A gruesome power saw accident in 2007 nearly severed former MEGADETH drummer Nick Menza’s arm and doctors weren’t sure he’d ever play again.
After a long recuperation which included some reconstructive metal plates and bolts that would make Dr. Frankenstein envious, Menza is back! And he’s back with a memoir of outrageous experiences, including his “heinous mishap,” as he calls it, in the upcoming book Megalife: Countdown To Resurrection, by J. Marshall Craig.
To celebrate in the best truly heavy tradition, Menza is offering for one lucky superfan a once (we all hope!) in a lifetime rock ‘n’ roll artifact: The blood-stained, rusty saw blade that nearly chewed through his arm, and the original x-ray of the injuries framed behind museum-quality glass, metal frame, led lighting system and personally autographed to the winning bidder!
The auction scheduled to launch on October 25th at 3pm pst via Menzajamz.com.
Menza: “It’s Halloween, dude! I have my book coming out I’m headlining a new South American tour let’s have some fun! This stuff has been on one of the walls in my studio since the accident. I’m starting a new chapter of my life and career, literally, and it’s time to move on from some of that stuff in my past but the saw blade and x-ray are pretty rad!”
Only one fan will get the blade and x-ray but everyone who buys Megalife will get to read about the harrowing experience, the remarkable recovery including the first session Nick recorded after using only one arm! and dozens of other great stories sure to test their heavy meddle!
Menza has recently teamed up with Logan Gray, AKA THRASH WOLF the up and coming inspiring Australian graphic artist who has create a 18 x 35 poster of the saw blade artifact which you could now pre-order for limited time only via Bigcartel.com.
Source: Bravewords.com JOHN CORABI (MÖTLEY CRÜE, THE SCREAM, UNION) is about to embark on an extensive acoustic solo tour; his confirmed itinerary is listed below:
October
10 – The Firehouse BBQ and Blues – Richmond, IN
11 – South Beach Bar And Grill – Alliance, OH
12 – Cheers Pub – South Bend, IN
18 – Rubicon Lounge – Pocatello, ID (w/ Frank Hannon of Tesla)
19 – Diamondz Bar & Grill – Jerome, ID (w/ Frank Hannon of Tesla)
20 – Sculleys Shooters – North Platte, NE
25 – Diesel Concert Lounge – Chesterfield, MI
26 – Tailgaters Sports Bar – Bolingbrook, IL
27 – Prime Time Tap – Oglesby, IL
November
1 – Valentinos – Oppegård, Norway
2 – Mølla Pub – Ringebu, Norway
3 – Samfundet – Trondheim, Norway
5 – Harry B James – Stockholm, Sweden
6 – Olsen På Bryn – Oslo, Norway
7 – MadamFelle – Bergen, Norway
8 – Ambolten Pub – Bryne, Norway
9 – Lions & Barrels – København, Denmark
10 – Turbinenhalle – Oberhausen, Germany
11 – The Black Heart – London, England
12 – Bannermans Club – Edinbourgh, Scotland
13 – Headbangers Ball Club – Hamburg, Germany
14 – Rock City – Uster, Switzerland
15 – Le Pantographe – Moutier, Switzerland
16 – Les Passagers Du Zinc – Besançon, France
22 – Rathaussaal Telfs – Tirol, Austria
23 – Bluesiana Club – Velden, Austria
24 – Lizard King – Krakow, Poland
30 – Fabrik Club – Cagliari, Italy
December
13 – Rockpile West – Etobicoke, ON
14 – Rockpile East – Toronto, ON
TESSERACT have posted their video for the track ‘Nocturne’, taken from their critically acclaimed album, ‘Altered State’. The video, directed by Ben Thornley for Sitcom Soldiers, can be seen below:
The band comments on the video: “As we haven’t taken part in our promo videos for a while we felt now was the time to make an appearance. But, we also wanted to create a journey with the video that was similar to the journey portrayed by the music. A pretty straight forward step from the night, what it hides and the fear it generates, into the reassurance and safety of the dawn. We have always really liked the idea of creating silhouettes (we tried to something similar with our first video, “Deception”), so we decided upon using back lights for the majority of the video, which is then reversed when the feeling of the music changes towards the end of the track. We feel the guys at Sitcom Soldiers have really captured the mood of the song, and also produced a video that draws you in.”
Ben Thornley who produced the video for Sitcom Soldiers: “Working with TESSERACT for us was about capturing something which did a great song justice with a memorable performance, whilst providing an equally provocative atmospheric narrative. The band naturally looked great and the creative process went very smoothly and shows in the final video.”
TESSERACT are currently on a US tour with Katatonia, Cult of Luna and Intronaut and then immediately venture off in a headlining run with Scale the Summit throughout North America. Next up are Mexico, the UK with Karnivool as well as a trip to India. 2014 kicks off on the road with in Europe and UK with The Safety Fire, Protest The Hero and Intervals before TESSERACT are part of the Soundwave Festival in Australia.
