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Interview With Ronnie Romero: “Maybe Rainbow can make some more shows next year.”

Posted by aliblackdiamond on July 7, 2016
Posted in: Interviews. Tagged: , , . 14 Comments

Interview By Alison Booth

Only four months have passed since my first interview with vocalist Ronnie Romero, but so much has happened during that time! Last year, Ronnie (also of LORDS OF BLACK) was announced as the singer for the all new Ritchie Blackmore’s RAINBOW to play three live shows, which as we all know took place last month in Germany and the UK (review here). Ritchie Blackmore‘s return to rock seems to have been a resounding success, so I wanted to find out more from Ronnie and catch up with him and his thoughts, now the shows are completed. Check out a few excerpts written below and listen to the full interview on the audio player.

Ronnie Romero 2016

At the start of our talk, Ronnie updated me on how he feels after finishing three huge shows as a part of RAINBOW:

“I feel like in a dream. It’s hard to assimilate all that has happened in the last few weeks. Not just living this situation with Ritchie and the other band mates in Rainbow, meet the fans so close to the stage and back stage and all the people going to the show. And then all these musicians who I love talk to me and telling me that I made a great job, it’s a dream come true.”

Discussing Ritchie and the band’s rehearsal time, Ronnie expressed:

“It’s amazing to see how he can still play guitar at 71 years old, he’s a legend. Ritchie is a really nice guy inside, he makes me feel very comfortable and all the band members, we have like a little family you know. Ritchie makes me feel very good, not just in rehearsals, on stage and this two weeks of tour.”

Ronnie told me how he feels about his performance with RAINBOW:

“I feel really good with my job. I tried to make justice, not just to the songs, but all the singers. I just try to sing the songs in my own way and my own style and I think the people appreciate that. I’m not just a copy of the other singers, I prefer to sing like Ronnie Romero singing those songs.
And I think the people prefer that, I think they don’t like seeing a guy or pay for a ticket to hear a guy try to sing like Ronnie James Dio, it’s not a good idea.”

Looking to the future and if there will be more shows for RAINBOW, Ronnie stated:

“I hope so, I really hope we can do some more shows, maybe next year. I have a really great feeling about the band and Ritchie is really happy with the results, he’s really happy with the audience and maybe we can make some more shows next year. You need to stay tuned!”

Ritchie Blackmore's RAINBOW 25th June 2016

Ritchie Blackmore’s RAINBOW
25th June 2016

For more information about Ronnie, visit his official Facebook page here. The official LORDS OF BLACK page can be found here and the official website at this location.

The official Ritchie Blackmore Facebook page can be found here and website here.

BEHOLDER: Announce UK-IRE Tour With ONSLAUGHT

Posted by aliblackdiamond on July 7, 2016
Posted in: Int. News. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment
British metallers BEHOLDER have announced their special guest inclusion on thrash legends ONSLAUGHT‘s ‘The Force Revisited’ UK-IRE Tour.
Onslaught Beholder Tour 2016
Onslaught return to home soil celebrating the 30th anniversary of their legendary opus “The Force”, while Beholder will be delivering tracks from their highly acclaimed “Reflections” album which has taken the band to the next level.
Beholder frontman Simon Hall:  “Loving the thought of this tour already, and to be honest being on a bill with the mighty Onslaught and Anihilated means the punters get a real tour de force  ……. Tour de Force ….. get it?“
Beholder Band
Onslaught guitarist Nige Rockett comments “We are well and truly stoked to announce our upcoming tour of the UK & Ireland this Autumn, by the time we hit the road in November it will be well over 2 and a half years since we did the last run, we feel the time is now right to bring things home once again. Everything is gonna be stripped back and brutal, just as Thrash Metal should be!”

