News
MIKE PORTNOY: BLACK SABBATH Without BILL WARD Is ‘Not A Reunion’
Drummer Mike Portnoy (THE WINERY DOGS, DREAM THEATER, AVENGED SEVENFOLD, ADRENALINE MOB) was interviewed on the latest edition of former RIP magazine editor and veteran music journalist Lonn Friend's "Energize With Lonn Friend" podcast.
Commenting on BLACK SABBATH's decision to record and tour without original drummer Bill Ward, Portnoy said: "Here's my issue with it. I have no issue if Bill Ward is not fit to play in SABBATH, as they're saying. Or I have no issue with it if they're having money litigations and problems and they couldn't agree on something that was fair. My issue is that they're calling it a BLACK SABBATH reunion. It's not a BLACK SABBATH reunion without the four of them. It is now just the latest BLACK SABBATH lineup.
" He continued: "Why is this BLACK SABBATH, but HEAVEN & HELL wasn't BLACK SABBATH? I mean, we all know the real reason for it. But it's not a true BLACK SABBATH reunion without Bill Ward. And if they need to do it without Bill, then they do it without Bill. But don't call it a reunion. It's just BLACK SABBATH 2013.
" Portnoy, who co-founded DREAM THEATER more than 27 years ago, abruptly quit the band in September 2010 while on tour with AVENGED SEVENFOLD. He has since been replaced by Mike Mangini (ANNIHILATOR, EXTREME, JAMES LABRIE, STEVE VAI).
SONATA ARCTICA Parts Ways With Bassist, Announces Replacement
Finnish melodic metallers SONATA ARCTICA have parted ways with bassist Marko Paasikoski.
Says Marko in a statement: "I have come to a situation in my life where being a part of a touring band is not an option for me anymore and it's time to explore other things.
"I wish to thank all the fans and my bandmates for all the good times, great shows and adventures that we have had over the last decade. The memories from this time will stay with me forever but at the moment I don't have the motivation or the passion that is required to be in the band so it's better for all parties involved that we go our separate ways. I wish all the best for the guys."
Added the remaining members of the band: ""We understand Marko's decision and this is, of course, a thing that we have talked about during the last tour. We appreciate Marko being a stand-up guy and finishing up the 'Stones Grow Her Name' world tour. Thank you, Marko, for all these years and best of luck and fortunes with your future endeaveurs. We'll miss you, bro.
"Our new bass player is Pasi Kauppinen (SILENT VOICES, ex-REQUIEM, WINTERBORN). We've known him for many years and he has mixed both our DVDs as well as recorded parts of our last three studio albums. He will join the band starting with the upcoming album.
"SONATA ARCTICA will start rehearsing in September and enter the studio in October. The new studio album will be out next spring with a world tour to follow."
According to Timo Isoaho of Finland's Soundi magazine, SONATA ARCTICA vocalist Tony Kakko has written around 50 songs for the follow-up to 2012's "Stones Grow Her Name", with plans to track and mix the effort over a three-month period.
MICK MARS Says His Health Is Not The Reason For MÖTLEY CRÜE’s Retirement Plans
MÖTLEY CRÜE guitarist Mick Mars has dismissed reports that his poor health is partly to blame for the band's decision to retire from touring.
In a recent interview with the Oakland Press, CRÜE singer Vince Neil said that Mars' ongoing battle with Ankylosing spondylitis, a painful form of chronic arthritis that causes vertebrae in the spine to fuse together, as well as the band's desire to "go out on top" were the primary reasons for CRÜE's revelation that they will call it quits after 2015. "It's just time," Neil said. "Mick's health is not that good, and touring is tough on him. I'm sure in five, 10 years' time, we'll probably do something together again, but it's not gonna be like a KISS farewell to the farewell to the farewell tour. We're not gonna be like that."
He added: "We want to go out on top. We don't want to be one of those bands that people are like, 'Oh, they're playing a little club now.' We still sell out arenas and do stadium shows and stuff like that, and that's how we want to be remembered."