Dates are below.
TesseracT w/Katatonia, Cult of Luna and Intronaut:
02.10.2013 (USA) Chicago, IL – The Bottom Lounge
04.10.2013 (USA) Denver, CO – Summit Music Hall
06.10.2013 (USA) Los Angeles, CA – El Rey Theater
07.10.2013 (USA) San Francisco, CA – Slim’s
TesseracT Headline tour with Scale the Summit
09.10.2013 (CDN) Vancouver, BC – Tom Lee Music Hall
10.10.2013 (CDN) Edmonton, AB – Pawn Shop
12.10.2013 (CDN) Calgary, AB – The Gateway 13.10.2013 (CDN) Regina, SK – The Exchange
14.10.2013 (CDN) Winnipeg, MB – Union Sound Hall
16.10.2013 (USA) Minneapolis, MN – Skyway Theater – Studio B
17.10.2013 (USA) Lawrence, KS – The Granada Theater
18.10.2013 (USA) Indianapolis, IN – Emerson Theater
DREAM THEATER‘s new self-titled album, out now on Roadrunner Records, debuts at #5 on the Canadian Album Charts this week, selling just over 5,000 units. In the US, Dream Theater lands at #7 on The Billboard 200 chart, with approximately 34,000 copies sold.
Dream Theater tracklisting:
‘False Awakening Suite’
‘The Enemy Inside’
‘The Looking Glass’
‘Enigma Machine’
‘The Bigger Picture’
‘Behind The Veil’
‘Surrender To Reason’
‘Along For The Ride’
‘Illumination Theory’
In the video footage below, guitarist John Petrucci shows you what’s in the limited edition collector’s box set version of their new, self-titled album.
Saga released Spin It Again – Live In Munich last week. More info can be found here. Magnum will release Escape From The Shadow Garden in early 2014. More info on that can be found at this location.
Think “first wave of thrash metal”, and what has been come to be known as the Big 4 immediately come to mind – METALLICA, SLAYER, ANTHRAX, and MEGADETH. But that’s not to say that there weren’t other bands from the era that lent a hand in the trailblazing of the genre – especially, HERETIC. And now, fans can hear what the band was all about on a recently-released box set, From The Vault… Tortured And Broken, via Metal Blade Records.
Collecting a pair of classic early releases from the band and expanding them with extra tracks (the 1986 EP Torture Knows No Boundary and the 1988 full-length Breaking Point), From The Vault also includes a DVD comprised of two vintage live performances (the Country Club from 1985 and Jezebels in 1986 – the latter recorded while supporting Megadeth) and a bonus video clip (for the track ‘Let Em Bleed’).
Hailing from Los Angeles, the band was founded by guitarist Brian Korban in 1985. Including singer Mike Howe in their ranks from 1986-1988 (before he would go on to join METAL CHURCH for a trio of releases), Heretic quickly found themselves in the midst of a musical movement that would take the world by storm.
“Heretic opened for so many great bands back in the 80’s,” recalls Korban. “Metallica, SAXON, MOTÖRHEAD, THE PLASMATICS, Megadeth, ARMORED SAINT, RIOT, LIZZY BORDEN to name a few. I think opening for Metallica, and winning their crowd over was one of my fondest memories. During our first song, the crowd was chanting ‘Metallica!’ louder than we we’re playing live. But by the third song, we had their full attention.”
It wasn’t long before Heretic was penning hard-hitting thrash tunes, including a pair that sticks out as favorites for the guitarist.
“My personal favorites are ‘Betrayed’ and ‘The Search’. ‘Betrayed’ because it really spotlights every member of the new lineup, and it’s fun to play live. ‘The Search’ is a song I’m proud of for its lyrics. Pretty heavy thought for a young songwriter. They still ring true with all the crazy things going on in the world today.”
As Korban stated, there is a new Heretic lineup, which is comprised of himself, as well as singer Julian Mendez (who sang with the band in 1986), second guitarist Glenn Rogers, bassist Angelo Espino, and drummer Ignazio Coppola.
“We plan to keep recording new music, and play as much as we can,” says Rogers. “We want to grow the band and bring it to its rightful place in the world of heavy metal.”
Looking back, Mendez explains why he feels Heretic was overlooked by many the first time around.
“I think because there were too many line-up changes, and by the time Heretic was recognized as a national act, the lineup changed again and the grunge scene came into play. Literally killing the scene.”
But with the band resuscitated in 2011 (after going their separate ways in 1988) and issuing a strong comeback album (A Time Of Crisis) and video (‘Blood Will Tell’, which can be viewed below), Heretic has big time goals set for the future, according to Espino – “New record, bigger and better shows, world domination!”
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
