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Manos Spanos

JON OLIVA’S PAIN Performs Entire ‘Streets: A Rock Opera’ At ProgPower USA (Video)

Manos Spanos
JON OLIVA'S PAIN, the Florida-based band led by SAVATAGE mastermind Jon Oliva, performed SAVATAGE's "Streets: A Rock Opera" in its entirety at this year's edition of the ProgPower USA festival, which took place September 12-13 in Atlanta, Georgia. Fan-filmed video footage of JON OLIVA'S PAIN's performance can be seen below. JON OLIVA'S PAIN earlier in the year recruited Bill Hudson (CIRCLE II CIRCLE, CELLADOR, POWER QUEST, NIGHTRAGE) as its new guitarist. Said JON OLIVA'S PAIN drummer Christopher Kinder: "Bill is a world-class guitar player and truly a welcome addition to the JON OLIVA'S PAIN lineup." JON OLIVA'S PAIN's fourth album, "Festival", was released in North America on April 12, 2010. The CD, which was issued in Europe on February 19, 2010 via AFM Records, entered the German Media Control chart at position No. 87. JON OLIVA'S PAIN's third album, "Global Warning", came out in the U.S. in May 2008 via Locomotive Records. The CD featured a guest appearance by guitarist Ralph Santolla (OBITUARY, DEICIDE, DEATH, ICED EARTH) on two songs: "Adding The Cost" and "You'll Never Know".
01 min read

NIGHTWISH Announces North American Tour

Manos Spanos
Finnish / Dutch / British symphonic metallers NIGHTWISH will embark on a 27-date North American headlining tour in the spring. The trek will launch in New York City on April 9, hit three Canadian cities plus Chicago, San Francisco, and Los Angeles, then close out in Silver Springs, Maryland on May 14. Support at all dates will come from Dutch symphonic metallers DELAIN. Commented NIGHTWISH bassist/vocalist Marco Hietala: "Our work on the new album has been going with serious productive speed and comfortable ease at the same time. It's going to be great to get it out to you and play these pieces live. And with this announcement, it will obviously happen quite soon! "Here are the dates for the North American shows. Come on over and we'll raise hell and kick some arses together!" NIGHTWISH 2015 tour dates with DELAIN: Apr. 09 - New York, NY - Hammerstein Ballroom Apr. 10 - Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory Apr. 11 - Worcester, MA - Palladium Apr. 13 - Quebec City, QC - Capitole Theatre Apr. 14 - Toronto - Phoenix Concert Theatre Apr. 16 - Buffalo, NY - Town Ballroom Apr. 17 - Cleveland, OH - Agora Theatre Apr. 18 - Chicago, IL - Concorde Music Hall Apr. 19 - Des Moines, IA - Val Air Ballroom Apr. 21 - Denver, CO - Ogden Theatre Apr. 22 - Salt Lake City, UT - In The Venue Apr. 24 - Spokane, WA - Knitting Factory Apr. 25 - Vancouver, BC - Orpheum Theatre Apr. 26 - Portland, OR - Crystal Ballroom Apr. 28 - San Francisco, CA - Warfield Theatre Apr. 30 - Las Vegas, NV - House Of Blues May 01 - Los Angeles, CA - Greek theatre May 02 - Phoenix, AZ - Marquee Theatre May 03 - El Paso, TX - Tricky Falls May 05 - Dallas, TX - Bomb Factory May 06 - Houston, TX - Warehouse Live May 08 - Orlando, FL - House Of Blues May 09 - Fort Lauderdale, FL - Revolution May 11 - Nashville, TN - Marathon Music Work May 12 - Louisville, KY - Expo Five May 13 - Charlotte, NC - Filmore May 14 - Silver Springs, MD - Filmore Longtime NIGHTWISH drummer Jukka Nevalainen is sitting out the recording sessions for the group's new CD due to health issues; Kai Hahto (WINTERSUN, SWALLOW THE SUN, TREES OF ETERNITY) has replaced him. NIGHTWISH keyboardist and main composer Tuomas Holopainen recently spent two and half weeks in Hattula, Finland with the band's producer/crew member Tero "TeeCee" Kinnunen recording a demo of the songs that will appear on NIGHTWISH's next studio album, the first to feature Dutch singer Floor Jansen. Asked in a recent interview with Sweden's Metalshrine what Floor Jansen will bring to the next NIGHTWISH album, Tuomas said: "She [will] bring a lot of interpretations, some arrangements and positive energy for sure, but she [will] not [be] included in the songwriting process. She told me that the first time around, she has [her side project] REVAMP and Marco [Hietala, bass/vocals] and I will do just fine for now." Speaking to Germany's EMP Rock Invasion at the end of last year, Floor stated about the songwriting process for the next NIGHTWISH album: "I think it's more like it's always been. So Tuomas is gonna start writing. And how it's gonna evolve later on, we'll see. But I don't feel the necessity of me being an active songwriting member, because the music is so good. It's about the songs and the music that goes first and not about my ego wanting to join like that. But if I can participate or add something with my creative input, of course I would love that. Of course, I have creative energy in me that needs to come out one way or another, but that's where REVAMP comes in." Regarding whether she has any fears that, due to the band's troubled history with lead vocalists, her time with NIGHTWISH will not last very long, Floor told Finland's Radio Rock: "No. And whether this is in NIGHTWISH or in anything with anyone in everyone's lives, what guarantees do you have? So it's just about what you make of it and with the chemistry that you believe in. And I believe in the chemistry that we have today, 'cause it's been very strong since the beginning and grew to be better throughout the months. It's still a very recent thing. But what feels good now, that's where you should go from, and that's what I do." Jansen made her live debut as the frontwoman of NIGHTWISH on October 1, 2012 at Showbox Sodo in Seattle, Washington following the abrupt departure of the band's lead singer of five years, Anette Olzon.
05 min read

