SONATA ARCTICA‘s long time bass player Marko Paasikoski left the band due to personal reasons at the end of August. Pasi Kauppinen (SILENT VOICES, ex-REQUIEM, WINTERBORN) has now taken over the low-frequencies for the band. Below is the first official promo shot of Sonata Arctica‘s new line-up:
Sonata Arctica keyboardist Henrik Klingenberg recently checked in with the following update:
“Hola People! Just wanted to let you all know that we’re alive and well and the new album is under work. We’re really excited to enter the studio to start recording our new stuff. Enjoy the fall and keep the metal alive!”
Sonata Arctica recently released a video clip to their song ‘Alone In Heaven’, taken from their latest album, Stones Grow Her Name. Released on May 18, 2012 via Nuclear Blast, Stones Grow Her Name achieved gold status in the bands’ home country after just one week and additionally entered charts worldwide. Among those entries were the top 5 of Sweden Rock Charts (#5), Canada Rock Charts (#7) and UK Rock Charts (#9) and the record debuted at #9 of the US Billboard Heatseeker Charts.
Commented vocalist and keyboardist Tony Kakko: “’Alone In Heaven’ got sparked lyrically after I had suffered few personal losses in relatively short period of time. Those will make you think about a possibility of after life and such things. At least for me it was like that. I will always remember those passed on thru this song every time we play it. I was initially a little hesitant whether or not this is a suitable track for Sonata, being rather ‘hard/soft rockish’. But the guys fell in love with it immediately and it fell right in on the quite mellow mooded Stones Grow Her Name album. I think it’s a nice emotional rock song with some extremely beautiful parts to it. It has become a little bit of a fan favorite and crowd pleaser, being quite approachable and straight forward arrangement wise. Very live friendly track we’ll surely play also in the future. The video is like the song, fairly simple and …soft. Enjoy.”
ANNIHILATOR‘s Jeff Waters has issued the following update from the band’s Feast On Europe Tour 2013 tour:
“After the show in Madrid last night (October 18th), we left at night for Barcelona. Jasmina and I were sleeping in the master bedroom in back if the bus. We were thrown on the floor, as a truck slammed into us from behind. The other guys were mostly sleeping but were woken up with quite the impact. We (red car bus) were driving the speed limit for carrying a legal 3.5 ton trailer and, according to the spanish police who shit the highway down, the driver of the truck that hit us was speeding and “distracted”; I would guess texting, as he was speeding at a high rate down a 3-lane highway in the slow lane, and tried to brake a second before impact…
So it looked the entire police force was out! Very cool dudes and they helped us arrange tow trucks, checked for injuries with all vehicle occupants, escorted the bus to a truck stop when we finally untangled the trailer from the bus. Our bassist Alberto speaks Spanish and translated all night, then morning long.
We were all very lucky we had a large trailer, stuffed with a lot of backline (Stacks Hughes and Kettner Coreblade speaker cabinets saved us!!)… They and ALL our gear took most of the impact… The police said we would have likely had fatalities, if that trailer and cabinets/contents had not been there… Jas and I would have been the first to go!! But enough drama!
We are all ok and will send pics if this one, that’s for sure! We had a killer show in Madrid last night.. Best show and fans on the tour… But sadly and obviously could not make Barcelona tonight. We are (safely and legally!) racing to Lyon France now, where we will get a truck for the gear (gear in way from accident location).
That could be the only issue now is what gear/equipment is working and what is destroyed. But we will likely make it to Lyon and sort out what we can use there!!!
Thanks Madrid, sorry Barcelona, “F you” to texting and driving (or whatever he was doing)… Of, about the driver of the speeding truck that hit us: He survived, but if u saw his truck (pics coming), you would not think it possible to survive. Wish us safe travels! We need them!!”
Annihilator’s Feast On Europe Tour 2013 tour with THE GENERALS is as follows:
October
20 – France – Lyon Ninkasi Kao
22 – Winterthur, Switzerland – Gaswerk
23 – Augsburg, Germany – Spectrum
24 – Wien, Austria – Szene
25 – Zlin, Czech Repibulic – Masters Of Rock Cafe
26 – Nürnberg, Germany – Rockfabrik
28 – Mannheim, Germany – Alte Seilerei
29 – Essen, Germany – Turock
30 – Osnabrück, Germany – Lagerhalle
31 – Hamburg, Germany – Knust
November
1 – Copenhagen, Denmark – Pumpehuset
2 – Oslo, Norway – John Dee
3 – Stockholm, Sweden – Klubben
5 – Tampere, Finland – Klubi
6 – Helsinki, Finland – Nosturi
Source: Bravewords.com EXODUS and SLAYER guitarist Gary Holt spoke with Kevin J. Wells from The Washington Times recently about a number of topics. A few excerpts from the chat follow:
Kevin J. Wells: Is there a new Exodus record in the works?
