The official video for the song "You Will Know My Name" from Swedish / American / Canadian metallers ARCH ENEMY will make its online debut tomorrow (Tuesday, May 27). The clip was once again directed by Patric Ullaeus of Revolver Film Company, who has previously worked with DIMMU BORGIR, LACUNA COIL, IN FLAMES, SONIC SYNDICATE and KAMELOT, among others.
"You Will Know My Name" is taken from ARCH ENEMY's new album, "War Eternal", which will be released in North America on June 10 via Century Media Records. The cover artwork was created by Costin Chioreanu.
ARCH ENEMY played its first show with new singer Alissa White-Gluz, former vocalist of THE AGONIST, on May 23 at Turbohalle in Bucharest, Romania. Angela Gossow, who joined ARCH ENEMY in 2000 and made her debut on the now-classic "Wages Of Sin" (2001), has stepped down as frontwoman and will focus on management, while Alissa takes her place.
Fan-filmed video footage of the Bucharest concert can be seen below.
Check out photos of the concert at Metalhead.ro.
In a recent interview with Turk Gitar, ARCH ENEMY guitarist Michael Amott stated about Angela's exit from ARCH ENEMY: "It was a sudden change for the fans; we know that. But, of course, these kind of big steps in life don't come easily, and I believe this was a gradual thing that kept growing in Angela's mind for some time.
"We had decided to take 2013 off from the road and any sort of band activity. The only thing we were doing was writing music and also there always the plan to go into the studio and record at the end of 2013. As the scheduled recording time got closer, Angela informed us last year that she would definitely be stepping down from her position in the band.
"To be honest, it was not such a huge surprise to the rest of us, as there were a lot of conversations of that nature leading up to that point. I made the changes in the band that were necessary for ARCH ENEMY to continue and keep the music alive."
Regarding Alissa's more versatile vocal approach compared to that of Gossow, Amott said: "Alissa has many different vocal styles that she can do very well… She is much more versatile in that aspect than Angela. But for ARCH ENEMY, we are sticking with the aggressive vocal style that we are known for.
"When I started the band in 1995, I had the idea to make the most heavy melodic band of all time, combining elements of extreme death metal heaviness and thrash speed alongside traditional heavy metal and hard rock influences with the harmonies, melodies and solos. We are very much staying true to these roots of the band on 'War Eternal'."
Speaking to Metal Underground, Alissa had the following to say about "War Eternal": "The circumstances surrounding the creation of this album, writing the lyrics and recording it, I'm just happy to have it finally come out. I think people are going to like it. The production quality is amazing! I always wanted an album that would sound this full. I'm a really big fan of this album, myself. Even if I weren't in the band and ARCH ENEMY put out this album, I would pick it up and say it's great. I'm really excited."
On the topic of the new album title, Alissa said: "This album ended up being a lot more personal than maybe some of my previous or Michael's previous lyrics. In the past, a topic like war or a political or global issue was what we normally wrote about. We were writing in two different bands, but we happen to have similar topics in our writing. Then when we were writing for this album, we had a collection of lyrics for this album, but we found that we were actually writing on similar things. Fighting the ongoing war in your day-to-day life, everybody has their battle going on that nobody else knows about. And then there are song titles like 'Never Forgive, Never Forget' and on and on, I think it ties in very nicely. It wasn't something we planned out, but that is the way it turned out, so it worked out really nicely. I think we really saw eye to eye and were experiencing similar things in our lives, so we ended up writing about the same topics even though we have different styles of writing lyrics."
Former PANTERA members Philip Anselmo (vocals) and Rex Brown (bass) joined BLACK LABEL SOCIETY on stage last night (Friday, May 23) at Verizon Theatre in Grand Prairie, Texas to perform a cover of the PANTERA classic "I'm Broken". Fan-filmed video footage of their appearance can be seen below (courtesy of Zach Rose and Sam Moncivalles).