SLIPKNOT’s COREY TAYLOR Denies ‘The Negative One’ Was Written About JOEY JORDISON

Manos Spanos
SLIPKNOT singer Corey Taylor has denied that the band's new track "The Negative One" was written about the group's former drummer Joey Jordison, claiming that the song's lyrics deal with "the ugliness that we all have in us." The first new tune released by SLIPKNOT in six years, "The Negative One" is taken from the group's upcoming fifth album, titled ".5: The Gray Chapter", which is due out on October 21. The disc follows up 2008's "All Hope Is Gone" and is the band's first without Jordison, who was let go late last year, and founding bassist Paul Gray, who died in 2010. With lyrics like "The Lord Of Lies / You Had To Be Set Free / Opposing Sides / Your Choices Are The Negative One And Me," fans have speculated that "The Negative One" was written about Jordison, who was assigned "1" as his numbered alias shortly after the band's formation. "I didn't even put that together! That's just how fucking crazy people are!" Taylor told UK's Metal Hammer magazine. After it was pointed out to Corey that "The Negative One" apparently contains all the letters that spell out "Joey Jordison," the singer replied, "Oh my fucking God! People need to fucking unplug every now and again. I did hear some shit about the video for it, like it's supposed to be Joey, but it's so fucking funny." Asked if the song is about anyone in particular, Corey said: "Here's the thing. The album is a story — not in a certain order; it jumps around — but it's a story of this band for the last four years, from the moment Paul died to the moment we stepped out of the studio. So there are certain songs that deal with, not Joey in particular, but about the tension and trying to deal with the ugliness that we all have in us. "'The Negative One' was about me, not about Joey, and that's why the song says, 'Your choices are the negative one and me,' which is the two kinda colliding together. 'The Devil In I' is the same, which you'd think would be fucking apparent. "I love the fact that our fans are that passionate, but 'Judas Priest', get out of the fucking basement once in a while! Log off of the fucking Twitter and go smell a flower, and just let yourself get back to a point where you go, 'Y'know what? That's a little crazy.'" He continued: "'The Negative One' is about me, and not just me, but everybody in the band. "We all have so many different sides to ourselves, but especially with this band. When we get together, there's something about the music we make that really unleashes the crazy, dark shit inside of us. And that song in particular is about, basically, embracing it again, giving into it and letting it have its say. Because if you don't, then you sit on it and you repress and it blows up in really negative ways. So, that song is about freeing it." "The Negative One" lyrics: Fire And Caffeine A Lot Of Nicotine I'm Going To Burn So I Better Tell You Everything The Competition The Superstition Never Mind 'Cause You're Never Going To Give In It's A Crisis, Just How You Like It The Same Drama In A Different Disguise I'm Bound To Walk With A Target On My Back At Least I'm Ready For Another Attack The Lord Of Lies The Morning Star You Had To Be Set Free Opposing Sides Your Choices Are The Negative One And Me Svengali Why Are We The Enemies? I Never Follow And I Never Make Apologies Your Dementias Are Gonna Getcha Because Your Walls Can't Support Each Other Settle For The Cynical You're So Political You're Getting Ready 'Cause The First Move Is Critical Reciprocity Somebody's Listening What Did We Learn From Our Time In Captivity? The Lord Of Lies The Morning Star You Had To Be Set Free Opposing Sides Your Choices Are The Negative One And Me The Negative One And Me I Hope You Live To See The Day When Your World Goes Up In Flames And As You Die You See My Face You're The Only One To Blame The Prescient The Nascent The Quotient (They All Will Fall) The Cystic Symbolic Condition (Systemic) Egregious Replete With These Lesions (Contaminate) Succumb To The Selfish Creation (Your Failure) No Accountability Divisibility I Point A Finger But It's Always Looking Back At Me The Centipede's Pulling On The Mechanism Unearthing Scars Of The Cataclysm When The Innocent Begin To Circumvent The Color Fades But The Picture Is Vibrant What Do You Believe? Does It Matter Now? Turn Away The Killer Is Disavowed The Lord Of Lies The Morning Star You Had To Be Set Free Opposing Sides Your Choices Are The Negative One And Me The Negative One And Me I Hope You Live To See The Day When Your World Goes Up In Flames And As You Die You