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PARADISE LOST: ‘Our Saviour 2013’ Song Available For Streaming

Manos Spanos
From the harrowing doom of their 1990 debut, "Lost Paradise", to 1991's genre-defining"Gothic", to 1995's break-out masterpiece "Draconian Times", to 1997's electronically tinged"One Second", to 2007's return to a heavier form "In Requiem", to last year's opus "Tragic Idol", British gothic metal pioneers PARADISE LOST have continued to evolve since their inception in 1988, inspiring countless artists throughout the years. To celebrate their influence on the scene, a special compilation will be released this fall to commemorate the band's 25th-anniversary landmark. Entitled "Tragic Illusion 25 (The Rarities)" , this album will be released on October 21 in Europe (digitally on October 29 in North America) and features artwork by Parisian designerValnoir, who has worked with artists such as ORPHANED LAND, MORBID ANGEL, WATAIN, and more than 150 others. All tracks found on the compilation are previously released rarities — except the new track "Loneliness Remains", and newly recorded "Gothic 2013" and "Our Saviour 2013". "Tragic Illusion 25 (The Rarities)" track listing: 01. Loneliness Remains 02. Never Take Me Alive (SPEAR OF DESTINY cover version) 03. Ending Through Changes 04. The Last Fallen Saviour 05. Last Regret (Lost in Prague Orchestra Mix) 06. Faith Divides Us - Death Unites Us (Lost in Prague Orchestra Mix) 07. Cardinal Zero 08. Back On Disaster 09. Sons Of Perdition 10. Godless 11. Missing (EVERYTHING BUT THE GIRL cover version) 12. Silent In Heart 13. Gothic 2013 14. Our Saviour 2013 The song "Our Saviour 2013" can now be streamed in the YouTube clip below. PARADISE LOST's Aaron Aedy (guitar) comments: “The years surrounding our formation in the 20th century would have earmarked this as a B-sides collection. These were the songs that were left over from an album recording session you couldn't fit on to the sound quality restrictive, optimal length of both sides of a vinyl LP. You then usually used these for the flip side of your single as a nice extra for fans and also perhaps, as an incentive for the collectors to purchase to help any important charting or sales which could facilitate radio airplay, the best and most important way for your band to heard at that time. "Yes, my friends, it's hard to imagine now, there was a time before the Internet! A time when, even during the recording and writing of songs for our 'Lost Paradise' album, tape-trading demos and live tracks on the underground scene via mail (the real physical post kind!) were essential to a band's chance of being known by the people who would 'get it.' The magazinesMetal Hammer, Metal Forces and Kerrang! also had a couple of champions of the underground scene too, helping bands like ourselves be known on a wider scale, but rarer still indeed back then were the audio and visual outlets. In the U.K., we had the legendary 'Friday Rock Show With Tommy Vance', who introduced myself and many others to a lot of the bands they went on to love for life. Later, TV shows 'The Powerhour', 'Raw Power' and, of course, 'Headbangers Ball' on MTV. All, of course, pre-empted that Smörgåsbord of information, the Internet, for the discerning and hungry-for-more rock music fans to feast upon. "Twenty five years has seen a lot of change, not just musically for the band — take 'Our Saviour' and 'Faith Divides Us, Death Unites Us', for instance. The Internet has broadened the choice of music we can readily hear enormously, and more importantly, hear and see for ourselves to form our own opinion — not just what the larger commercial companies and stations want us to hear! "Added to our extra tracks from the past, we've included the recent re-recordings of 'Gothic'and 'Our Saviour'. This is something as a musician you find a strange experience. "We as a band have always been an album rather a single band, and re-recording old songs is most often best left alone — but when we rehearsed 'Our Saviour', a song long lost from our live sets for a good twenty years, we found it pretty exciting and fun! We decided before hitting the studio that we would not record it as a perfect 21st-century studio version, as I don't feel this song would benefit from it (in fact more so, lose its original charm), but we decided to just do it quick and almost demo speed. Whilst recording to capture the most raw element, we drafted in our old friend and producer Simon Efemey, who worked on our'Shades Of God', 'Icon' and 'Draconian Times' recordings to capture this, which whilst working to make it sound raw, made it fun too! Don't think of the re-recordings as replacements for our originals, but just as five blokes having fun and re-visiting the past in the studio.
06 min read

