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SEPULTURA: Third ‘Mediator’ Album Trailer Available

Manos Spanos
The third trailer for "The Mediator Between Head And Hands Must Be The Heart", the new album from Brazilian/American metallers SEPULTURA, can be seen below. The CD will be released on October 25 via Nuclear Blast Records. The artwork was created by Brazilian artist Alexandre Wagner, who specializes in charcoal drawing techniques. Guitarist Andreas Kisser commented on how he discovered the work of Alexandre Wagner. "It was through Silvio Bibika, who was my roadie for a long time," he said. "He always shows me things in general that SEPULTURA might need. Alexandre, who is from Belo Horizonte,Silvio showed me a year ago. So before we went to the United States, to record the album, I was at his house to talk about the cover, tell him the album title, talk about the concept of the film 'Metropolis', so he could do something original. But when I saw the picture with the drawing, I thought it was all about what we wanted and we did not need something new. I asked him to do a tribal S in the style of the cover. The S made by Alexandre will be on the back cover." Said Alexandre: "I did this series of charcoal drawing work when I still lived in Belo Horizonte. They were all made there. They were quick drawings without much reference, almost an experimentation that may have came from a desire to use the most basic of basic materials — coal, paper and wood. The cover design was already done, Andreas saw it and liked it. We talked a little more and I also sent some other pictures for the booklet. I was pleased with the choice of the theme of the album, I like Fritz Lang very much, and not only 'Metropolis'. 'Dr. Mabuse der Spieler' is a fucking great movie." As a Mineiro, from Belo Horizonte like SEPULTURA, Alexandre was glad to be part of the band’s history. "It's impossible to be from Belo Horizonte and not know the band," he said. "Some of their albums followed me for a long time, especially 'Chaos A.D.' I remember seeing'Refuse/Resist' on TV and thinking it was wonderful. It’s really cool to work with the guys, being part of something together. It is somehow a shared history." "The Mediator Between Head And Hands Must Be The Heart" track listing: 01. Trauma Of War 02. The Vatican 03. Impending Doom 04. Manipulation Of Tragedy 05. Tsunami
06 min read

LACUNA COIL To Perform Entire ‘Karmacode’ Album At METAL FEMALE VOICES FEST

Manos Spanos
MetalSymphony.com recently conducted an interview with singer Cristina Scabbia of Italian heavy rockers LACUNA COIL. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below. MetalSymphony.com: Could you give us some hints about the new album? Title(s), themes… Maybe it's a bit early yet… Cristina: It is definitely too early… We are arranging the lyrics these days and we are still recording the music. Obviously, I know a lot of details but… let's wait a little bit more! I can tell you that it will be a very… cinematic and dark album, in the vein of "Dark Adrenaline", but even more intense and heavier at times. We also have one special song that deeply touches me. MetalSymphony.com: As you usually do, you've been touring in the U.S. once again. Do you consider there's some point at which you feel more supported in the U.S. than in Europe? What can you recall of this last tour? Cristina: I think we pretty much have the same support from both sides of the ocean. The States are bigger so when we tour there, tours are longer and we need to stay there a lot, but we also have a great following in Europe. I am so happy about the fact that we can connect to so many people I've never even met. Music is magical. MetalSymphony.com: Next October you'll join the line-up of the Metal Female Voices Festin Belgium. After 11 years of this festival, what do you think it still has to offer to the audience? Cristina: The bands are quite different every edition so there is always a surprise in terms of newcomers or new shows given by the most known acts. If you like bands fronted by women, this is definitely the place to be, and is also something unique in the world! MetalSymphony.com: On your side, what will you offer Metal Female Voices Fest's audience? Last year you were there to celebrate its 10th anniversary. Will this year's show be different from that one? Will you gift us with a new song maybe? Cristina: We played last year and it was a success, so we've been invited again and decided to do something we've never done before, play one complete album from the past. We will be playing ALL the songs from the album "Karmacode", plus some more… Read the entire interview at MetalSymphony.com.
02 min read

