David Farrier of New Zealand's 3 News recently conducted an interview with SYSTEM OF A DOWN singer Serj Tankian. You can now watch the chat at this location. A couple of excerpts follow.
3 News: Are you looking forward to the Christchurch show?
Tankian: I am looking forward to it very much. In fact, we've been planning on having a show with the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra for many years. My friend Hamish McKeich, who conducted our APO show years ago in 2009 in Auckland, he's the one who called the Christchurch Symphony Orchestra, and they were keen on working with us. So we've been trying to plan this for a few years, and we've had very busy schedules, and touring elsewhere, so this year knowing I am going to be spending a nice chunk of time in New Zealand I decided let's definitely go ahead and do the show.
3 News: You've been touring a lot with SYSTEM. Is it hard to get your head into another space with the orchestral music, or is it quite organic?
Tankian: It's not really difficult jumping from one band or musical project to the other. In fact, in Europe and Russia I went from doing three weeks with SYSTEM to doing three weeks with an orchestra. It's actually really great. It's kind of like going to the gym: With SYSTEM, you are getting your cardio, because you are just running, jumping and doing these crazy acrobatics both vocally and physically. And with the orchestra you are sitting there and it's more of a spiritual, emotional, intimate connection musically. And it's a different value in terms of the connectivity with the audience. One is a huge festival type of audience with SYSTEM, and the other is a beautiful theatre, like the Auckland Town Hall, or as it will be in Christchurch. I like the diversity.
3 News: What do rock journos think of your classical stuff, and what does the classical world think of your rock stuff?
Tankian: I would bet that rock critics wouldn't love a symphony record, I would bet classical critics are not going to love someone coming from the rock world and doing a symphony record. I would bet that jazz purists writers, in fact I know jazz purist writers, are not into my "Jazz-Is-Christ" record. But hey, that's okay! Because I am making the music that is coming to me from the universe, and I am presenting it the best way I can. And I am putting a spin on it that is uniquely what I do. And as long as my fans and people who are following me like it, I'm happy with it and thankful for it.
3 News: Do you find it refreshing to be in New Zealand where, I guess, politically, we're a bit more — I suppose the issues are a bit smaller here. Do you find that an encouraging thing?
Tankian: I do. I mean, obviously, New Zealand has its own issues that we grapple with here, but yeah, the geo-political issues are way more tame. The semi-neutrality of the country is definitely very progressive outlook. Many nations can benefit from that kind of perspective. And kiwis are quite wise politically, in terms of international politics, because they read. Most people in America don't read! And the education system is great. I think it's not just enough to have a democracy, it's important to have an educated democracy, because without an educated, literate democracy, you can have a George Bush as your leader. And that can be maybe as dangerous as having Assad as your leader in some cases! [laughter]. Coming to New Zealand it's refreshing, every year I live between here and Los Angeles and it slows things down on a beautiful level, and increases the lifestyle for me. The quality of the lifestyle, the people I interact with and the relationships that I develop. And it's a different world and I'd love it to stay like that forever.
3 News: Are you glad you moved to New Zealand?
Tankian: I'm more than glad, I am ecstatic. It's my haven. And it's also a place where I feel more creative. And I feel more at home in myself to be honest with you. And I have lived in L.A. since 1975, which is a lot of years. And I have a lot of friends there, and family there, and it's difficult to move away. My work is mostly there, the entertainment industry is there, and I've been scoring for films and video games, and the music industry is based there in the world. And to have that excitement and working there is great. But when I get off tour, I don't think of going to my place in L.A., I think of coming to New Zealand as home. Because I feel more at home here.
Read the entire interview at 3 News.
According to the Courthouse News Service, British metal label Earache Records has filed a lawsuit against New York-based The Century Family, an affiliate of the nonparty record label Century Media Records, of Dortmund, Germany, claiming that the U.S. distributor owes it $250,000 in licensing fees, and broke a promise to release a catalog of hundreds of albums.
Earache claims that The Century Family breached a January 2013 agreement to market and distribute Earache's music, and attempted to escape its obligations by falsely claiming Earache had breached a three-year licensing agreement. Earache claims that of the 356 albums it delivered to Century, including 10 new releases, the company has distributed only 13 albums in the United States.