LACUNA COIL Completes Recording New Album

Manos Spanos
Italian heavy rockers LACUNA COIL have have completed recording their new album with producer Jay Baumgardner (P.O.D., SEVENDUST, EVANESCENCE, PAPA ROACH) for an early 2014 release via Century Media Records. Says LACUNA COIL singer Cristina Scabbia: "I am so anxious to hear it mixed and mastered." LACUNA COIL co-vocalist Andrea Ferro previously stated about the new CD: "We met Jay a few years ago in L.A. and had a really positive feeling about him, as he has produced and mixed some of my favourite records and some very relevant rock/metal albums. "We have decided to work with him, because he has the ability to work together with the band towards a common vision without driving the band away from their sound. "In the studio, there is the right energy that allows common people to achieve uncommon results!" Cristiano "Pizza" Migliore (guitar): "Yeah, we're very excited about finally recording new songs — and I can assure you that the new stuff kicks ass!" LACUNA COIL will soon join the "Tragic Illusion Tour" that will celebrate PARADISE LOST's 25th anniversary. A few days earlier, they will perform at the Metal Female Voices Fest in Belgium. LACUNA COIL's latest album, "Dark Adrenaline", sold around 20,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 15 on The Billboard 200 chart. It marked the band's second CD with producer Don Gilmore (LINKIN PARK, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE) at the helm. "We changed producers on our last album, 'Shallow Life', and we wanted to work with Don,"Scabbia told KNAC.COM. "I think that we wanted to change producers mainly to see what we could do with a different person. A producer is much like a teacher and we wanted to learn something new and we found that our goals and Don's were much the same. When listening to'Dark Adrenaline', I can say that there is so much different. We are more experienced now and more confident in our sound and we get inspired to try to do more with each new record."
02 min read

NECROPHOBIC Parts Ways With Vocalist TOBIAS SIDEGÅRD

Manos Spanos
Cult Swedish black/death metal act NECROPHOBIC has officially parted ways with vocalist Tobias Sidegård. A Swedish appeals court last month reduced the prison sentence for Sidegård, who was accused of beating his wife multiple times between September 2011 and April 2013. Sidegård was originally sentenced to 18 months in prison for "gross violation of a woman's integrity," and offense that was first introduced into the Penal Code in 1998 dealing with repeated punishable acts directed by men against women who have or have had a close relationship with the perpetrator. On September 20, the Svea appeals court found Sidegård guilty of simple assault — a less serious offense than "gross violation of a woman's integrity" — and reduced his prison sentence to six months. The musician was also ordered to pay his wife 16,000 Swedish kronor (approximately $2,500) in damages plus interest. Said NECROPHOBIC in a statement: "Tobias is no longer a member of NECROPHOBIC. The verdict following his trial regrettably left us, the band, with no other choice. "As stated before, NECROPHOBIC do not accept or tolerate domestic violence in any way. "We will now search for a replacement. "Tobias will make a statement of his own within the next couple of days, which he will publish on his Facebook page." In addition to allegations of violence against his wife, Sidegård was suspected of physically abusing his daughters with a homemade bullwhip. The Swedish-language document detailing the Svea appeals court's decision to reduce Tobias' sentence can be downloaded as a PDF file at this location. Two separate Swedish media reports (in which Sidegård was not identified by name) from May 2013 regarding the allegations against the NECROPHOBIC frontman can be found by following these links: * Aftonbladet.se
03 min read

MOTÖRHEAD: ‘End Of Time’ And ‘Going To Mexico’ Songs Available For Streaming

Manos Spanos
Two more songs from MOTÖRHEAD's upcoming 21st studio album, "Aftershock", are available for streaming by following the links below. * "End Of Time": audio * "Going To Mexico": audio 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
03 min read

