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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

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

IN FLAMES To Take Year Off From Touring To Write Next Album

Manos Spanos
100.3 The X Rocks conducted an interview with Björn Gelotte of Swedish metallers IN FLAMES backstage at this year's Rock On The Range festival, which took place May 17-19 at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, Ohio. You can now watch the chat below. Also available is footage of IN FLAMES' entire Rock On The Range performance. IN FLAMES' tenth album, "Sounds Of A Playground Fading" (Century Media), sold around 14,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 27 on The Billboard 200 chart. IN FLAMES' previous CD, "A Sense of Purpose" (Koch) opened with 20,000 units to land at No. 28. This was slightly less than the opening tally of "Come Clarity" (Ferret), which shifted just under 24,000 copies in February 2006 to enter the chart at position No. 58. "Sounds Of A Playground Fading" was the first IN FLAMES album to be recorded without founding guitarist Jesper Strömblad, who quit the band in February 2010 in order to continue receiving treatment for his alcohol addiction.
01 min read

HEATHEN Drummer Quits

Manos Spanos
Drummer Darren Minter of San Francisco Bay Area metallers HEATHEN has released the following statement to BLABBERMOUTH.NET: "It is with great regret to announce that, after 25 years of drumming forHEATHEN, I have left the band due to unforeseen circumstances and will not be joining them on the European tour that starts in several weeks (a replacement will be named in the next few days). "I apologize to all of our fans, but plan to pursue other musical endeavors and will continue to move forward making music. "The split between HEATHEN and I was amicable and there is no bad blood or hard feelings towards one another. "Hope to see you all on the road soon and I wish nothing but the best for the future of HEATHEN."
01 min read

SLAYER’s JEFF HANNEMAN: Video Footage, Photos Of Public Memorial Celebration

Manos Spanos
Kerry King (SLAYER), Dave Lombardo (SLAYER), Gary Holt (EXODUS, SLAYER), Robert Trujillo (METALLICA), Shavo Odadjian (SYSTEM OF A DOWN), Robb Flynn (MACHINE HEAD), Paul Bostaph (SLAYER, TESTAMENT, EXODUS), Chuck Billy (TESTAMENT) and John Tempesta(THE CULT, EXODUS, TESTAMENT) are among the musicians who attended the public memorial celebration for SLAYER's late guitarist Jeff Hanneman, which was held yesterday afternoon (Thursday, May 23) at the Hollywood Palladium in Los Angeles, California. High-quality photos of the event from photographer Stephanie Cabralcan be found at this location. Fan-filmed video footage is available below. A full report, including photos from Stephanie Cabral, can be found at the web site of U.K.'s Metal Hammer magazine. Members of SLAYER released a statement on May 9 saying thatHanneman died of alcohol-related cirrhosis. He is credited for writing many of the band's classic songs, including "Angel Of Death" and "South Of Heaven".
05 min read

Interview: The Ocean (Robin Staps)

Panagiotis Karagiannidis
After the recent release of "Pelagial" and right after the end of a long and successful tour with Cult of Luna, The Ocean’s guitarist and main creator of "Pelagial" Robin Staps takes some time off and talks to Metalpaths about the new album (giving information about its concept and production), his last touring experiences, the record company he is now running and the future of the band...
09 min read

SEPULTURA Documentary: New Promo Clip Posted Online

Manos Spanos
The long-awaited documentary about SEPULTURA’s incredible journey from Brazil to the world is coming to life with help of Kickstarter. Filmmaker Otavio Juliano has been following the band for the better part of 2010-2013, a time of tension and triumph for SEPULTURA, as they toured and recorded their album "Kairos". Nothing has been off limits. This amazing story will go through SEPULTURA's history, myths, conflicts, personnel changes and struggles with the Internet economy in the early 2000s as well interviews and rare footage. This documentary is certain to bring fans closer to the band they love. A new promotional clip for the documentary can be seen below. According to the documentary makers, "About 50% of the film has been shot so far. We have witnessed this historic band experiencing wrenching transformations and unprecedented growth. We opened SEPULTURA's vault and dig into the best rare and unseen footage of the last 30 years. We will see them at their most vulnerable and human, and also as idols of the heavy metal genre. Those elements make the overall film an uncommonly powerful statement."
03 min read