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PHILIP ANSELMO: I Don’t Know Why VINNIE PAUL Is Scared Of Me

Manos Spanos
PANTERA/DOWN vocalist Philip Anselmo recently spoke to Loudwire about the moment he knew PANTERA was over and how he misses having a friendship with the band's drummer, Vinnie Paul Abbott. "It is unfortunate," Anselmo said about the rift between him and Vinnie Paul (see video below). "I am a music fan. I hate reading about fucking my favorite bands arguing or inner turmoil or anything like that, especially under these circumstances. It's kind of unfair to the fans. "I'm sick of the fence riding, or the fence in general, because it took all of us to break the band up. "The truth is, when I was doing terribly, and I realized that PANTERA was dissolving and [Vinnie Paul and PANTERA guitarist 'Dimebag' Darrell Abbott] had moved on and they were doing [a new band called] DAMAGEPLAN, the first thing I did was call Vince. And he was, like, 'Man, this is what we're doing.' He was actually pretty cool about it. And he said, 'It's good to hear from you.' And I said, 'What do you think, man? I wanna talk to Darrell.' He goes, 'Man, I don't know. He's really upset with you.' And I called [Darrell]. And he was short, he was to the point. He said, 'We're sick of waitin' for you. We're gonna go ahead and do DAMAGEPLAN.' And that day I knew PANTERA was over." Anselmo also spoke about whether there he has publicly tried to reach out to Vinnie Paul in an effort to bury the hatchet. He said: "There was no public attempt, really; it was just [me being asked about it in] interviews. It was really just interviews. "He's surrounded by security guards. Man, if I showed my face, Jesus Christ… "I don't know why he's scared of me. He's got this fear. I think it all comes from deep love, really. 'Cause when you love something, or somebody, so much and things go backwards, that if you love 'em that much, then eventually the word 'hate' comes in, and you can hate 'em even worse. So… "I know the dude loves me. I know he does. And I miss him." Anselmo was asked how he feels about hearing Vinnie Paul state over and over again in interviews that he is not interesting in having any kind of personal relationship with Philip and former PANTERA bassist Rex Brown. "I don't even pay attention to that," Anselmo replied. "I don't even know that that happened. I don't pay attention. He's the captain of his own ship — that's that — and I'm heading in my direction." 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.
03 min read

SLIPKNOT/STONE SOUR Frontman COREY TAYLOR To Star In ‘Fear Clinic’ Film

Manos Spanos
Corey Taylor, vocalist and frontman for rock bands SLIPKNOT and STONE SOUR, has joined the cast of the feature film "Fear Clinic" from Dry County Entertainment, founded by director Robert Green Hall (MTV's "Teen Wolf", "Laid To Rest", "Lightning Bug"), and Fear Chamber LLC. "Fear Clinic" began as a 2009 horror series for FearNet that consisted of five episodes starring up-and-coming talent like Lucas Till ("X-Men: First Class") and Kate Nauta ("Transporter 2") as well as horror icons Danielle Harris ("Halloween 4"), Lisa Wilcox ("A Nightmare On Elm Street 4") and Kane Hodder (Jason Voorhees). The series and upcoming film stars Robert Englund (Freddy Krueger in the "Nightmare On Elm Street" franchise) as Dr. Andover, a fear doctor who treats patients afflicted with crippling phobias by inducing hallucinations inside his exposure therapy invention; The Fear Chamber. The series, which focused on a different phobia every episode, received critical acclaim including two 2010 Streamy Awards ("Best Sound Design" and "Best Visual FX" for Hall's company Almost Human) and reached over five million hits on FearNet.com. It has since been added to On Demand and mainstream channels YouTube and Hulu, making it the most-watched horror web series in history. The project has been in active development for a feature film, written by Robert Hall and Aaron Drane. The story has seen a shift from the series, however; instead of the episodic nature of the original show, the film will focus on a variety of phobias that all stem from one traumatic event. "Fear Clinic" will see Taylor in the role of Bauer, one of the employees of the clinic who struggles to keep things under control when all Hell breaks loose. Felisha Terrell ("Days of Our Lives"), who wowed viewers with her recurring role as Kali on MTV's "Teen Wolf", will reunite with director Robert Hall as she joins "Fear Clinic" to take on the role of Osborn, a therapist at the clinic and second-in-command to Dr. Andover (Robert Englund). Also attached to the project is Brandon Beemer ("Days of Our Lives", "The Bold And The Beautiful") as Dylan, a famous moto-cross rider who will stop at nothing to protect his girlfriend from the darkness plaguing their lives. These talents join previously announced "Fear Clinic" cast Robert Englund, Fiona Dourif, Thomas Dekker, Kevin Gage, Cleopatra Coleman and Angelina Armani. The film may be a more mature realization of the concept from the series, but at the heart of the story it focuses on the cerebral nature of fear itself and the manifestations it can take for different people. The film opens with a tragedy that launches five people into the public eye and enlists Dr. Andover to lend his expertise to help them overcome trauma-induced phobias. A year later, terrifying "aftershocks" rattle the survivors, leading to them finding their way back to the fear clinic seeking answers. As they line up for another turn in the chamber, Dr. Andover believes that something more sinister may be at work. "Fear Clinic" is currently filming for a Halloween 2014 release.
03 min read