MEGADETH’s DAVE MUSTAINE With SAN DIEGO SYMPHONY: More Details Revealed

Manos Spanos
MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine will be a featured soloist with the San Diego Symphony in April 2014 in a program that will include Wagner's "Ride Of The Valkyries" from "Die Walküre", Vivaldi's "Winter" from "The Four Seasons" and Dvorak's Symphony No. 9 (the "New World" symphony). The classical special concert, billed as "Symphony Interrupted" will take place at Copley Symphony Hall in San Diego, California on Saturday, April 12 at 8:00 p.m. Ticket are on sale now at SanDiegoSymphony.org. In a recent interview with the Colorado Springs, Colorado radio station 94.3 KILO, Mustaine stated about the upcoming San Diego Symphony concert: "There's all kinds of classical songs that are really kind of scary kind of things. Like the 'Ride Of The Valkyries' and, you know, 'Fantasia', that one song 'Night On Bald Mountain' and, you know, the 'Hall Of The Mountain King', and certain songs like that that are, you know, they're really creepy songs. And I said that I would love to do 'Dave Mustaine interprets the dark classical ditties,' something like that. And we talked with the San Diego Symphony, and a friend of mine runs the San Diego Opera, and she talked to them, and they were all about it. And we went down there and met the maestro, Jahja Ling, whatever his name is. I can't pronounce his name worth a darn, but we met, and he was all about it. So we're developing the program right now. It's basically gonna be a symphony orchestra playing these really dark scary songs and me coming in and out of the performances playing guitar over it… It's gonna be really cool. I think it's exciting." Asked if the performance will be professionally filmed and recorded for future release, Mustaine said: "I'm sure they're gonna tape it. They're gonna want to tape it. You know, it's a symphony, so the building there is acoustically perfect. I mean, I don't know how loud I'm gonna be playing, but, you know, the great thing about orchestras is the majority of them aren't miked, because everything's acoustically tuned perfectly. So I think it'll be really neat."
02 min read

ANSELMO Says His Former PANTERA Bandmates Are ‘Greatest Musicians’ He Has Ever Played With

Manos Spanos
John Parks of Legendary Rock Interviews recently conducted an interview with former PANTERA and current DOWN frontman Philip Anselmo. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below. Legendary Rock Interviews: What surprised me about [your debut solo album] "Walk Through Exits Only" is that, with all due respect to DOWN and all of your other projects, this little blast of energy feels like the most out-and-out "fun" record you've been involved with since PANTERA's "Reinventing The Steel". Anselmo: Oh, thank you so much, brother; I really appreciate that. I appreciate that so fuckin' much. I wanted to show people a different side of the old sense of humor of me, in a way. There's a lot of tongue-in-cheek, sarcastic fucking things that I say on the record that could be taken one way or another. I think that sometimes when you listen to a band or a performer who's supposed to be very rebellious or anti-authority, sometimes it can be a bit of a letdown, so to have that shock value back in there. Take the songtitles, or the whole fuckin album title, "Walk Through Exits Only". I'm not the type of motherfucker that's gonna sit here and spoonfeed the fuckin listener. I'd rather have people take something and listen to it and make it their own, really. Sometimes I feel compelled just to write a line that could mean a hundred things to a hundred different people. Let me put it to you this way: I like to architect things lyrically and let people themselves finish the building I've begun, so to speak. Legendary Rock Interviews: I'm glad you mentioned the title track. That is just so fitting, and obviously, it could be interpreted as a classic "fuck you," but there's music history commentary and all sorts of other shit I'm reading into it as well. Anselmo: When you take the hook line from the verses, where I say, "It's ruined, everybody ruins music..." For me, it's, like, you're always gonna have your critics. You can name any band that puts out any record, it's gonna be loved and it's gonna be hated. Music's like food — you can love it or hate it or be indifferent to it or you grow to like it eventually. So I know that no matter what I did, I could have just fuckin' done a violin-and-spoon record with nothing but yodeling, and some people would have loved it and some people would have fuckin hated it. God knows we put a lot of effort into this record and all that, but still, at the end of the day, it's up to the people to make up their own minds as to how they take it. For me, it's like, fuck it. It's gonna be what it is and people are gonna feel they way they're gonna fuckin feel about it. What can I do about it? Nothing. Put one foot in front of the other and keep on fuckin truckin'; that's what I'm gonna do. Legendary Rock Interviews: You respect PANTERA's fanbase immensely. Do you ever feel like you are walking a line between understanding what it is they love about you and following your heart? Anselmo: Not at all, not at all, because honestly, for me, PANTERA is a sacred thing. It's a very sacred thing for fans and for myself, because the musicians that encompass that fuckin band are still, bar none, the greatest musicians I have ever played with, and I think that the approach to the songwriting is very, very different than anything I've ever done, especially because of that particular talent in PANTERA. So, it's a sacred thing and I've never, ever, ever gonna tried to take the place of a PANTERA and I never will.
05 min read

