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Manos Spanos

Campaign To Get OZZY OSBOURNE Knighted Scores More Than 21,000 Signatures

Manos Spanos
According to The Pulse Of Radio, an online campaign to get Ozzy Osbourne knighted has already notched more than 21,000 signatures. A 65-year-old British fan named Helen Maidiotis has launched the petition, saying that the BLACK SABBATH singer deserves the honor for "his significant contribution to the music industry." She added that he deserves to be knighted "not only for all his charity work but for all his years entertaining us and helping make a difference to peoples' lives who have looked up to him for his strong will and determination to get through the many obstacles that he has come across and for that we thank you Ozzy! Helping to get him Knighted would be our gift to him." When asked about the campaign in a recent interview, Ozzy said, "I've heard about that. Getting knighted? I can't imagine anything better… And my wife (Sharon) would become a Lady, which would be pretty cool. But I'm not gonna get upset if it doesn't happen. I never thought I'd get further than Aston (the area of Birmingham where he was born)."
01 min read

SAVATAGE To Reunite For Appearance At Next Year’s WACKEN OPEN AIR Festival

Manos Spanos
Classic American metal band SAVATAGE, which was active from 1978 until 2002, will reunite for an exclusive European appearance at next year's edition of the Wacken Open Air festival, set to take place July 30 - August 1, 2015 in Wacken, Germany. Also scheduled to appear at the event is TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, the project founded by SAVATAGE mastermind Jon Oliva and producer/composer Paul O'Neill. SAVATAGE guitarist Chris Caffery wrote on his Facebook page: "Our friends at the Wacken festival announced that SAVATAGE will be finally playing again! Wacken 2015! Both SAVATAGE and the TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA will make an appearance. SAVATAGE will close the festival that night following TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA's first-ever European festival appearance." He added: "I have been waiting for them to announce this for a few weeks. It was hard to keep it a secret! Yes, legion, our patience has finally paid off." First confirmed acts for Wacken Open Air 2015: SAVATAGE TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA RUNNING WILD IN FLAMES IN EXTREMO U.D.O. (special orchestra show) SABATON AMORPHIS (special "Tales From The Thousand Lakes" show) DEATH ANGEL POWERWOLF ENSIFERUM KATAKLYSM CANNIBAL CORPSE SEPULTURA THYRFING A trailer for the festival can be seen below.
01 min read

DAVE MUSTAINE To JAMES HETFIELD: ‘We Changed The World, Brother!’

Manos Spanos
James Hetfield turned 51 years old on Sunday (August 3). The METALLICA singer/guitarist's former bandmate Dave Mustaine took to Twitter to wish James a happy birthhday, calling Hetfield "my first real guitar partner" and adding, "We changed the world, brother!" Born in 1963 in Downey, California, James was the son of a truck driver named Virgil and a singer named Cynthia. Hetfield's parents were Christian Scientists and strongly disapproved of the use of any kind of medicine or medical treatments, even when Cynthia was dying of cancer in 1979. This upbringing inspired many of METALLICA's later songs, such as "The God That Failed". Hetfield also had two older half-brothers from his mother's first marriage and a younger sister. Hetfield took up piano at the age of nine and began playing guitar at 14. He was in bands called LEATHER CHARM and OBSESSION during his teen years. In October 1981 he answered a classified ad placed in a local paper called Recycler by Danish drummer Lars Ulrich, and METALLICA was born. Hetfield told The Pulse Of Radio he still recalls the group's first gig, with original lead guitarist Dave Mustaine. "First METALLICA show was at Radio City in Anaheim. I remember the first song we played, Dave broke a string, and I was stranded up there. I was just singing, I wasn't playing guitar back then, and I was so uncomfortable, I was like, 'So, how's it going...' There were about 200 people. You know, your first gig, everyone shows up. Second gig, there's about 20, you know. [laughs]" Solidifying the lineup with bassist Cliff Burton and lead guitarist Kirk Hammett, who replaced Mustaine, METALLICA signed to Megaforce Records in 1983 and released its debut album, "Kill 'Em All", in July of that year, while also relocating from the Los Angeles area to San Francisco.
02 min read

ROBERT PLANT Is ‘Disappointed And Baffled’ By JIMMY PAGE’s LED ZEPPELIN Reunion Push

