Manos Spanos
JIMMY PAGE Didn’t Want To Rewrite History With LED ZEPPELIN Remasters
Jimmy Page is keeping busy with the recent publication of his photo biography called "Jimmy Page By Jimmy Page", and the ongoing LED ZEPPELIN reissue campaign. Page's deluxe remastering job on the band's fourth and fifth albums, 1971's "Led Zeppelin IV" and "Houses Of The Holy", is coming on October 28.
The Pulse Of Radio asked Page if while handling the band's classic masters while upgrading their quality, he was ever tempted to throw them back up on the board and do some minor tweaking to them. "I'm not into re-writing history, I'm just re-presenting," he said. "All of the music that you hear across the companion disc is all basically mixes from the time. I thought it was essential to have mixes from the time, because you've got the mindset, it's showing the mindset of what's being done. To go to the multi-tracks and start remixing, then that's a whole different total ballgame. I wasn't into that. I really wanted something whereby totally reflected what was going on at that point of time — of the time capsule, if you like, of when these things are being recorded. That's what the idea was of this."
The Jimmy Page-remastered editions of "Led Zeppelin IV" and "Houses Of The Holy" will both be released with previously unreleased audio content in a variety of packages — including a limited edition "Super Deluxe" box set.
Earlier this year, LED ZEPPELIN's recent live set, "Celebration Day", recorded during their 2007 London reunion concert, won the Grammy Award for "Best Rock Album" beating out releases from BLACK SABBATH, DAVID BOWIE, QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, NEIL YOUNG with CRAZY HORSE and KINGS OF LEON.
GUS G. Says OZZY OSBOURNE Taught Him A Lesson About Stamina And Energy
SROMaginc.com recently conducted an interview with Gus G., well known in rock and metal circles for his work as Ozzy Osbourne's guitarist and as leader of his own band FIREWIND . You can now listen to the chat below.
On his upcoming activities with Ozzy:
"We're doing the Ozzfiesta next year in Mexico. So we're gonna do that show over there. And I don't know if there's gonna be more stuff; we'll see. I know [Ozzy is] also gonna go back in the studio with SABBATH. I think probably there's gonna be another Ozzy [album] after the next SABBATH record, or it depends whenever they decide to finish it up. It's not up to me."
On whether Ozzy will ever retire from performing:
"You never know with Ozzy, man. You never know. That's the thing. You can't predict that. I think he's one of those guys like Paul McCartney or Mick Jagger; he'll be doing it until he's 80 or something. I think so.
"I'll tell you what: He taught me a lesson about fuckin' stamina and energy up on that stage. He jumps up and down more than any 20-year-old I've seen. I mean, he's 65 and he's still doing frog jumps. [Laughs]"
On how he approached playing with Ozzy when he first landed the gig in 2009:
"It's one of those gigs… it's that exact gig that you just shit your pants as a guitar player to get that spot. For me, it was the happiest day of my life, and, at the same time, the most nerve-racking day of my life. But you've just gotta rise to the occasion. It's one of those things where I got called up to do this now, so I'd better practice twice as hard. You just have to approach this gig with a lot of respect for the guys that were there before you and just be yourself, basically. I mean, you can't replace those guys — guys like Zakk Wylde or Randy Rhoads or Jake E. Lee — you can't replace them, you can't be them. They are their own guys, they are their own legends. So you've just gotta bring your own thing to the table, but at the same time, you have to respect those songs and play them as they are."
Gus G. has tapped Jeff Scott Soto (TALISMAN, TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, JOURNEY, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN) to sing for Gus' backing band on his North American West Coast tour, which kicked off on October 15 and concluded on October 19. Joining Gus and Jeff on stage for these dates were Marty O'Brien (bass; TOMMY LEE, WE ARE THE FALLEN, LITA FORD) and Jo Nunez (drums; FIREWIND, NIGHTRAGE).
A special expanded edition of Gus' solo album, "I Am The Fire", will be released in Europe on November 3 (digitally in North America on November 4). This limited CD + DVD digipak will feature four bonus tracks and a 62-minute bonus DVD (including the album's four official video clips so far, plus three live tracks, six guitar tutorials, as well as an EPK and track-by-track commentary).
BLACK SABBATH’s BILL WARD Pays Tribute To METALLICA’s LARS ULRICH: He ‘Is an Exceptional Drummer’
On this weekend's edition of his radio show "Rock 50", legendary BLACK SABBATH drummer Bill Ward paid tribute to METALLICA's Lars Ulrich. He said: "Lars is an exceptional drummer. He's spiritually sound. I really like that.