ICED EARTH: Lyric Video For ‘Plagues Of Babylon’ Title Track

Manos Spanos
North American metallers ICED EARTH will release their new album, "Plagues Of Babylon", for a January 2014 via Century Media Records. The cover artwork was created and illustrated by Eliran Kantor (TESTAMENT, ATHEIST, SIGH, ANACRUSIS, GWAR). Says ICED EARTH vocalist/guitarist Jon Schaffer: "This is a seriously heavy album with a seriously brutal album cover. I'm sure it will go down as a classic in the epic ICED EARTH catalog." "Plagues Of Babylon" track listing: 01. Plagues Of Babylon 02. Democide 03. The Culling 04. Among The Living Dead 05. Resistance 06. The End? 07. If I Could See You 08. Cthulhu 09. Peacemaker 10. Parasite 11. Spirit Of The Times 12. Highwayman The official lyric video for the "Plagues Of Babylon" title track can be seen below. Speaking to Metal4 magazine at the Rockharz open-air festival in Germany in July, Schaffer said about the upcoming CD: "It's a bit of a different thing for us, because it's half of a concept and the other half is [standalone] tracks. Musically, I think it's just another step in the right direction. It's really heavy, it's very melodic. It has a really epic feeling. Even though there isn't, like, a monster, long epic track, the overall feel of the songs is very epic. I mean, there's no 'Dante's Inferno' or 'Gettysburg' or the 'Something Wicked' trilogy or something like that on here, but I'm really happy with it." ICED EARTH recently parted ways with drummer Brent Smedley for "personal family reasons." He has since been replaced by Raphael Saini (CHAOSWAVE). ICED EARTH has been hitting it relentlessly, with the recent studio album, "Dystopia", being the most toured album in the band's illustrious history. One of the many highlights of the "World Dystopia Tour", a headline show at the historic Kour
02 min read