Gary Holt: Right now, I’m starting to compile riffs and get to that stage and I’m gonna continue writing while out the upcoming Slayer tour as well. I pretty much have a break from the world of Slayer ‘til next April. So, I’m using this time off to make sure that I get that next Exodus record done.”
KW: Is Slayer is also starting work a new record?
GH: “The recording for that should start sometime maybe by the end of this year. So, hopefully, then kill two birds with one stone and manage to keep both bands touring at the same time. Who knows?”
KW: Will you do any of the recording with Slayer?
GH: “It looks like I’ll probably be doing solos on the record, but the songs are all written. Kerry (King) will handle all that stuff. My plate’s kind of full anyway, so I’ll probably be bouncing back and forth from L.A. to San Francisco.”
KW: Tom Araya said that there are a few Jeff Hanneman songs that he was working on. Have you had a chance to hear them and has Slayer done any work on them?
GH: “No. I know they have some stuff, you know, I think the bulk of whatever’s left over was stuff that remained from World Painted Blood, but I haven’t heard it yet, so I can’t comment on it. I’m sure it’d be super cool to have some of his last final works end up on the Slayer album. That would be awesome.”
METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich recently spoke with The National out of Abu Dhabi, United Arab Emirates abdout the new feature film, Metallica Through The Never, and the band’s plans for the future. An excerpt is available below:
Q: It’s been five years since your last proper album, Death Magnetic. Are you going back into the studio?
Lars: “Yeah. We’ll always make another record. We’re certainly not avoiding making another record. We’ve been fiddling around a little bit when we have a week here, a week there, but we realised the other day that this movie will take up realistically the next four or five months. But I hope we will get to another record when this movie is over.”
Q: What’s the secret of the band’s longevity?
Lars: “Somewhere along the line we learnt to get along and somewhere along the line we learnt we’d rather be in Metallica than not be in Metallica. I think we have tremendous respect for whatever it is Metallica means. I’ve never known anything else. This is the only band I’ve ever been in, since I was 17. So ultimately, you want it to survive, and you figure out what works, what doesn’t work, and what’s best for the band. Somewhere along, you just figure it out and you pray you have more good days than not.”
Metallica’s new movie, Metallica Through The Never, has earned $3,168,000 domestically at the box office after its third weekend in release, according to Box Office Mojo.
Metallica Through The Never stars Metallica, one of the most popular, influential rock bands in history. In this music-driven, 3D motion picture event, award-winning filmmaker Nimród Antal immerses audiences in a bracing, raw and visceral cinematic experience with spectacular live performance footage of Metallica’s most iconic songs – created exclusively for film – combined with a bold, narrative story featuring imagery drawn from the band’s trailblazing iconography. Dane DeHaan portrays Trip, a young roadie sent on an urgent mission, during the Metallica’s roaring live set in front of a sold-out arena. The film features dazzling pyrotechnics, the most elaborate live-performance stage ever built and state-of-the-art 3-D photography captured using up to 24 cameras simultaneously.
According to a report from MediaMass.net, former KISS guitarist ACE FREHLEY has taken the #1 spot on People With Money’s top 10 highest-paid guitarists for 2013 with an estimated $96 million in combined earnings:
“In 2011 it looked like the guitarist’s spectacular career was winding down. Suddenly, he was back on top. People With Money reports on Friday (October 18th) that Frehley is the highest-paid guitarist in the world, pulling in an astonishing $96 million between September 2012 and September 2013, a nearly $60 million lead over his closest competition.”
Back in July and update revealed that Frehley was working on new music with drummer Matt Starr (BURNING RAIN) and bassist Chris Wyse (THE CULT, OWL). A couple of shots from the studio can be seen below.
