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PHILIP ANSELMO Says METALLICA’s ‘Load’ Album Should Never Have Been Released: ‘It’s A Terrible Record’
Former PANTERA and current DOWN frontman Philip Anselmo talked about some of the records that have had an impact on his life for the "Discs Of Doom" article in the latest issue of U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine. Asked which album should never have seen the light of day, Anselmo replied: "I would have to say [1996's] 'Load' by METALLICA. I mean, it's a terrible record, man. I just don't get it. If you're gonna put out a record like that, just do a fucking side project or something, ya know?"
Anselmo first publicly critized METALLICA's "Load" in 2003, when he slammed the heavy metal giants for touring with supporting acts like LIMP BIZKIT and LINKIN PARK and challenging them to a road duel, head-to-head on any stage, telling an interviewer, "Heavy metal lies in the underground and if they're worried about... Why in the hell would METALLICA be worried about ticket sales? Bring out some fuckin' good bands." He explained: "That was due to a conversation [METALLICA frontman] James Hetfield and I had years ago when I was talking to him about their new album. I think that was when 'Load' was out, and it kind of shocked everybody — everybody was freaked out." Anselmo elaborated in a subsequent interview, claiming that METALLICA never would have shared a stage with PANTERA in the U.S. "because they know what would fuckin' happen. We would fuckin' eat them alive! That's the end of the fuckin' sentence. We would crush 'em." METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich responded to Anselmo's challenge by saying, "Is he that desperate to tour? I love all these challenges. The ol' step it up...," and adding that Anselmo "has a tendency to talk a lot of horseshit most of the time."
Anselmo appeared to soften his tone by the time DOWN and METALLICA toured together in 2008, and two years later, Anselmo told Ultimate Guitar that he considered METALLICA to be "THE ROLLING STONES of metal" in terms of career longevity.
In a 2013 interview with Revolver magazine, Lars Ulrich was asked what he felt was METALLICA's most underappreciated release. "I think 'Load' and 'Reload' [1997] are great records," he replied. "They are creatively on par with every other record we've made. Obviously, they're bluesier records, and at that time, we were listening to a lot of LED ZEPPELIN, DEEP PURPLE and AC/DC, and we had a different kind of foundation than records before or after. And I understand that there are people who couldn't quite figure out what was going on with the haircuts and the rest of it, and that's fine. But musically, if you strip all that other stuff away, if you just listen to the 27 songs — 'Load' and 'Reload' were intended as one double-record — it's a great collection of songs that is on par with everything else that we've done creatively. But, I mean, who needs another person to sit there and argue about, you know, fucking 'Carpe Diem Baby'? They are different records, but that was the intention. [Laughs] It's not like we sat there and thought we were remaking '…And Justice For All'. [Laughs] We are obviously aware of that. But I think personally there's great songs on both of those records and I'm very proud of those records."
FAITH NO MORE IS ‘CONSIDERING DOING SOMETHING NEW’
Bassist Billy Gould of the reactivated influential alt-metal act FAITH NO MORE has revealed to Classic Rock magazine that the band may begin work on a new studio album at some point in the not-too-distant future, explaining, "to do something creative would be a really good thing to do."
FAITH NO MORE recently hinted at the possibility of new music 17 years after the release of the band's last LP, "Album Of The Year", and debuted two new songs, "Superhero" and "Motherfucker" — when they supported BLACK SABBATH at London,'s Hyde Park on July 4.
"We're considering doing something new," Gould said. "[But] we're not going to go into a room and bang out a bunch of songs just to put something out; it has to to be right."
He continued: "Our relationships among ourselves are really positive at the moment, and to do something creative would be a really good thing to do. We're all at that stage. I mean, we're still the same people and there's still the same shit going on, but I think maybe we're a bit more appreciative of one another than we were fifteen years ago."
The group, which made a comeback in June 2009 with a headlining performance at the Brixton Academy in London, England and has played sporadic shows for the past few years, launched a new Twitter account and one of the first posts in May was as follows: "The reunion thing was fun, but now it's time to get a little creative."