Excerpt from the complaint:
"On December 10, 2013, Don Robertson of [The Century Family] asked Al Dawson of Earache Records whether Earache Records would give [The Century Family] a six-month extension of its obligation to pay the $125,000.00 advance due February 1, 2014, because [The Century Family], according to Robertson, was having cash-flow problems. Mr. Dawson explained that, for reasons of its own (including among other things imminent obligations of Earache Records to third parties, for payment of which Earache Records was depending on timely payment of [The Century Family's] second and third advances under the U.S. Licensing Agreement), Earache Records regretfully could not agree to [The Century Family's] request.
"On January 31, 2014, less than one day before [The Century Family's] deadline to make its second $125,000 advance payment, Earache Records received a letter from attorney Eric German, characterizing himself as 'litigation counsel' for [The Century Family], setting forth a list of spurious allegations, on the basis of which [The Century Family] was claiming (for the first time ever) that Earache Records was supposedly 'in breach' of the U.S. Licensing Agreement. That this letter sent on behalf of [The Century Family] was nothing but a transparent pretext for delay was made clear when Mr. German therein advised, after first threatening litigation, that '[The Century Family] will not be making any payment pursuant to [the January 2013 agreement], unless and until such time as this matter is resolved, whether by negotiated settlement or by litigation.' [The Century Family] thereby not only announced its intended breach of its obligation to make the $125,000.00 February 1, 2014, advance payment, but also the $125,000.00 March 1, 2014, advance payment.
"On February 7, 2104, counsel for Earache Records, William Leibowitz, responded in writing to Mr. German's letter of January 31, 2014, stating in detail Earache Records' position and factual contentions, and noting [The Century Family's] actual and anticipatory breach of the U.S. Licensing Agreement's payment provisions. Mr. Leibowitz's letter constituted notice of termination of the U.S. Licensing Agreement, pursuant to its terms.
"[The Century Family] did not timely make the $125,000.00 February 1, 2014, advance payment, and has failed to cure that default of [The Century Family's] contractual obligation. [The Century Family] has also now failed to make the $125,000.00 March 1, 2014, advance payment, and has already stated that it has no intention to cure that default, either. Accordingly, as of at least March 9, 2014, [The Century Family] is in material breach of its payment obligations under the U.S. Licensing Agreement. Moreover, by [The Century Family] having failed to cure such breaches within thirty (30) days of the date of Mr. Leibowitz's letter of February 7, 2014, the U.S. Licensing Agreement is deemed terminated effective as of March 9, 2014."
Earache says The Century Family is still marketing and selling Earache's records in the U.S. market.
It seeks an injunction and $250,000
New Orleans' disciples of hardcore, blues-based, post-amplified audio wreckage, EYEHATEGOD will unleash their long-anticipated new studio recording later this spring. Set for North American release via Housecore Records, the domestic version of the self-titled offering will come in a CD digipack while the LP will be a single slab of vinyl in a gatefold jacket. The first pressing will be limited to 1600 copies and made available in the following colors:
* Black (600 copies)
* Purple (300 copies)
* Clear (400 copies)
* Purple and Grey (300 copies)
"Eyehategod" track listing:
01. Agitation! Propaganda!
02. Trying To Crack The Hard Dollar
03. Parish Motel Sickness
04. Quitter's Offensive
05. Nobody Told Me
06. Worthless Rescue
07. Framed To The Wall
08. Robitussin And Rejection
09. Flags And Cities Bound
10. Medicine Noose
11. The Age Of Bootcamp
Preorder packages including various CD, LP and T-shirt bundles are currently available via Housecore Records at this location.
"Eyehategod" will be released on May 27 by their partners at Housecore Records in North America, May 26 by Century Media in Europe, Australia and New Zealand and May 21 by Daymare in Japan.
Comments EYEHATEGOD vocalist Mike IX Williams: "I have to say I don't believe we've lost nary a step in the creation of this album and we think these newer songs are a killer combination of classic EYEHATEGOD mixed along with our best production, mixing, engineering and songwriting in thirteen years. The main and total tragic break in the chain, was obviously last year's death of our great friend and drummer, Joey LaCaze. However, his original drum tracks made it onto the final master recordings and we're fucking psyched about that... As for working with Housecore, it was a no-brainer. We've always been a family, and will always remain a family."
