The 7th edition of the infamous Paganfest tour will kick off tomorrow (19th March) in Germany, Ludwigsburg. On http://www.paganfest.eu you’ll find the show- and door-times for all of the 11 shows on this tour.
The line up is almost complete! Having already announced Alestorm, Nuclear Assault, Body Farm, Death Angel, Arch Enemy, Dynamo Metalfest are happy to add BIOHAZARD and ORANGE GOBLIN to the line up.
“We are very pleased with the final names for the line up” says Tjerk Maas, organiser of Dynamo Metalfest. “With these two bands we have completed a strong and diversified line-up and have done so with a low entry fee of only €15 too. We now have a great hard rock / metal band in the form of Orange Goblin. And what can we say about Biohazard? An older visitor to the festival will know that this is a recognised name on the scene! And a younger visitor has the opportunity to get to know a legendary cross over band.”
The UK’s Orange Goblin are no strangers to the festival circuit, with Graspop, Hellfest and Roadburn all having welcomed the hard rockers previously. Last year, the band released their new album, “Back From The Abyss”, a future classic filled with fist pumping metal anthems.
Biohazard have been going many years, and have notched up many festival appearances along the way – and in the past has gotten entire fields at Dutch festivals jumping to their mix of metal and New York hardcore. And years on, the band are just as energetic as in the early days – moshpits are guaranteed!
There will be one more addition to the line-up; the winner of the Battle of the Band. The final of the competition, where the winner being announced will take place on May 30 at Dynamo. The application deadline for the competition is March 31. Click HERE for more details.
In order to make the festival accessible to as many people as possible, tickets are just €15. These can be bought online HERE but can also be purchased at all Primera outlets and at the box office of the Dynamo Club.
Dynamo Metalfest will take place on Saturday July 18th 2015, at the semi-covered ice rink in Eindhoven. There will be a total of eight bands hitting the stage, as well as a metal market and refreshment stalls.
GEHTIKA are sitting on a time bomb! After spending the past eight months writing a follow-up to 2013’s “Impossible Question” the band are now, and have been for the past week, holed up at Loud Noises Productions in JJM Studios, Walsall recording a brand new album. This new record follows a concept the band has initially explored on recent single ‘Stack of Pyres’.
The extreme metal outfit from England’s Midlands have also launched a Kickstarter campaign to help bring their latest artistic madness to fruition. Vocalist Anthony Knight comments, “We have worked tirelessly over the past 7-8 months writing, rehearsing and perfecting this absolute behemoth of an album; making sure every aspect of every song is as epic as can be.”
“We wanted to create something unique, something with tons of big riffs, sweeping solos, fierce vocals and enough blast beats to make your ears bleed! And so, from the deepest darkest reaches of our twisted little minds, our heaviest, most accomplished, release to date; A Monster in Mourning was born! A collection of dark, brooding and brutal compositions, which travel through a larger-than-life fantasy saga of betrayal, vengeance, redemption and countless revelations…”
“We’re extremely proud of what we have created; this album is an absolute BEAST, and we can’t wait to share it with all of you!”
The band’s Kickstarter campaign aims to help fund the actual release of the album and will also offer fans some limited edition merchandise and rewards, such as album pre-orders, handwritten framed lyric sheets, album art prints, shirts and other merchandise, VIP tickets to shows and much more. Check out the Kickstarter video which explains album plans and the campaign in more detail.
View Gehtika’s Kickstarter Page:
Gehtika have been kicking asses and assaulting the senses with their punishing brand of extreme metal and entertaining live performances for the past four years. After the release of their debut EP in 2013, the band went on to play the New Blood Stage at the UK’s Bloodstock Open Air Festival after winning their local Metal to the Masses competition. Impressed by their theatrical yet chaotic live show, Gehtika were asked back to Bloodstock Open Air Festival 2014 for the prestigious task of opening up the Sophie Lancaster Stage.
“A Monster In Mourning” is due for release later this year.
THREE DAYS GRACE proudly announce their brand new single ‘I Am Machine’ taken from their upcoming album “Human”, which is now available to pre-order at iTunes and Amazon.
A limited edition 2 CD deluxe version of the album will be available to fans on Three Days Grace’s site. This is the bands first album with new singer Matt Walst. On “Human”, Three Days Grace re-teamed with producer Gavin Brown who produced the band’s platinum-selling 2003 self-titled debut album.
“We went back to our roots a bit and recaptured that collaborative feeling of being in a band and bringing out the best ideas in each other,” says band member Neil Sanderson.
“Gavin was a huge part of that in the beginning and we feel like we’re back in those days where we’re high-fiving each other with guitars in our hands.”
In addition, Nick Raskulinecz and Chris Lorde Alge mixed “Human”. The band has spent much of the year vigorously touring, writing and recording their new album.
Comments Neil Sanderson about their new single: “Sonically, we wanted to create a ‘machine-like’ sound in parts of the song. We were inspired by the images from the opening scene of Tim Burton’s ‘Edward Scissorhands’…relentless machines turning and churning, never ceasing to operate. Lyrically the song is about how sometimes you feel like you are in an endless routine and cannot escape. Every day seems the same. No freedom from the vicious cycle that your life can sometimes become…no control, you begin to feel numb to the world around you, as you yearn to just feel anything, any emotion.”
