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BLACK LABEL SOCIETY: First ‘Gigantour’ Tour Webisode

Manos Spanos
The first in a series of webisodes featuring behind-the-scenes footage from BLACK LABEL SOCIETY's participation in this year's Gigantour can be seen below. Also appearing on the bill are headliners MEGADETH, along with HELLYEAH, DEVICE, NEWSTED and DEATH DIVISION. BLACK LABEL SOCIETY's "Unblackened" DVD was shot on March 6 at Club Nokia in Los Angeles. The set is expected to contain intimate versions of some of BLACK LABEL SOCIETY's most popular songs, as well as songs from mainman Zakk Wylde's solo album "Book Of Shadows" and his Southern rock band PRIDE & GLORY. BLACK LABEL SOCIETY's "The Song Remains Not The Same" sold around 12,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 41 on The Billboard 200 chart. Released on May 10, 2011 via Entertainment One Music, the offering featured unplugged versions of material from BLACK LABEL SOCIETY's latest album, "Order Of The Black",
01 min read

Ex-SLAYER Fill-In Drummer: ‘It Was An Honor And Privilege To Be Part Of Their History Again’

Manos Spanos
Raquel Figlo of Heavy Metal Hill conducted an interview with drummerJon Dette (TESTAMENT, SLAYER, ANTHRAX, ANIMETAL USA) at Thomas Lang's Big Drum Bonanza, which was held July 3-7 at Drum Channel Studios in Oxnard, California. You can now watch the chat below. On doing double duty with SLAYER and ANTHRAX during this year's Soundwave festival in Australia: Dette: "Well, I had just gotten off tour [with ANTHRAX] before [the Soundwave] tour started, so I really familiar with… I had already been into their music, and just knowing it for so many years. And the same with the SLAYER thing. I had three days to rehearse with them before going to Australia to do that tour. But I had known the songs for years, and [since] I [previously] played with SLAYER back in the '90s, I was very familiar with playing those songs. And when I listened to them again, it was like riding a bike; it was like I'd never forgotten [how to play it]. Again, it just falls back to the fact that I'm such a fan that I listened to their music not just to try to learn the drumming; it was part of my daily [routine]… When I was listening to metal [most of the time], not even daily, but every hour; it was, like, non-stop. And those were the bands that I listened to:METALLICA, ANTHRAX, SLAYER, MEGADETH, TESTAMENT… So it's definitely helped as far as memory retention in learning the songs."
04 min read

DREAM THEATER: Revised Edition Of Authorized Biography To Cover MIKE PORTNOY’s Departure

Manos Spanos
Out of print for four years, the new release of "Lifting Shadows: The Authorized Biography Of Dream Theater" is now available to order. Publication will be in September but pre-ordered books will ship as soon as they are available. This paperback edition is fully updated by author Rich Wilson, featuring all-new interviews with the bandmembers and others. It covers the departure of drummer Mike Portnoy, the search for his successor and the group's subsequent return to recording and touring success.
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AS I LAY DYING Frontman: ‘Some Day I Will Be Able To Tell The Story Of All That Has Happened’

Manos Spanos
AS I LAY DYING frontman Tim Lambesis, who is out of custody on $2 million bond posted at the end of May after being arrested on suspicion of soliciting the murder of his estranged wife, has posted the following message on his official blog: "I've come across many comments, both private and public, asking me to explain more about my case or to explicitly state what my current worldview is. "First, I simply am not allowed to do either of those things.
03 min read

VENOM Putting Finishing Touches On New Album

Manos Spanos
British black metal pioneers VENOM are currently in the studio putting the finishing touches on their new album for an early 2014 release via Spinefarm Records. Commented VENOM drummer Danny "Danté" Needham: "The new songs are sounding amazing; the whole album has a great feel. "I'd say the strength of this band comes from our determination to create great music, and that comes from forward thinking, new ideas and fresh challenges."
01 min read

DAVE MUSTAINE Says EXODUS Would Have Been Most Qualified Candidate For Expanded ‘Big Four’

