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JIMMY PAGE Didn’t Want To Rewrite History With LED ZEPPELIN Remasters

Manos Spanos
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.
02 min read

GUS G. Says OZZY OSBOURNE Taught Him A Lesson About Stamina And Energy

Manos Spanos
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).
03 min read

BLACK SABBATH’s BILL WARD Pays Tribute To METALLICA’s LARS ULRICH: He ‘Is an Exceptional Drummer’

Manos Spanos
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."
03 min read

Dimlight: New singer and Indiegogo campaign

Manos Spanos
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..."
01 min read