Watch the video for ‘I am Machine’:
Three Days Grace is:
Matt Walst (lead vocals)
Neil Sanderson (drums, piano, backing vocals)
Brad Walst (bass guitar)
Barry Stock (lead guitar)
The band holds the record with now 13 #1 singles at Active Rock Radio, more than any other band in history and has sold over 6 million albums in the United States. Their previous album TRANSIT OF VENUS was released in October 2012, debuted #1 on the Hard Rock Chart and Top 5 on the Billboard Top 200 chart, and was nominated for Best Rock Album of the Year by the Juno Awards.
Catch Three Days Grace at This years Download Festival in Donington, UK.
FREE bassist Andy Fraser has died at the age of 62, it’s been confirmed, as reported by teamrock.com.
He passed away on Monday morning (16th March). His cause of death has not been confirmed, but he’d been dealing with AIDS and cancer in recent years.
An official statement says: “Andrew McLan Fraser passed away on Monday at his home in California. He leaves behind his daughters Hannah and Jasmine Fraser, and their mother Ri, his sister Gail, brothers Gavin and Alex, and many friends and associates in the industry.
“A survivor of both cancer and AIDS, Andy was a strong social activist and defender of individual human rights.”
Fraser was born in London in 1952 and was a founding member of Free at the age of just 15. As well as his work with Free, he had success with John Mayall & the Bluesbreakers and Sharks.
In the 1980s he was diagnosed with HIV and a form of cancer called Kaposi’s Sarcoma and he battled with suicidal thoughts which, he wrote on his website, were only alleviated when he came out as gay.
Fraser had recently been a leading light in the Rock Against Trafficking charity. President Gary Miller said: “My dear friend did so much for the organisation, and for me personally.
“He was my little big brother and one of the greatest bass players and songwriters of all time.”
1. Live And Let Live 2. Communion 3. Vigilante Man 4. Rock City 5. Saviour Machine 6. Something Of The Night 7. All Our Yesterdays 8. Bulletproof 9. Let The Devil Scream 10. Good Times 11. Restless Heart 12. Wicked
Guitar legend Michael Schenker is storming back with a brand new corker of an album, along with his TEMPLE OF ROCK band. Michael describes how he came up with the title for the new album –
“A while ago I was asked how I wanted to be remembered, and I said ‘as a spirit on a mission, spreading the joy of music from a place of pure self expression.’”
During the recording of the album, the studio was broken into and original recordings and guitars were stolen. But that didn’t deter the band, despite making more work, it also made the material stronger.
“Bridge The Gap” was the last album released by the band in 2013 and for this next outing Michael knew exactly what he wanted for “Spirit On A Mission”, including some 7-string guitar for a low, heavy sound.
All the songs were co-written by Michael and vocalist Doogie White, with guitarist and keyboard player Wayne Findlay this time taking on a bigger role by co-writing five songs. “Spirit On A Mission” is the second TEMPLE OF ROCK album to feature the former SCORPIONS rhythm section, Herman Rarebell and Francis Buchholz.
The album kicks off with my favourite track ‘Live And Let Live’, also the current single, with its fast tempo, full of that classic Schenker sound and heavy riffs, complimented perfectly by Doogie‘s vocals, full of energy. It’s a real feel good song, with a great solo halfway through and also an outro solo. I can’t put my finger on why, but the only song that didn’t stand out immediately for me was the second track, ‘Communion’, but after only a couple of listens, that soon changed.
The first single to be released from the album was third track ‘Vigilante Man’ – another stand out one. Michael‘s vision of “keeping the fast songs rolling like a train with lots of energy” was certainly spot on with this catchy tune full of melody. Next up is ‘Rock City’, the whole arrangement of the song REALLY reminds me of early WHITESNAKE and UFO. Maybe that is no mistake as Michael has also stated that some of the songs have writing more like in his UFO days.
At 5.59, the longest track on the album is ‘Saviour Machine’ – a great heavy one complete with melodic solo in the middle. ‘Something Of The Night’ is excellent, the opening guitar evokes ‘The Flight Of The Bumblebee’, maybe a little Rimsky-Korsakov is reincarnated in Michael! Guitar buffs will love this track I’m certain, Michael‘s skill on the fretboard is just fantastic, especially the Howler sound used here. Combine that with Doogie‘s excellent vocals and it results in the ultimate listening pleasure.
‘All Our Yesterdays’ has a slightly different feel to it, heavy but also flowing, again with great vocals. ‘Bulletproof’ has some great chugging riffs, with a short Flamenco sounding guitar break in the middle of the song. Moving onto ‘Restless Heart’, another fast tempo track with great riffs, what else can you expect really from a band with Michael Schenker at the helm!
Concluding this epic album with a great song in ‘Wicked’, the pace doesn’t let up and is full of melodic heaviness. The professionalism and skill of all the longstanding musicians shines through on this album, along with the outstanding production by Michael Schenker and Michael Voss. Definitely a ‘must’ in any classic rock music lover’s collection.
“Spirit On A Mission” will be released on CD, Deluxe Edition (CD + DVD), Deluxe 180 Gram Vinyl (Special DMM-Cut) and Digital Download.
Rating: 9/10
Photo By Jay Hawkins
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The 7th edition of the infamous Paganfest tour will kick off tomorrow (19th March) in Germany, Ludwigsburg. On http://www.paganfest.eu you’ll find the show- and door-times for all of the 11 shows on this tour.
Artist: MICHAEL SCHENKER’S TEMPLE OF ROCK
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Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 