New SLAYER Biography ‘Slayer 66 & 2/3’ Available Exclusively Via AMAZON

Manos Spanos
A new SLAYER biography by metalhead and award-winning journalist D.X. Ferris has topped the Hot New Releases in Pop Culture chart at Amazon.com's Kindle Store. The book's title is "Slayer 66 & 2/3: The Jeff & Dave Years, A Metal Band Biography. From Birth To Reborn, Including Slaytanic Profiles, A New History Of The Thrash Metal Kings' Early Days, Reign In Blood Tours, A European Invasion, The Palladium Riot, The Seat Cushion Chaos Concert, The Whole Diabolical Discography, Newly Unearthed Details From Dave Lombardo's Turbulent History With The Band, Artwork And Photos You've Probably Never Seen Before, Jeff Hanneman's Hard Times, The Big Four's Big Year, Lombardo's Final Exit, The Top 11 Hanneman Tributes, The Mosh Memorial Service, Untold Stories, Updates, Relevant Digressions, And More Scenes From The Abyss". Available exclusively via Amazon, the full-length book is available worldwide now, as an e-book that can be read on any smart phone, tablet, or computer that can run the free Kindle app. For a limited time, the electronic version costs $6.66 (US). "If you have a device that you can use to check Facebook, you can be reading the book minutes from now," says Ferris. A 320-page paperback version will be available later in the month. The electronic version features extensive hyperlinks to (non-copyrighted) supplemental material. The exhaustively researched look at the band's career (to date) features 59 chapters, 400 footnotes, 3 appendices (in the e-book, 2 in the paperback), 33 photos, 11 illustrations, a full works cited section, and an index. The photos include striking, previously unseen images by Harald Oimoen, of renown for the Bay Area thrash yearbook "Murder In The Front Row". Illustrations include lost artwork and an early flyer by Albert Cuellar, the "Live Undead"/"Hell Awaits" cover artist who went on to work with Tim Burton, SUBLIME, and Sir Mix-A-Lot. The book also includes Jeff Hanneman's original diagram for the "Live Undead" cover (spoiler: it's stick figures). David Konow, author of the heavy metal history "Bang Your Head", writes: "This book is the biography the band has always deserved. 'Slayer 66 2/3' goes in deep, covers an enormous amount of ground, and it was clearly a labor of love. Metal is an important part of music history, and SLAYER will always be one of the most important bands in the genre. A book documenting the good, the bad, and the ugly without spin or sensationalism has been long overdue." Ferris wrote the first English-language book about SLAYER, Bloomsbury Academic's "Slayer's Reign in Blood" (2008), which is part of the prestigious "33 1/3" series of volumes about classic albums. A documentary in book form, it details the creation and legacy of SLAYER's major-label debut. The timely "Slayer 66 2/3: The Jeff & Dave Years…" is the rest of the story (so far). It's a much bigger prequel, sequel, companion, and update. It spans from the members' childhoods to the fall 2013 old-school tour. Ferris began writing it in March 2013, shortly after iconic drummer Dave Lombardo left the band. And he continued covering the story after founding guitarist Jeff Hanneman unexpectedly passed away on May 2. And he stayed with it through memorial services, lineup shakeups, and breaking developments. The book's final photo was taken Wednesday, November 20, in Pittsburgh. "It answers two questions," says Ferris. "One, how did SLAYER happen? And two, why is Dave Lombardo — the most influential and acclaimed drummer in the history of metal — no longer playing with the greatest thrash band?" This thorough, character-driven look at SLAYER's unrivalled career is based on original and archival interviews with the band, witnesses, employees, label executives, fans, and peers. Cross-referenced research includes song credits, concert counts, and profiles of the band's albums, from beloved classics to more divisive releases. "Some leading metal writers have written some great pieces about SLAYER," says Ferris. "They should all be read, and I include a list of them. But nobody will ever spend this much time and effort on a SLAYER book again." Ferris is an Ohio Society Of Professional Journalists reporter of the year. He has written for The AV Club, RollingStone.com, Decibel, Alternative Press, Metal Sucks, Cleveland Scene, and other periodicals. 2013 marks his 28th year in the music press, if you count his letter Hit Parader published in fall 1985. He was thrown out the "South Of Heaven" tour when a misdirected crowdsurf landed him onstage. The first six and a half chapters can be read at the book's Amazon page. "Slayer 66 & 2/3: The Jeff & Dave Years…" is the first release of 6623 Press, a creator-friendly multimedia outlet.
05 min read