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QUEENSRŸCHE Bassist EDDIE JACKSON Says New Lineup ‘Genuinely Feels Like A Rebirth’

Manos Spanos
Nottingham Post recently conducted an interview with QUEENSRŸCHE bassist Eddie Jackson. A few excerpts from the chat follow below. On the split with original QUEENSRŸCHE singer Geoff Tate: Jackson: "The three of us got together and once we'd made the decision to continue we started to map out the future. Geoff had been working on solo stuff for a while, so QUEENSRŸCHE had been shelved for a while so we'd been developing a side project called RISING WEST with the three of us, Parker Lundgren [guitar], who was with us for the last couple of albums, and Michael [Wilton, guitar] knew [new vocalist] Todd La Torre through another side project. "When things went the way they did, we decided to return to the QUEENSRŸCHE name." On returning to the band's musical roots following the split with Tate: Jackson: "We always wanted to revisit the older material, even back to our original EP from 1983. But for whatever reasons, we were never allowed to do it. "With the energy we have now, the songs all stand the test of time. It's been fun to go back." On QUEENSRŸCHE's new, self-titled album: Jackson: "For a few years, we haven't felt we've had the chance to express ourselves musically, but on the new album, all five of us contributed equally. "With the first five or six QUEENSRŸCHE albums, the group of us created our own sound and if you bring in a bunch of different musicians, even if the songs are the same, they won't sound the same. "We have our own styles and techniques that make up our sound and I thought that was missing from the last few albums. "With [once again working with producer] Jimbo Barton, this album is a return to our characteristic sound. Lots of fans have commented that the album sounds like it could have been released after [their most successful album in 1990] 'Empire'.
03 min read

HIGH ON FIRE Releases New Single ‘Slave The Hive’

Panagiotis Karagiannidis
HIGH ON FIRE has released a brand new single titled "Slave The Hive" today. As part of the band's upcoming Scion A/V-sponsored headlining tour, HIGH ON FIRE drops the new single which marks the first new music from the California metal champions since the spring 2012 release of "De Vermis Mysteriis". A limited-edition seven-inch single will be available at all tour dates with a video for the song to be released simultaneously.
01 min read

SOILWORK: ‘Tongue’ Lyric Video Released

Panagiotis Karagiannidis
The official lyric video for the song "Tongue" from Swedish metallers SOILWORK can be seen below. The track comes off the band's ninth studio and first dual-disc album, "The Living Infinite", which sold around 7,800 copies in the United States in its first week of release to enter The Billboard 200 chart at position No. 60.
02 min read

PRIMAL FEAR Films Two New Videos

Manos Spanos
German power metallers PRIMAL FEAR have finished filming music videos for two new songs from their forthcoming tenth studio album, "Delivering The Black": the first single, "When Death Comes Knocking", plus "King For A Day". The band states: "Great vibe and time — you will love it!" "Delivering The Black" will be released in January 2014 via Frontiers Records. The CD was mixed with Jacob Hansen (VOLBEAT, PRETTY MAIDS, DESTRUCTION) at his Hansen studio in Ribe, Denmark. 12 tracks were recorded during the new album sessions, including "two epic songs, one guitar ballad, and nine crushing metal songs with all the trademarks you know and love to hear from PRIMAL FEAR," according to the band. The effort was engineered by Achim Köhler (EDGUY, MASTERPLAN) and was produced by PRIMAL FEAR bassist Mat Sinner. "Delivering The Black" features a guest appearance by Norwegian singer Liv Kristine Espenaes Krull (LEAVES' EYES, ex-THEATRE OF TRAGEDY) on the song "Born With A Broken Heart". In a recent interview with Jump Metal, PRIMAL FEAR vocalist Ralf Scheepers stated about the musical direction of the band's upcoming album: "It's not so far away [from what we've done in the past], because we have our style, you know. It was hard for us to imagine… because [2012's] 'Unbreakable' was a pretty tough... and really, in our ears, pretty great album, and for us, it was somehow hard to top it. But as soon as we started to write the new songs, and as soon as I heard what Mat and Magnus [Karlsson, guitar] did in the first place — because then they sent me some stuff and I added my ideas on it — I just thought, 'Wow, this is amazing.' And in the end, it really turned out to be a better album than 'Unbreakable'." Frontiers and PRIMAL FEAR in January announced that they have renewed their partnership for another multi-album deal, which will include two more studio releases and one live CD and DVD. PRIMAL FEAR's latest album, "Unbreakable", sold around 600 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 44 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.
02 min read