However, in a posting on his Twitter account, Mars painted a different picture, claiming that his medical condition had never affected his playing. "Any rumors regarding a farewell tour due to 'my poor health' are BS," he said. "I am doing fine, my AS has never kept me from touring and never will."
MÖTLEY CRÜE will return to Las Vegas for an exclusive twelve-show engagement September 18 through October 6 at The Joint at Hard Rock Hotel & Casino.
DEVIN TOWNSEND Has ‘No Interest’ In STRAPPING YOUNG LAD Reunion
Aniruddh "Andrew" Bansal of Metal Assault recently conducted an interview with renowned Canadian multi-instrumentalist, singer, songwriter and producer Devin Townsend. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
Metal Assault: The last time we did an interview, it was September of last year and at the time you were telling me about this "Retinal Circus" show that you were going to do soon after. Here we are almost a year later, and you're soon releasing a DVD of that show. First of all, for you what was that experience like, doing that show in London?
Devin: It was basically every emotion sort of wrapped up into one. Being perfectly honest, overall it was a really good experience but it was fraught with technical hurdles and I didn't actually recognize what we had done until I started editing it. In hindsight, it's great but at that time it was just a lot of stress.
Metal Assault: What kind of technical problems did you face?
Devin: Well, the ideas that I typically have for "Retinal Circus" or "Ziltoid" or any number of projects that I do are usually on such a scope that there's no feasible way you can do it with the amount of money and time that we usually have. "Retinal" was an extreme version of that. There were a 100 people in our performing group, we had a day and a half worth of rehearsal, and overall, we did achieve what I had hoped to achieve from the show, but to get it to that point it was chaos. You can imagine when there are a 100 people, including circus performers, choir members and people that had no connection to what I've done or to the music itself. They had to become familiar with the music and being on our stage, and all these things that went into this three-hour performance. We had props, we were playing songs we'd never played before, and I think there were 50 or 60 wireless units going. Something as simple as trying to find the frequencies for the wireless units became a challenge when we had to go and do it amidst the chaos of pulling off something that was so bizarre. For me, on a personal level, narcissistic to the point of nausea, it was a heck of a thing! But ultimately, for me it was a success. I tend to be hyper-aware of what I do and what it is that I project into the audience, I real awkward sort of quasi-nerdy thing. So by doing "Retinal", which was so awkward and so nerdy, it allowed me to kind of liberate that. It's what people are going to say now,
DEFTONES Have Learned To Take Important Breaks From Touring
David Deco Oosthuizen of The Metal Review conducted an interview with DEFTONES members Frank Delgado (turntables, keyboards) and Sergio Vega (bassist) prior to the band's August 10 performance at the Oppikoppi Festival 2013 in South Africa. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
The Metal Review: Tell us about what's been happening with the band since your latest album, "Koi No Yokan", launched back in November 2012.
Frank: Well, our touring schedule has been hectic, of course, but we have learned after many years to take some important breaks more frequently as needed. We all have family, so these breaks are more important perhaps than in our younger years, so it all works out.
Sergio: For me, regular time home helps to balance all the important things in our lives. For "Diamond Eyes", for instance, we used to do three months solid touring runs, which were awesome, as we were tight and cooking as a band, but it did create a sense of distance with our families, so balance is very important.
The Metal Review: Guys I have to ask, with the tragic passing of Chi Cheng on April 13, years after his 2008 accident which left him in a coma, it obviously affected you as a band. How have you managed to cope and come to terms with this sad event when it comes to the writing of new material?
Frank: For us, the creative process and our music are organic and when we get into the st
LEAVES’ EYES: ‘Symphonies Of The Night’ Cover Artwork Unveiled
LEAVES' EYES — the German/Norwegian band formed by ex-THEATRE OF TRAGEDY singer Liv Kristine Espenaes Krull and members of ATROCITY — has completed work on its new album, "Symphonies Of The Night", for a late 2013 release via Napalm Records. The CD is being produced by Liv's husband, ATROCITY singer and LEAVES' EYES co-vocalist Alexander Krull, at his Mastersound Studio in Germany.
