This just in from Slave Pit Headquarters! In an obvious symbolic gesture heralding the continuing domination of the rock-shock-group-band GWAR over all media, Fox News and Slave Pit Inc. have announced the first appearance of 2010 on the networks late-night news/laugh fest Red Eye" by the program's official and world's first "Interplanetary Correspondent", GWAR's Oderus Urungus, tonight at 3:00 a.m. EST.
Oderus was a shocking addition to the supposedly conservative agenda of the network, and quickly parlayed his guest spot into a semi-regular feature on the show, which is hosted by the disarmingly dimpled Greg Gutfeld, ex-Maxim editor and all-around great guy.
"I am glad to be back, said Oderus, taking a break in the festivities surrounding the continuing 25th anniversary of GWAR's re-awakening on Earth. "Where was I?"
For all you GWAR fans out there wanting to stay up to date with your favorite alien nasties, Metal Blade has created a GWAR widget. This intergalactic widget includes an MP3 of the track "Let Us Slay", band photos, information about the album, and will have upcoming GWAR tour dates when the band hits the road again. Fans can also add the widget to their blogs and networking pages and it will update automatically with new tour dates, music, videos and more.
GWAR Frontman Makes Record-Breaking Eighth Appearance On FOX NEWS' 'Red Eye'
RATT Drummer Says Reports Of Felony Arrest Are 'Significantly Overstated
According to the web site of the Los Angeles County Sheriff's Department, Blotzer was arrested on December 17 and was booked at the Santa Clarita Valley Sheriff's Station on a felony charge. The Metal Sludge web site reported on Wednesday that the charge stems from an alleged domestic assault on Bobby's girlfriend, although this has not yet been confirmed by the police.
"The stories of a relationship problem I had in December 2009 are significantly overstated," Blotzer said in a statement.
"To my friends and fans, you know how gossip over public figures can get blown out of proportion," he added. "What is being disseminated is not within my character and an insult.
"I was arrested, not charged, for this misunderstanding we had last month. Public record shows that the 'suspected felony' charge was dismissed by D.A.'s office.
"I consider this the end of a unfortunate personal family issue that has seeped its way on to the computer screens around the globe."
RAMMSTEIN To Release 'Banned' Second Single
German industrial metallers RAMMSTEIN will release a new single in the U.S. on February 9 entitled "Ich Tu Dir Weh" exclusively through iTunes. The follow-up single to the controversial "Pussy" single/video, "Ich Tu Dir Weh" is taken from the Berlin-based band's critically acclaimed sixth studio album, "Liebe Ist Für Alle Da".
The "Ich Tu Dir Weh" single bundle will include four remix bonus tracks and a digital booklet. The entire bundle is $4.99 and the songs will also be available for individual purchase.
RAMMSTEIN released the Jonas Åkerlund-directed video for "Ich Tu Dir Weh" in late December and it will also be available as a $1.99 download on iTunes starting February 9. Although the video is airing internationally, the track will not be released as a single in Gemany, Austria or Switzerland, where it has been subject to a government ban and removed from the album entirely, accompanied by changes to the artwork.
"Liebe Ist Für Alle Da" arrived in stores on October 20 through a marketing and distribution arrangement with Vagrant Records and Universal Music Germany. The album was produced by Jacob Hellner and RAMMSTEIN, with recording done at Northern California's Sonoma Mountain Studio. In the U.S. the album entered the Billboard chart at No. 13 — the highest chart entry for the band in the United States ever.
"Ich Tu Dir Weh" track listing:
01. Ich Tu Dir Weh
02. Pussy (Scooter Remix)
03. Rammlied (Devin Townsend Remix)
04. Ich Tu Dir Weh (Smallboy Remix)
05. Ich Tu Dir Weh (F*kkk Off Mix)
SEVERE TORTURE Signs With SEASON OF MIS
Dutch death metallers SEVERE TORTURE. have inked a deal with Season Of Mist. The band is currently at Split Second Sound Studios in Amsterdam with producer Jochem Jacobs working on its upcoming fifth album for a spring/summer release.
