Jägermeister conducted an interview with guitarist Alex Skolnick of San Francisco Bay Area metallers TESTAMENT at this year’s edition of the Bloodstock Open Air festival, which is being held August 9-12 at Catton Park, Derbyshire in the United Kingdom. You can now watch the chat below.
TESTAMENT‘s new album, “Dark Roots Of Earth”, sold more than 20,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No, 12 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD arrived in stores on July 31 via Nuclear Blast Records.
TESTAMENT‘s previous studio album, “The Formation of Damnation”, opened with 11,400 units back in May 2008 to debut at position No. 59.
“Dark Roots Of Earth” was produced, mixed and mastered by acclaimed British producer Andy Sneap (ARCH ENEMY, NEVERMORE, ACCEPT, EXODUS). Special bonus tracks were recorded, mixed and mastered by Juan Urteaga (MACHINE HEAD, EXODUS, TED NUGENT, NIGHT RANGER) at his Trident Studios. The cover artwork for the effort (see below) was painted by Eliran Kantor, who has previously worked with ATHEIST, SIGH, ANACRUSIS and GWAR, among others.
Professionally filmed video footage of TESTAMENT‘s entire August 11 performance at this year’s edition of the Bloodstock Open Air festival at Catton Park, Derbyshire in the United Kingdom can be seen below.
TESTAMENT‘s new album, “Dark Roots Of Earth”, sold more than 20,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No, 12 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD arrived in stores on July 31 via Nuclear Blast Records.
TESTAMENT‘s previous studio album, “The Formation of Damnation”, opened with 11,400 units back in May 2008 to debut at position No. 59.
“Dark Roots Of Earth” was produced, mixed and mastered by acclaimed British producer Andy Sneap (ARCH ENEMY, NEVERMORE, ACCEPT, EXODUS). Special bonus tracks were recorded, mixed and mastered by Juan Urteaga (MACHINE HEAD, EXODUS, TED NUGENT, NIGHT RANGER) at his Trident Studios. The cover artwork for the effort (see below) was painted by Eliran Kantor, who has previously worked with ATHEIST, SIGH, ANACRUSIS and GWAR, among others.
TeePee of Total Rock Radio conducted an interview with Erik Danielsson, vocalist/guitarist player of Swedish black metallers WATAIN, at this year’s edition of the Bloodstock Open Air festival, which is being held August 9-12 at Catton Park, Derbyshire in the United Kingdom. You can now watch the chat below.
WATAIN released a new DVD, “Opus Diaboli”, in North America on June 5. The production commemorates the band’s 13 years of chaos by providing a visual and audio documentation of their ceremonial anniversary concert performance in Stockholm and the long years of physical, intellectual and spiritual work leading up to it. “Opus Diaboli” is an epic 90-minute journey into the forbidden realms of wild-hearted Satanic metal and the manifestation of a unique band that has truly chosen a path few have ever dared to tread upon.
Comments the band in a collective statement: “This movie was first meant to be the recording of our 13-year anniversary concert, but as everything with WATAIN, it took on a life of its own and become one of our most ambitious projects to date. It is a very personal and emotional piece of work and is certainly not for the faint of heart. But for those who wish to explore the glimmering abyss of WATAIN further, this will be a rewarding release for sure. The box version of ‘Opus Diaboli’ [available exclusively through the band’s own Wolfwear.net] contains an exclusive photobook. It was an overwhelming experience going through the massive archives in search of photos that best sum up the storm of passionate turmoil that has marked the WATAIN journey, especially since we wanted to stay away from live photos and focus more on moments off stage. The results were, however, very satisfying and offer a rare and spicy mixture of photos of which most have never been published previously. We are also proud to announce that this will be the first release on our own label, His Master’s Noise, a name originating from BATHORY who had it in mind for their own label back in the early 1980s. Just like with our merch store Wolfwear.net, from which the limited box set will be available, this time we have chosen to stand by our own and do things our way.”
NUCLEAR BLAST has recently announced that from today – August 10 at noon- on, DailyMotion will offer a live stream of the entire Bloodstock Open Air festival 2012, including shows by several NUCLEAR BLAST bands!
Dailymotion, the world’s second largest video portal, is exclusively streaming the Bloodstock Open Air metal music festival live, globally, from August 9 through August 12. The annual event, staged at Catton Park, Derbyshire in the United Kingdom, is one of the leading outdoor metal music festivals in the summer calendar.
Bloodstock will feature performances by artists and bands such as ALICE COOPER, MACHINE HEAD, SEPULTURA, PARADISE LOST, ANVIL, ORANGE GOBLIN and DREAMCATCHER. The festival has been running since 2001, originating from an indoor festival. It now boasts three stages of cutting edge metal performance, with an attending audience of over 10,000.
Building on a diverse range of entertainment screened live, Dailymotion‘s streaming of Bloodstock Open Air will allow thousands of metal music fans to watch all the action from the comfort of their armchairs for the first time.
Daniel Adams, VP International Content at Dailymotion, commented: “We’re keen to showcase a variety of live music gigs and festivals to ensure we’re catering for the widest possible audience. Bloodstock Open Air is a well-respected metal music event and we’re delighted to be able to screen it live for those unable to make the event in person.”
