Source: Bravewords.com
Yesterday Tales From The Stage author Michael Toney interviewed Tim “Ripper” Owens (DIO DISCIPLES, ex-JUDAS PRIEST, ICED EARTH, YNGWIE MALMSTEEN) backstage at the Hard Rock Cafe on the strip in Las Vegas, NV.
In the video below, Ripper shares his opinion on the news of Vivian Campbell’s new DIO tribute band. He also confirms his departure from Yngwie Malmsteen’s camp, as well as who he will be voting for next month.
Source: Bravewords.com
ICED EARTH are the latest act confirmed for the 2013 edition and 20th Anniversary of Germany’s Rockharz Open Air, which is scheduled for July 11th – 13th at Airport Ballenstedt in Harz, Germany.
Confirmed acts now include: ACCEPT, CHILDREN OF BODOM, DEVIL’S WALL TROPHY, ENSIFERUM, ICED EARTH and SUBWAY TO SALLY.
For more details visit Rockharz-festival.com.
Source: Blabbermouth.net
Rocket Queen Promotion recently conducted an interview with former ICED EARTH and current ASHES OF ARES singer Matt Barlow. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
Rocket Queen Promotion: Please introduce your new band ASHES OF ARES to the readers.
Matt: The band, at this point, consists of Freddie Vidales [ex-ICED EARTH], Van Williams [ex-NEVERMORE], and me. We will announce the other guys soon.
Rocket Queen Promotion: Who got the idea to name the band ASHES OF ARES? And what does ASHES OF ARES stand for?
Matt: I kind of had the name in mind and sold the idea to the guys. To me, it has a dual meaning, but I don’t want to spoil someone else’s interpretation. Let’s just keep the mystery for a while.
Rocket Queen Promotion: Could you please describe the musical feeling inside of your band? What kind of musical delicacy could we expect?
Matt: Well, most folks know what to expect from me, from my work with ICED EARTH and PYRAMAZE. so you take some of that and mix it with Van‘s brand of cadence and Freddie‘s riffage… blam-o….it’s ASHES OF ARES!!! It’s just straight-up heavy metal!
Rocket Queen Promotion: What is the progress on ASHES OF ARES? For example, when can we expect your first album.
Matt: We are working on shopping ourselves at this point. Hopefully we will have a schedule for release in the near future.
Rocket Queen Promotion: I really understand that family goes first, Matt, so what made you tick to team up with another band and entering the music business again? Is there a special reason? Or do you plan to have ASHES OF ARES as a non-touring band, for example, to make more time with the family.
Matt: The reason we are all doing this is for the love of music. We are metal guys and this is what we do. ASHES OF ARES live shows will be limited, but there will be live shows for fans, friends, and family to come to and enjoy with us. We really just want to create music that we enjoy and have that translate to our listeners.
Rocket Queen Promotion: Who is the main songwriter in the band?
Matt: The three of us are co-creators. When we conceived this idea, that’s how we wanted it to play out. All for one, and one for all… That kind of thing.
Rocket Queen Promotion: Do you miss your times with ICED EARTH or did you already file this chapter of your career away?
Matt: They were great times, but it was time for everyone to move on. There are no issues and certainly no regrets.
Read the entire interview from Rocket Queen Promotion.
Source: Blabbermouth.net
From Thursday, October 11 to Sunday, October 14, LinePlot Productions will have a booth at the New York Comic Con (NYCC) promoting the imminent release of its film, “Silver Circle”. At the convention, ICED EARTH mainman/guitarist Jon Schaffer will be meeting fans and signing autographs. In addition, they will be live-tweeting from the convention to announce the release of their full-length graphic novel.
When:
* Thursday, October 11 – 3 p.m. to 9 p.m. (professionals only)
* Friday, October 12 – 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
* Saturday, October 13 – 10 a.m. to 7 p.m.
* Sunday, October 14 – 10 a.m. to 5 p.m.
Where:
Jacob Jevits Center
655 West 34th Street
New York, NY 10001
LinePlot Productions will be at booth #961.
Note: Jon Schaffer will be available for autographs and photographs at the LinePlot Productions booth on Saturday from 12 noon to 2 p.m. and 4 p.m. to 6 p.m. (subject to change and most likely extended).
“Silver Circle” is a film that lives in our world after massive economic collapse: tyranny, explosions, monetary mayhem, romance and rebels. At the center of corruption is the Federal Reserve who has gained enormous amounts of control over America’s economy, with disastrous effects beginning to show. Standing opposite is the band of Rebels who have vowed to take back the freedom they once knew…and they won’t go down without a fight.