"I think we still have a lot of potential to do really good things, and I think our heads, musically speaking, are in a really good space," Gould told Classic Rock.
"If anything is to come out of this, I'll probably have to be one of the instigators. But everybody has to want to do this or it doesn't happen.
"At this point, no one has a carrot or a stick to use on anyone else. If it comes together, it'll all be completely consensual."
FAITH NO MORE singer Mike Patton said in a 2012 interview that one of the reasons the band's reunion didn't happen sooner is the fact that they wanted to avoid making it feel like a nostalgia thing — like "Here's FAITH NO MORE again." "We wanted it to feel fresh and still somehow vital," he said. "It wasn't an money grab. It's funny to say, but we all kind of reconnected, and after quite a long time we all kinda looked at each other and were like, 'Man, we actually spent half of our lives together.' It's interesting to see it through that set of glasses as opposed to the ones you wore back then. I suppose, at least personally speaking, I've grown up a lot since then, and I think I approach the music differently, and I felt better about the music than I did then."
SUICIDAL TENDENCIES Bassist TIM ‘RAWBIZ’ WILLIAMS Dies
Long-running Venice Beach, California thrash/punk band SUICIDAL TENDENCIES has released the following statement:
"It's with complete sadness that we have to announce the passing of bassist Tim 'Rawbiz' Williams.
"Tim played bass for SUICIDAL TENDENCIES for almost four years until recently.
"Tim was a monster on bass, running around on stage in the pit, giving his all, even when his body wasn't at its best. We will always remember him and appreciate all the kind words by those that were touched by his bass playing and him personally."
Williams is credited with playing bass on only one song on SUICIDAL TENDENCIES' latest album, "13", which came out in March 2013. The first studio CD in 13 years from SUICIDAL TENDENCIES sold around 3,200 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 187 on The Billboard 200 chart.
In addition to playing with SUICIDAL TENDENCIES since 2011, Williams has worked with everyone from Toni Braxton to BOYZ II MEN to Keyshia Cole. According to Billboard, he also appeared on Sean "Diddy" Combs' 2009 reality show "Making His Band", which documented the hip-hop mogul's search for Diddy's backing group.
SLIPKNOT To Release ‘.5: The Gray Chapter’ In October
SLIPKNOT's fifth album, ".5: The Gray Chapter", will be made available on October 21 via Roadrunner. The CD will include 14 songs, plus two bonus tracks for the deluxe edition.
".5: The Gray Chapter" track listing:
01. XIX
02. Sarcastrophe
03. Aov
04. The Devil In I
05. Killpop
06. Skeptic
07. Lech
08. Goodbye
09. Nomadic
10. The One That Kills The Least
11. Custer
12. Be Prepared For Hell
13. The Negative One
14. If Rain Is What You Want
15. Override (bonus track)
16. The Burden (bonus track)
The official ".5: The Gray Chapter" pre-order can be found at this location.
You can see the cover artwork below.
"The Devil In I", the official first single from ".5: The Gray Chapter", can be streamed below. The disc follows up 2008's "All Hope Is Gone" and is the band's first without founding bassist Paul Gray, who died in 2010, and drummer Joey Jordison, who was let go late last year.
"The Devil In I" is more melodic and features cleaner vocals from frontman Corey Taylor, who told The Pulse Of Radio what the song is about. "'The Devil In I' is really about the war inside yourself," he said. "Trying not to give into defeatism, trying not to give into negativity, trying not to give up basically. It's a struggle. It's one of the hardest thing you can do, is to give in to that side of yourself."
SLIPKNOT issued and quickly fulfilled a casting call earlier in the month for fans — also known as "maggots" — to appear in the new video for "The Devil In I". The call for extras to appear as "human maggots," requiring that applicants be between 20 and 35 years old and "comfortable to be shooting in barefoot," was issued the weekend of August 16-17 and was no longer accepting submissions by August 18.
