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Bassist GREG CHRISTIAN: There Are No ‘Bros’ In TESTAMENT

Manos Spanos
Former TESTAMENT bassist Greg Christian, who turned 48 years old today (Tuesday, April 29), has posted the following message on his personal Facebook page: "Thank you so much for the birthday wishes. "Lately, it's been all too easy to forget how many people's lives I've actually 'touched.' "The last five months or so have been some of the most difficult of my 48 years on this Earth and seeing this support really helps. Thank you. "I'm still kind of in shock by how everything went down with TESTAMENT. And all I'll really say about that is — there are no 'bros' in TESTAMENT. The catch phrase coined by the Chief himself is every one man for himself, and it's taken to a sickening extreme with zero humanity. C'est la vie. But I'm not done playing music yet. Far from it. But every day's a struggle. And on top of it all, I have to deal with a few haters (people I barely know) going out of their way to derail me in any way they can. Thanks, guys. LOL. "Anyway... Thank you again for all the birthday wishes. I appreciate it more than you all can probably understand. Cheers!!!" TESTAMENT in January announced the departure of Greg Christian and return of Steve DiGiorgio (SADUS, DEATH, ICED EARTH). Steve was previously a member of TESTAMENT on "The Gathering" (1999) and "First Strike Still Deadly" (2001) albums. In a recent interview with 100PercentRock.com, TESTAMENT frontman Chuck Billy stated about Christian's latest departure from the band: "Well, I think Greg, he informed us that he wasn't going to be participating on the new record release and that was his last tour with us. We knew we had Australia coming up, so, of course, Steve DiGiorgio was probably one of the first ones to come to mind. He did 'The Gathering' record with us and we enjoyed that whole cycle of touring, so he was definitely, probably, our first choice. We didn't want to go through auditions and do all that. We just knew that he was here, and he could do it, and it was killer." Asked if there was a particular reason that Greg just had enough of it, Billy replied: "Well, I think that the last tour he just wasn't getting along, and he just decided that that was going to be the last tour with us, so we just kind of said, 'Well, okay. I guess we'll have to maybe look for what's coming up in the future.' You know — there's nothing we can do." Christian was forced to leave the band's North American tour with LAMB OF GOD and KILLSWITCH ENGAGE in November 2013 for "personal reasons." Filling in for him was EXODUS bassist Jack Gibson. Christian played on the following TESTAMENT albums: * "The Legacy" (1987) * "The New Order" (1988) * "Practice What You Preach" (1989) * "Souls Of Black" (1990) * "The Ritual" (1992) * "Low" (1994) * "The Formation Of Damnation" (2008) * "Dark Roots Of Earth" (2012)
03 min read

JON OLIVA’S PAIN Recruits Guitarist BILL HUDSON

Manos Spanos
JON OLIVA'S PAIN, the Florida-based band led by SAVATAGE mastermind Jon Oliva, has recruited Bill Hudson (CIRCLE II CIRCLE, CELLADOR, POWER QUEST, NIGHTRAGE) as its new guitarist. Says 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".
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REVOLVER GOLDEN GODS List Of Winners

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The Revolver Golden Gods awards show took place on Wednesday night (April 23) at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, where various rock and metal acts were honored for their talents and achievements and both Axl Rose and Joan Jett were given lifetime contribution awards. According to The Pulse Of Radio, the show opened with a surprise performance from thrash metal veterans SLAYER, while other acts who performed included Jett, GUNS N' ROSES, THE PRETTY RECKLESS, SUICIDE SILENCE and A DAY TO REMEMBER. Ex-GUNS N' ROSES bassist Duff McKagan performed with the band at the event, marking the first time that McKagan has performed with the group on U.S. soil in 20 years. He joined GUNS onstage in London for the first time in 17 years at an October 2010 concert in London, followed more recently by shows in Vancouver and South America. Axl Rose took home this year's Ronnie James Dio Lifetime Achievement Award, while Joan Jett became the first female recipient of the Golden God Award. VH1 Classic streamed the show live and will also air an edited version on Saturday, May 24th at 8:00 p.m. ET/PT. Also appearing at the show were members of BLACK SABBATH and LINKIN PARK, Rob Zombie, Marilyn Manson, Jacoby Shaddix of PAPA ROACH, Alice Cooper, Ace Frehley and others. Revolver Golden Gods list of winners: * Best Vocalist: Josh Homme of QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE * Best Live Band: Rob Zombie * Most Devoted Fans: AVENGED SEVENFOLD * Best New Talent: TWELVE FOOT NINJA * Comeback Of The Year: DEEP PURPLE * Paul Gray Best Bassist Award: Chris Kael of FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH * Best Film & DVD: PIERCE THE VEIL * Best Drummer: Arin Ilejay of AVENGED SEVENFOLD * Song Of The Year: FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's "Lift Me Up" * Most Metal Athlete: Josh Barnett, Mixed Martial Arts * Dimebag Darrell Best Guitarist: Synyster Gates and Zacky Vengeance of AVENGED SEVENFOLD * Album Of The Year: BLACK SABBATH's "13" * Golden God Award: Joan Jett * Ronnie James Dio Lifetime Achievement Award: Axl Rose of GUNS N' ROSES revolvergoldensuicide
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Video: MAX CAVALERA Joins SUICIDE SILENCE For Performance Of SEPULTURA’s Roots Bloody Roots’