See My Face You're The Only One To Blame The Lord Of Lies The Morning Star You Had To Be Set Free Opposing Sides Your Choices Are The Negative One The Negative One The Negative One The Negative One And Me [End of lyrics] SLIPKNOT announced in December 2013 that it had parted ways with Jordison, one of the band's founding members and key songwriters. Taylor told Metal Hammer that firing Jordison after 18 years was "one of the hardest decisions" the group ever made, adding that Jordison is "in a place in his life" which is "not where we are." Taylor said he could not get into specifics for legal reasons, but admitted, "It's when a relationship hits that T-section and one person's going one way and you're going the other. And try as you might to either get them to go your way or try and go their way, at some point you've got to go in the direction that works for you. This is me speaking in the broadest terms, with respect to Joey. I guess to sum it up, it was one of the hardest decisions we ever made." Taylor said that the band is "happy right now and we hope that he is . . . he's just in a place in his life, right now, that's not where we are." The singer would not answer whether drug use played a role in Jordison's dismissal, and confessed that he had not been in touch with his former bandmate. Taylor said, "I haven't talked to Joey in a while, to be honest. That's how different we are. It's not because I don't love him and I don't miss him. And it is painful; we talk about him all the time, but at the same time, do we miss him or do we miss the old him? That's what it really comes down to." The identities of the band's new bassist and drummer have not been officially revealed, but both appeared — disguised in the same newly designed mask — in the video for "The Devil In I", the first single from the new album. Nonetheless, it is widely believed that the new bassist is Alessandro "Vman" Venturella, who sports the exact same tattoo on his hand that was spotted on the hand of the new bassist in the video. SLIPKNOT's new drummer is widely believed to be Jay Weinberg, son of longtime Bruce Springsteen drummer Max Weinberg.
08 min read

FAITH NO MORE: ‘Motherf**ker’ Single Artwork Unveiled

Manos Spanos
FAITH NO MORE, who reunited in 2009 for a series of sold-out performances and international festivals, is currently recording their first full-length album since 1997's "Album Of The Year". A limited-edition (5000 copies) seven-inch single of the song "Motherfucker" will precede the April 2015 release, available via Record Store Day's "Black Friday" event (November 28). The single will be released digitally on December 9. The as-yet-untitled album is being recorded in an Oakland, California studio with Gould handling production. The release will be the first from FAITH NO MORE's newly formed imprint Reclamation Recordings, which will be distributed by Ipecac Recordings. The cover artwork for the "Motherfucker" single was revealed on Ipecac.com and can be seen below. "We've always shared a chemistry between ourselves that’s unique to this band, but these past few years of touring together have made us aware that we not only play better as a unit, but we like the new stuff we’re coming up with," explained FAITH NO MORE founder and bass player Bill Gould. "So we've decided: we're going to get busy in 2015… make an album we're proud of, kick things up a notch, get out there and perform it and maybe even dedicate a little more focus to our fans in the States this time." Asked what the new material sounds like, Gould told RollingStone.com: "What I can say is that I think through our experience as musicians over the years, I think what we're doing reflects where we've gone since we made our last record as FAITH NO MORE. I think this kicks things up a notch. And I think there's parts that are very powerful and there's parts that have a lot of 'space.' "Everything we do, with our chemistry, the way we play; it's always going to sound like us. It's just what we do, that makes us feel good. Hopefully it doesn't sound like a bunch of 50-year-old men... which we are! [Laughs]" He added: "There's going to be a lot of space and scope — big, big sound-stage space — but I also think there's gonna be a lot of those things that we already have. All I can say is what we're doing just feels right." Prior to the new album's release, FAITH NO MORE will headline Australia's Soundwave festival in February 2015. Worldwide tour dates will be announced soon. FAITH NO MORE is Mike Bordin (drums), Roddy Bottum (keyboards), Bill Gould (bass), Jon Hudson (guitar) and Mike Patton (vocals).
03 min read