Commented bassist Patrick Boleij: "We are very excited about signing to Season Of Mist! They have an amazing band roster and we can't wait to release our new album on the same label as THE DILLINGER ESCAPSE PLAN, CYNIC, MORBID ANGEL, WATAIN and many others. We already had our share of label experience in the past, some good, some bad, and we have the feeling that working with Season Of Mist is going to be a big step up for us!"
SEVERE TORTURE's latest album, "Sworn Vengeance", was recorded at Excess Studios and Pit Studio in Holland during April 2007, while the mixing sessions took place in June at Hertz Studios in Poland. The band enlisted the help of Jason Netherton (MISERY INDEX) and Che Snelping (ex-BORN FROM PAIN) for the track "Buried Hatchet" on which both contribute guest vocals.
Former DEATH ANGEL Drummer Launches THE INKOS
Blakes On Telegraph
2367 Telegraph Berkeley Ca.
510-848-0886
THE INKOS is:
Jose Santana - Vocals
Hadi Droubi - Guitar
Larry Santiago - Bass
Andy Galeon - Drums
For more information, visit www.myspace.com/theinkos.
In a September 2009 interview with Metal Rules! Radio, Andy Galeon stated about his departure from DEATH ANGEL, "We had a tour booked, and basically, I had personal things I had to deal with — I had a newborn baby — and I just was like, 'Well, I've gotta do stuff at home.' We [the members of DEATH ANGEL] weren't communicating well or nothing. I wasn't about to ask them to not go [on the road], so I just said, 'I'll just leave then.' I even pointed out a few [other drummers] from the [San Francisco] Bay Area that could be a fill-in or a replacement, whatever you wanna call it. I mentioned Chris Kontos [MACHINE HEAD, TESTAMENT], I mentioned Will Carroll [OLD GRANDAD, SCARECROW, VICIOUS RUMORS, MACHINE HEAD], and I think there was another guy... I know they were gonna go with Will, because Ted [Aguilar], the rhythm guitar player [for DEATH ANGEL], has played with him in a bunch of bands — he even plays with him in SCARECROW, so I knew it would be easier. They went and did the tour and they also went to Mexico, and that's where it stands now."
Regarding whether he envisioned his departure to be temporary or permanent, Andy stated, "Well, I just quit. There were things that weren't dealt with when Den [former DEATH ANGEL bassist Dennis Pepa] quit, and we were trying to deal with it, but you know how communication is. It's like with a marriage — some people don't see the same page. Everyone is looking at one piece of paper and everyone has a different idea about it. I mean, it is what it is. And I don't know what's gonna happen in the future, but we'll see what happens." He added, "I've been recording with people and doing some production stuff here and there, and working on some CDs and stuff... Giving drum lessons and everything. [But] you never know what the future holds."
Q: You guys are family. You would think you guys could work it out [among yourselves]?
Galeon: "Yeah, you would think. [laughs] Everyone always says that but, to me, sometimes being family, it makes it harder for some reason. I don't know why, but it's just that way sometimes. Imagine being in a band with your brother for over 20 years, jamming with the same guy. You know every little quirk, you know every little thing that pisses him off, and you press those buttons when you have to, and he presses your buttons when he has to... I don't know what it is, man. You'd think we'd communicate more, but at times it's not that way. Musically, we always communicate pretty well; I mean, everything goes smoothly, [and] we push each other musically. I'm on every song that D.A. has ever released, as well as written."
Speaking to Contraband Candy's René Ackermann at last year's Metalcamp festival (which was held on July 2-8, 2009 in Tolmin, Slovenia), DEATH ANGEL singer Mark Osegueda stated about Galeon's decision to leave the band, "[Touring] was always hard on Andy. And when he started having children, it got a bit more difficult. And by the [time he had his] second [kid], you could just see he wasn't happy on the road. Amazing drummer, but just not happy on the road; the road's not for everyone. It's easier when you're 18 to 22, and it's much more difficult when you have children and you're trying to pay mortgages and what-not. Unfortunately, he had hit his wall, and then we got Will Carroll, who's been part of the San Francisco metal scene for years. And we just got him to start filling in, and it's been going great. He brings a great thrash element to the band; it's kind of kicked it up a notch. It's been incredible. And the energy we have on stage now, it's just kind of undeniable."
