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HELLYEAH Parts Ways With Guitarist, Bassist; Announces ‘Blood For Blood’ Album Details

Manos Spanos
HELLYEAH has parted ways with guitarist Greg Tribbett (MUDVAYNE) and bassist Bob "Zilla" Kakaha (DAMAGEPLAN). A replacement bassist in the shape of Kyle Sanders (BLOODSIMPLE) has been secured. HELLYEAH's fourth studio album, "Blood For Blood", will be released on June 10 via Eleven Seven Music. The CD was helmed by producer Kevin Churko at his The Hideout Recording Studio in Las Vegas, Nevada. Churko is the Canadian musician, sound engineer, songwriter and record producer who has previously worked with OZZY OSBOURNE, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH and IN THIS MOMENT, among other acts. According to a press release, "Blood For Blood" is "a welcome return to form. It leaves a mark, thanks to songs like the angular, vengeful 'DMF', a song birthed by the sort of anger that can't be faked; it will leave you wondering who pissed these guys off. 'Gift' is dirty, rowdy rock with equal parts groove and swagger, but also possessed of the sort of punk rock energy that would make MOTÖRHEAD fans turns their heads. Then there is moodier, more contemplative fare like 'Moth' or 'Hush', which connect on an emotional, cellular level, proving that you can be incredibly heavy in ways other than loud and fast. The album sounds like a recharged HELLYEAH, taken up many notches." "Blood For Blood" track listing: 01. Sangre Por Sangre (Blood For Blood) 02. Demons In The Dirt 03. Soul Killer 04. Moth 05. Cross To Bier (Cradle Of Bones) 06. DMF 07. Gift 08. Hush 09. Say When 10. Black December The first single off "Blood For Blood", "Sangre Per Sangre (Blood For Blood)" will hit rock radio in April and will be available for sale, along with the metal radio track "Cross To Bier (Cradle of Bones)" on March 25 on all digital music platforms. The band will hit the road in the USA this spring. In a recent interview, drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott (formerly of PANTERA and DAMAGEPLAN) stated about HELLYEAH's plans for the next CD: "Everything [Kevin has] ever done is great. I feel like he really made Ozzy sound fresh again, [on 2007's] 'Black Rain' especially. Sonically, [Kevin's] records are unbeatable, and he gets the best out of every band. "We produced our last three albums ourselves, and we really feel like we did a good job on all that. But we feel it's time to have an outside ear, somebody to give us an extra opinion; to be the sixth member of the band, so to speak. That extra dude that drags everything out of you." Vinnie also revealed that the new record's overall sound would "continue in the direction" of 2012's "Band Of Brothers", which represented the first time that the members of the band fully embraced their musical roots. "The first two records were pretty experimental for us," Vinnie explained. "We really stepped outside of the box and did a lot of things that we couldn't do in PANTERA or MUDVAYNE or NOTHINGFACE; songs like 'Alcohaulin' Ass' just wouldn't fly in those bands. It was really liberating to be able to do that, and touch on some rock and roll, some blues, almost country southern rock, stuff like that. But with 'Band Of Brothers', we really wanted to get back to our roots and felt like it was time for all of us to bring the different things we brought to our previous bands into HELLYEAH, and not be afraid of it." HELLYEAH's first three albums were laid down in Dallas, Texas at Vinnie Paul Abbott's home studio, VP's Upstairs Studio. HELLYEAH took part in last year's edition of Gigantour, the critically acclaimed package festival founded in 2005 by MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine. Also appearing on the bill were headliners MEGADETH, along with BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, DEVICE, NEWSTED and DEATH DIVISION. "Band Of Brothers" sold 19,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 19 on The Billboar
04 min read

GHOST’s PAPA EMERITUS II ‘Dresses Down’ For MUSIC FEEDS In-Studio Performance (Video)

Manos Spanos
Swedish occult rockers GHOST, who toured Australia recently with the Big Day Out, dropped by the Music Feeds studio in full clergymen attire to perform "Ritual", a cut from their debut full-length album, 2010's "Opus Eponymous"; "Year Zero", a song from their second full-length album, 2013's "Infestissumam"; and a cover of Roky Erickson's classic track "If You Have Ghosts". The latter song's progressive-rock undertones are emphasized by the strong vocals of GHOST frontman Papa Emeritus II, who dressed down slightly for the occasion. Check out the footage below. GHOST's covers EP, "If You Have Ghost", sold around 5,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 87 on The Billboard 200 chart. Issued on November 19, 2013 via Loma Vista Recordings, the five-track EP was recorded and produced by Dave Grohl (FOO FIGHTERS, NIRVANA), and includes cover versions of songs by ROKY ERICKSON, ABBA, ARMY OF LOVERS and DEPECHE MODE, plus a live version of the GHOST offering "Secular Haze", recorded in Brooklyn earlier this year. Outside North America (with the exception of Scandinavia), Spinefarm Records is the new releasing partner for Loma Vista on all GHOST recordings, including the new EP and previous album. Spinefarm releases are distributed through Caroline/Universal in all territories, including the U.K., where the EP was made available on November 18, 2013. "If You Have Ghost" is available on CD, 12-inch vinyl and digitally. Those who pre-ordered the EP received an instant free download of "Secular Haze - Live". The track listing for the effort is as follows: 01. If You Have Ghosts (ROKY ERICKSON cover) 02. I'm A Marionette (ABBA cover) 03. Crucified (ARMY OF LOVERS cover) 04. Waiting For The Night (DEPECHE MODE cover) 05. Secular Haze (live at Music Hall Of Williamsburg In Brooklyn, NY) GHOST was forced to modify its name in the U.S. to GHOST B.C. for "legal reasons.
02 min read