SLAYER’S TOM ARAYA On Next Album: It ‘Sounds Real F**kin’ Heavy’

Manos Spanos
SLAYER has returned to the studio to resume recording its new album for a tentative early 2015 release. Helming the sessions is Terry Date, who previously worked with the band on the song "Implode", which was made available as a free download as a "thank you" to the band's fans for their continued support following SLAYER's surprise performance at this past April's Revolver Golden Gods awards in Los Angeles. Joining guitarist Kerry King and bassist/vocalist Tom Araya in the studio for SLAYER's new album are returning drummer Paul Bostaph, who replaced Dave Lombardo last year, and guitarist Gary Holt (also of EXODUS), who has been filling in for Jeff Hanneman on tour for the past four and a half years. Speaking to Jose Mangin, SiriusXM director of programming and on-air host (Liquid Metal, Ozzy's Boneyard, Octane), Araya stated about the progress of the recording sessions for the new CD: "We're just getting started, man. We're laying down drum tracks at the moment, but yeah, we're just getting started. I'd say we're two weeks into doing stuff." Regarding the direction of the new SLAYER material, Araya said: "There's stuff that Kerry has been working on for the past almost two years, two and a half years. "We started this whole process of writing a new album several years ago — three or four years ago — so it's been a long process; it's something that we've been doing for a while. So a lot of these songs have been around for a bit and now we're just trying to figure them out and make them good." Araya also talked about SLAYER's collaboration with Date, saying, "He's awesome, dude. He's really, really good. "We actually finished up a song that we're doing for somebody and we put that together in five days, and we went in and recorded it, we did all our parts, and then Terry mixed it and we presented it and it fuckin' sounds really heavy, man. [It] sounds awesome, sounds real fuckin' heavy." SLAYER's next CD will be released on Nuclear Blast Records through the band's own label imprint, closing out a 28-year relationship with Rick Rubin and American Recordings. It will also be SLAYER's first album without the group's co-founding guitarist Jeff Hanneman, who passed away in May 2013 from alcohol-related cirrhosis of the liver. He is credited for writing many of SLAYER's classic songs, including "Angel Of Death" and "South Of Heaven". "I never go online and see what people are talking about because people are ten foot tall behind a computer screen, you know?!" King told ARTE Concert at last month's Wacken Open Air festival in Wacken, Germany. "But, you know, a lot of [the reaction to 'Implode'] was positive, a lot of people said, 'For anybody that was worried about what SLAYER was gonna sound like post-Hanneman, don't worry about it.'" He continued: "I know people are gonna think that [we can't make another quality album], people are gonna expect us to fail because it's the first record without Jeff; I get it. But I'm also very proud of what of we've done so far towards new material. It's fast, the slow stuff's heavy. I mean, it's… Everything that people liked SLAYER for in the past is on this record." Bostaph was SLAYER's drummer from 1992 until 2001 and recorded four albums with the band — the gold-certified "Divine Intervention" (1994), the 1996 punk covers album "Undisputed Attitude", "Diabolus In Musica" (1998), "God Hates Us All" (2001) that received a Grammy nomination for "Best Metal Performance", as well as the DVD "War At The Warfield" (2001), also certified gold. In addition to SLAYER, Bostaph has been a member of FORBIDDEN, EXODUS, SYSTEMATIC and TESTAMENT. Original SLAYER drummer Dave Lombardo was effectively fired from SLAYER after sitting out the band's Australian tour in February/March 2013 due to a contract dispute with the other members of the group. Filling in for him was Jon Dette (TESTAMENT, ANTHRAX).
04 min read