MOTÖRHEAD: Entire ‘Aftershock’ Album Available For Streaming

Manos Spanos
MOTÖRHEAD's 21st studio album, "Aftershock", is available for streaming in its entirety using the widget below (courtesy of Yahoo! Music. The release party for "Aftershock" will take place on Friday, October 18 upstairs at the world-famous Rainbow Bar & Grill in West Hollywood, California between 9:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m Listen to "Aftershock" before it is released on October 22 and enjoy free Rainbow pizza and win MOTÖRHEAD prizes. The first 100 fans get in free to the listening party upstairs. "Aftershock" will be released as a an official Classic Rock collectors fanpack that features the new LP in full plus a 132-page magazine that forms the "ultimate sleevenotes" to the new release, with extensive and exclusive interviews with Lemmy, Mikkey Dee and Phil Campbell. Pre-order your copy now at this location (official on-sale date is October 21). Inside is everything you need to know about "Aftershock" and the world of MOTÖRHEAD in 2013: inside the making of album, new features covering all eras of the band's career from 1975 to 2013, and tons of previously unseen pictures. Fanpack edition includes:
03 min read

MOTÖRHEAD: Audio Samples Of Entire ‘Aftershock’ Album

Manos Spanos
Audio samples of all the songs that will appear on MOTÖRHEAD's 21st studio album,"Aftershock", are available for streaming on the web site of the German music retailer JPC.de. The release party for "Aftershock" will take place on Friday, October 18 upstairs at the world-famous Rainbow Bar & Grill in West Hollywood, California between 9:00 p.m. and 11:00 p.m Listen to "Aftershock" before it is released on October 22 and enjoy free Rainbow pizza and win MOTÖRHEAD prizes. The first 100 fans get in free to the listening party upstairs. "Aftershock" will be released as a an official Classic Rock collectors fanpack that features the new LP in full plus a 132-page magazine that forms the "ultimate sleevenotes" to the new release, with extensive and exclusive interviews with Lemmy, Mikkey Dee and Phil Campbell. Pre-order your copy now at this location (official on-sale date is October 21). Inside is everything you need to know about "Aftershock" and the world of MOTÖRHEAD in 2013: inside the making of album, new features covering all eras of the band's career from 1975 to 2013, and tons of previously unseen pictures. Fanpack edition includes: * New album "Aftershock" * 132-page magazine * Giant double-sided poster * Exclusive MOTÖRHEAD car sticker "Aftershock" track listing: 01. Heartbreaker 02. Coup De Grace 03. Lost Woman Blues 04. End Of Time 05. Do You Believe 06. Death Machine 07. Dust And Glass 08. Going To Mexico 09. Silence When You Speak To Me 10. Crying Shame 11. Queen Of The Damned 12. Knife 13. Keep Your Powder Dry 14. Paralyzed Due in North America on October 22, "Aftershock" was recorded at NRG Studios in North Hollywood, California and is described in a press release as "a true leveler, a crushing confirmation of everything MOTÖRHEAD stands for, marching from the dust storm to deliver 14 belting statements which see MOTÖRHEAD in perhaps their best writing form for years. There's swagger, there's punch, there's speed and there’s dirty filthy grooves, Lemmy Kilmister, Phil Campbell and Mikkey Dee showing clearly that MOTÖRHEAD is not simply a band, it's a genre!"
03 min read