The Great Southern Brainfart has issued a new interview, conducted with TESTAMENT guitarist Eric Peterson. An excerpt follows:
Q: Testament seems to have really found a good place to be musically and, as you said earlier, have come full circle. Is this a place where you’re happy and how do you see Testament progressing from here?
A: “Well, we know what we want now. When we were younger, we just kind of went into the studio and let the producer get the sounds and we just played the songs. Of course, we gave our opinions but I don’t think we knew then what we wanted as much as we do now. Now we know exactly what we want. Chuck (Billy; vocalist) knows exactly how he wants to sound and I know how I want to sound. I know what I want the drums to do and everything.”
Q: So I’ve been digging the new live release Dark Roots Of Thrash. It’s really a great release but tell me how this release stands out from the previous Testament releases?
A: “You really need to see this DVD. To me it goes hand in hand. Of course, the listening part is cool but watching it and listening to it at the same time is really awesome. The previous live release was more of a reunion show. We had two different drummers. John Tempesta played the first half and Louie Clemente played the second half. It was more of our classic songs. This release is where the band is at now which is what I think is our peak. I’m sure it’s going to continue but we’re definitely on a roll. We’re on a level where all the engines are running and we’re playing songs from almost every record. There are things missing from some records but we’ve put together a set that is compiled of almost everything we’ve done from The Legacy to Dark Roots Of Earth.”
Dark Roots Of Thrash, a DVD/2CD release documenting Testament’s sold-out headlining performance at the Paramount in Huntington, NY this past February, is out today, October 18th, in Europe, and will be released October 21st (UK), and October 29th (North America) via Nuclear Blast. Check out ‘Native Blood’ from the DVD below:
Dark Roots Of Thrash was produced by Get Hammered Productions, directed by Tommy Jones (DEATH ANGEL, KATAKLYSM, SOILWORK) and mixed by Juan Urteaga (VILE, EXODUS, SADUS, MACHINE HEAD). It captures a total of 19 live tracks with countless cams onstage and high above the audience, plus a special moshpit cam that makes you feel like you’re a part of the show!
Dark Roots Of Thrash was produced by Get Hammered Productions, directed by Tommy Jones (DEATH ANGEL, KATAKLYSM, SOILWORK) and mixed by Juan Urteaga (VILE, EXODUS, SADUS, MACHINE HEAD). It captures a total of 19 live tracks with countless cams onstage and high above the audience, plus a special moshpit cam that makes you feel like you’re a part of the show!
Testament are gearing up for their tour with LAMB OF GOD, KILLSWITCH ENGAGE and HUNTRESS, which starts on October 22nd. According to an update from the band, a limited number of Testament VIP tickets are now available for each show here.
Confirmed shows are as follows:
October
22 – Toronto, ON – Kool Haus
23 – Toronto, ON – Sound Academy
24 – Montreal, QC – Metropolis
25 – New York, NY – Roseland Ballroom
26 – Wallingford, CT – Toyota Presents Oakdale Theatre
28 – Columbus, OH – LC Pavilion
29 – Detroit, MI – The Fillmore Detroit
30 – Chicago, IL – Congress Theater
November
1 – Kansas City, MO – The Midland by AMC
2 – Grand Prairie, TX – Verizon Theatre at Grand Prairie
3 – Socorro, TX – Socorro Entertainment Center – Free Show
5 – Denver, CO – The Fillmore Auditorium
7 – Tempe, AZ – Marquee Theater
9 – Oakland, CA – Fox Theater
11 – Kent, WA – ShoWare Center
12 – Vancouver, BC – Queen Elizabeth Theatre
14 – Edmonton, AB – Shaw Conference Centre
15 – Calgary, AB – Big Four
16 – Saskatoon, SK – Saskatoon Prairieland Park
18 – St. Paul, MN – Myth
19 – Milwaukee, WI – Eagles Ballroom
20 – Grand Rapids, MI – Orbit Room
22 – Sayreville, NJ – Starland Ballroom
23 – Boston, MA – House of Blues
24 – Philadelphia, PA – Electric Factory
25 – Pittsburgh, PA – Stage AE
26 – Silver Spring, MD – The Fillmore Silver Spring
THE ROCK ALCHEMIST – Italian Rock Band from Turin with a strong sonic identity that blends modern rock with progressive, hard, alternative, and pop elements!
Kimmo Kuusniemi’s SARCOFAGUS return with a Historic 2010 Concert Video Premiere on YouTube! Click image to watch the video