Adds Housecore founder Philip H. Anselmo (PANTERA, DOWN): "Being a part of the new EYEHATEGOD record is a dream come true. I've known, supported and loved the guys for almost as long as I've been playing music myself, and it is our pleasure here at the Housecore Records compound to have 'em aboard. And I gotta mention, having heard the new record, this is the EYEHATEGOD record every true fan has been waiting for.... Hail!"
In related news, EYEHATEGOD will take to the streets again next month for a short string of live takeovers including a return trip to Japan with VENOM and MORBID ANGEL, a stint on Three Floyds Beer's annual Dark Lord Day Festival as well as various onstage abrasions through the West Coast and the previously announced Baltimore, Maryland gala with HIGH ON FIRE and CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, with additional dates to be announced in the coming weeks.
As a band that helped create a genre as well as equate a city with a sound, EYEHATEGOD has always remained humble anytime words like "legend" were thrown around to describe them. The thing with legends is that they grow stronger in time and over the years, word of mouth has been kind to the band. EYEHATEGOD is bigger now than they ever have been in their twenty-five plus years as a band. Pretty impressive seeing as they haven't released a full-length album in almost fifteen years. Most people who know the band have a story to tell or they heard a story about the guys. Whether it was them playing nothing but feedback to a bewildered WHITE ZOMBIE crowd during their opening stint for the arena metal band in the mid-Nineties, being banned from a certain venue for attacking a promoter with a barstool or cleaning out entire small towns of their drug supply, these stories spread throughout the metal community over the years, usually through a game of one-up-manship, establishing them as one of the most notorious bands around.
Certainly not the first band to be surrounded by myth and lore, EYEHATEGOD's staying and growing power ultimately comes from the music. No one riffs like Jimmy Bower and Brian Patton. Drummer Joey LaCaze grooved and held it together with numerous bass players throughout the years, doing so impeccably with Gary Mader over the past decade. Singer Mike IX Williams has always been able to encapsulate the ruins of life through his lyrics and vocal delivery. All combined, the music is the most genuine, distressing cacophony of sound around.
"BLACK SABBATH mixed with BLACK FLAG with a little bit of SKYNYRD and the element of blues thrown in there," Bower once said of the band's sound. In 2014 that style might sound somewhat commonplace. In 1988 it most definitely was not. The band's second album, 1993's "Take As Needed For Pain", is the pinnacle album that other bands of this genre to this day try to reach. Today, EYEHATEGOD sounds as fresh and innovative as ever. When the band released its first new track in over a decade, "New Orleans Is The New Vietnam", it was clear that nothing about the band had changed. They were touring more than ever and used that time and energy to work on an album's worth of songs. At the end of 2012 they were ready.
The recording process for "Eyehategod" started with producer Billy Anderson back in the fold (he recorded 1996's "Dopesick"). The session saw both producer and band not quite on the same page and at the end, the album was unfinished. A few months later, the band reconvened at longtime friend Phil Anselmo's home studio with producer Stephen Berrigan (DOWN). Both Anselmo and Berrigan helped draw out the missing pieces to one of underground metal's most anticipated albums in years.
An unexpected tragedy occurred shortly upon returning home from a recent five-week European tour in the fall of 2013: Joey LaCaze passed away due to respiratory failure. An outpouring of condolences and tributes spread online. Enough can't be said of the loss felt by the band, family and friends. Fortunately, LaCaze's drum tracks were captured by Anderson and appear on the album, creating the definitive tribute for the member of the band who encapsulated best just what EYEHATEGOD was all about; seriously not taking yourself too seriously. New Orleans native, Aaron Hill (MOUNTAIN OF WIZARD, MISSING MONUMENTS), took over for LaCaze without missing a beat, both figuratively and literally. The band hit the road after wrapping up the record and plan to embark upon their most exhaustive touring schedule to date.
EYEHATEGOD is:
Mike IX Williams - Vocals
Jimmy Bower - Guitar
Brian Patton - Guitar
Gary Mader - Bass
Aaron Hill - Drums