Manos Spanos
Although Robert Plant has long been thought of as the lone holdout in a LED ZEPPELLIN reunion, it seems that an offer was made by him, which Jimmy Page chose to pass on. Plant, who's receiving good notices for his SENSATIONAL SPACE SHIFTERS album "Lullaby And… The Ceaseless Roar", spoke to the Uncut magazine following the announcement of the next two ZEPPELIN reissues on October 28 — "Led Zeppelin IV" and "Houses Of The Holy" — and addressed Page's claims of him being uninterested in teaming up, saying, "I feel for the guy. He knows he's got the headlines if he wants them. But I don't know what he's trying to do. So I feel slightly disappointed and baffled." Plant revealed that he proposed working again with Page in an acoustic capacity. "A couple of years ago, I said, 'If you've got anything acoustic, let me know. I'll give it a whirl,'" Plant said. "It was hands across the water. He just walked away. But we couldn't do anything proper. The weight of expectation is too great." Back in May, Page told The New York Times that Plant was blocking the return of LED ZEPPELIN. "I was told last year that Robert Plant said he is doing nothing in 2014, and what do the other two guys think?" he said. "Well, he knows what the other guys think. Everyone would love to play more concerts for the band. He's just playing games, and I'm fed up with it, to be honest with you. I don't sing, so I can't do much about it. It just looks so unlikely, doesn't it?" In June, during Plant's press conference in Morocco to publicize the SENSATIONAL SPACE SHIFTERS' shows, Plant addressed Page's comments, saying, "He needs to go to sleep and have a good rest, and think again. We have a great history together and like all brothers we have these moments where we don't speak on the same page, but that's life." When The Pulse Of Radio last caught up with Robert Plant, he was asked what the bottom line was regarding him resisting a full-scale LED ZEPPELIN reunion. "It's not that I've been obstructive," he said. "It's just that it meant what it meant when it meant it, and beyond that there was no story, and with John's [Bonham] passing and all that stuff, it was gone. There's no need for it."
02 min read

APOCALYPTICA Putting Finishing Touches On Eighth Album

Manos Spanos
Innovative Finnish cello rockers APOCALYPTICA are putting the finishing touches on their eighth full-length studio album, to be released early 2015. Following the release of "7th Symphony", APOCALYPTICA took a break from the standard album cycle in 2013 to pursue a range of musical projects. While Eicca Toppinen switched to drums in his side band CHERRY AND THE VIPERS, Mikko Sirén played his instrument on the new EMIGRATE album, Richard Kruspe's (RAMMSTEIN) project. Mikko also performed with Cheek, Finland's biggest hip-hop artist, selling out Helsinki's Olympic Stadium twice. Paavo Lötjönen collaborated with Tipe Johnson (LENINGRAD COWBOYS, APOCALYPTICA) and Perttu Kivilaakso earned the feuilleton's acclaim with celebrated chamber music appearances. Additionally, APOCALYPTICA composed new material and performed live in the multimedia event "Wagner Reloaded" by award-winning choreographer Gregor Seyffert. Earlier this year, APOCALYPTICA's latest project, "Apocalyptic Symphony", embarked on its first-ever tour with a classical ensemble, the Avanti! Chamber Orchestra.
01 min read

EXODUS: ‘Blood In, Blood Out’ Release Date Confirmed, Cover Artwork Unveiled

Manos Spanos
San Francisco Bay Area thrash metal veterans EXODUS will release their new album, "Blood In, Blood Out", on October 14 via Nuclear Blast. The album art was illustrated by Swedish artist Pär Olofsson, known worldwide for his incredible renderings that have graced the covers of countless heavy metal albums, including EXODUS' "Let There Be Blood". The concept for the art was impressively envisaged by Olofsson based on the album title alone, as guitarist Gary Holt explains: "The concept came from Pär Olofsson. I fed him the title and he immediately came up with the final concept, and it's perfect! One of my favorite covers we've ever done and it fits the title and theme to a T!" "Blood In, Blood Out" will be EXODUS' first since the departure of the band's lead singer of the past nine years, Rob Dukes, and the return of his predecessor, Steve "Zetro" Souza, who previously fronted EXODUS from 1986 to 1993 and from 2002 to 2004.
01 min read

