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Manos Spanos

SERJ TANKIAN On New SYSTEM OF A DOWN Album: ‘It’s Not Something I Can Do Right Now’

Manos Spanos
SYSTEM OF A DOWN singer Serj Tankian spoke to ARTISTdirect about the band's current status, including its continued lack of new music. "Of course, we have a lot of fans and people interested in getting a record sooner rather than later," Serj said. "Things take time though. Everyone has a life and has to have the right frame of mind to make a record at the same time… I've been touring with SYSTEM, The FCC, and orchestras around the world. I haven't stopped. There hasn't been much time off. I want to make sure I have time for myself and my family." He continued: "Only the four of us can decide what SYSTEM means. I know the fans agree that's what SYSTEM is, and that's amazing.
04 min read

Report: Riverside, Rex Mundi – Thessaloniki, Greece

Manos Spanos
Saturday 1/6/2013 and finally the time had come to see for the second time one of my favourite bands "Riverside". The doors were opening 20.30 and i arrived at 9 o'clock. At that time weren't much people at the venue. Fortunately as the time passed more and more people were coming. There was a support band arranged to open the show, but unfortunately their appearance was cancelled due to lack of space on stage (...!), there was no room at all to set their equipment and no chance of using Riverside's, so... No Rex Mundi.. Finally some minutes before ten o'clock we heard the first few notes from the bands intro Nightsession 1+2 so we knew the time had come. 10 o'clock sharp the lights went off and the polish progsters finally got on stage! From the first notes i got in all my body goosebumbs, perfect sound and perfect perfomance, you could hear each instrument perfectly clear, professionalism in every level!!! I have been in over 40-50 concerts, there are very few bands who have such live sound and perfomance. The emotional compositions and meaningful lyrics of the band makes you almost cry in their concerts.
02 min read

ANTHRAX Guitarist: ‘It’s An Honor And Privilege To Get To Work With JOEY BELLADONNA Every Day’

Manos Spanos
The National Student recently conducted an interview with ANTHRAX guitarist Scott Ian. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below. The National Student: Taking a step back to the late '80s, you were, and still are, known for your wide taste in music, especially in hip hop. Do you think the backlash in the collaboration you did with PUBLIC ENEMY helped to form any of the nu-metal music today? Can it still be seen in the industry? Scott: You know, people ask us, do we think we created certain genres of music that the press named after we did what we did with PUBLIC ENEMY. I never thought we invented it. It certainly opened a door, even just a window for people to jump out of. I truly believe that RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE were the band that drove a train through that door; they took the influences in their individuals and came together to make a band out of it. Whereas with us and PUBLIC ENEMY, it's not likeANTHRAX became a rap group and it's not like PUBLIC ENEMY became a metal group, we just collaborated together and did something great. We didn't then become one unit and continue to make music like that. Whereas, RAGE AGAINST were that unit and this is the music that they were creating from their souls which blew up massively on a worldwide level. So I think if anything, whether or not they'd want the credit for it, it's definitely RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE for me that created rap metal, nu-metal, whatever you want to call it. Everything that came after them showed that a direct line had to go back to RAGE. The only thing I can personally take credit for is, there have been guys in bands that have come up to me and personally told me the influence that we bring to them specifically some of the dudes from LINKIN PARK told me years and years ago that the first concert they ever saw was ANTHRAX and PUBLIC ENEMY in Los Angeles. And they left that show saying that's the kind of band we want me to make. I know the guys in RAGE AGAINST THE MACHINE and I know Tom [Morello, guitar] and he was a fan of ours andPUBLIC ENEMY's and what we did. I'm not saying "Bring The Noise" was a direct responsibility for RAGE, but I know that it's something they are certainly fans of.
05 min read

MASTODON-Designed ZIPPO Lighter To be Sold During ‘Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival’

Manos Spanos
An exclusive lighter designed by Atlanta progressive metallers MASTODONwill be sold at the Zippo booth during Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival starting this month. Zippo Encore recently caught up with a few of the MASTODON guys in Atlanta and discussed among other things, their inspirations, favorite types of music and Zippo. Check out the footage below. MASTODON is currently writing material for its follow-up to 2011's "The Hunter", tentatively due in early 2014. The band wrote and recorded a song for the upcoming animated film"Monsters University". Due out in July, "Monsters University" is the prequel to 2001's"Monsters, Inc." Billy Crystal and John Goodman reprise their roles in the prequel as the wise-cracking Mike Wazowski and lovable Sulley.
01 min read

TARJA TURUNEN To Release ‘Victim Of Ritual’ Single

Manos Spanos
Former NIGHTWISH singer Tarja Turunen will release a new single,"Victim Of Ritual", as a digital download, CD single and on seven-inch vinyl on July 12 via b>earMUSIC, the Hamburg, Germany-based international rock label which is part of Edel Group.. 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".
05 min read