"A lot of the paths that Lars has passed through I've travelled myself. And I ended up with being able to take whatever my abilities are, and I was able to utilize that in whatever music we did with SABBATH or we're doing with my own bands now, or if I jam out with anybody, I just play whatever shows up. So it's, like, 'This is what I've got.' But I can remember going through a period over 20, probably 28, 25 or 26 years ago, where I stopped competing, so I had to find out what I could do and make good use of it. And it sounds like Lars has reached that settling ground as well. And I think he does such a good job of it.
"His drum creations have brought the sound of METALLICA to the very edge of metal spearhead, and he's worthy of much praise. He's inspirational and a must-listen for the students. So go ahead, students. If you are learning drums or need to learn the new techniques and stuff like that, listen to Lars, man. He's got some really good stuff that you can learn from."
After airing several METALLICA songs — including "Enter Sandman", "Master Of Puppets", "Until It Sleeps" and "All Nightmare Long" — Ward said: "There are so many things, drum-wise, in all of those songs that are departure points, where other drummers can look at it and go, 'Well, this didn't exist before.' Then Lars created it and we can all listen to it and go, 'Wow!' We can nick some stuff as well, you know. [Laughs] But I love the guy. I think he's just absolutely incredible."
He continued: "I sighed a deep sigh of relief when I heard [METALLICA's] 'black' album. Everything musically had seemed to be distorted feng shui until I heard Lars and METALLICA landing firmly with a statement that announced, 'This way.' And that's how it felt."
Ward added: "You know where the music scene was during the early '80s. Things were kind of, like, 'Oh, we've got this band, and we've got that going on.' And I was in bad shape. I was coming off SABBATH and we'd been through all the SABBATH years and touring and grinding. And so it was 1980 and I was just waking up into a new life, I guess, and I was listening around, looking around for music, and [a short time later] I heard a couple of METALLICA's early albums and then I heard the 'black' album, and I thought, 'Oh my god.' And it seemed to be like that was… it had the same effect that the 'white' album, THE BEATLES' 'white' album had on me. METALLICA's 'black' album, when I heard that and I heard Lars' playing, and I just was, like, you know, 'Wow! Something really neat's been accomplished here.' It pointed, 'This way, guys. This is the way we're going.' And it seemed like there was a multitude of music that followed that, and we've got this incredible heavy metal thing that we have today."
Dimlight: New singer and Indiegogo campaign
We present you the official statement of the band:
"Dear friends,
We are happy to introduce you our new singer. We welcome Eva to the Dimlight family as our front woman, the choice of which is the most appropriate to express the new musical identity of the band.
We would also like to inform you about the launch of our campaign on Indiegogo, which is to last for about two months. Our need for creation and our musical ambitions led to the completion of the pre-production for our new album. We rely on your help through the campaign to move into the final production, a project that cannot be realized without your contribution and your support.
The new chapter has now opened; stay tuned for further announcements..."
MAX CAVALERA Says CAVALERA CONSPIRACY’s ‘Pandemonium’ Is ‘Some Of The Most Aggressive Stuff’ He Has Ever Done
On October 5, Metal Mark of SkullsNBones.com conducted an interview with Max Cavalera (SOULFLY, CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, KILLER BE KILLED, SEPULTURA). You can now watch the chat below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).
On "Pandemonium", the upcoming third album from CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, the band led by brothers and founding SEPULTURA members Max and Igor Cavalera:
Max: "It's pretty good, man. It was fun to play with [Igor] and make a fast record. We decided to just go for it like we used to play before. When we first started this thing, we loved playing fast and throwing down very aggressive stuff. And this record, 'Pandemonium', was based on that — raw energy and adrenaline of the brothers playing metal. And it's cool that we found that after, I don't know, 30 years, we can still go back to that metal place and take that energy out and put it into a record. So I think people are gonna be stoked when they 'Pandemonium', because I think it's, for sure, the heaviest and most aggressive out of the CAVALERA stuff. But it's [also] probably some of the most aggressive stuff I've done in my whole life."
On what it was like to have no contact with Igor for 10 years following Max's departure from SEPULTURA:
Max: "It was hard, those 10 years that we didn't speak. It was really depressing for us. I hid it from the world, but inside I was very sad that I didn't speak with my own brother. And people were always asking about that, and I would always say, 'I don't know. He's doing his thing, and I'm doing thing. We're living in separate worlds.' So when we got back together, it was awesome, it was a great feeling. It was like a black cloud had [been] lifted. And then we decided to give it a go at playing music [together] again, which is another cool thing — create CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, which was started in '07, I think, and has not stopped. But we do very things very differently [from SOULFLY]. SOULFLY tours a lot more — we play everywhere and every shithole. SOULFLY is relentless [when it comes to touring], Igor doesn't like that. And I don't blame him. He's got more of a slowed down lifestyle. He lives in London now and he's got [his] family there. I respect that, so we do CAVALERA tours a little bit moderate. But there will be some tours. I think in January we'll do an American tour."