Onslaught

Onslaught / Beholder / Anihilated live:

November:

2nd SOUTHAMPTON – Talking Heads *

3rd GRIMSBY – Yardbirds *

4th LIMERICK – Dolans

5th DUBLIN – Voodoo

6th BELFAST – Limelight2

7th DERBY – Hairy Dog

9th SWANSEA – The Scene *

10th EDINGBURGH – Bannermans

11th GLASGOW – Audio

12th KETTERING – Athletic Club **

13th MANCHESTER -Rebellion

14th BIRMINGHAM – Rainbow

15th BANBURY – Wheatsheaf

16th CHESTER – Live Room

17th CARDIFF – Globe

18th BRISTOL – Fleece

19th LONDON – Titanfest

*Not Beholder

**Onslaught Only

Buy Tickets

Beholder on Facebook

ONSLAUGHT on Facebook

 

METAL ALLEGIANCE: Announce New EP “Fallen Heroes”

Posted by aliblackdiamond on July 6, 2016
Posted in: Int. News. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

Heavy metal is more than a genre, more than an attitude and certainly more than whatever cheap epithets are dismissively thrown at it by clueless critics. At its best, metal is a lifestyle, a community, a tribe uniting people across cultural, economic and philosophical divides with the primal pulse of bombastic and majestic expression.

METAL ALLEGIANCE have announced they will release a special EP, entitled “Fallen Heroes”, on August 12, 2016. The band united to pay homage to the 3 legends – Lemmy Kilmister, David Bowie, and Glenn Frey – who impacted not just their lives but the world as well.

“The end of 2015 and most of 2016 has been a brutal year with many of our heroes passing,” comments Mark Menghi. “When Portnoy called me in January to alert me that Glenn Frey had passed, I literally broke down. That night after having a few Tequila Sunrises in Glenn’s honor, a lightbulb went off… We’re going to record a few tunes to honor our fallen heroes. I called back Mike that evening and asked him what he thought and the next day we were in the studio recording. By weeks end, all guitars, drums and bass were complete. I can’t begin to explain the influence that Glenn Frey, Lemmy, and David Bowie had on me. Each of their music has helped me immensely during some real dark periods of my life and not to mention their influence on me as a musician and songwriter. Lemmy is God, Glenn is King and David is the Architect.”

Alex Skolnick comments: “These brilliant artists have an extensive catalogue that is sometimes on the softer side (with the exception of MOTÖRHEAD, of course). So when it came to THE EAGLES & BOWIE, we specifically chose tunes of theirs that are riff-based and translatable to high energy arrangements. For Lemmy, we immediately crossed out ‘Ace Of Spades’ (great tune but the last thing the world needs is yet another cover version) and chose ‘Iron Fist,’ which we already had a good handle on from playing live and to us is every bit as much a signature MOTÖRHEAD tune.”

“I’m really excited to be a part of the »Fallen Heroes« EP,” comments Alissa White-Gluz. “I think we have all felt the weight of losing so many great musicians this year. I think these songs are a cool way to pay tribute to a few people who contributed so much to the world of music and showcase a different side of ourselves.”

Metal Allegiance Fallen Heroes EP
Recorded at Conclave Studios in New York City, Fallen Heroes was produced by Mark Menghi and Alex Skolnick. The album was mixed by Jay Ruston in Los Angeles, CA and mastered at Sterling Sound New York City by Ted Jensen. The initial sketch of the artwork was created by Mark Menghi and Stephen Thompson (ANTHRAX) and was later finalized by Marcelo Vasco (SLAYER).

Below is the track list for “Fallen Heroes”:

01. Iron Fist (feat. Troy Sanders)
02. Suffragette City (feat. Mark Osegueda)
03. Life In The Fast Lane (feat. Alissa White-Gluz)

Guitars: Alex Skolnick
Bass: Mark Menghi
Drums: Mike Portnoy

METAL ALLEGIANCE took the news of Lemmy‘s passing very hard as the bands very first gig was on MOTÖRHEAD‘s first Motörboat Cruise. It was on that boat where the idea to write a record together and carry the MA flag as a brand/band rather than a sporadic, special event show… all of us in MA are humbly grateful for the opportunity that team MOTÖRHEAD gave us.