During an interview with Matt Pinfield of Fanpass at last weekend's Rock On The Range festival in Columbus, Ohio, Anselmo — who currently fronts DOWN — was once again asked about the possibility of a PANTERA reunion with Zakk Wylde (BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, OZZY OSBOURNE) filling in for the late "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott on guitar.
"I think the situation would have to be correct," Anselmo began before Pinfield interjected that Zakk would be the perfect guy to step in for Dimebag. "Yeah, yeah, yeah. No doubt," Philip agreed. Anselmo continued: "We [DOWN] are on tour with fucking BLACK LABEL SOCIETY right now, and don't ever underestimate the power of conversation between Zakk and I. And I know Rex is a smart man. But at the end of the day, there would have to be a meeting at a table — or without a table — between Rex, Vince [former PANTERA drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott] and I, and there would have to be a bigtime understanding between the two of us [Vinnie and Philip] before anything happens at all. Otherwise I think… There is a great percentage of me that says, 'This generation deserves it. Let's do it.' And then there's a reservation in me that says, 'You know what, man? Legacies get passed down. This, that, the other. Maybe we should leave it alone and just let it be part of lore and the history and whatnot.'"
Later in the interview, Anselmo once again spoke about a hypothetical PANTERA reunion, telling Pinfield, "If there was ever a proper presentation, like, OK, PANTERA is back together, Zakk's on guitar, that would be a massive feeling. That would be outrageous. And I would go to war. I would be in the best shape possible."
After Pinfield pointed out to Anselmo that he remembered seeing the singer backstage during PANTERA's prime years working out in preparation for the live show, Philip said: "I had boxing coaches and all that shit with me. But, you know, after I injured my back, things got really vulnerable for me. And that was a very bad feeling for me. I felt like Superman one time and then, cut in half. Whatever, man. Hey, you get dealt the fucking card you get, and you play it. And I lost a bunch of rounds. But I think the reason why we're sitting here today having this conversation, I might have won a couple too."
During a September 2013 interview with Artisan News, BLACK LABEL SOCIETY mainman Zakk Wylde was asked about the possibility of a hypothetical PANTERA reunion with him filling in for Dimebag on guitar. "It'd be up to Vinnie, Phil and Rex — they're the guys that make everything happen," he said. "So if they were all gonna do it and honor Dimebag and [if they said to me], 'Zakk, would you wanna honor Dime and do Dime's parts?' Of course, I was a pallbearer for him — I laid him to rest — so, of course, I'd say, it would be a beautiful way to honor him and stuff like that. And to celebrate all things PANTERA and what they achieved. 'Cause they changed the game, as far as extreme metal goes. I mean, they're the kings of it. But it's up to the fellows. Then it would just be me woodsheddin' 25-8, learning all of Dime's parts, you know what I mean?! Yeah, but like I said, as far as I'm concerned, it would just be honoring Dime. Like with the Yankees, you honor… everybody's wearing Thurman Munson's '15' for that day, just because we're honoring Thurman's greatness. So it's the same thing, man."
Asked about the likelihood of a PANTERA "reunion" with Wylde filling in for Dimebag, Vinnie Paul told the Dallas/Ft. Worth, Texas radio station 97.1 The Eagle Rocks in March 2012: "I spent two hours with Zakk, sitting down — a really great talk about… [Zakk] calls [Dimebag] 'the old man.' I mean, [Zakk] and my brother were so tight. If [a PANTERA reformation] ever were to happen, [Zakk] would be the guy [to step in for Dimebag]. But I honestly think, out of respect for my brother, we should just leave the 14 amazing years PANTERA had be. We're all happy doing our own thing. We have to continue living and do other things."
Dimebag's longtime girlfriend Rita Haney in 2011 called on Vinnie and Anselmo to settle their differences in honor of Dimebag, who was shot and killed by a crazed gunman while performing with DAMAGEPLAN at a Columbus, Ohio rock club in December 2004.