"Pandemonium", on November 4 (one day earlier internationally) via Napalm Records. The CD was produced by John Gray, who has previously worked with SOULFLY.
SLIPKNOT ‘Made’ New Drummer Visit PAUL GRAY’s Grave Before Beginning Work On New Album
SLIPKNOT percussionist Shawn Crahan has revealed to Rolling Stone magazine that one of the first things he did with the band's new drummer — rumored to be Jay Weinberg, the son of Bruce Springsteen drummer Max Weinberg — was take him to the Des Moines, Iowa cemetery where late SLIPKNOT bassist Paul Gray's body is buried. "I made him pay his respects and say hello," Crahan told the magazine. "I told him what we're gonna do, and we got on a fucking plane and flew to fucking L.A." to begin recording the new SLIPKNOT album, ".5: The Gray Chapter".
SLIPKNOT guitarist Mick Thomson said that the drummer who replaced founding member Joey Jordison "grew up with" the band's music and "knew all the material" before stepping in and joining the group during the songwriting sessions for ".5: The Gray Chapter".
"We kinda knew who we wanted [to play drums on the new CD] from the start, and we got him," Thomson told Guitar World magazine. "We knew from the get-go that there wasn't going to be any issues with him. We did get lucky, I guess. He knew all the [old] material anyway. He'd grown up with the band. That made things easier."
SLIPKNOT also has a replacement for late bassist Paul Gray, all but confirmed to be Alessandro "Vman" Venturella, but has not revealed his name either. Both new members are wearing the same generic mask onstage.
Weinberg was previously in the punk band AGAINST ME! and left under less-than-friendly circumstances. AGAINST ME! singer Laura Jane Grace tweeted last month, "Dear SLIPKNOT, good luck with that. #shitbag."
SLIPKNOT guitarist Jim Root recently said that the band may never reveal the identity of the drummer who replaced Jordison. Speaking with Guitar World, Root explained, "We're not saying who the new drummer is. Even if people find out beyond a shadow of a doubt who the new drummer is, I think we're always going to deny who it is. He might not last. He might tour with us a year and figure out we're all insane and he can't handle being around us. Or we might shut him out."
Root added, "For SLIPKNOT, I'd say drumming is only 50 or 60 percent of the job. The rest of it is who you are and what your personality is. Will you clash with guys like me, Mick, Clown, Corey, Craig and Chris? We all have these strong alpha-male personalities."
Root and SLIPKNOT guitarist Mick Thomson handled most of the bass duties on the band's new album, ".5: The Gray Chapter", with some help from former touring bassist Donnie Steele.
The first all-new SLIPKNOT disc since 2008 will arrive on October 21, followed by the two-day Knotfest in California and a North American tour.
DOWNING DOESN’T REGRET LEAVING PRIEST
Former JUDAS PRIEST guitarist Kenneth "K.K." Downing says that he has no regrets about leaving the band but admits that he misses "being at the pinnacle" of the group's career.
Downing, who is a founding member of the British heavy metal legends and was part of the group since 1969, announced his retirement from PRIEST in April 2011. He has since been replaced by Richie Faulkner, most recently guitarist in the backing band for Lauren Harris (daughter of IRON MAIDEN bassist Steve Harris).
Speaking about his decision to leave PRIEST, Downing told DigitalJournal.com: "I felt that a lot of the spark wasn't there — for whatever reason — anymore on stage. I felt that I had it, but I felt it wasn't what I originally signed up for...
"I always thought that JUDAS PRIEST should have been a high-energy outfit and ultra-sharp, but I wasn't enjoying it as much on stage as I should have been.
"All that travelling and living out of a suitcase and spending so much time in planes, vans, cars and trains, you have to really enjoy the concerts. You have to musically get on a high and that carries you through, but if you're not enjoying it like you should, then it becomes a lot of hard work because you've still got to do the interviews and be pushed and pulled around the place."
Asked if he has ever regretted his decision to leave, Downing said: "I don't regret leaving, because, to me, I thought that it had run its course. I miss what we had, but I don't particularly miss what we had become when I left… You can look at YouTube and see JUDAS PRIEST playing at the US Festival, or at Live Aid, and I miss being at the pinnacle of the band. I miss that energy and youthfulness and just delivering all of that up.
"You become a certain age and I think that I would have been happy if, as I said, I was enjoying the shows. There's disagreements with how things should be done and I thought if I'm outnumbered, then it's time to go...
"But I suppose we did fantastically well. I mean 40 years is great and I commend the guys for going back out. I was just watching a bit of their first concert of the tour in Rochester, New York, and it was great. Band sounded good and I'm happy that they continue.
"I sent an email saying 'good luck with the new tour, guys' to the management office. I do wish them well and I commend them highly for being out there and carrying on the legacy."