Manos Spanos
Max Cavalera (SOULFLY, CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, SEPULTURA, KILLER BE KILLED) joined SUICIDE SILENCE on stage last night (Wednesday, April 23) at the Revolver Golden Gods awards show at Club Nokia in Los Angeles to perform the SEPULTURA classic "Roots Bloody Roots". Professionally filmed video footage of his appearance can be seen below. SUICIDE SILENCE will release "You Can't Stop Me", their first album to feature new vocalist Hernan "Eddie" Hermida (ex-ALL SHALL PERISH) and their first since the tragic loss of singer Mitch Lucker, on July 11 in Europe (except in the U.K., where it will arrive on July 14) and July 15 in North America via Nuclear Blast Entertainment. "You Can't Stop Me" was produced and mixed by Steve Evetts (SEPULTURA, THE DILLINGER ESCAPE PLAN), who worked with the band not only on "The Black Crown", but also on some instrumental demos for the new CD just prior to Lucker's death in the fall of 2012. SOULFY's ninth album, "Savages", was released on October 1, 2013 via SOULFLY's new label home, Nuclear Blast Entertainment. The CD was produced by Terry Date, who is known for his work with such acts as PANTERA, DEFTONES and SOUNDGARDEN, among many others. Guest vocal appearances on "Savages" include SOULFLY bass player Tony Campos, CLUTCH's Neil Fallon, NAPALM DEATH's Mitch Harris, Jamie Hanks of I DECLARE WAR and SOULFLY mainman Max Cavalera's son Igor Cavalera (of LODY KONG).
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EXODUS Singer ROB DUKES Says Next Album Will Be ‘Very Fast’ And Will Have ‘More Of A Punk Rock Feel’

Manos Spanos
Veteran San Francisco thrashers EXODUS recently entered a studio in Northern California with producer Andy Sneap (MEGADETH, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, ARCH ENEMY, NEVERMORE) to record their tenth studio album. Speaking to Brian Aberback of Patch.com, EXODUS frontman Rob Dukes stated about the band's upcoming CD: "This album is very fast and has more of a punk rock feel to it, whereas I think the last few EXODUS albums were metal epics, with longer songs. These songs are shorter and a little faster. It has a really different feel to it. It sounds great." During a December 2013 interview with "Metal Zone" host Nikki Blakk of the San Francisco, California radio station 107.7 The Bone, EXODUS guitarist Gary Holt stated about his plans for the band's new studio album: "I'm heavily in riff mode [right now]. It's always hard to gauge where a record's going right away, but you kind of get a feel for where you're headed mentally, and right now it's really fast. It's ridiculous. "I wanna make sure that the [next EXODUS] album is as good as it needs to be, and knowing I am going to be on a tight time frame, it does tend to stress me out quite a bit. But I think I write well under stress… I hate the pressure. But I do what I gotta do. We all do. So we'll make it happen." EXODUS' latest album, "Exhibit B: The Human Condition", was released in North America on May 18, 2010 via Nuclear Blast Records. The CD sold around 4,600 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 114 on The Billboard 200 chart. EXODUS' previous album, "The Atrocity Exhibition: Exhibit A", opened with 3,600 units back in October 2007. EXODUS has announced its participation in a monumental upcoming tour with headliners SLAYER and additional special guests SUICIDAL TENDENCIES. This metalhead's "dream tour" kicks off on May 9 in Salt Lake City, Utah, and hits six more cities, including a stop at the world-famous Rock On The Range festival on May 17 in Columbus, Ohio. Gary Holt will perform double-duty on this run as guitarist for his band EXODUS, while also filling in for SLAYER's fallen guitarist Jeff Hanneman.
02 min read