The shoot was scheduled to take place on either Friday (August 22) or Saturday (August 23) in the Los Angeles area.
Taylor told The Pulse Of Radio that the band's remaining members pulled closer together in the studio following Gray's passing. "It was almost like getting to know each other again," he said. "We were all kind of grieving in our own way and dealing with things in our own way, and knowing that we had to be healthy to go in, we had to be creative to go in, and knowing that we were gonna have to fill this huge void, we just kind of took it upon ourselves to make up for that emptiness by being a little bit of Paul. Like we were all a little bit of Paul in our own way."
Asked what has been most fulfilling about working on new SLIPKNOT music that he never experienced before, Corey told Full Metal Jackie: "This one, it just feels, there's something weird about this one. Obviously this is the first album we're making without Paul.
"After everything we went through, there's a catharsis that comes with this, being able to throw all the emotion and aggression out that we've been holding onto. At the same time, getting to be creative again. Feeling that juice coming back into us. It's been a real positive experience just from an artistic standpoint, a lyrical standpoint.
"We're making an album that's not just a reflection. Let's just get new music out there. There's something very vital with what we're trying to do. There's something very visceral with the emotion we're playing with and trying to tell the story of a band that's gone through hell, and yet we're back. It's been really fulfilling."
Corey recently described the musical direction of the new SLIPKNOT material as "a great mesh of [2001's] 'Iowa' and [2004's] 'Vol. 3: (The Subliminal Verses)'." He explained: "You've got the gorgeous melodies and the artistic direction of 'Vol. 3' and then you've got the absolute brutality of 'Iowa'. And I think people are gonna lose their minds when they hear it."
Reports have suggested that SLIPKNOT has recruited drummer Jay Weinberg to play on the new album and tour. Weinberg is the son of Max Weinberg, longtime Bruce Springsteen and the E STREET BAND drummer. There are also rumors that SLIPKNOT is no longer working with Donnie Steele, the group's original guitar player who has been playing bass for SLIPKNOT since the band resumed touring in 2011.
SLIPKNOT announced in December 2013 that it had parted ways with Jordison. The band has not disclosed the reasons for Jordison's exit, although the drummer issued a statement in January saying that he did not quit the group.
The video for "The Negative One", w
Defunct Post-Metal Rock Band ISIS Changes Name Of Facebook Page After Being Mistaken For Terrorist Group
According to ABC News, defunct post-metal rock band ISIS has changed the name of its Facebook page from "ISIS" to "Isis the band" to avoid being confused with the militant Islamic group ISIS.
The rockers, which have been inactive as a band for the past four years, recently began getting "off-color comments" on their Facebook page from individuals who believe the musical act's ex-members are associated with the Islamic terrorist group, which claimed responsibility for beheading American journalist James Foley.
ISIS — which refers to itself as the Islamic State — has been described in a New York Times editorial as "a Sunni Muslim group [which] practices a perverted, nihilistic version of Islam that does an extreme disservice to millions of Muslims, both Sunnis and Shiites, pursuing more peaceful and purposeful lives."
"It certainly caught us off guard," Aaron Harris, the band's former drummer, told ABC News.
"Fans have emailed us that they're reluctant to wear our T-shirts now and we've also gotten some off-color comments," he added.
"Just like our fans, we've been watching the news in disbelief. We haven't commented on it because we haven't been an active band since 2010, even though our music does live on. We maintain our Facebook page to keep people up to date on our current musical projects."
Former ISIS members Aaron Harris, Jeff Caxide and Clifford Meyer partnered with Chino Moreno (DEFTONES) to form PALMS, whose debut album was released last year via Ipecac.
ISIS' final studio album was "Wavering Radiant", released by Ipecac in April 2009.
MARTY FRIEDMAN Explains Decision To Leave MEGADETH: ‘I Just Couldn’t Go On Anymore’
In a brand new interview with Wondering Sound, former MEGADETH guitarist Marty Friedman explained his decision to leave the band in 1999 in order to make the kind of music that he was passionate about: Japanese pop music, or J-Pop, which Friedman calls "embarrassingly happy."