A PERFECT CIRCLE: New Song ‘By And Down’ Available For Streaming

Manos Spanos
A PERFECT CIRCLE, the multi-platinum rock band helmed by Maynard James Keenan (TOOL,PUSCIFER) and Billy Howerdel (ASHES DIVIDE), has premiered its first new song in a decade, "By And Down" via Spin.com. "By And Down", which is included on the outfit's forthcoming greatest-hits release "Three Sixty", was written after A PERFECT CIRCLE returned from its self-imposed hiatus for a series of live performances throughout 2010 and 2011. "Three Sixty" will be released on November 19 via Universal Music Enterprises (UMe). "Billy and I created A PERFECT CIRCLE out of a now long-running friendship, and I think the music we have made reflects that personal connection and has given us the ability to further develop and trust our intuition," explained Keenan. "I feel 'Three Sixty' is an accurate representation of that friendship and those instincts." In a brand new interview with RollingStone.com, Keenan stated about "Three Sixty": "Of course, record companies always have their little clause in their contract, about their right to release a greatest-hits record. I think that can be kind of weird sometimes, when you see 'the greatest hits,' no, no — 'the greatest greatest hits.' Releases by a record label that the band had nothing to do with, and there's several versions of the same thing, over and over again. That's kind of why we did the DVD and the box set. If you're going to release a greatest hits, we should also offer something that's not just the old recordings, rearranged. But on that greatest hits, there's going to be the studio version of 'By And Down', which is the new track that we've been working on, that we never quite got around to recording." A PERFECT CIRCLE formed in the late '90s with Keenan and Howerdel making up the core of the band with a number of well-known musicians having recorded and/or toured with the outfit, including James Iha (SMASHING PUMPKINS), Troy Van Leeuwen (QUEENS OF THE STONE AGE, FAILURE), Paz Lenchantin (ENTRANCE BAND, ZWAN), Jeordie White (MARILYN MANSON), Josh Freese (THE VANDALS, DEVO) and Tim Alexander (PRIMUS). A PERFECT CIRCLE also recently announced the release of a limited-edition box set titled "A Perfect Circle Live: Featuring Stone And Echo". The collection, which focuses on the band's live outings from 2010-2011 includes a full-length DVD of the outfit's August 2011 Red Rocks concert (with accompanying audio) as well as a 3-CD collection of live releases, one dedicated to each of the three studio albums from the band's discography. The collection is available on November 26. "Three Sixty" track listing: Standard Edition 01. The Hollow 02. Judith 03. Orestes 04. 3 Libras 05. Weak And Powerless 06. The Noose 07. The Outsider 08. Blue 09. When The Levee Breaks 10. Imagine 11. Counting Bodies Like Sheep To The Rhythm Of The War Drums 12. Passive 13. By And Down Deluxe Edition
03 min read

ONSLAUGHT Guitarist: ‘Just Because You’re Not Youthful Anymore Doesn’t Mean You Can’t Be Angry’

Manos Spanos
Aniruddh "Andrew" Bansal of Metal Assault recently conducted an interview with guitarist Nige Rockett of British thrashers ONSLAUGHT. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below. Metal Assault: Your new album, "VI", is out now in America and to put it in simple words, it's very aggressive thrash album, which is pretty much what the fans want from you. Would you put it up there with any other ONSLAUGHT album in terms of the aggressive quality of it? Rockett: Personally, I think it's the strongest album we've ever made. The reviews so far have been absolutely amazing. It has nicely backed up what we were thinking ourselves, you know. I guess every band is going to say that their new album is the best, but we genuinely feel this time around that we've actually achieved exactly that. It's what we set out to do, to make a very aggressive technical thrash album, and we're very happy with the results! Metal Assault: This aggression in thrash music has always been associated with a youthful attitude. You guys are obviously not teenagers anymore, so where does that inspiration come from, that you're still able to make this kind of an album? Rockett: Well, just because you're not youthful anymore doesn't mean you can't be angry, you know. [laughs] There is a lot of crap going on in this world, there is a lot to write about, a lot of wrong going on. So there's always a lot of fuel for the fire so to speak, for the lyrics. There's a lot of serious shit that we like to write about, and it helps the anger. Metal Assault: So, as a band's career moves on, the comparisons keep coming up with past albums. For a band like yours which has been around for a while, do you think that's the biggest challenge when you write new music, to keep up with what you've done in the past, better it and live up to the expectations? Rockett: Definitely for me. That's how it works for me on a personal level. I would be very disappointed if we released anything that was sub-standard to the previous album. I think that's the time when you've got to start looking at yourself and saying, "Can we continue this any longer?" I think you've got to stay one step ahead of the game with your own music. I don't know how I would feel if we come to write the next album and it's not as good as "VI", whether I would want to put it out or not. I would kind of feel I've let myself and the fans down. So it's tough. It obviously puts a lot of pressure on you when you're writing the next record, and so far I think we've managed to step up each time. We shall see what happens next time around, I guess. Metal Assault: So you're able to be honest about your own assessment of an album after you put it out. Rockett: Yeah, I think you've got to be, as a songwriter and musician. If you can't be honest with yourself and realize that the album is not good enough and you look at everything with blind eyes and you think it's the best thing you've ever done but it's truly not, then you've obviously got a problem. When Andy [Rosser-Davies, guitar] and I write together, I think we're both honest with each other to say it if something is not good enough. And we throw that part away. We never write any songs that don't get used. You read about a lot of bands writing 15 songs for an album and using 12. What's the point? If those three songs weren't good enough, why did you write them? That's the way we look at things. So, it may take a little more time when you're carefully going through everything but at the end of the day everything comes out better, you know. Read the entire interview at Metal Assault.
04 min read