New MARILYN MANSON Song ‘Cupid Carries A Gun’ To Be Featured In ‘Salem’ Series

Manos Spanos
According to The Hollywood Reporter, shock rocker Marilyn Manson will make his TV scoring debut with composer Tyler Bates on the song "Cupid Carries A Gun", to be featured in the April 27 episode of WGN America's period drama "Salem". "The song 'Cupid Carries a Gun' was the last track we just finished for my new album," says Manson. "The occult and witchcraft [are] so often used in cinema with a heinous disregard for even researching its origins. However, I liked the themes of 'Salem'. It looks at the witch trials without being cliche like most modern films." Bates, who has a variety of credits to his name, including movies, TV and videogames, explains: "Manson and I wrote a draft of 'Cupid Carries A Gun' shortly before I began working on the score for 'Salem'. A couple weeks later I saw the title sequence and the song immediately came to mind. I showed it to Manson for fun more than anything, and it inspired us to finish the song that night. The next day I played it for Brannon Braga and he said that 'Cupid Carries A Gun' was the perfect tone and attitude for the show's main titles." A preview of "Cupid Carries A Gun" is available at HollywoodReporter.com. On April 8, Kurt Sutter, creator of the American television drama series "Sons Of Anarchy", tweeted that he has been listening to one of the new songs from Marilyn Manson. He described the track as "potent," "creepy" and "cool." Sutter previously revealed that he had written some lyrics for Manson and that he wanted to feature some of Manson's new music in the seventh and final season of "Sons Of Anarchy". Sutter tweeted: "Look for [Manson] in season 7. He'll be the guy riding the dragon." Manson has appeared in a handful of movies and TV shows before, most recently on the Showtime series "Californication" — where he played himself — and the Sundance Channel program "Wrong Cops". He spent most of last year touring behind his 2012 album, "Born Villain".
02 min read

Heavy Metal Singer Resigns From Police Force Before Pleading Guilty To Fraud

Manos Spanos
According to the New York Daily News, a former Port Authority New York police officer has pleaded guilty to fraud after he was busted moonlighting on the road as the lead singer for the Brooklyn-based heavy metal band called COUSIN SLEAZE while collecting disability payments from the police department. Christopher Inserra resigned from the force on Monday (April 21) and entered a guilty plea in federal court in Brooklyn on Tuesday (April 22). He faces eight to 14 months in prison for mail fraud. Inserra, 32, is accused of fraudulently collecting more than $30,000 in disability payments over a nearly two-year period after claiming that he was disabled due to lack of mobility to his right arm because of an arm injury he suffered while on duty at the World Trade Center in June 2010. In addition to getting time off with full pay, he filed claims with an insurance company that resulted in two payments totaling $30,486. Inserra's claims were called into question when photos of him performing with COUSIN SLEAZE in 2011 showed him "repeatedly moving his arms in a punching motion" and "violently flailing his arm in an up-and-down motion," a criminal complaint said. After telling doctors he was still in intense pain in September 2011, Inserra and his bandmates hit the road for the "Miles Of Mayhem" tour and video footage surfaced of him pumping his fists and thrashing around onstage. Inserra returned to work in March 2012 and held his position until earlier this week. He will be sentenced on August 5. COUSIN SLEAZE's video for the song "Still Screaming" can be seen below.
01 min read

MÖTLEY CRÜE Taps Producer JAMES MICHAEL For ‘Final Song’

Manos Spanos
MÖTLEY CRÜE held a press conference on January 28 at Hotel Roosevelt in Los Angeles where they announced that the band will launch its "Final Tour" later this year, with the group planning to play 72 shows in North America in 2014 and more overseas in 2015. Making it official, the four members of the band had their lawyer draw up a formal "cessation of touring" agreement that goes into effect at the end of 2015 and prohibits the members of the group from going on the road again under the MÖTLEY CRÜE banner. No mention was made of whether the CRÜE will record a new album to go along with the tour, although the group hinted at the possibility. Speaking to Artisan News at yesterday's (Wednesday, April 23) Revolver Golden Gods event at Club Nokia in Los Angeles, producer James Michael — who sings for MÖTLEY CRÜE bassist Nikki Sixx's SIXX: A.M. project — revealed that he has been tapped to helm what may very well turn out to be the CRÜE's final song. "As we know, the CRÜE is getting ready to hang it up. And we discussed for a while doing a final song," James said (see video below). "And that's a tall order. There was a lot of pressure on us to make sure that we did it right and that we celebrated everything that they were known for. So I think we've done it. I'm actually tracking drums with Tommy [Lee] tomorrow. And it's an outstanding song. I think it's gonna be an absolutely amazing way to go out swinging." During an appearance on the March 3 edition of Eddie Trunk's show "Trunk Nation" on SiriusXM's Hair Nation, MÖTLEY CRÜE guitarist Mick Mars revealed: "I just wrote a new song with Nikki, and we're gonna be finishing it up, like, within the next couple of months. There'll be a new single [released in time for the upcoming tour]." Sixx in January said that that it's unlikely that the band will release another full-length album of new material and will instead make select tracks available via special projects in order to maximize their impact. "My take on it right now and the way that things work is very much reverted back to the '60s where people buy singles," Mars told Trunk. "I don't want an album full of fillers. And that's why I said I would release [a solo] EP or singles." Sixx told the Rapid City, South Dakota radio station 95.1 KSKY: "We have music written, [but] it's not put together yet." He added: "It's hard, to be honest with you, to spend six [or] nine months to write eleven songs — all those lyrics… everything… the vocals, the guitars, the bass, the sonics, the mixing, the mastering, the artwork… You put it out and nothing [happens], because now people cherry-pick songs. So we go, 'Why don't we write songs and find vehicles to get one, two or four songs to ten million people rather than eleven songs to a hundred thousand people. That's how we're thinking. I don't know if it's right or wrong, but that's how we're thinking." MÖTLEY CRÜE in 2012 released a brand new song called "Sex" to coincide with the launch of the band's North American co-headlining tour with KISS. Written when the group was together during their residency in Las Vegas in February 2012, "Sex" was the first studio track from the CRÜE since their June 2008 release of "Saints Of Los Angeles". The song was recorded at MÖTLEY CRÜE drummer Tommy Lee's studio called The Atrium in Calabasas, California.
03 min read