In late 2015, the band scheduled a West Coast string of intimate club dates with a stop as the world-famous Whisky A Go-Go. The year concluded with the band heartbroken saying goodbye to their beloved friend. They later found out that his funeral and memorial services would be held the day of their performance. The band was asked by their tour agent who is also MOTÖRHEAD‘s agent, Lemmy‘s management, close friends of his, and the owner of the Rainbow and Whisky to incorporate a tribute which of course, they obliged. The day of their performance, Sunset Blvd. was shut down and their bus was parked on a street filled with tears, madness, partiers and a sea of mourning metal heads. They said goodbye to their friend that evening with help from MOTÖRHEAD drummer Mikkey Dee amongst a ton of other special guests.

The next day they played their final show at the Regency Ballroom in San Francisco. Mid-set they were informed that David Bowie had passed. Mark Menghi comments: “I remember coming off stage to trade bass duties with David Ellefson (we would rotate songs) and he stopped me, looked me and Osegueda in the eyes and said “Dude, Bowie just passed away.” Literally in mid-set we got that news. I looked at Mark and he was in tears. Not even a minute later, he was on stage telling the Bay Area crowd of the news he just learned. I turned to the side and looked over at Mike Portnoy and he just had his head down with his hands over his head trying to comprehend what Mark was saying. The next few songs was our Lemmy tribute and tears rolled off all of our eyes while paying tribute to one while learning of the passing of another.”

METAL ALLEGIANCE live:
11.08.  USA     Brooklyn, NY – Saint Vitus
14.08.  UK       Derby – Bloodstock Open Air

Order METAL ALLEGIANCE‘s self-titled debut here: http://nblast.de/MetalAllegiance

More on »Metal Allegiance«:
‘Pledge Of Allegiance’ OFFICIAL TRACK & LYRICS:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=hTWPrb7CicQ
‘Gift Of Pain’ OFFICIAL MUSIC VIDEO:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TH2uj1N8GoQ
‘We Rock’ OFFICIAL VIDEO:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AG5uRzpWpt4
‘Can’t Kill The Devil’ OFFICIAL TRACK & LYRIC VIDEO:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Kn-yxpt1QM
‘Scars’ OFFICIAL LYRIC VIDEO:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DrdZaRGmA1I

More info:
www.metalallegiance.com
www.facebook.com/metalallegiancetour
www.nuclearblast.de/metalallegiance

Metal Allegiance Made in Brooklyn Show 2016

HELLHAMMER ‘Blood Insanity’: Prowling Death Records, Century Media Records To Release Previously Unissued Single

Posted by aliblackdiamond on July 6, 2016
Posted in: Int. News. Tagged: , , , , . Leave a comment

Century Media Records and Prowling Death Records are proud to announce the joint release of the HELLHAMMER ‘Blood Insanity’ 7″ vinyl single, originally conceived by the band in 1984.

The worldwide release date for the ‘Blood Insanity’ 7” (Which comes packaged in a gatefold sleeve) will be August 19th, 2016 and the pre-sale will begin via CM Distro / www.cmdistro.com on July 22nd, 2016.

Tom Gabriel Warrior: “In early 1984, after Hellhammer’s third demo Satanic Rites, Hellhammer bassist/singer Steve Warrior, Hellhammer roadie Marco Dinosaur Suremann, and I contemplated properly releasing some of the music Hellhammer had recorded the year before. We planned a NWOBHM-style 7″ vinyl single, containing two songs taken from the Triumph Of Death demo recording sessions of June 1983.

The single was to feature Blood Insanity as a title track, and Maniac as its b-side. The cover of the single was to be a photo taken by Hellhammer photographer Martin Kyburz in early 1983. We drafted a brief typewriter memo, recording the outline for this single proposal.

At the time, it was difficult and prohibitively expensive for a band to directly contract a manufacturing plant to produce a vinyl record without the involvement of a record company, so the single eventually remained a mere idea, while Hellhammer ultimately signed with Noise Records in West Berlin. The Blood Insanity single project thus languished in an unrealized state until the eventual dissolution of Hellhammer rendered any plans for further Hellhammer releases redundant.

Nonetheless, the unrealized single never really faded from my memory throughout all the commotion associated with Hellhammer’s past existence during the many years since the band’s termination. Moreover, Prowling Death Records, founded in my bedroom in 1983 to release the Hellhammer demos, had in the meantime become a proper record company. When I presented the idea to Century Media Records, the long-standing licensing partner of Prowling Death Records, they immediately pledged their support.