OPETH: New Song ‘Eternal Rains’ Available For Streaming

Manos Spanos
"Eternal Rains", a brand new song from Swedish progressive metallers OPETH, can be streamed below. The track is taken from the band's highly anticipated eleventh studio album, "Pale Communion", which will be released on August 26 via Roadrunner Records. The cover artwork was once again created by Travis Smith — with art direction by OPETH guitarist/vocalist Mikael Åkerfeldt — and can be seen below. "Pale Communion", which was produced by Åkerfeldt and mixed by longtime collaborator and PORCUPINE TREE frontman/guitarist Steven Wilson, was heralded by the lead single "Cusp Of Eternity". "Pale Communion" track listing: 01. Eternal Rains 02. Cusp Of Eternity 03. Moon Above, Sun Below 04. Elysian Woes 05. Goblin 06. River 07. Voice Of Treason 08. Faith In Others his one as well, and may be some new fans. You never know."
01 min read

SLIPKNOT: New Song ‘The Negative One’ Available For Streaming

Manos Spanos
A brand new SLIPKNOT song titled "The Negative One" is available for streaming on the band's official web site. The track is expected to appear on the group's upcoming album, which is due out sometime this fall via Roadrunner. **Note**: After listening to "The Negative One" for the first time, you must sign up for an e-mail list before you are able to hear it again. A music video for "The Negative One" will be released on Tuesday, August 5.
00 min read

AVENGED SEVENFOLD’s ‘Hail To The King’ Certified Gold In U.S.

Manos Spanos
AVENGED SEVENFOLD's latest album, "Hail To The King", was certified gold on July 16 by the RIAA (Recording Industry Association Of America) for shipments in excess of 500,000 copies. Released last year, it was the band's second straight CD to debut at No. 1 on the Billboard chart, following 2010's "Nightmare". The latest effort was recorded after the AVENGED SEVENFOLD bandmembers immersed themselves in the music of two classic LPs: METALLICA's Black Album and GUNS N' ROSES' "Appetite For Destruction". "The BLACK SABBATH, AC/DC, ZEPPELIN Influence comes through," AVENGED SEVENFOLD lead guitarist Synyster Gates told TimesLeader.com about "Hail To The King". "We wanted to create space rather than just fill up every song with four bridges and three choruses and vocal harmonies everywhere, with guitar duels going on. The goal was to focus on the songwriting and the arrangements." "Hail To The King" marked AVENGED SEVENFOLD's full-length debut with new drummer Arin llejay, whom Gates described to TimesLeader.com as "one of the most tasteful drummers I've heard in my life… He's got that caveman, barbaric huge groove philosophy that we were trying to go for on this record. He's really got it in his heart and soul. We took the approach of wanting a hungry young kid who could suddenly come out of nowhere and play in front of 50,000 people. He really stepped up." AVENGED SEVENFOLD guitarist Zacky Vengeance told Billboard.com that the band will take "a real quick trip to Japan" after Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival ends on August 10 and then plans to come off the road in order to start working on a follow-up to "Hail To The King". "I think once we get home, the ideas are going to start brewing," Vengeance says. "I know Syn's been writing a ton purely for fun, trying different styles, recording backstage, keeping himself busy. I've been thinking of all sorts of ideas, listening to tons of different music to get inspiration — as have all of us. And being on tour, I'm so inspired. Seeing bands like BODY COUNT with Ice-T out there, they're so old-school and riff-based and over the top and slightly offensive and it's fuckin' awesome. So there's tons of inspiration that I know we'll be drawing from." AVENGED SEVENFOLD and KORN are co-headlining this year's Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival, which kicked off its annual run on July 5 in Devore, California. Other acts on the bill include ASKING ALEXANDRIA, SUICIDE SILENCE, TRIVIUM, MISS MAY I and more. AVENGED SEVENFOLD will reissue its breakthrough second album, "Waking The Fallen", in a new special edition on August 26. "Waking The Fallen: Resurrected" will include a total of 23 tracks, including 11 never-before-heard songs, new artwork, the original first cut of the music video for "Unholy Confessions" and a 30-minute film featuring the present-day band.
03 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.