DOYLE WOLFGANG VON FRANKENSTEIN Says He Will Work On Reuniting Original MISFITS Lineup

Manos Spanos
Doyle Wolfgang Von Frankenstein — the former guitarist of both the old and new MISFITS and current leader of his own horrorcore/metal band simply called DOYLE — says that he is intent on reuniting MISFITS' original lineup for a tour and possible new album. The original MISFITS band broke up in 1983, and bassist Jerry Only brought forth a new version of the MISFITS in 1995. Various members have come and gone, but Only, along with BLACK FLAG's Dez Cadena, has kept some form of the MISFITS in the recording studio and on the road for most of the last two decades. After the original MISFITS disbanded, vocalist Glenn Danzig went on to form SAMHAIN and then the eponymous DANZIG. Several albums of reissued and previously unreleased material were issued after the group's dissolution, and their music became influential to punk rock, heavy metal, and alternative rock music of the late 1990s and early 2000s. "I'm the only one that's gonna get the original lineup back together," Doyle said in an "Idol Worship" interview Alternative Press arranged between him and BLACK VEIL BRIDES frontman Andy Biersack. "So I think I'm going to work on that, and hopefully I can pull the two bulls together and get them to fucking stop." He continued: "You know what? I've just decided this week that I am going to make an attempt, and I wanna do it. I'll put what I'm doing right on the fucking side. I'll go do it tomorrow." Doyle also spoke about previous meetings he, Danzig and Only had had in 2002 discussing a possible MISFITS reunion, plans for which were aborted when an unknown party leaked the news. "It didn't happen and it's a shame," Doyle said. "It's stupid that we're not doing it. It would be huge." In a 2011 interview with RollingStone.com, Only stated about the prospect of reuniting with Danzig: "I would say that if Glenn went and got baptized again, maybe we could talk. "The thing is, I know Glenn, and he's very much about what he's doing. I've seen that. And me, I'm very much about what I'm doing, and I wouldn't want to — I don't want to say the words 'watered down' — but I wouldn't want to take away from the enthusiasm that we're running on with these new projects. These new projects are, in my opinion, a pinpoint on a laser beam of MISFITS thought. "Doing it with Glenn may work on a short-term basis. I could see us getting together and lining up a bunch of big festivals and a bunch of big shows. But then, when you think about it, where would it leave you when you're done? It wouldn't leave you in a position where your credibility would be half as good as it is. Sometimes it's better to be small and secure than it is to be extremely large and totally volatile. And I think our fans are owed the respect of one thought and one vision, and it's not a parade or a circus for the rest of the world to throw money at. I'd rather be touring happy than rich and miserable." Speaking to Eric Blair of "The Blairing Out With Eric Blair Show" in November 2010, Only had the following to say about Glenn Danzig: "I like Glenn; I never really disliked Glenn as a person. But we do have a lot of influence on people and I won't — for profit or for fame — jeopardize the safety of my fans to make money and to promote something that I don't think is right for them. Glenn got into this whole Satanic outlook and I wouldn't throw that on my kids and I won't do that. If Glenn wants to go to church and repent, I guess we're good to go. "I don't think Glenn is the devil, and I think he kind of promotes himself as the devil, and, to me, that seems absurd. It just seems to me that if kids are buying all this crap, it's like [he's] marketing something that shouldn't be marketed, in my opinion. I'm not about that. I was brought up totally Catholic with my grandmother. I see these kids at the show — they look up to me. We keep a clean program; we don't party, we don't drink, we don't have hookers in here and all that stupid shit. We're a family band, and we kind of keep the American dream nice and solid and real. And the kids like that . . . I'm not saying that Glenn is anti all that stuff, it's just that when you have albums [with titles like] 'Son Of Satan' and all this kind of stuff, it's a message that a lot of kids may take the wrong way and a lot of kids may get hurt because of it. And a lot of kids may argue with their parents over the subject matter that they're bringing into the house and have a bad relationship with their folks. Why? Is that something I would want to impose upon them? Make them have a bitter relationship with their parents over my music? No. "The thing is you can go see a horror film — something really gory and bloody and all kinds of stuff — and have a good time with your friends. It doesn't mean you're gonna behave as such. And that's the difference between me and Glenn — Glenn is trying to impose the behavior aspect upon the people in real life. And thing is we're a sci-fi band — we've got subject matter from here to Kingdom Come — and we don't need that. "Glenn's very talented. I don't think that musically we're in the same zone anymore. But look, I've got a lot of respect for Glenn. I always thought that Glenn had a lot of talent. And I just think that Glenn... I don't wanna say he's misguided, but I think that he's got a message that's not productive for the people who get it." In a 2008 interview with Riverfront Times, Danzig stated about the possibility of a reunion of the original MISFITS lineup: "It's not gonna happen… People had talked about it. But nothing ever happened with it… It never even
06 min read

