert" on a triple DVD set, as an SD Blu-ray — with upscaled standard definition original material with uncompressed stereo and DTS-HD surround sound for the best possible quality — and digital. This release boasts newly remastered sound across both sections of the concert and represents the first time the opening acts' performances have been made available on DVD or Blu-ray. On April 20, 1992, Roger Taylor, Brian May and John Deacon, the surviving members of QUEEN, took to the stage at Wembley Stadium for the start of one of the biggest events in rock history, which the band had organized to pay tribute to their former colleague — the incomparableFreddie Mercury. QUEEN were joined by some of the greatest musical talent in the world to celebrate Freddie's life and work and to increase public awareness of AIDS, the disease that had prematurely ended his life the previous year.
02 min read

RHAPSODY OF FIRE Parts Ways With Guitarist TOM HESS

Manos Spanos
Italian symphonic metallers RHAPSODY OF FIRE have "respectfully" parted ways with their American guitarist Tom Hess due to "philosophical differences." The band states: "RHAPSODY OF FIRE and Tom both sincerely wish each other the very best for their respective futures." RHAPSODY OF FIRE released a new live album, "Live - From Chaos To Eternity", on May 3 in Europe and May 7 in the USA via AFM Records. It was made available as two-CD digipak and as limited three-vinyl set. The material (a mixture of old classics and newer tracks) was recorded on the band’s latest European tour in spring 2012. Video footage of RHAPSODY OF FIRE performing the song "Dawn Of Victory", taken from "Live - From Chaos To Eternity", can be seen below.
02 min read

THE HAUNTED Prepares To Announce New Lineup; Teaser Images Posted Online

Manos Spanos
Swedish metallers THE HAUNTED are teasing their fans on Facebook with photos of the bandmembers' silhouettes (see below) as they prepare to announce their new lineup. Although there has been no official confirmation, THE HAUNTED's latest incarnation appears to include the return of drummer Adrian Erlandsson(also of AT THE GATES and PARADISE LOST) and singer Marco Aro (also of THE RESISTANCE). They are joined by original THE HAUNTED membersPatrik Jensen (guitar) and Jonas Björler (bass) alongside the band's newest addition, guitarist Ola Englund (SIX FEET UNDER, FEARED). Vocalist Peter Dolving, guitarist Anders Björler and drummer Per Møller Jensen left THE HAUNTED last year and are pursuing separate new projects.
01 min read

PHILIP ANSELMO Joins ACCEPT On Stage At France’s HELLFEST; Video Available

Manos Spanos
Philip Anselmo (DOWN, PANTERA) joined reformed heavy metal legendsACCEPT on stage this past Saturday, June 22 at Hellfest in Clisson, France to perform the band's classic song "Fast As A Shark". Fan-filmed video footage of his appearance can be seen below. ACCEPT's April 12 concert at Teatro Caupolicán in Santiago, Chile was professionally filmed for the band's forthcoming DVD. During a recent interview with Radio Futuro, guitarist Wolf Hoffmannrevealed that ACCEPT is planning to enter the studio soon to begin work on the follow-up to 2012's "Stalingrad". "We're currently gathering material," he said. "We're writing stuff actively, so give us a few more months, and hopefully, by the end of the year, we 'll have enough material to actually start working on a new studio album. But it won't be long. I can't guarantee when exactly it's gonna be happening, but we wanna definitely go back to the studio as soon as we can."
01 min read

WATAIN: ‘All That May Bleed’ Lyric Video Released

Manos Spanos
The official lyric video for the song "All That May Bleed" from Swedish black metallers WATAIN can be seen below. The track comes off the band's new album, "The Wild Hunt", which will be released on August 19 in Europe and August 20 in USA via Century Media Records. The CD was once again mixed at the Necromorbus Studio in Alvik, Sweden by Tore Stjerna. The "All That May Bleed" CD single will precede the full-length effort at the end of June. Comments WATAIN: "'All That May Bleed' shows but one facet of a quite diverse album, but we chose this song as a first glimpse into 'The Wild Hunt' because of its bombastic lunacy and white-eyed malevolence which could be said to constitute a main foundation for the album. The lyric is an invitation to sacrificial blood letting, ecstatic zealotry and human sacrifice. The salt of Satan in the wounds of Christ!" Side B will be a track called "Play With The Devil", originally recorded by the black/heavy metal band TAIWAZ in 1988 in WATAIN's hometown, Uppsala (Gottfrid Åhman from IN SOLITUDE participates on solo guitar on WATAIN's version).
03 min read

KATAKLYSM Covers SACRED REICH’s ‘The American Way’