Manos Spanos
MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine recently spoke to Radio.com about the band's new album, "Super Collider"; almost hiring late PANTERAguitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abott to play in MEGADETH; and politics, among other topics. You can now watch the chat below. Asked which band should have included if the "Big Four" (METALLICA,MEGADETH, SLAYER and ANTHRAX) were expanded and considered the "Big Five", Mustaine said: "You know, people will say there's a whole another generation, like the 'Medium Four' [laughs], and I think there's a lot of great bands that fit that bill, too. But I think probably EXODUS, because there was nobody else at the time that had that kind of pull or that kind of importance in the metal community. Granted, it was with [lateEXODUS singer Paul] Baloff, and Baloff had a voice that you had to have an acquired taste for, but you know, I liked him." "Super Collider" sold 29,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 6 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD arrived in stores on June 4 via Dave Mustaine's new label, Tradecraft, distributed by Universal Music Enterprises (UMe). The effort is available as a limited-edition CD with 3-D cover and bonus tracks, regular CD, regular LP, limited LP plus a bonus colored seven-inch single with two bonus tracks, and a download voucher.
02 min read

ICED EARTH Guitarist On Singer STU BLOCK, Forthcoming Studio Album

Manos Spanos
Aniruddh "Andrew" Bansal of Metal Assault recently conducted an interview with ICED EARTH Guitarist/mainman Jon Schaffer. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below. Metal Assault: With your new singer, Stu Block, when the "Dystopia"album came out in 2011, a lot of peope were impressed by him and started accepting him as the new singer. But do you think it all got more solidified with the tour? And the people who missed the tour, they can check out the ["Live In Ancient Kourion"] DVD to hear and see what he's like on stage as the ICED EARTH frontman.
03 min read

MANOWAR: More ‘The Lord Of Steel Live’ Audio Samples Available

Manos Spanos
MANOWAR will release highlights of its "The Lord Of Steel World Tour"on a live EP, featuring performances from the Czech Republic, Finland, Germany, Italy, Russia and Sweden. "From the first show in Zaragoza/Spain to the last show in Yekaterinburg/Russia, 'The Lord Of Steel' world tour was a terrific experience," said MANOWAR bassist Joey DeMaio. "Performing new songs for the first time in front of your audience is the ultimate test of the power of the songs to connect to the only people that matter. Our fans were totally brutalized and went wild as you will hear on this new EP. 'The Lord Of Steel Live' is a thank you to our amazing fans; it will forever immortalize this tour and those who attended it."
04 min read

Video: NAPALM DEATH Singer Joins VOLBEAT On Stage At France’s HELLFEST

Manos Spanos
Mark "Barney" Greenway of British grindcore pioneers NAPALM DEATH joined Danish metal rock 'n' rollers VOLBEAT on stage on June 23 at the Hellfest in Clisson, France to perform the VOLBEAT track "Evelyn". Fan-filmed video footage of his appearance can be seen below. In April 2011 interview with Straight.com, VOLBEAT vocalist/guitaristMichael Poulsen spoke about Barney's appearance on the studio version of "Evelyn", which appears on the band's fourth album, "Beyond Hell/Above Heaven". "Writing a song like 'Evelyn' was my way of showing people that it was not only the '50s elements we were inspired by, but we were actually growing up with a lot of great metal bands," Michael said.
01 min read

DEATH ANGEL Completes Mixing New Album

Manos Spanos
San Francisco Bay Area metallers DEATH ANGEL have completed mixing the follow-up to 2010's "Relentless Retribution" for an October release via Nuclear Blast Records. The band's seventh CD was tracked atAudioHammer Studios in Sanford, Florida with Jason Suecof (TRIVIUM,AUGUST BURNS RED, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, ALL THAT REMAINS, WHITECHAPEL, DEVILDRIVER) and DEATH ANGEL guitaristRob Cavestany handling production duties. The cover artwork is being created by Brent Elliot White (JOB FOR A COWBOY, CARNIFEX,WHITECHAPEL), who also worked on "Relentless Retribution". Cavestany previously stated about DEATH ANGEL's upcoming album: "'Relentless' turned out the way we wanted, so we we're taking it to the next level with the same team… We had a blast doing the last record [atAudioHammer] and now we know each other better and how well we work together.
02 min read