MEGADETH Pulls Out Of SOUNDWAVE Festival After DAVE MUSTAINE Fails To Get Apology From Promoter

Manos Spanos
MEGADETH has canceled its previously announced Australian tour dates after the promoter allegedly erroneously blamed the band for removing former METALLICA bassist Jason Newsted's new project, simply called NEWSTED, from the billing of MEGADETH's "off" dates during this year's Soundwave festival. A number of news outlets reported last week that NEWSTED had been taken off MEGADETH's side shows in Sydney and Melbourne while touring Australia on the annual Soundwave trek. The festival organizers claimed via Twitter that Jason Newsted's band was removed from the dates "at the request of MEGADETH." However, MEGADETH tour manager Jim Carroccio denied this, telling ABC New Radio: "[MEGADETH mainman] Dave Mustaine is not responsible for booting NEWSTED off [the Soundwave festival 'off' dates]. Dave did not put [Jason] on the bill and did not take him off the bill." He added: "Dave submitted a list of bands he was comfortable with and the promoter ignored the list. "Dave and Jason are friends [and] this has blown up into something silly." Earlier today (Sunday, February 9), Mustaine released the following statement via the official MEGADETH Facebook page: "Due to circumstances beyond its control, unfortunately, MEGADETH has to cancel their Australian dates. "MEGADETH's decision is unrelated to the fact that Jason Newsted is performing at Soundwave. Jason and I spoke recently and continue to be friends." Mustaine added in a separate posting an hour later: "All I asked for was an apology for blaming me for something I didn't do. I am still willing to play, but the promoter would rather not apologize and prefers to say I asked him to lie, which I didn't. "Am I the only one that sees how easy it is to fix this? "[Australian touring mogul and Soundwave promoter] AJ Maddah that I know is a wise and caring man, and I don't know what has happened to my old friend. "My bags are packed, Aussie fans." Maddah has since responded to Mustaine via the following series of tweets: "Dave, we have been friends for a long time and I love you. Your family is like my own. But the only people being punished here are the fans. "We took instructions from your representatives and we acted on those instructions, as we would with any other artist. "I realise that you fired your agent and manager and appointed new ones during the process… And that there may have been misunderstandings or miscommunications, but none of those were at our end. "Despite [all] of this, I sent you a statement regarding possible misunderstandings / miscommunications, apologising to fans, etc. … even though my people did everything by the book and correct protocol was undertaken getting approvals for supports. There are strings of emails supporting this, including ones forwarded with instructions to remove certain artists. "I am not sure where and how you believe you are owed an apology. And if you are, it should be from your own reps! "All you are doing by cancelling is punishing the fans who have had no part in any of this. "Your reps approved your supports and sent clear instructions. They even approved artwork and press release. "If you have a quarrel, or you were not consulted, then your issue is with your reps and not Australian reps or your old friend! "So here it is, Dave. I apologize for whatever slight you think I have done you. "So, does this mean tour is back on?"
05 min read