Vinnie, who is Dimebag's brother, and Anselmo have not spoken since PANTERA split in 2003. But the relationship got even more acrimonious when Vinnie indirectly blamed Philip for Dimebag's death, suggesting that some remarks the vocalist had made about Dimebag in print just weeks earlier might have incited Dimebag's killer.
Russia's Classic Rock magazine has uploaded a 14-minute video report on the April 18 concert in Moscow from PROJECT ROCK (formerly ROCKSTAR), the new band featuring former and current members of JUDAS PRIEST, ALICE COOPER, OZZY OSBOURNE and AC/DC. The clip includes performance footage as well as an interview with the group's lead singer, Tim "Ripper" Owens, who has previously fronted JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN and DIO DISCIPLES.
Asked how much of the 2001 Warner Bros. movie "Rock Star", starring Mark Wahlberg as a salesman-turned-rock star, was styled after Owens, who fronted a JUDAS PRIEST cover band before being tapped to become the new lead singer of the actual group, Tim said: "When they first [got the idea to do] the 'Rock Star' movie [under its original name 'Metal God'], it was really gonna be about me. And then JUDAS PRIEST pulled away from it, because they didn't like some things. So [the producers] really made their own movie, I think. The similarities were that I auditioned for JUDAS PRIEST and I sang one line of a song and hit a note and made the band. But then a lot of the things, they kind of went out… I mean, I wasn't that kind of fan when I made the band, because I was that kind of crazy kid in high school in the '80s. But this was 1996, so I wasn't living at my parents' with posters on the walls. I mean, it was still pretty cool. I mean, to have a movie loosely based on you is pretty cool."
Regarding whether it was ironic that the "Rock Star" movie became almost prophetic in the sense that Mark Wahlberg's character in the film ends up playing small clubs with his original material after the band's original lead singer rejoins the group, Owens said: "For me, the movie was almost [like real life]. Rob [Halford] came back [to JUDAS PRIEST], which was good for me, to be honest. My career, I went on to do a lot of stuff. It was better for the band, it was better for Rob. So it was kind of funny. I think I became a little bit bigger than the coffee shop singer that Mark Wahlberg was in the movie in the end, just playing there. I still get to play in front of thousands of people in Russia. But it is similar how he went on to do his own thing."
Owens also spoke about the progress of the recording sessions for the debut album from PROJECT ROCK, which also features Keri Kelli (SLASH'S SNAKEPIT, ALICE COOPER, RATT) on guitar, Simon Wright (DIO, AC/DC, UFO, DIO DISCIPLES, Geoff Tate's QUEENSRŸCHE) on drums, Rudy Sarzo (OZZY OSBOURNE, QUIET RIOT, WHITESNAKE, DIO) on bass and Teddy "Zig Zag" Andreadis (GUNS N' ROSES) on keyboards. "I just finished the vocals," he said. "I flew from L.A. — I was in the studio with Keri — I flew directly here. The vocals are done. It's almost done. Probably, like, a September release, maybe. But it's gonna be great. We're really looking forward to it. Keri and I busted our butts on it, especially Keri."
In a 2012 interview with Loud magazine, Owens stated about his departure from JUDAS PRIEST: "Well, you know, we all knew that Rob would come back eventually. That was a given. I love the guys in PRIEST, and if there's anything where I look back and wish, 'Oh man I wish it could have worked out,' that would probably be it. I was glad to see Rob come back, [but] I do wish they would play some of my material when they're out there [on the road]."
Owens recorded two studio albums with JUDAS PRIEST — 1997's "Jugulator" and 2001's "Demolition" — before the band reunited with Halford in 2003.
On May 23, Steve-O of "The Live Addiction" conducted an interview with drummer Mike Portnoy (THE WINERY DOGS, DREAM THEATER, AVENGED SEVENFOLD, ADRENALINE MOB) in Houston, Texas. You can now watch the chat below.