Says LEAVES' EYES: "We couldn't be more proud of the final result.
"Expect this album to be the heaviest and most epic LEAVES' EYES experience to date: it will haunt you, even in your dreams.
"We're also proud to unveil the cover of 'Symphonies Of The Night', designed by our longtime friend Heile [Stefan Heilemann].
"Be aware of more information concerning the album, release date and upcoming tours soon!"
SOILWORK: Deluxe Edition Of ‘A Predator’s Portrait’ Due In October
Swedish metallers SOILWORK will release a lavish deluxe version of their 2001 classic breakthrough album "A Predator's Portrait" on October 18 in Europe and October 15 in the U.S. The effort will be reissued as a digipack with an all new artwork and will contain two previously unreleased live bonus tracks.
Commented drummer Dirk Verbeuren: "I view 'A Predator's Portrait' as a milestone in several ways. It's our first recording for Nuclear Blast, still our home to this day, six albums later. It marks the first time Björn 'Speed' Strid pushes his vocal talents into the melodic realm. And it concludes the early SOILWORK years, with follow-up 'Natural Born Chaos' starting something new and different altogether.
"Now that we've come full circle with our ninth album, 'The Living Infinite', the time is right to revisit 'A Predator's Portrait'. This ultimate re-release comes with re-imagined artwork by original cover artist and SOILWORK keyboardist Carlos Del Olmo Holmberg as well as two live renditions of classic 'A Predator's Portrait' tracks performed by the band's current lineup during the 2013 North American Infinity tour. "Enjoy this piece of pure Swedish melodic mayhem!" A picture of the digipack can be seen below.
BLACK SABBATH Bassist On ’13 3D’ Maze: ‘It Will Probably Frighten Us All To Death’
Michelle Mills of the San Gabriel Valley Tribune recently spoke to BLACK SABBATH bassist Geezer Butler about the making of the band's new album, "13" — the first in 35 years to feature Geezer, singer Ozzy Osbourne and guitarist Tony Iommi — and their current North American tour.
"For the first time in years, we're finally doing some new material on stage with the new album we've got out," Butler said. "It's a definite change for us because it's the first time in 30 years that we've actually come up with something new and the crowd is really loving it. It's good playing it and it fits in really well with the old stuff."
Butler also talked about the physical demands of touring and how being on the road has changed over the years.
"We take it a lot easier now — we do one show on and then we have a day off," Butler said. "So we only play every other day and that keeps the whole thing much fresher instead of wearing ourselves out."
Regarding the songwriting process for "13", which earned the band its first No. 1 album in the U.S., Butler said: "In the past, we'd just go to a rehearsal situation and jam until we came out with something that we liked and then we'd work on that. But this time was different because when we got together, Tony had about 40 or 50 different riffs that he had written, so we were able to pick some of those riffs and immediately have a starting point on them."
JUDAS PRIEST Completes Writing New Album
Singer Rob Halford of British heavy metal legends JUDAS PRIEST spoke to Billboard.com about the progress of the songwriting and recording sessions for the band's long-awaited follow-up to 2008's "Nostradamus".
"The writing process is complete," he said. "Now it's the painstaking work of making sure that you get every single note, every single nuance of the vocal, every tiny aspect...right. We're still tracking (instruments). It's just a very laborious but enjoyable part of making the record."
Regarding the sound of the new PRIEST material, Halford said, "[It's] hard. It's heavy. It's something we think our PRIEST fans will be thrilled with. We know we have a reputation to maintain, and we know we have to deliver something really strong and solid. The album is going to be full of all the great things you love about JUDAS PRIEST — I don't think I can say anything more than that without being hung, drawn and quartered."
In an interview with VH1 Radio Network's Dave Basner, Halford spoke about what fans can expect from JUDAS PRIEST's next release: "We felt it was very important to follow up 'Nostradamus', the last release, and that was a concept experiment and it was a real success for us and the fans loved it, but I think our fans and ourselves as a band, we want to get back to the side of PRIEST that we haven't heard for a few years and reemphasize and remake those big, heavy metal statements again." ]