HANNEMAN HONORED IN POLAND

Manos Spanos
According to CentrumDruku3D, a traffic circle in Jaworzno, a small city in Poland, has been renamed after late SLAYER guitarist Jeff Hanneman. The official sign unveiling, which took place yesterday (Thursday, Febraury 6), was made possible thanks to the Polish company Art-Com Sp. z o.o. (Art-Com Ltd.), which won the charity auction during the world-famous Wielka Orkiestra Swiatecznej Pomocy (Great Christmas Aid Orchestra). For one year, the traffic circle in Jaworzno will be called Jeff Hanneman's Circle Pit. A message on the official sign that is displayed at the traffic circle reads as follows: "Jeff Hanneman's Circle Pit - unforgettable SLAYER guitarist "During the XXII Final of The Great Orchestra Of Christmas charity, the President of Jaworzno put up for auction the traffic circle in the city centre, which was later auctioned by Art-Com Ltd. The company could give the name to the traffic circle and became its 'symbolic' owner for the period of one year. The money gathered during the XXII Final of The Great Orchestra Of Christmas charity was allocated for the purchase of specialized equipment for children's emergency medicine and deserving health care of seniors." A two-minute video report on the official sign unveiling from Dla Ciebie TV can be seen below. Jeff Hanneman died last year from alcohol-related cirrhosis of the liver. He is credited for writing many of SLAYER's classic songs, including "Angel Of Death" and "South Of Heaven". The guitarist, who passed away in Los Angeles on May 2, 2013, had actually not been playing with SLAYER for more than two years since he contracted necrotizing fasciitis, also known as flesh-eating disease, from a spider bite in his backyard in January 2011. The infection ravaged the flesh and tissues of Hanneman's arm, leading to numerous surgeries, skin grafts and intense periods of rehab that forced him into semi-retirement and left him near death at several points. Hanneman's last appearance with SLAYER was in April 2011, when he played an encore with the band at the "Big Four" concert in Indio, California. jeffhannemancirclepit1_638
02 min read

MACHINE HEAD To Enter Studio This Weekend

Manos Spanos
San Francisco Bay Area metallers MACHINE HEAD will enter GREEN DAY's Oakland, California's JingleTown Recording compound on Sunday, February 9 to begin recording their new album for a late 2014 release via Nuclear Blast Entertainment. Comments MACHINE HEAD frontman Robb Flynn in the latest installment of his online blog, "The General Journals: Diary Of A Frontman... And Other Ramblings": "Looking forward to this; it's gonna be a fun album to record. "We have some really, really strong songs, powerful songs. "There's no question it's going to be a big project. So with big projects come big expectations and sometimes big 'issues,' but the feeling in the band, the feeling BETWEEN the band, is so positive we're chomping at the bit to get started. "We know it will be a big undertaking but we're up for it. We're ready. "We're approaching two decades of recording and releasing our music to you. Let that sink in for a minute... because it definitely causes me to pause. "Most bands do not get to make music for as long as we have and flourish. Most bands do not get to build an 'army' of fans and friends. We have, and for one of many reasons, we refuse to rest on our laurels. There's no getting complacent at this stage of the game. Good isn't good enough, it has to change the world, it has to dent the universe. You won't care if it's anything less. We're putting in the long, hard, boring hours of work that it takes to make something truly special. "And I have to mention it again; the feeling of four guys pulling together, four guys all on the same page, four guys all on the same team, man... it is an amazing feeling. I can't remember a time when the band was this locked-in mentally, physically, and spiritually. "There's still a waaaaays to go before we're done, a few songs still getting wrapped up musically / lyrically... "But yeah, it begins... this weekend." He adds: "As I mentioned last week, we will be releasing the 'demo' version of 'Killers & Kings' with a B-side of the IGNITE classic 'Our Darkest Days / Bleeding', on 10-inch vinyl for Record Store Day worldwide. "For those of you who don't know, Record Store Day is a day to support the local mom-and-pop record stores. Often bands will release limited-edition items exclusively to these stores, it never ends up in the big chains. It helps support the little guys, and if you can't make it to the store, you can still order if from them online. We back it 100%. "Yesterday we put the first of four 10-inch album covers that will be released. Four Tarot cards in total. "More covers coming next week. "It's the first time since our debut album that we've actually released demos 'before' an album. Since that album, we've only done it after the fact, and I really am excited about doing beforehand. "I remember selling the six-song MACHINE HEAD demo at our early shows. We'd sell it in the parking lots of metal shows like drugs. I even brokered a deal overseas to have the demos sold and they did extremely well; it helped create a buzz over there. "This demo version of 'Killers & Kings' is not-finished. Shit, I'm still 'scattin'' some the lyrics, meaning = making it up as I go! I think it's cool that you can hear that. "I'm not sure why the idea of releasing demos before a record stopped. I always loved hearing demos before a record came out. "I think what happened is that record companies got scared that people wouldn't buy the record if they didn't like the demos. I know, for me, I wanted to hear new music no matter what. If I was crazy about the band, I searched far and wide to hear anything they had, demos, bootlegs, rehearsals, videos, the more I found, the better. It's like I went on a journey with the band. Listening to the songs evolve, or not evolve, change or not change. "I love that journey! I hope you do too, 'cause we're about to take you on a crazy fucking journey. "Are you ready?" Other tentative songtitles set to appear on the new MACHINE HEAD album include "Beneath The Silt", "Ojos De La Muerte", "Sail Into The Black" and "Night Of The Long Knives". MACHINE HEAD's most recent studio release, 2011's "Unto The Locust", entered The Billboard 200 chart at position No
04 min read