Asked about his relatively short stint as the studio and touring drummer for AVENGED SEVENFOLD following the death of the band's original drummer, James "The Rev" Sullivan, from an accidental overdose of prescription drugs, Portnoy said: "It was a really cool experience. There were basically two experiences — it was the ['Nightmare'] album [recording] and the [subsequent] tour. The album was a really heavy emotional experience. 'Cause we started the album, I don't know, maybe six weeks after The Rev was buried. So it was still really fresh for those guys, and everybody was really very emotional. So making the album was a really emotional experience and I felt really honored to have been part of that experience with them. And that's why me and Zacky [Vengeance, AVENGED SEVENFOLD guitarist] got these matching tattoos. To me, it was a real amazing experience to bond with them during that period. And then after that experience, you know, I wanted to be there to help them, and that's how my services got called upon for the first half of the tour — I did, I think, I guess, the first five or six months of the 'Nightmare' tour — basically, 'till the end of 2010. And, you know, at that point, it was just them getting back on their feet and [I was] helping them out."
He continued: "I don't think I was ever going to be there for long. I was still in DREAM THEATER at that point, and even once I left DREAM THEATER, it was pretty established that it was just a helping-them-out phase. And it was a great tour, man. I had fun with those guys. They're nice guys. And I'm so happy to see that they've gotten back on their feet and have blossomed to a whole new level and continue to do what they're doing. So it was an experience I look back upon with a lot of great memories."
Following Sullivan's death, AVENGED SEVENFOLD recruited his favorite drummer, Portnoy, to record the drum tracks for "Nightmare" and all its 2010 tour dates before dismissing him at the end of that year.
AVENGED's current drummer is Arin Ilejay, who began playing with them in early 2011.
Portnoy, who co-founded DREAM THEATER more than 20 years ago, abruptly quit the band in September 2010 while on tour with AVENGED SEVENFOLD. He has since been replaced by Mike Mangini (ANNIHILATOR, EXTREME, JAMES LABRIE, STEVE VAI).
In a December 2011 interview with the San Francisco, California radio station 107.7 The Bone, AVENGED SEVENFOLD guitarist Zacky Vengeance stated about being caught in the middle of the drama between Portnoy and DREAM THEATER, "It was something that we were not used to at all. We had never, ever experienced any kind of in-the-spotlight drama; we just always stay in the shadows and keep any of our personal business private. And [Mike is] a very different character — he always goes straight to fans [on] Twitter or whatever… That's how he dealt with his band, and it was new to us. We like to be in touch with our fans, but we're also very private."
He continued, "[Mike had] been talking about quitting DREAM THEATER, that he wasn't necessarily happy, and he was excited to be playing with us; we were playing huge shows and stuff. I think he got caught up in the moment, got excited. We begged him to consider what he did, because we were in no position to find a permanent replacement, because in all honesty, you can't replace Jimmy, who was our best friend — first and foremost — besides beng an amazing drummer. So it just wasn't the right time and the place. And he told us, 'Hey, I've got good news and bad news. I quit DREAM THEATER.' We were like, 'Oh, no. Well, if you're happy, then that's good.' [And he was like], 'Now I can be with you guys.' And we were like, 'That's not necessarily what we decided upon. And you should take your time and reconsider.' And he was like, 'Well, I put out my press release.' We were like, 'Dude, that's not how we do business. You should have talked to us before.' Then it was back and forth [between Mike and his former DREAM THEATER bandmates]. We were out of it; we had nothing to do with it. We were just trying to get back on our feet. So when all that was going down, it was causing us a lot of heartache, to be honest — to see our name in this drama-filled love triangle. He helped us out at a really vulnerable time, and for that we will always be extremely appreciative. But for us, we were so unstable at that point that any unneeded attention was just very harmful to us. Obviously, it didn't work out [between us and Mike], but I think it's for the best — for him and for us."