“Silver Circle” plans to take liberty filmmaking to a whole other level.
The NYCC is the East Coast’s biggest and most popular culture convention. The show floor hosts comics, graphic novels, anime, manga, video games, toys, movies, and television. Panels and autograph sessions give fans a chance to interact with their favorite creators.
The New York Comic Con is the second largest pop culture convention in America.
For more information, visit SilverCircleMovie.com.
ICED EARTH guitarist/vocalist Jon Schaffer has issued the following statement:
“It has come to my attention that Century Media is suing fans over illegal downloads of (among others) our latest album Dystopia. I felt it was important to clarify that we had no knowledge of this motion and were, sadly, not asked permission.
We all know the music industry is changing. We have been adapting to this model by embracing legal streaming services such as Spotify and by bringing our music to places we have never played before by touring our proverbial asses off.
As much as we respect that the labels are having a harder time selling music, we feel this is a misguided effort and want to make sure our fans know we would have not given our consent would we have been asked.”
Jon Schaffer
NorthJersey.com’s Peter J. Sampson recently reported:
An independent record label, a foreign film company and several pornography studios have declared war on illegal file sharing in New Jersey, suing more than 12,000 people since June for allegedly using peer-to-peer networks to unlawfully distribute copyrighted material over the Internet.
After a lull of several years, 44 lawsuits have been filed in the state’s federal courthouses over the past 18 months against more than 15,000 “John Doe” defendants who, initially, are identified only by Internet addresses that stretch from Fort Lee to Honolulu.
The report continues: A Hackensack attorney, Jay R. McDaniel, is one of the lawyers leading the charge. He has filed 17 suits on behalf of three clients in U.S. District Court in Newark, alleging copyright infringement by more than 14,000 file swappers.
“What’s critical to these cases, and what many people don’t understand, is that it’s the distribution that is the evil influence,” McDaniel said. “It’s the distribution that does the real damage and harm, not just to the client but to the culture industries and to creative endeavors in general.”
McDaniel’s clients include a London-based record company, Century Media Ltd., which is suing fans of two popular metal bands for allegedly using the BitTorrent file-sharing protocol to unlawfully distribute their music online.
Source: Bravewords.com
According to NorthJersey.com, a New Jersey attorney has filed lawsuits on behalf of Century Media Records that collectively target more than 7,000 people for allegedly using peer-to-peer networks to unlawfully distribute “Dark Adrenaline”, the most recent album by the Italian band LACUNA COIL, and “Dystopia”, the 2011 album by ICED EARTH.
In a typical illegal-downloading case, a lawyer hires a company to search for Internet protocol (IP) addresses associated with the use of file-sharing software such as BitTorrent. Once the IP addresses have been harvested, the lawyer’s clients file suit naming defendants as John Doe. They then seek to have mass subpoenas issued for the Internet providers associated with the harvested IP addresses in order to obtain the name and address of the owner of the IP address on the date it was harvested. Once identified, an Internet account holder typically faces the prospect of settling the case for a few thousand dollars or hiring a lawyer to fight the charges.
“It’s tough. If you get one of these letters you’ve been put in a difficult and unfair spot,” said Rebecca Jeschke, a spokeswoman for the Electronic Frontier Foundation, a San Francisco-based civil-liberties group, referring to the notices that go out once a John Doe has been identified.
“In many of these situations,” she added, “the goal doesn’t seem to be to fight infringement; it seems to be to get settlements. That’s where the money-making is.”
Nuclear Blast Records made headlines earlier in the year when it filed a lawsuit against 80 users of the BitTorrent network over illegal music downloads of an album by Oakland, California-based extreme metallers ALL SHALL PERISH. The lawsuit was not only brought without the band’s permission, but also without their knowledge.
After members of ALL SHALL PERISH made it clear that they did not want to participate in the legal proceedings, Nuclear Blast voluntarily dismissed the lawsuit without prejudice.
In December 2008, the Recording Industry Association Of America (RIAA) abandoned its litigation campaign against file sharers after having targeted some 18,000 individuals, usually naming dozens or hundreds of defendants per suit.
Most of the defendants settled out of court for a few thousand dollars rather than risk Copyright Act fines of up to $150,000 per purloined music track.
Source: Blabbermouth.net
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Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 