"I found myself touring with MEGADETH, and in my hotel room I'd be blasting this Japanese music all the time. What's wrong with this picture?" he said.
As his interest in J-pop grew, Friedman started enjoying MEGADETH less. "I thought I was doing myself a disservice just playing the same old stuff and not really enjoying it," he told Wondering Sound. "Making money from fans who want to see you play when you're not into it didn't really sit right with me."
According to Marty, he simply outgrew metal, explaining that MEGADETH's music began to bore him, and he singled out the band's popular ballad "A Tout Le Monde" as an example.
"The melody's like duh duh duh duh, duh duh duh duh. It's kind of the same thing over and over again," he told NPR in a separate interview. "I'd go play the show at night with MEGADETH. And I'd be like, you know, what what I'm listening to is just so much more exciting than what I'm playing as my gig."
Friedman told his MEGADETH bandmates that he would leave the group at the conclusion of a 16-month-long tour, but "only stayed three more months." He explained to Wondering Sound: "It was just too much. I'm the kind of guy who can't fake it that well. It wasn't very nice, but I just couldn't go on anymore."
Focusing on the J-Pop genre, Friedman noted that going for the opposite of metal was the whole point.
"There's not a whole lot of happy music going on," he told NPR. "Especially in the heavy metal world, where everybody's just trying to out-lame each other, you know, with darkness and monsters and crap like that."
Marty's new solo album, "Inferno", sold around 2,100 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 186 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was released on May 26 via Prosthetic Records (except in Japan, where the album was made available through Universal Music).
"Hyper Doom" video:
DAVE LOMBARDO Says Current SLAYER Lineup Is Missing That ‘Certain Magic’
Former SLAYER and current PHILM drummer Dave Lombardo was interviewed on episode 110 of the "Let There Be Talk" podcast with rock and roll comedian Dean Delray. You can now listen to the chat using the SoundCloud widget below. A few exceprt follow below (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET).
On the musical chemistry of the original SLAYER lineup:
Lombardo: "I appreciate the nucleus of the band. Like [John] Bonham. When Bonham was part of [LED] ZEPPELIN. When his son [Jason] took over, oh my God. C'mon. Really? I have respect for Jason and for what he's done, but when he put a double-bass pedal on a single bass drum, that just blew it for me. It's, like, 'Really, dude? Your dad was about single bass.'
"There is a certain magic — just like with SLAYER, just like with AC/DC with Bon Scott — there's a certain magic when you have those musicians and nobody could replace that. Nobody. That's it. You can't. Yeah, SLAYER's new drummer [Paul Bostaph], yeah, a lot of fans like him. But there's that magic. It's chemistry. It's like when you meet a girl and you two get along really well, and it's like a chemistry; it's something special. Same thing with the band: you get these four guys, [and] they may hate each other, but on stage, there's magic. And that's what's missing, I personally believe."
On the business disagreements that led to his latest departure from SLAYER:
Lombardo: "It's not just [guitarist] Kerry [King] and it's not [bassist/vocalist] Tom [Araya]. It's who handles all the external business.
"I don't wanna get into it too much… I just wanted things to be fair for not just myself, but for the band. Because I was noticing that the band was getting shafted. And it was bad.
"You see, when I go on stage and I perform, I perform with all my heart. When I go up there, it's like I'm going to war. It's blood, sweat and passion.
"When you do the math, it didn't make sense. You don't need a fucking college degree to do some simple mathematics. And when my attorney and I, we did the math, and we demanded the documents that were necessary to back up what my deal was about, red flags were popping up everywhere.
"I mean, my statement [explaining my side of why I sat out SLAYER's Australian tour in early 2013] on Facebook is clear. And it's still there, because if it wasn't true, I'd probably be sued for defamation of character. So, no. It's true and it's backed up by fact, and it's why it's still up there.