HELLOWEEN Singer’s BAD BANKERS Project: Debut Album Details Revealed

Manos Spanos
HELLOWEEN singer Andi Deris has returned with his first solo album since 1999. Not so much a solo effort in its original sense, but recorded in a band envoirement to achieve a real band feeling, "Million Dollar Haircuts On Ten Cent Heads" will be released on November 22 viaearMUSIC. Written and composed by Andi Deris himself, "Million Dollar Haircuts On Ten Cent Heads"has a crispy, modern sound to it. The diverse, high-class production is snotty, dirty and brutally honest and is described in a press release as "a healthy mixture of HELLOWEEN's recent records combined with 'Master Of The Rings' tradition (Andi's first HELLOWEENalbum)." Recorded together with his band BAD BANKERS, "Million Dollar Haircuts On Ten Cent Heads" sees Deris criticizing the economic system and its corruption. Although the topic may seem a bit dull, the heavy guitar riffs and Deris' recognizable voice clearly make a point: "fuck banks, fuck managers, fuck bankers." He explains: "Obviously we despise everything around banks, managers and bankers who are clearly responsible for the shit that goes on nowadays (and most certainly in our future), so it felt very good to vocally tell them what we think about them. Sure, therefore it's highly explicit but hey… who gives a fuck? That's what they deserve... and it helps the music to really kick some ass."
03 min read

BLAZE BAYLEY: ‘Hatred’ Video Released

Manos Spanos
"Hatred", the new video from the British heavy metal singer Blaze Bayley (IRON MAIDEN,WOLFSBANE), can be seen below. The track is one of two new songs that are featured onBlaze's career-spanning double-disc collection, "Soundtracks Of My Life", which is due for release on October 31. The track listing is as follows: Disc 1 01. Man Who Would Not Die 02. Ghost In The Machine 03. Stare At The Sun 04. Robot 05. Kill & Destroy 06. Silicon Messiah 07. The Brave 08. The Launch 09. King Of Metal (remixed by Rick Plester) 10. Rainbow Fades To Black 11. Samurai 12. Blackmailer 13. Watching The Night Sky 14. Speed Of Light 15. Soundtrack Of My Life Disc 2 16. Russian Holiday (acoustic feat. Thomas Zwijsen) 17. Clansman (acoustic feat. Thomas Zwijsen) 18. Voices From The Past 19. Tenth Dimension 20. Blood And Belief 21. 10 Seconds 22. Leap Of Faith 23. Tough As Steel (Blaze version) 24. Comfortable In Darkness 25. Living Someone Elses Life 26. The Day I Fell To Earth 27. Motherfuckers R Us 28. Wonderful Life (SINNERGOD feat. Blaze Bayley) 29. Hatred (new song) 30. Eating Children (new song) All songs have been remastered by Rick Plester. Says Blaze: "This double-disc set contains 30 recordings that have been very important to me in my life and 30-year career. Some of the songs included have not been widely available before. I have also had time to write two new songs with Rick Plester (former BLACK SYMPHONY guitarist). The set will come with a 28-page booklet and slipcase. Artwork is byAndreas Sandberg, who also did the artwork for 'King Of Metal'." Pre-order options: * Silver package - £15: Album signed * Gold package - £17: Album signed + your name in CD booklet * Platinum package - £25: Album signed + your name in CD booklet + 40-page book "Albums Of My LIfe" + your name in book + fridge magnet + button badge + certificate There will only be 300 copies of the platinum package available. The "Albums Of My Life"book will contain rare photos, tour dates and autobiographical account of the recordings, written by Blaze. This book is only limited to the Platinum package and will not be sold separately afterwards.
03 min read

EDDIE VAN HALEN Sues CONTRACTOR

Manos Spanos
According to TMZ.com, legendary guitarist Eddie Van Halen is suing a contractor for allegedly messing up a remodeling project at the musician's Los Angeles home. In the lawsuit, which was filed on Monday (September 30) by Van Halen's family trust, Eddieclaims that he hired the Troy Builders Group five years ago for a remodeling and construction project on his home. But the guitarist says there were several major problems with the work, namely the waterproofing, including poor drainage, a leaky roof and chimney and badly installed gutters. They led to water entering the home, which caused the house to suffer mold damage — including to the elevator shaft in the home — and resulted in Eddie having to spend more than $1 million in repairs. Van Halen is suing the builder for the money he is out plus interest.
01 min read