The original single was to be issued in a simple card sleeve; but the gatefold format now chosen allows us the luxury to expand the visual presentation: the outside representing the single exactly as it was to be in 1984, the inside adding information about the project’s history.

The result is this single, produced in full coordination with the Hellhammer members who played on these songs and designed as faithfully as possible in accordance with the original concept we devised 32 years ago. It features the Prowling Death Records number we originally assigned to it: PDR 007.”

The ‘Blood Insanity’ 7” release is limited to a one-time only pressing of 3,000 copies and will be available in the following vinyl editions:

Picture 7“ / 500 copies

Silver 7” / 300 copies (Century Media exclusive)

White 7” / 300 copies (Nuclear Blast exclusive)

Clear 7” / 300 copies (High Roller exclusive)

Transparent Red 7” / 600 copies

Black 7“ / 1000 copies

All 7“ vinyl single copies will be shrink-wrapped in plastic and marked with a colour sticker (Golden colour for the Picture 7”) to indicate its respective edition.

In related news, Tom Gabriel Warrior’s current band TRIPTYKON have just announced two special warm-up concerts in Germany before their appearance at the 2016 edition of the legendary Wacken Open Air festival. The two intimate warm-up concerts will take place in the week before the festival, on August 3rd (Freiburg) and 4th (Essen). Here is a list of the upcoming concerts for Triptykon:

Triptykon Live 2016/2017:

03.08.2016 Freiburg, Germany – Crash

04.08.2016 Essen, Germany – Zeche Carl

06.08.2016 Wacken, Germany – Wacken Open Air

13.08.2016 Kortrijk, Belgium – Alcatraz Hard Rock & Metal Festival

08.09.2016 Hüttikon, Switzerland – Meh Suff! Metal-Festival 2016

03.03.2017 Tilburg, The Netherlands – Netherlands Deathfest II

More news about Hellhammer and Triptykon to follow soon.

Hellhammer Blood Insanity

 

A DAY TO REMEMBER: Announce 2017 European Tour; New Album “Bad Vibrations” Out This Summer

Posted by aliblackdiamond on July 5, 2016
Posted in: Int. News. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

A DAY TO REMEMBER has announced an extensive arena tour of UK and Mainland Europe in January and February 2017. Please see below for the full list of dates, and the pre-sale/on sale details.

22-Jan-2017 – Cardiff – Cardiff International Arena – UK – TICKETS
23-Jan-2017 – Glasgow – The SSE Hydro – UK – TICKETS
25-Jan-2017 – Birmingham – Barclay Card Arena – UK- TICKETS
27-Jan-2017 – London – The SSE Arena Wembley – UK- TICKETS
28-Jan-2017 – Leeds – Leeds Arena – UK- TICKETS
30-Jan-2017 – Oberhausen – Turbinen Halle – Germany – TICKETS
31-Jan-2017 – Leipzig – Haus Auensee – Germany – TICKETS
01-Feb-2017 – Cologne – Palladium – Germany – TICKETS
03-Feb-2017 – Hamburg – Sporthalle – Germany – TICKETS
04-Feb-2017 – Berlin – Columbiahalle – Germany – TICKETS
05-Feb-2017 – Vienna – Gasometer – Austria- TICKETS
07-Feb-2017 – Milan – Alcatraz – Italy – TICKETS
08-Feb-2017 – Zurich – Volkshaus – Switzerland – TICKETS
10-Feb-2017 – Offenbach – Stadthalle Offenbach – Germany – TICKETS
11-Feb-2017 – Stuttgart – Schleyerhalle – Germany – TICKETS
12-Feb-2017 – Paris – Le Trianon – France – TICKETS
14-Feb-2017 – Brussels – AB – Belgium – TICKETS
15-Feb-2017 – Tilburg – 013 – The Netherlands – TICKETS

July 6th – O2 presale for UK dates, presale for German and French dates
July 7th – Venue presale for UK dates
July 8th – General on sale for all dates.

