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MÖTLEY CRÜE’s VINCE NEIL: ‘We Have A Lot To Be Proud Of In This Band’

Manos Spanos
MÖTLEY CRÜE singer Vince Neil recently spoke to Atlantic City Weeklyabout the band's continued success after going through "more ups and downs" in their three-decade-long career "than an elevator" "This is a brotherhood," Neil said. "You have your ups and downs. But we always make it through. We love making music with each other. It's pretty simple. Anybody who has been in a band for a while can relate to what I'm talking about. We've had our share of rough patches. I was out of the band for a few years and so was Tommy [Lee, drums], but we all know that this band works best when it's the four of us together. We were younger when we went through some things and I think it helps that we're all older and wiser."? Speaking about the pedal-to-the-metal lifestyle MÖTLEY CRÜE has enjoyed since the mid-'80s days of rock and roll debauchery and Sunset Strip excess, Neil said: "You look at the drugs and the drinking and it's amazing that we're all still here. We survived some dark days. We could have died many times from many different things. We made it through it and now we're in control and we're not going to stop living. None of us have that death wish. I think we're a little smarter at this age."? Vince also confirmed plans for MÖTLEY CRÜE to make a film version of the band's biography, "The Dirt: Confessions Of The World's Most Notorious Rock Band", which will hit screens in the next year or two.?
02 min read

TRIVIUM: New Album Title Revealed?

Manos Spanos
According to ThrashHits.com, Florida metallers TRIVIUM have set"Vengeance Falls" as the title of their recently completed sixth album, due late summer via Roadrunner Records. The CD was produced byDISTURBED/DEVICE frontman David Draiman at a studio in Austin, Texas and was mixed by Colin Richardson, who has previously worked with FEAR FACTORY, MACHINE HEAD, NAPALM DEATH, SLIPKNOT andBULLET FOR MY VALENTINE. Speaking to Loudwire, Draiman explained how he came to be involved with the new TRIVIUM album. "We were talking about doing it for years," he said. "The first time it really came up definitively was when TRIVIUMwas supporting DISTURBED on an Australian run — this was after the 'In Waves' record had been out already and I thought they had taken some pretty huge strides with that record, melodically and in terms of the strength of their songs. It was then that I had some conversations with them like, 'You know, it would be a good idea for us to work together, because I think you guys have opened the door to something and you have incredible capabilities and I'd like to help you.' We had more and more conversations over the course of time, and they came through Austin, Texas, one time while they were on tour and I played them some songs from the DEVICE record and we talked a little more about really figuring out how to set this in stone and put a time together and we did. They started sending me material and I started sending them comments on the material, and we started communicating in a pre-production sort of fashion, online at first, then over the phone and then in at the end of the second week of January they came out to my house here in Austin. It was basically two weeks of intense pre-production — 11 a.m. to 11 p.m., six days a week — then about a month or so of tracking. Once we had finalized everything, we executed it rather quickly but there was a lot of work and prep involved. These guys learned a lot and grew a lot and has made a record that is going to be a defining moment in their career."
04 min read

BLACK SABBATH’s IOMMI Says He Will Probably Have To Get Cancer Treatment For Rest Of His Life

Manos Spanos
Guitar World magazine recently spoke to BLACK SABBATH guitarist Tony Iommi about the making of the band's new album, "13" — the first in 35 years to feature Tony, singer Ozzy Osbourne and bassist Geezer Butler. Asked what it was like working with legendary producer Rick Rubin, who is notorious for being very "in and out" of the studio while records are being made, Iommi said: Honestly, I didn't quite know what to make of him at first. His whole idea [of pre-production] was, 'Write the song. Call me when you think it's ready.' So I would. Actually, I'd email him, because I couldn't phone him ... nobody phones him. So I'd email him: 'Do you want to come down tonight?' And he'd pop in, have a listen, go, 'Yeah, I like that,' or, 'I don't like it.' We wanted him to be more involved, like, 'Well, what about changing that, or putting that bit there, or go to the A,' or whatever. But he was this elusive guy that we never really saw. But when we started recording, he was there all the time... lying on the bed with the microphone. [laughs] Blimey, what a strange guy. [laughs] His way of working was he'd have us playing it live in the studio like we did on the first album. We'd play the song a couple times, then Rick would say, 'Can you do it again?' After we'd finish, Geezer would be sitting next to me, and I'd say, 'That sounded all right didn't it?' And he'd say, 'It was a good one.' And Rick would go, 'Do another one.' [laughs] So we'd do another one, and another one, and then Rick would go, 'I think we've got it, but do you want to try another one to see if you can better it?' Ozzy would be sitting in the booth going, 'Fucking hell, we got to do it again?' [laughs]Rick definitely pushed us." Iommi also spoke about how when BLACK SABBATH first met with Rick, the producer sat the guys in the band down and played them the firstSABBATH record. "I understood the point he was trying to make," Iommisaid. "He didn't want an exact copy of that album, but he wanted the vibe of that album. Like, what if this album was the follow-up to 'Black Sabbath'? What would we have done? It's hard to wipe out 40-odd years and forget all the things we've learned. But I understood what he meant as far as creating the same vibe that the first album had, which was quite raw and natural."
07 min read

