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Interview: Mahakala (Jim Kotsis)

Panagiotis Karagiannidis
Mahakala; a band that made a spectacular impact on the Greek music scene. Metalpaths recently caught up with Jim (bass,vocals) to talk about everything and everyone; from the debut album of the band to the line up changes and from the massive live shows to his side-project Black Soul Horde.
07 min read

SEPULTURA: Entire ‘Mediator Between Head And Hands’ Album Available For Streaming

Manos Spanos
"The Mediator Between Head And Hands Must Be The Heart", the new album from Brazilian/American metallers SEPULTURA, is available for streaming in its entirety using the SoundCloud widget below. The CD will be released on October 25 via Nuclear Blast Records. SEPULTURA guitarist Andreas Kisser recently gave the Brazilian newspaper Diario de Pernambuco a track-by-track breakdown of "The Mediator Between Head And Hands Must Be The Heart". Check it out below. "Intro" Andreas: "Actually, the intro is the demo we did just before we went to the studio, with all the songs played at the same time! It's like you are listening to all the songs that you will hear separately on the album at once. It sounds so great, noisy and powerful and it was a result of an accident that I had on my computer. Each song had its track so when I accidentally played the tracks together they came strong and beautiful so I decided to show the guys and they all liked it!" "Trauma Of War" Andreas: "This will be the first song on the album and is one of the fastest and most brutal songs we ever did. The performance of our drummer, Eloy [Casagrande], is fantastic, it gave such an energy to the song that the guitars, bass and vocals had to top that level of brutality, for sure our strongest opener so far. I wrote the lyrics inspired by friends that went to war and came back with some kind of trauma, some kind of disturbance that they have to live with for the rest of their lives." "The Vatican" Andreas: "An ironic tribute to the conclave that elected Argentinian Pope Francis I as the successor of Benedict XVI. This track has some death metal influences. The lyric tells the story of how the Vatican was created, filled with blood, orgy, murders, corruption, adultery. It's one of the most evil and perverse lyrics I ever wrote." "Impending Doom" Andreas: "Song with a very slowed tempo, with heavy picks and a low-tuned rhythm. Its nickname was 'Puxada', because of the guitar's riff characteristic. This track is very heavy. The lyrics are Derrick's [Green, vocals]. And it talks about cursed inheritances that are left from generation to generation. What world we are going to leave for ours heirs?" "Manipulation Of Tragedy" Andreas: "Another of Derrick's lyric. Talks about collective manipulation through a culture of fear, creating tragic and drastic situations in order to justify certain decisions made by the governors, legitimizing some limitations to the society. The manufactured consent. The song was born from Eloy's double-bass drumming rhythm. It sounds very SEPULTURA, with influence from several periods of the band." "Tsunami" Andreas: "Derrick wrote the lyrics for it, part inspired by the natural phenomena and part by the 'tsunami' of information we receive nowadays through the worldwide web and the media in general. A tsunami is the most powerful force of nature, stronger than any earthquake, tornado or a storm. It simply destroys everything in its path. The result is total destruction but also total cleanup, a new beginning." "The Bliss Of Ignorants" Andreas: "Derrick's lyric. It's about the illusion created in society that we are free to do whatever we want, but, in fact, it is not like that. Freedom is limited and part of the society lives under ignorance, euphoric, without awareness of everything that surrounds us. The song opens with percussive drum, low tuning and groovy sound. Its nickname was 'Brasuca'. It's kind of a mix of 'Roots' and 'Chaos A.D.' rhythm. Ross [Robinson, producer] influenced us to explore more this Brazilian side. With participation of percussionist Fred Ortiz (BEASTIE BOYS' former drummer who plays with Derrick in MAXIMUM HEDRUM)." "Grief" Andreas: "It is a song that starts with clean guitars in a way that we never attempted before, I think it was our biggest challenge on this album and it came out amazing. I wrote the song inspired by a tragic incident that happened in Brazil in January 2013. More than 200 kids died in a fire inside a night club. The place didn't have the proper emergency exits and most of the people died asphyxiated, it was horrible. The small town at the south of the country, where most of the people were from, was in total grief. I wrote this song to honor the victims and their families." "The Age Of The Atheist"
07 min read

SLASH On Possibility Of GUNS N’ ROSES Reunion: ‘If It Happens One Day, It Happens’

Manos Spanos
Legendary guitarist Slash stopped by the "Larry King Now" studio last week for a taping with Larry King. Several clips from the show can now be seen below. Asked if there is any possibility of a reunion of the classic lineup of GUNS N' ROSES, Slash replied: "That's the $64,000 question. But it's not something that any of us have reached out to each other and said that we wanted to do thus far. So, rather than be a pessimist and say, 'No, it'll never happen,' it's not like I'm harboring a lot of resentment. But it's not something that we're all thinking about doing. So if it happens one day, it happens. If it doesn't, I don't think anybody's, you know, losing any sleep over it." Slash told Rolling Stone in April 2012 that GUNS N' ROSES frontman Axl Rose "hates my guts." The two have not performed together since 1993. Rose currently tours with a completely different version of GUNS N' ROSES featuring no original members but him. During a 2009 interview with longtime friend and former road manager Del James, first published on Spinner, Rose called Slash a "cancer."
01 min read

Video: Original KISS Members ACE FREHLEY And PETER CRISS Perform Together For First Time In 13 Years