EPICA: ‘Unleashed’ Performance Clip From ‘Retrospect’ DVD

Manos Spanos
Dutch symphonic metal band EPICA celebrated its 10th anniversary with a one-night-only event, dubbed "Retrospect", on March 23 in Eindhoven, The Netherlands. The band was accompanied by the seventy-piece Reményi Ede Chamber Orchestra and the Miskolc National Theatre Choir, playing an unforgettable three-hour best-of set. According to respected Dutch newspaper the Volkskrant, "The band wrote a chapter of Dutch metal history" this evening. Rock Tribune (Belgium) thought it was "an unforgettable show." Ten high-definition cameras captured this very special sold-out show while EPICA played in front of nearly five thousand ecstatic fans. In addition to a collection of the band's biggest hits from across the spectrum of their entire catalog, this once-in-a-lifetime spectacular also featured the live debut of "Twin Flames" and the previously unreleased "Retrospect", covers of classics by Vivaldi, Pergolesi, and Oscar-winning film composer John Williams, two guest collaborations with the venerable Floor Jansen (NIGHTWISH, REVAMP), and a very special performance of their breakthrough single "Quietus" with founding members Jeroen Simons, Ad Sluijter and Yves Huts. On November 8, Nuclear Blast will release "Retrospect" as a deluxe hardcover book with 48 pages, both as a 2DVD/3CD and 2Blu-ray/3CD version. "Retrospect" will contain the following fan favorites: 01. Introspect 02. Monopoly On Truth 03. Sensorium 04. Unleashed 05. Martyr Of The Free Word 06. Chasing The Dragon 07. Presto 08. Never Enough 09. Stabat Mater Dolorosa 10. Twin Flames 11. Serenade Of Self-Destruction 12. Orchestral Medley 13. The Divine Conspiracy ~Anniversary Edition~ 14. Delirium 15. Blank Infinity 16. The Obsessive Devotion 17. Retrospect 18. Battle Of The Heroes & Imperial March 19. Quietus 20. The Phantom Agony 21. Cry For The Moon 22. Sancta Terra 23. Design Your Universe 24. Storm The Sorrow 25. Consign To Oblivion 26. Outrospect "Retrospect" features this massive performance in its entirety, as well as exclusive interviews with all band members and behind-the-scenes footage from the show. The "Unleashed" performance clip, taken "Retrospect", can be seen below.
02 min read

GODFLESH Forced To Postpone U.S. Tour

Manos Spanos
Reformed industrial metal pioneers GODFLESH have been forced to postpone their previously announced U.S. tour due to "visa issues." While they are very disappointed in this situation, they hope to see everyone out on the rescheduled dates, which are expected to take place in early 2014. GODFLESH released its first new recording in over 12 years through Decibel magazine's Flexi Series. A cover of the track "F.O.D. (Fuck of Death)" by legendary death thrashers SLAUGHTER (Canada) was included in the subscriber version of the magazine's November issue (streeting October 5). You can now stream the track at this location. In a recent interview with the French radio station Le 106, GODFLESH's Justin Broadrick stated about the band's forthcoming album — which is tentatively titled "A World Lit Only By Fire" and due in early 2014 — "It will be [musically] similar to the first two or three [GODFLESH albums]. I just think, like we're playing these shows, we feel very pure about we're doing and honoring the initial intentions with what we originally set out to do. Which, I think, like most bands and musicians and all the rest of it, by the time you get on to your fourth album, it's somewhat of a dilution going on to what you initially tried to achieve. It will definitely sound aggressive and it probably won't sound like any of the other records we've made, but it will have the minimalism of the first few records."
03 min read

IRON MAIDEN’s BRUCE DICKINSON Talks Next Album, Touring, Singing Technique And Outside Projects

Manos Spanos
IRON MAIDEN frontman Bruce Dickinson recently spoke to Argentina's Vorterix about the band's plans to record a new studio album, the touring life, his singing technique and his many outside projects, among other topics. A few excerpts from the chat follow below. (Thanks to MaidenRevelations.com for helping transcribe some parts of the interview.) On when IRON MAIDEN plans to release a new studio album: Dickinson: "Well, I mean, we are going to do another album. When we do it, I can't tell you." On whether any new material has already been written for the next IRON MAIDEN CD: Dickinson: "Actually I've written a load of stuff. You know, we're all writing little bits and bobs all the time. We'll see what happens, you know. But yeah, sure." On whether IRON MAIDEN plans to revisit its '90s material on its future tours: Dickinson: "We haven't got that far yet. Let's finish this one ['Maiden England'] first and see what happens next year. But yeah, I do not think MAIDEN fans are going to be too disappointed for too long." On how IRON MAIDEN has managed to avoid the excesses that came along with being a huge '80s rock band: Dickinson: "It's just kind of what we're like, really. I mean, I'm not saying that nobody in the band has ever tried or mucked around with smoking dope when they we're younger. Most kids have probably tried smoking dope. Most kids have probably tried a few other things that I've never tried.
010 min read