Dailymotion‘s live feed of Bloodstock Open Air can be viewed at this location.
Everyone with a braincell in their noggin knows that Bloodstock 2012 is going to rule, but just in case you’re being a wally and are a bit unsure, we got Tom Dare to give us ten reasons why…
1. Legends
One thing you can always guarantee with Bloodstock is a selection of absolutely legendary bands in their fields. Black metal’s your thing? No problem, here’s Mayhem, the band that made the greatest BM record of the lot. Like thrash? Here’s Testament, the Bay Area giants. Oh, and Sepultura to go with them. Devotee of death metal? Here’s Deicide with Glen fucking Benton back in the band, along with technical wizards Nile and the filth of Benediction. Goth metal fan? Paradise Lost will bring the Northern misery better than any. Sludge nut? How about Kirk Windstein’s riffgods Crowbar. Still not happy? Then how about…
2. Alice Fucking Cooper
Bloodstock’s trick of getting a band to close the Sunday night with at least one song the entire bloody planet knows backwards continues with the shock rock superstar headlining day three. If you don’t think the best way to close three days of drinking, debauchery and metal is by standing in a field with your mates and singing along to School’s Out and Poison, your sense of fun is overdue for its 10,000 chuckle service. He can leave the Lady Gaga cover at home, though.
3. Atmosphere
The more intimate set up at Catton Hall not only makes it easier to get around than the massive festivals, it gives it a friendly, welcoming feel unique to the event. Where else will you see complete strangers hugging and making friends while watching a Scandinavian man with his face painted like a panda shrieking about Satan? Only at Bloodstock.
4. The Return Of Behemoth
We’ve had our share of shit news in metal over the last few years, but Nergal‘s recovery from leukaemia was the best news imaginable. The bible-destroying frontman and his band are finally back by overwhelming demand, and with the ear-ruining songs to justify their headline status. Demigod and Evangelion are two of the finest extreme metal albums of our time, and hearing those monstrous tunes again is sure to be a massive highlight. Slaves. Shall. Fucking. Serve.
Behemoth: Featuring Nergie Nerg
5. Brutality… In A Field
For those of us into the heaviest shit, 362 days of the year are spent in dingy dives, the downstairs of a pub or somewhere else sweaty and tightly enclosed. Then once a year we decide we need to get at least a little sunshine, and gather together in a grassy field under August sunshine to watch abominable destruction meted out arbitrarily, because watching evil metal in the outdoors is a little bit special. Even if it does make corpse paint look a bit gash.
6. Watain
The best black metal band in the world, one of the best live bands of any genre in the world, Watain’s rise and rise reaches a new peak at Bloodstock this year. After following up 2010′s perfect masterpiece Lawless Darkness with jaw-dropping UK tours with Destroyer 666 and depressive Swedes Shining, Uppsala’s finest blew the roof off the tent at Sonisphere with a sinister display of brilliant music and fuckloads of fire, before decimating this year’s Golden Gods. Every time they play, they raise the bar. This could be a show to say “I was there” about in years to come.
7. Best Sophie Tent Ever
The main stage’s greatness is predictable by now, but quite how fantastic the Sophie Lancaster stage cast is in 2012 is pretty mind-boggling. Stoner rifflords Orange Goblin, dreamy French magicians Alcest, English black metallers Winterfylleth, new wave of thrash kings Evile, loveable scamps Dripback, exceptional newcomers Ancient Ascendant, Slovenian industrialists Noctiferia, and the utterly ferocious Anaal Nathrakh are likely to flatten the place when they close it on Sunday. Special stuff.
Orange Goblin Rocking The Shades
8. Revelations
You can always rely on something fresh you haven’t seen before catching your ears at Bloodstock, whether it’s a new band on the New Blood stage – Pure Negative, Talanas and Saturnian made shitloads of friends last year, probably why the latter have been invited back for 2012 – or something simply a bit different to what you’re used to. Put money on Hatebreed to win over any remaining doubters, The Black Dahlia Murder to go toe-to-toe with the legends without remotely being put in the shade and a band making their UK debut’s to find themselves very welcome. A band called…
9. Demonic Resurrection
The epic Indian extremists were supposed to make their bow at Sonisphere last year, only for visa issues to royally fuck off all of us looking forward to seeing them, and to leave the band badly out of pocket. Bloodstock got them back though, and this time there will be no stopping them. Guitarist, vocalist and famous heavy metal chef Demonstealer and his cohorts are coming, and we can’t fucking wait.
10. Machine. Fucking. Head.
Headline set. Five songs from Burn My Eyes. Fire in their belly and a point to prove. An August evening. A field. Lots of beer. If this doesn’t sound like one of the best ways to spend a Saturday night in the world, there’s something funny in your drinking water. Machine Head will kick your arse all the way into next year’s Bloodstock. Bang your heads, motherfuckers!
Bloodstock 2012 takes place from August 10-12 at Catton Hall, Derby! Get your tickets from the Bloodstock website.
, which is being held August 9-12 at Catton Park, Derbyshire in the United Kingdom. You can now watch the chat below.
Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 