Downing also revealed that he is about to release a new line of fragrances called Metal For Men and Metal Pour Femme through a partnership with the UK digital radio station Planet Rock. "That's something else I've thought of in my sleep," he explained. "Don't ask me why! You see these people do a fragrance from the pop world and stuff like that, but nobody's actually catering for rock and metal fans, so I thought I'd solve the headache of what to buy for Christmas type of thing..."
JUDAS PRIEST singer Rob Halford and guitarist Glenn Tipton recently said that there were no plans for Downing to rejoin the band on the road anytime soon, despite Internet chatter to the contrary. Asked by New York radio personality and VH1 Classic "That Metal Show" co-host Eddie Trunk if there was any truth to the rumor that Downing was at one point going to contribute to the songwriting process for the band's new album, "Redeemer Of Souls", and possibly play some shows with the group alongside his replacement, Faulkner, Tipton said: "There's no plans for that. Ken didn't get involved in the writing of the album and there are no plans for him to join us on tour."
He continued: "I mean, Ken was quite honest when he left. He made it clear to us that he wanted limited conection with us because he didn't wanna try and get us to talk him into going back into the band. And we honored his request, really."
Added Halford: "That's the way the social media works. People think if they read something on the Internet, it's true. [laughs] 'Well, it's on the Internet. I mean, it's on the Internet.' It's just one of these unfortunate rumors that kind of put things into people's minds."
Downing in 2011 shot down as "inaccurate" reports that he left JUDAS PRIEST because he chose to concentrate on running the 18- and nine-hole golf courses on his property.
PHILIP ANSELMO’s ‘Drunken Show’ (Video)
A very intoxicated Philip Anselmo (DOWN, PANTERA, SUPERJOINT RITUAL, PHILIP H. ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS) was interviewed by EMP Rock Invasion on August 14 at the Summer Breeze festival in Dinkelsbühl, Germany. You can watch the chat below.
Anselmo recently toured Europe with his backup band THE ILLEGALS — guitarist Marzi Montazeri (ex-SUPERJOINT RITUAL), drummer José Manuel Gonzales (WARBEAST) and bassist Steve Taylor.
Anselmo's career-first solo album, "Walk Through Exits Only", sold around 8,700 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 35 on The Billboard 200 chart.
Produced by Anselmo and Michael Thompson, and recorded over a couple of years at Philip's New Orleans studio, Nodferatu's Lair, "Walk Through Exits Only" is abrasive, aggressive, anthemic and 100% Anselmo.
According to Anselmo, he worked on an estimated 15-17 songs for "Walk Through Exits Only", which was issued via his own Housecore Records (MRI/Megaforce)
"I could've put on any number (of songs) I wanted, but for me, these eight songs all together, 40-something minutes, that's my idea of a proper listening length," he told Billboard.com. "When you start to get longer, it gets a little redundant and boring, and I didn't want to bore anybody."
AC/DC Drummer PHIL RUDD Missing From New Promotional Photo
AC/DC has released an official new publicity photo of the band and notably absent from it is drummer Phil Rudd, who was also a no-show at the group's recent video shoot on October 3 and October 4 for the two new singles, "Play Ball" and "Rock Or Bust". Rudd was replaced for the filming by drummer Bob Richards (who had previously played with SHOGUN and IRON MAIDEN guitarist Adrian Smith), with singer Brian Johnson reportedly telling fans at the shoot that Rudd was unable to participate due to an undisclosed "family emergency."
Neither Rudd nor the band has issued any further comment on his absence from the shoot. Now the fact that he is missing from the first official band photo for its new album can only be cause for concern among fans already saddened by the departure of founding guitarist Malcolm Young, who is suffering from dementia.
Rudd joined AC/DC in 1974 and has been its only Australian-born member since 1977. He exited AC/DC in 1983 and was succeeded by Simon Wright and Chris Slade. When Slade left in 1993, Rudd rejoined the band and has been behind the kit until now.
Phil's solo album, "Head Job", was released on August 29 via Universal Music Australia.
AC/DC will release its new album, "Rock Or Bust", on December 2. The 11-song set is the band's first since 2008's "Black Ice" and the first in its history without Malcolm, who has been replaced by nephew Stevie Young.
AC/DC made it official last month that Malcolm would no longer record or perform with the group. His family disclosed a short time later that he was afflicted with dementia. The guitarist was rumored to have suffered a stroke earlier this year.
Despite the loss of Malcolm, Rudd said that "everything's great in the band, we're ready to fire up on all cylinders again."
AC/DC 2014 publicity photo:
Manos Spanos
Manos Spanos (Metalpaths' co-editor-in-chief), eight years in this site but still can't be characterised as a metalhead.