GENE HOGLAN: Teaser For ‘The Atomic Clock: The Clock Strikes Two’ DVD

Manos Spanos
A teaser for "The Atomic Clock: The Clock Strikes Two", the forthcoming DVD from legendary extreme-metal drummer Gene Hoglan (TESTAMENT, DEATH, STRAPPING YOUNG LAD, DARK ANGEL, DETHKLOK), can be seen below. In a recent interview with Metal Assault, Gene stated about what fans can expect to see on the forthcoming disc: "Well, I managed to get licenses to a lot of songs that I've played. We put together a small track listing of me playing along to the actual recorded versions of a lot of people's favorite tunes. "On the next one, I'm getting even more licenses, but on this one I've included a bunch of bands that I've played for and still playing for. That's the notable difference. "On the first "The Atomic Clock", I didn't get any licenses so I merely played to the bandMECHANISM, which at the time was my main focus. I even played two instrumental tracks ofMECHANISM as opposed to playing the whole song. This time I'm not playing instrumental tracks except for one from one of my more popular bands, but I've got all the basic instrumental backing tracks and I'm playing along to those as opposed to having all the vocals, samples and everything else on it. For the most part, that's a major difference and that's really exciting, seeing myself play to actual recorded tracks to some of these cool bands. "It's in the stages of editing right now. It's coming along great; it looks better than the last one and way more pro. It's an improved version of the last one. I'm still pretty light-hearted in it and I don't take myself real seriously. It's got a lot of footage that the last one didn't have. So I'm sure people checking it out will see that it's definitely a departure from the first one. That was done on a shoe-string budget, pretty much all by myself, but for this one I've got a team of experts helping me with it." Earlier this week, Gene announced a few of the tracks that will be included on the DVD: * TESTAMENT - "Rise Up" * MELDRUM - "A Toast To Romance" * GALAKTIKON - "On My Way" * STRAPPING YOUNG LAD - "Skeksis" The jam-packed DVD is available for pre-sale now, with several awesome package options.
03 min read

IGOR And MAX CAVALERA To Form ‘Metal Version Of THE WHITE STRIPES’

Manos Spanos
Former SEPULTURA drummer Igor Cavalera has told The Guardian that he will form "a metal version of THE WHITE STRIPES" with his brother, fellow ex-SEPULTURA and currentCAVALERA CONSPIRACY bandmate Max. Igor, 42, who has been living in England with his wife Laima Leyton since last October, says that the idea for the new project came from producer James Murphy — DFA Records' head honcho and ex-LCD SOUNDSYSTEM frontman. "James Murphy approached me with the record idea, but eventually suggested some others,"Igor said. "To start with, he wants only the two of us in the studio, like a metal version of THE WHITE STRIPES. He also wants nothing but the two of us on stage. "He basically asked me to get rid of the rest of the band. CAVALERA CONSPIRACY has four members and two records. Murphy asked us to start from scratch as a duo. According to him, 'this will come to be the heaviest record of our careers.' He promised me that." He continued: "The last time my brother and I played together as a duo was back home, when we were still teenagers learning how to play in our bedrooms. I had some pieces of an old drum and he had his guitar. This new project feels as though my brother and I are coming back home, 30 years later." Igor's main focus continues to be MIXHELL, the DJ/hip hop/electro project also featuring his wife. Igor left SEPULTURA in June 2006 due to "artistic differences." His departure from the band came five months after he announced that he was taking a break from SEPULTURA's touring activities to spend time with his second wife and their son (who was born in January 2006). In 1996, Max Cavalera exited SEPULTURA after the rest of the band fired Max's wife Gloriaas the group's manager. Igor and Max's CAVALERA CONSPIRACY project released its sophomore album, Blunt Force Trauma", in March 2011 via Roadrunner Records.
02 min read

Guitarist KIRK WINDSTEIN Exits DOWN

Manos Spanos
Guitarist Kirk Windstein appears to have exited DOWN in order to focus "100%" on his other band, CROWBAR. Windstein is not taking part in the songwriting sessions for the next DOWNEP and is being replaced in that band by longtime DOWN stage manager and HONKY founding guitarist Bobby Landgraf. Writing on Facebook, Windstein said: "For months now, I have been posting that I am concentrating on CROWBAR 100% FULL TIME… "2014 marks the 25th anniversary of CROWBAR and it's a great feeling to put my heart and soul into something that I created so long ago. "We are entering the studio on December 16 to record our 10th full-length record. Look for a late spring release on eOne. "See y'all on the road with CROWBAR!!!" Added Landgraf in a separate posting: "Feeling very lucky to have this gig with DOWN. It wouldn't be the same without Kirk Windstein's blessing. He is Riff Lord and the newCROWBAR will be amazing." DOWN bassist Pat Bruders recently left CROWBAR and was replaced in the latter band byJeff Golden. Said Windstein in a new Facebook posting: "I will say it again… With my decision months ago to focus 100% on CROWBAR, Pat resigned as our bassist, and I respect his decision because it's impossible to give 100% to two bands. I am giving my ALL to CROWBAR as he is giving his ALL to DOWN. There is no animosity… no drama… Just great music being written by all, and that sounds pretty awesome to me!"
01 min read