"All that shit, when it's all said and done, I can't go on stage and know that my bandmates, as well as myself, aren't being compensated for the work that we're doing. 'Cause we're out there, we're the ones out there, travelling, we're the ones sweating, peeling off our clothes that are just fucking full of sweat. And it's, like, 'Really? This is it?' So it just didn't make sense. Especially when you see other bands that are as successful as we are, especially during the 'Big Four' [shows that we played with METALLICA, MEGADETH and ANTHRAX]. And to see how SLAYER was travelling and how everyone else was travelling, it was kind of weird. [I was, like] 'What's going on here?'
"It's all good. If they wanna work with that organization, then so be it. But, hey, I'm a punk, and I'll always be a punk and I'll never [be a whipping boy]. Absolutely fucking not. I'm not gonna be that. So that subject, fuck it."
On SLAYER's late guitarist Jeff Hanneman, who passed away in May 2013 from alcohol-related cirrhosis of the liver:
Lombardo: "I have text messages [from Jeff]… The last text was, like, a month before he passed. 'Cause I wanted to get together with him to discuss what was happening with SLAYER. He wasn't happy at all. He'd text and go, 'What the fuck is going on, Dave?'"
On whether Jeff was still getting money while SLAYER was out on the road with Gary Holt (EXODUS) filling in:
Lombardo: "[Laughs] Yeah. Yeah, he was, but who's to tell how much? He didn't know a lot of things that were happening, like the other guys didn't either. And it was a surprise to him.
"I wanted to get together with him to discuss what was happening to me and to fill him in what I had discovered. But we weren't able to get together. And there was a time where we were gonna get together and chat, and he said, 'Dave, I had a medical scare. I can't get together. We had a couple of medical scares.' Whatever it was. I think it was leading up to liver failure.
"We saw it coming. The years leading up to the spider bite, the drinking was getting heavy — very, very heavy. Including, I mean, Kerry as well. I mean, there was one show in Holland, [Kerry] said his equilibrium or something with his hearing, but I think it was that tall glass of vodka that he poured himself before getting on a ferry in London, and he splashed it with Coke. So here we have a large, 32-ounce fucking… a full bottle of vodka with a splash of soda. You're gonna wake up the next day and you're gonna tell me it was, 'Oh, my hearing. Something with my hearing. I couldn't stand up straight.' No, you were fucked up, man. [Laughs]"
On playing two songs with METALL
Interview: Opeth (Martin Axenrot)
"Pale Communion" is definitely one of the most anticipated records in 2014, like every time Opeth are about to release a new album. Just a few hours before thei...
SAVATAGE To Reunite For Appearance At Next Year’s WACKEN OPEN AIR Festival
Classic American metal band SAVATAGE, which was active from 1978 until 2002, will reunite for an exclusive European appearance at next year's edition of the Wacken Open Air festival, set to take place July 30 - August 1, 2015 in Wacken, Germany. Also scheduled to appear at the event is TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA, the project founded by SAVATAGE mastermind Jon Oliva and producer/composer Paul O'Neill.
SAVATAGE guitarist Chris Caffery wrote on his Facebook page: "Our friends at the Wacken festival announced that SAVATAGE will be finally playing again! Wacken 2015! Both SAVATAGE and the TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA will make an appearance. SAVATAGE will close the festival that night following TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA's first-ever European festival appearance."
He added: "I have been waiting for them to announce this for a few weeks. It was hard to keep it a secret! Yes, legion, our patience has finally paid off."
First confirmed acts for Wacken Open Air 2015:
SAVATAGE
TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA
RUNNING WILD
IN FLAMES
IN EXTREMO
U.D.O. (special orchestra show)
SABATON
AMORPHIS (special "Tales From The Thousand Lakes" show)
DEATH ANGEL
POWERWOLF
ENSIFERUM
KATAKLYSM
CANNIBAL CORPSE
SEPULTURA
THYRFING
A trailer for the festival can be seen below.