VINNIE PAUL Has ‘Found Peace’ 10 Years After Witnessing Brother DIMEBAG’s Murder

Manos Spanos
Former PANTERA drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott says that he has "found peace" 10 years after witnessing the murder of his brother while they were both playing at a club in Ohio. Dimebag was shot dead on December 8, 2004 while performing with his band DAMAGEPLAN at Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio. The shooting that night claimed three other lives and seven more were injured as the mad gunman opened fire on the crowd at the small club north of downtown Columbus. One of heavy metal's most influential and beloved figures, Dimebag was a larger-than-life guitarist and a genuine, amusing human being who was rarely spotted without his favorite drink, the "black tooth grin" — a splash of Coca-Cola and two shots of whisky. During a recent chat with WWE wrestling superstar and FOZZY singer Chris Jericho for the "Talk Is Jericho" podcast, Vinnie spoke about how he feels that Dimebag's spirit and energy is always with him and inspires him to be the best that he can be. "The funniest thing that's ever happened to me… I turned 50 this year, and it was the best birthday party I ever had in my entire life. It was absolutely incredible," Vinnie said. "I still feel like a 19-year-old kid, man. Everything I do, I approach the same way. I'm not married. I don't have any kids. I've been married to music my entire life. I've been dedicated to it. I know what it takes to do it. And ever since my brother has been taken from me, I feel like I have to live for both of us. And I bring it everywhere I go, everything I do, and I think he's here with us, watching us and enjoying everything that's going on, man." Vinnie also talked about how his brother cherished being a rock star, was always "on," and lived to have a raucous good time. And he always made sure everyone around him was as pumped up, comfortable and/or inebriated as he was. "The thing that turned him on the most in this world was putting a smile on other people's faces," Vinnie said. "It didn't matter where it was, when it was, how it was, whether it was playing his guitar, whether it was shaking a hand, signing an autograph, giving him a pick, just saying hi. That was the most important thing in his life — making other people smile." He continued: "I remember the last show we ever played together with DAMAGEPLAN, we played in Buffalo, New York, and I wanted to… Actually, we wanted to go to the casino in Niagara Falls and he was really smoked. We had two more shows left. We were gonna do Mancow's show in Chicago the next day. And I said, 'Dime, man, let's go to the casino, man.' And he was, like, 'Man, Vinnie, I'm really, really tired. I wanna kill these last two shows. I'm gonna go home and make the next DAMAGEPLAN record. I wanna kill this.' He goes, 'You go have a good time, man. I'll see you in a little bit.' So me and Mayhem, our security guy that got killed that night [in Columbus], went with me, and we went to the casino and we had a great time. And the bus pulled up about 3 o'clock in the morning to get us, and I came on the bus, and there was a full party going on in the front lounge. And I'm, like, 'What is going on in here?' It was Dime and there was, like, 12 people I'd never seen in my life. And I said, 'Dime, I thought you were [tired].' And he goes, 'Dude, I couldn't let these people down, man. They wanted to party tonight, man.' And that's how my brother was. He just would not let people down." Asked if he always shared his brother's fun-loving approach to life, Vinnie replied: "I always had that attitude, he always had that attitude. That American Express commercial, 'You can't take it with you,' was always special, but it never was real until that happened." He continued; "Me and [Dimebag] used to joke with each other all the time. We'd be on a plane and [we'd say], 'Hey, man, if we're going down, we're going down in a plane crash together.' It was always, 'We're gonna do this together.' 'Cause we did everything together. And we didn't get to do that together [that night in Columbus]. And… when I say 'we didn't get to,' I don't mean to say that. "It was a really hardcore, tragic event, and the guy [Nathan Gale] wanted to kill me too. And somehow or another, I was lucky enough to escape that, and I'm still here, and I will do everything and anything I can to carry on the legacy and the tradition that my brother always had." Even though it's been a decade since his brother's murder, Vinnie still gets flashbacks of the day's events "every night." He says: "I don't wanna remember it, I don't wanna think about it, I don't want anybody saying, 'Hey, man…' You know… "It's hard. It's hard. But I've found peace. "I'm really happy with what I do with [my current band HELLYEAH], and I'm glad that we're moving forward and things are really good, man. Really good."
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.