A Day To Remember will be touring in support of their much-anticipated new album “Bad Vibrations”, which will be released this summer. Vocalist Jeremy McKinnon, guitarists Kevin Skaff and Neil Westfall, bassist Joshua Woodard and drummer Alex Shelnutt recorded “Bad Vibrations” with producers Bill Stevenson (Descendents, Black Flag) and Jason Livermore (Rise Against, NOFX). Released on the band’s own ADTR Records and distributed by Epitaph, the album was mixed by Grammy winner Andy Wallace (Foo Fighters, Slayer) and is the follow-up to 2013’s “Common Courtesy”.

The band recently launched a video for the title song ‘Bad Vibrations’. You can watch it HERE. The song/video followed the release of lead single/video ‘Paranoia’ which premiered on Zane Lowe’s Beats 1 Radio Show and has gone on to amass more than 4.4 million Spotify streams and 3.6 million YouTube views – click HERE to watch. Fans can get ‘Bad Vibrations’ and ‘Paranoia’ as instant downloads by clicking smarturl.it/badvibrations to pre-order Bad Vibrations on iTunes. Pre-order bundles are also available on the band’s official site or at smarturl.it/adtr-preorder.

Last month, A Day To Remember won a Kerrang! Award for the Best International Band, and performed live at the award ceremony in London. That same week they performed live as part of the BBC Radio 1 Rock All Dayer.  You can watch their BBC Performance HERE.

On July 18th, A Day To Remember will headline the 2016 Journeys Alternative Press Awards fueled by Monster Energy at Schottenstein Center in Columbus, OH.  This Summer they will hit the road in the US with Blink-182 for a tour of arenas and sheds set to kick off July 21 at Viejas Arena in San Diego, CA.

Over the course of the past several years, each of A Day To Remember’s releases have hit No. 1 on Billboard’s Rock, Indie and/or Alternative Charts, they’ve sold more than a million units, racked up over 400 million Spotify streams and 500 million YouTube views, garnered two gold-selling albums and singles (and one silver album in the UK) and sold out entire continental tours, amassing a global fanbase whose members number in the millions. All of which explains why Rolling Stone called them “An Artist You Need To Know.”
OFFICIAL SITE
FACEBOOK
TWITTER
INSTAGRAM
YOUTUBE

A Day To Remember Band 2016

KAMBRIUM: First Track-By-Track Trailer Released

Posted by aliblackdiamond on July 5, 2016
Posted in: Int. News. Tagged: , , . Leave a comment

German epic death metal newcomers KAMBRIUM are set to release their new studio album “The Elders’ Realm” on July 29th through NoiseArt Records.

In celebration of the new album, the band have released the first track-by-track trailer. Let the band give you further information on the idea behind the first three songs:

1. Abyssal Streams
2. Through Shades And Despair
3. Conjure The Lost

Check it out here:

The track  ‘Shattered Illusions’ is already released as a digital single.
Order the single here:
iTunes: http://apple.co/28OiNbM
Amazon: http://amzn.to/28K9jgD

Check out the lyric video of the song here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2U01gD6KsSw

The band states:
“Our first single “Shattered Illusions” is a bloody fast song with catchy melodies, impelling riffs and awesome solos. It’s not our most epic song though, but it will show you what we’ve got! “

Tracklist:
1. Abyssal Streams
2. Through Shades And Despair
3. Conjure The Lost
4. The Elders‘ Realm
5. Shattered Illusions
6. Colossus Of The Seas
7. Reckoning Of The Great
8. Season Of The Sea Witch
9. Layer Of Spores
10. Furious Decay Of A Dying World

With only two releases, Shadowpath (2011) and Dark Reveries (2013), KAMBRIUM have already become one of the most talked about bands in the underground. Their unique blend of melodic death metal with  symphonic elements have quickly made them a favorite with fans and critics alike.

Pre-Order the new Kambrium album now:
Nuclear blast: http://bit.ly/1UaWCvK
EMP: http://bit.ly/1sHHYVV
Amazon: http://amzn.to/1ZTFVsq
Media Markt: http://bit.ly/1YtSP1R

Websites:
www.kambrium-band.de
www.facebook.com/kambrium

Kambrium The Elder's Realm Cover