Manos Spanos
Montreal, Quebec, Canada-based death metallers KATAKLYSM recorded a cover version of the SACRED REICH classic "The American Way" during the studio sessions for their new album, "Waiting For The End To Come", which is tentatively due in October via Nuclear Blast Records. According to KATAKLYSM frontman Maurizio Iacono, the "The American Way"cover "came out top notch." The follow-up to 2010's "Heaven's Venom", "Waiting For The End To Come" was recorded by KATAKLYSM guitarist Jean-François Dagenais, who has previously worked with MALEVOLENT CREATION, MISERY INDEX and DESPISED ICON, among others, and mixed by Chris "Zeuss" Harris (SUFFOCATION, HATEBREED, ARSIS). Songtitles set to appear on the CD include "If I was God… I'd Burn It All", "Under Lawless Skies" and "Kill The Elite". As previously reported, KATAKLYSM has recruited ex-NEURAXIS drummerOli Beaudoin to sit behind the kit during the recording sessions for"Waiting For The End To Come". Beaudoin will also play all ofKATAKLYSM's currenty announced shows starting on June 30 in Costa Rica.
02 min read

ORPHANED LAND: ‘All Is One’ Track-By-Track Breakdown (Video)

Manos Spanos
A track-by-track breakdown of "All Is One", the sixth full-length album from Israeli progressive folk metal masters ORPHANED LAND, can be seen below. The CD will be released in North America on June 25 (one day earlier internationally) via Century Media Records. The cover artwork for the follow-up to 2010's "The Never Ending Way Of ORwarriOR" was created by the French artist Metastazis (PARADISE LOST, AS I LAY DYING, SONNE ADAM, WATAIN) by perfectly incorporating the three biggest religious symbols into one piece of art. "All Is One" will be made available as a limited deluxe book edition, including three bonus songs and a bonus DVD, as well as limited double gatefold LP, including the three bonus songs and in different vinyl colors. A standard jewelcase CD format and digital download will also be available.
03 min read

DEEP PURPLE Singer: ‘Classic Rock Is Never A Label That We’ve Given Ourselves’

Manos Spanos
Jane Stevenson of the QMI Agency recently conducted an interview withDEEP PURPLE singer Ian Gillan. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below. On being considered a "classic rock" band: Gillan: "Classic rock is never a label that we've given ourselves — it's one of the many labels that's been imposed on us. We always used to describe ourselves as an instrumental band. Basically, the music was always instrumentally based so the songs always came later... It's just the influences in the band are so diverse, coming from orchestral composition, jazz, blues, big band, swing and rock 'n' roll. So there's always been that element of adventure within the band. But I think, after all this time, [producer] Bob Ezrin pointed out all those things and so we all lifted up all our heads and said, 'Hmm, sounds interesting.' So there was a reason to go back in the studio. So we went back with enthusiasm." On the new DEEP PURPLE song "Vincent Price":
02 min read

MACHINE HEAD Announces New Bassist

Manos Spanos
San Francisco Bay Area metallers MACHINE HEAD have announced Jared MacEachern as their new bass player. Jared has already begun rehearsals with the rest of the band for the upcoming Rockstar Energy Mayhem Drink Festival tour and will soon relocate from North Carolina to Northern California to begin pre-production for MACHINE HEAD's upcoming eighth studio release. Some fans might remember MacEachern from MACHINE HEAD's 2007"The Black Tyranny" tour, on which he performed with his previous band,SANCTITY. MACHINE HEAD, challenged to find a fill-in bass player for the North American tour after an injury sidelined their then-four-stringerAdam Duce, also found themselves in need of someone to sing harmony with singer/guitarist Robb Flynn. Flynn remembers: "We had locked inBrandon Sigmund of local boys HOSTILITY to play bass on that tour, but we soon realized we'd need someone to hit the high harmonies. Our A&R guy [at Roadrunner Records], Monte Conner, recommended Jaredsince he was already on the tour, and that ended up being a great call.Jared flew out a few days before the tour and rehearsed with us and did great. What was most impressive about the whole thing was that he was doing double duty — opening for MACHINE HEAD with his band at the time, SANCTITY, and then later singing with us. He would stay sober until after our set, and often get in the van and drive all night. His seriousness and dedication was awesome to see and it stuck with us." Earlier this year, MACHINE HEAD conducted an extensive search for candidates through various channels, the most fruitful of which proved to be video submissions. Sifting through more than 400 videos, the band personally reviewed and evaluated everyone's performances, includingMacEachern, who made the short list without a second thought. Lead guitarist Phil Demmel recalls: "There were dozens of amazing players, and it was interesting to watch each one take on our tunes. One of our biggest criteria for this gig was to be able to sing the high harmonies. That was our litmus test. And Jared passed with flying colors."
05 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.