ARCH ENEMY Guitarist: 'It's A Great Feeling To Be A Part Of Something That's Had An Impact'
On January 22, Jessi Virtusio of Southtown Star conducted an interview with ARCH ENEMY/CARCASS guitarist Michael Amott. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
On guitar heroes:
"I really respect people (like) Tony (Iommi) from BLACK SABBATH and people that have managed to keep a band going, lead a band with great songs and play lead guitar. There are a lot of people that all they do is play their instruments or guitar solos. That's never really interested me that much. I'm more about the full picture — the band, great songs. A great guitar solo adds to that for me. I'm really fond of guitar playing."
On his guitar work on CARCASS' "Heartwork", which many people consider to be a death metal masterpiece:
"I've heard that a lot, and it's a great honor. I don't have any gold discs on my wall from anything I've done. It's a great feeling to be a part of something that's had an impact. I love it. We did a reunion a couple of years ago, and it was great. It was a good feeling."
On when fans can expect to hear a new ARCH ENEMY album:
"We're going to be doing a few shorter runs in Europe and festivals (after this tour). Most of the year (we'll be) writing and recording a new record, which we hope to release in 2011, We are writing a lot of new material, but right now it's all on our computers. It's just bits and pieces of melody here, chord progression, a couple of riffs here and there. We're going to piece it all together. It's a lot of stuff. It's going to be some work going through everything, but we're looking forward to it."
Read more from Southtown Star.
Fan-filmed video footage of ARCH ENEMY's January 22, 2010 performance at the Nokia Theatre in New York City can be viewed below (courtesy of "celticyodels").
ICARUS WITCH: New Album Details Revealed
The third full-length CD (fourth overall) from Pittsburgh traditional metallers ICARUS WITCH, mysteriously entitled "Draw Down The Moon", will be released February 9, 2010 through Cleopatra Records.
With a few years of regional headline touring under their belt as well as supporting everyone from HEAVEN & HELL to 3 INCHES OF BLOOD and TROUBLE on the road, "the boys honed their live chops and discovered the formula for what translates to a frenzied crowd and what passages are better left for the headphones," according to a press release. "The end result is a nine-song battle cry called 'Draw Down The Moon' which sees the band in a more mature, yet increasingly aggressive songwriting mode, stripped of the extraneous bells and whistles of synths and samples. This is a back-to-basics, classic metal album with a raw, in-your-face production (once again with Eric Klinger at the controls) that owes as much to '70s Marshall overdrive and gothic tales of yore as it does the '80s flash and modern metal trappings that have become de rigueur in this burgeoning scene ICARUS WITCH is alleged to have helped establish. Apparently the time machine has been set to reverse, and once you dig your teeth into the muscular framework of this future occult rock classic, you will forget about eras, genre tags and hype, and realize what truly matters most...this band knows how to fucking ROCK!"
ICARUS WITCH was recently described as having a "heavy influence of IRON MAIDEN combined with good old-fashioned hard rock/metal production and great musicianship" by Don Jamieson, co-host of VH1 Classic's "That Metal Show". Perhaps this assessment helped land the boys the opening slot on former MAIDEN crooner Paul Di'Anno's first American tour in over 15 years, commencing this January 27 in New York City.
Britain's Metal Hammer magazine recently drafted ICARUS WITCH for both its covermount compilation CD as well as an interview on their feature about the explosive rise of traditional metal with the younger generation of bands, referring to the WITCH as "one of the best new bands to take up the NWOTM (New Wave of Traditiona Metal) standard and carry it triumphantly into the future." With such accolades, the pressure is mounting for the group to top their previous efforts, a feat which has been handily accomplished by the creation of this new album, their first since 2007's critically acclaimed "Songs For The Lost".
"Draw Down The Moon" track listing:
01. Black Candles
02. Aquarius Rising
03. Reap What You Sow
04. Dying Eyes
05. Draw Down The Moon
06. Serpent In The Garden
07. Funeral Wine
08. Haunting Visions
09. The Ripper
Check out audio samples on the band's MySpace page.
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