BLACK SABBATH: Entire “13” Album Available For Streaming

Manos Spanos
"13", the first BLACK SABBATH record in 35 years to feature singer Ozzy Osbourne, guitarist Tony Iommi and bassist Geezer Butler all playing together, can be streamed in its entirety on the band's iTunes page. (Note: If the link leads you to another webpage, make sure to click "Open in iTunes" to hear the stream.) The CD is due out June 11 onVertigo/Republic. This marks BLACK SABBATH's return to Vertigo, their original label, and the group's first studio album together since 1978's"Never Say Die!" Details of the album's deluxe edition surfaced on April 19, with the band revealing that the eight-song effort will be accompanied by three bonus tracks called "Methademic", "Peace Of Mind" and "Pariah". Several versions of "13" are available for pre-order, including a standard CD, a double CD that includes a second disc of exclusive bonus audio, a heavyweight vinyl album in a gatefold sleeve and a "Super Deluxe Box Set" containing the double CD, the vinyl album, an exclusive DVD documentary on the band's reunion, 13 photographic prints and hand-written lyrics.
03 min read

MEGADETH: Another New Song, ‘Forget To Remember’, Available For Streaming

Manos Spanos
Another song from MEGADETH's forthcoming "Super Collider" album — "Forget To Remember" — is available for streaming using the widget below. MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine tells New York Public Radio that the track draws on some experiences with memory and forgetting that have come very close to home. "The song touches on the no. 6 cause of death in America, Alzheimer's Disease, which my mother-in-law has been diagnosed with," Mustaine said, "and our world is now upside-down. I did what I do best when I have something to say; I sing about it." "Super Collider" is scheduled for a June 4 North American release via Mustaine's new label, Tradecraft, distributed by Universal Music Enterprises (UMe).
03 min read

OLIVA: ‘Father Time’ Lyric Video Released

Manos Spanos
The official lyric video for the song "Father Time" from JON OLIVA'S PAIN and SAVATAGE mastermind Jon Oliva can be seen below. The track comes off Oliva's first-ever solo album, "Raise The Curtain", which will be released on June 21 in Europe and July 2 in North America via AFM Records. The 11-song CD, which contains ideas collected over the course of the last four or five years, was tracked this past winter at Morrisound Studios in Tampa, Florida with producer Tom Morris, with Jon handling laying down nearly all the instrument tracks and vocals himself as well as playing drums on three songs. "Raise The Curtain" will be released simply under the banner OLIVA and you can expect a mixture of Jon's early influences and the material he wrote and recorded throughout his whole career. "Raise The Curtain" track listing:
02 min read

ACCEPT Working On Official Documentary

Manos Spanos
This year, reformed German metal legends ACCEPT are headlining European festivals, preparing a new album as well as working on their first live DVD and CD featuring Wolf Hoffmann (guitar), Peter Baltes (bass),Mark Tornillo (vocals), Herman Frank (guitar) and Stefan Schwarzmann (drums). The Teutonic metal band has touched the lives of so many fans and musicians alike along the way in their 30-plus-year career. Having inspired legions of fans with songs like "Fast As A Shark" and "Metal Heart",ACCEPT helped create the speed metal genre. This time, however, it is the band that is inspired by the fans. With the making of new music on the horizon and their busy schedule, the band is eager to share even more of themselves with their loyal following by announcing the making of the first official ACCEPT documentary. The film will feature footage from ACCEPT's humble beginnings as a garage band in their German home town of Solingen in the late '70s, their '80s"Balls To The Wall" "glory days," and all the way up their most successful reincarnation with powerhouse vocalist Mark Tornillo. This is a very proud and important moment for the German heavy metal band.
03 min read

GENE SIMMONS On KISS: ‘We Probably Have Another 5 To 10 Years At The Most’

Manos Spanos
KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons made an appearance at the Hard Rock Cafe in Stockholm, Sweden yesterday (Saturday, June 1) prior to the opening concert of the band's European tour. He also gave an interview to Expressen TV (see video below) in which he spoke about the day when it will finally be time for KISS to retire. "One day it will end," Simmons explained. "And I hope on the day that we end, we end on a high note instead of going down. You don't wanna stay one day longer than when it's great; you wanna be great 'till the end." Asked how long he gives the band before it will be time to call it quits for good, Simmons said: "We probably have another 5 to 10 years at the most." Back in June 2008, KISS guitarist/vocalist Paul Stanley issued a statement in order to "set the record straight" regarding the possibility ofKISS continuing with all-new members long after he and Simmons decide to take off the make-up for good. "If we were to do a 'KISS II,' and I don't rule that out, it would be in addition to, and never in place of, KISS," he said. "If we were to do it, I know it would be done in a groundbreaking way and would be tremendously entertaining. KISS has always defined itself by the rules we break, so what's the big surprise?"
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.