Manos Spanos
Original KISS members Ace Frehley (guitar) and Peter Criss (drums) reunited on stage for the first time in 13 years last night (Wednesday, October 23) during the all-star jam at the 30th-anniversary party for VH1 Classic "That Metal Show" co-host Eddie Trunk's radio show at the Hard Rock Café in New York City. Drummer Mike Portnoy (THE WINERY DOGS, DREAM THEATER) served as the musical director for the event, which featured additional performances by members of GUNS N' ROSES, ANTHRAX, ACCEPT, TNT, TWISTED SISTER and OVERKILL, among others. The setlist for Eddie Trunk's 30th-anniversary-party all-star jam was as follows: 01. Captain Nemo (MSG) * Mike Portnoy (THE WINERY DOGS, DREAM THEATER) - Drums * Billy Sheehan (MR. BIG, THE WINERY DOGS) - Bass * Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal (GUNS N' ROSES) - Guitar 02. Diamonds And Rust (JUDAS PRIEST) * Mike Portnoy (THE WINERY DOGS, DREAM THEATER) - Drums * Billy Sheehan (MR. BIG, THE WINERY DOGS) - Bass * Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal (GUNS N' ROSES) - Guitar * Tony Harnell (TNT) - Vocals 03. Burn (DEEP PURPLE) * Mike Portnoy (THE WINERY DOGS, DREAM THEATER) - Drums * Billy Sheehan (MR. BIG, THE WINERY DOGS) - Bass * Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal (GUNS N' ROSES) - Guitar * Tony Harnell (TNT) - Vocals 04. Restless And Wild (ACCEPT) * Mike Portnoy (THE WINERY DOGS, DREAM THEATER) - Drums * Billy Sheehan (MR. BIG, THE WINERY DOGS) - Bass * Ron "Bumblefoot" Thal (GUNS N' ROSES) - Guitar * Mark Tornillo (ACCEPT) - Vocals 05. On Fire (VAN HALEN) * Mike Portnoy (THE WINERY DOGS, DREAM
05 min read

LAMB OF GOD: “Vigil’ Video Released

Panagiotis Karagiannidis
"Vigil", the new video from Richmond, Virginia metallers LAMB OF GOD, can be seen below. The clip was directed by Don Argott and edited by Demian Fenton, the team responsible for the forthcoming LAMB OF GOD feature film "As The Palaces Burn", which is scheduled for a worldwide theatrical release in February 2014.
01 min read

SLAYER’s TOM ARAYA: JEFF HANNEMAN’s Death ‘Has Changed Everything’

Manos Spanos
Brian Aberback of New Jersey's Steppin' Out magazine recently conducted an interview with SLAYER bassist/vocalist Tom Araya. An excerpt from the chat follows below. Steppin' Out: You just started doing press for this tour and know that everyone will be asking about [late SLAYER guitarist] Jeff [Hanneman]. How do you feel talking about everything that's gone on in the past six months? Tom Araya: You know you're going to get those questions whether we decide to do press or not. If you don't do interviews, no one is aware that you're doing a tour. It wouldn't bother me if Kerry [King, guitar] did all the interviews. [laughs] But when I do interviews, I enter them with an open mind and try to answer the questions the best I can. Steppin' Out: Did you have any idea that Jeff was seriously ill before he died? Tom: Nobody ever thought about Jeff passing away. I thought about him getting better and getting back onstage. We've been talking about getting back in the studio for the last two years, with Jeff being a part of that. It was something to be continued. Steppin' Out: Have you thought about folding the band following his death? Tom: His death has changed everything. Knowing that Jeff was on the sidelines, I was OK. It was always about, "Jeff is going to come back." Then he passed away and it was more like, "Why am I doing this now?" It changed my attitude about some things. Someone said, "It's really great that you decided to tour and move on," but these tours were scheduled in advance. At the end of this tour, Kerry and I are going to have to sit down and talk as far as how we want to move forward, if we want to move forward. There hasn't been time for me and Kerry to talk. We've been on the road but we haven't really sat down and talked about it. Jeff and I collaborated a lot, and he offered me the opportunity to write or to collaborate with him. Like I said, there are things we have to discuss to either move forward or just to figure something out. Steppin' Out: How tough was it playing the first shows after Jeff's death this summer in Europe?
03 min read

EVILE Launches Lead-Guitarist Search

Manos Spanos
British thrashers EVILE are now accepting applications for their vacant lead guitarist position. If interested, please send any links, videos, photos and biogs as well as a brief statement about yourself to: evileguitarist@gmail.com. On August 30, guitarist Ol Drake announced his departure from EVILE. he explained in a statement: "Over the past year, I've, unfortunately, found myself becoming more and more detached from the touring/band lifestyle. "In my opinion, the music business for a band of our genre and 'level' determines a very unrealistic way of life to me, and I personally find it difficult to make a living and have a 'normal' life. "I've reached a point where I want a family/kids, a house, a steady and definite income and everything in between, and in regard to my personal preferences, a touring band's income and uncertainties, in the state that I feel they would continue to be in, has become incompatible with how I feel and what I want/need." EVILE released its fourth album, "Skull", on May 27 in Europe on Earache Records and in North America via Century Media/Earache Records. The follow-up to 2011's "Five Serpent's Teeth" was once again recorded with producer Russ Russell (NAPALM DEATH, DIMMU BORGIR) at Parlour Studios in Kettering, England. The artwork for the album was painted by artist Eliran Kantor (TESTAMENT, SODOM, HATEBREED).v
01 min read