ICED EARTH To Record New Album In Germany

Manos Spanos
ICED EARTH mainman/guitarist Jon Schaffer (pictured below) has issued the following update: "There's a lot happening in ICED EARTH world at the moment. We are just a few short weeks away from getting together in Germany to rehearse the new songs for the upcoming album, 'Plagues Of Babylon'. We have a few weeks of rehearsal, then we start tracking the new album in between a string of festivals in Europe, and one in India, which we are all excited about, since it'll be our first time there. "Tracking will be done at a studio in Germany to try to keep the jetlag at a minimum. The numerous trips across the Atlantic during the 'Dystopia'recording were a bit brutal, so we are doing it smarter this time. If we stay on target, you will have the new album in October! It's a tight schedule, but we are intent on making it happen. I am very happy with the work so far, and it's only going to get better when we are all together cranking it out." ICED EARTH recently parted ways with drummer Brent Smedley for "personal family reasons." His replacement, Raphael Saini(CHAOSWAVE), will join the group on the road starting this summer. "I have family members that are elderly and frail and need my help here in Jacksonville," Smedley said in a statement. "It's been one of the hardest decisions of my life but I simply cannot commit to the kind of schedule the band deserves and requires so I decided to ask permission to step down from my post."
03 min read

DEATH ANGEL Completes Recording Lead Vocals For New Album

Manos Spanos
San Francisco Bay Area metallers DEATH ANGEL have completed recording the lead vocals for the follow-up to 2010's "Relentless Retribution" for an October release via Nuclear Blast Records. The band's seventh CD is being tracked at AudioHammer Studios in Sanford, Florida with Jason Suecof (TRIVIUM, AUGUST BURNS RED, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, ALL THAT REMAINS, WHITECHAPEL, DEVILDRIVER) and DEATH ANGEL guitarist Rob 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. "It was our idea all along to go directly into the studio following the end of [DEATH ANGEL's most recent] tour, without taking time off.
02 min read

‘DIMEBAG’ DARRELL ABBOTT Wax Sculpture Unveiled

Manos Spanos
According to The Metal Den, the Rock Legend Wax Museum in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada has honored "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott byunveiling a life-sized wax figure of the late PANTERA and DAMAGEPLAN guitarist. The figure was conceived by Mandy De Vere of Mangry Inc. and sculpted by local Niagara Falls artist Pasquale Ramunno exclusively for the museum. The "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott wax figure is on display from today (Saturday, May 25) at the Rock Legend Wax Museum.
02 min read

OZZY OSBOURNE Is Doing ‘Incredibly Well’ In His Recovery Following Drug And Alcohol Relapse

Manos Spanos
BLACK SABBATH singer Ozzy Osbourne is doing "incredibly well" after relapsing into drug and alcohol abuse for 18 months, according to his wife and manager, Sharon. Ozzy admitted that he relapsed into drug and alcohol abuse in a statement posted by the BLACK SABBATH singer on April 15 on his Facebook page. He wrote: "For the last year and a half, I have been drinking and taking drugs. I was in a very dark place and was an aasshole to the people I love most, my family. However, I am happy to say that I am now 44 days sober. "Just to set the record straight, Sharon and I are not divorcing. I'm just trying to be a better person. "I would like to apologize to Sharon, my family, my friends and my bandmates for my insane behavior during this period... and my fans. God bless, Ozzy."
02 min read

IRON MAIDEN’s ‘Trooper’ Beer Gets New Label In Sweden

Manos Spanos
The sale of IRON MAIDEN's Trooper beer was recently halted in Sweden by the country's state-run liquor store monopoly Systembolaget due to legal concerns over the skull and crossbones motif on the label. Independent U.K. brewer Robinsons, which created a real ale in partnership with heavy metal band IRON MAIDEN, has now released the following statement regarding the matter: "Due to local Swedish government alcohol and marketing act which do not allow elements of war, weapons or aggression to be featured on alcoholic product, we were unable to sell Trooper beer to our fans in Sweden unless we modified the label artwork. "As our first and foremost priority is for our Swedish fans to be able to enjoy Trooper beer, we amended the label by simply focussing purely on [IRON MAIDEN mascot] Eddie's face and are now very pleased to advise that the new label, currently exclusive to Sweden, has now been approved.
03 min read

JUDAS PRIEST’s ROB HALFORD: ‘I Would Love To Be In The ROCK AND ROLL HALL OF FAME’

Manos Spanos
In a recent interview with Music Radar, JUDAS PRIEST lead singer Rob Halford was asked if RUSH's recent induction into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame gave him some hope that PRIEST could be next in line to be honored. "I hope so, sure," Halford replied. "I think it's great. I would love to be in the Hall Of Fame. Are you kidding me? [laughs] I think we're worthy contenders. Without standing on a soapbox, I think we meet all of the credentials. If and when that moment comes up, we'll be tremendously honored, and we'd be in the company of the world's greatest musicians from all walks of life." He continued: "Getting into the Rock And Roll Hall of Fame is out of our control, really. We won't know that it's happening till it does. But I can tell you this: if it does come about, you'll see some very happy metalheads in the U.K. – and worldwide, too. It would be such an affirmation for PRIESTand metal music."
03 min read