GRAVE DIGGER: ‘Return Of The Reaper’ Track Listing Revealed

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German power metallers GRAVE DIGGER will release their 1th studio album, "Return Of The Reaper", via Napalm Records on the following dates: July 11: Germany, Austria, Switzerland, Finland, Benelux July 16: Spain, Sweden, Norway July 14: Rest of Europe July 15: USA, Canada The "Return Of The Reaper" cover artwork (see below) was created by Gyula Havancsák of Hjules Illustration And Design, who has been responsible for all GRAVE DIGGER artwork since 2004's "The Last Supper". The CD was recorded at Principal Studios (KREATOR, IN EXTREMO, GRAVE DIGGER) in Senden, Germany. GRAVE DIGGER vocalist Chris Boltendahl recently revealed that "Return Of The Reaper" will be stylistically reminiscent of GRAVE DIGGER's classic albums "Heavy Metal Breakdown" (1984), "Witch Hunter" (1985) and "The Reaper" (1993). "Return Of The Reaper" track listing: 01. Return Of The Reaper 02. Hell Funeral 03. War God 04. Tattooed Rider 05. Resurrection Day 06. Season Of The Witch 07. Road Rage Killer 08. Dia De Los Muertos 09. Satan's Host 10. Grave Desecrator 11. Death Smiles At All Of Us 12. Nothing To Believe GRAVE DIGGER's last album, "Clash Of The Gods", was released on August 31 , 2012 in Europe and September 4, 2012 in North America via Napalm Records. A six-song mini-CD, "Home At Last", preceded the full-length effort on July 27, 2012 in Europe and August 7, 2012 in North America. "The Clans Are Still Marching", the latest DVD from GRAVE DIGGER, entered the German Media Control chart at position No. 56 (German chart rules allow music DVDs to enter album charts).
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XANDRIA: ‘Nightfall’ Video Released

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"Sacrificium", the sixth album from German symphonic metallers XANDRIA, will be released on May 6 (one day earlier internationally) via Napalm Records. According to the band, the follow-up to 2012's "Neverworld's End" will "continue the musical journey and direction" of the last CD but "will bring in even more of everything people liked" about "Neverworld's End". "Sacrificium" track listing: 01. Temple Of Hate 02. Stardust 03. Dreamkeeper 04. Nightfall 05. Sacrificium 06. Our Neverworld 07. Little Red Relish 08. Come With Me 09. Until The End 10. Betrayer 11. Sweet Atonement 12. The Undiscovered Land The official video for the song "Nightfall" can be seen below. XANDRIA last fall parted ways with their singer of three years, Manuela Kraller. Her replacement is the "astonishing 28-year-old Dutch talent" Dianne Van Giersbergen, who also fronts the progressive metal outfit EX LIBRIS. Said Manuela in a statement: "After three years with the boys in XANDRIA, I decided to follow a different path and go my own musical way." The sympathethic Bavarian singer left with regret but also full of gratitude, thanking band and fans for the time they had together and being grateful for the "wonderful moments in mutual tours and shows." Manuela also wished Dianne and band "all the very best for the future!" Dianne Van Giersbergen made her live debut with XANDRIA at the end of November 2013 on a Spanish tour. Fans had a last chance to see Kraller singing with XANDRIA in October 2013 in Leipzig, Germany and Pratteln, Switzerland, where she performed at the Masters Of Symphonic Metal festival at Z7.
02 min read