American bass player Rex Brown is well known as the longstanding bass guitarist for PANTERA, recording the legendary albums such as “Cowboys From Hell” and “Far Beyond Driven”, along with the much missed guitarist Dimebag Darrell.
In more recent years, Rex worked again with vocalist Phil Anselmo as part of DOWN. Rex is currently part of L.A. supergroup KILL DEVIL HILL, along with Dewey Bragg, Mark Zavon and new drummer Johnny Kelly (replacing Vinny Appice). The band released their self-titled debut album two years ago.
Earlier in the day on the River Thames in London, Rex played a short set on the HMS Hammer boat. Later in the evening of Monday 16th June, Rex presented the ‘Dimebag Darrell Shredder‘ award to PERIPHERY‘s Misha Mansoor, at the Metal Hammer Golden Gods 2014. For the interview with Misha, check this location.
Rex expressed: “It’s kinda cool that I got to do it, kind of a touching thing, very very fucking cool to honour my fallen brother.”
For the brief chat in full, tune into the audio player below:
Century Media has announced that KILL DEVIL HILL have partnered with REVOLVER MAGAZINE for the world premiere of “Leave It All Behind” the first music video from the band’s sophomore studio release ‘REVOLUTION RISE’. The video can be watched now exclusively at revolvermag.com: HERE.
“We’re all fired up and ready to kick this year off right!” says bassist Rex Brown, whose autobiography ‘Official Truth – 101 Proof: The Official Story Of Pantera’ will be released in paperback March 24, 2014, with North American KILL DEVIL HILL tour dates to follow. “‘Leave It All Behind’ was shot with a very different approach for us. It’s a story board video that intertwines the band with a guy that has faced some apocalyptic demons in his own mind. We shot the video at an old missile site in Southern California that had been burned out by fires years ago. The story hits very close to home with the lyrical content of the song, which makes it even more surreal and sublime – we’ll leave the rest up to your interpretation!”
Featuring PANTERA and former DOWN bassist Rex Brown, former DIO, BLACK SABBATH and HEAVEN AND HELL drummer Vinny Appice, ex-PISSING RAZORS singer Dewey Bragg and acclaimed session/touring guitarist Mark Zavon, ‘REVOLUTION RISE’ was produced by KILL DEVIL HILL and Jeff Pilson, and mixed by Jay Ruston [STONE SOUR, ANTHRAX]. The album is available now in your favorite record stores, via iTunes (featuring exclusive bonus tracks “Revolution Rise” and an acoustic version of album closer “Life Goes On”), and at Amazon. Exclusive and unique bundles are also available through both CM Distro and the KILL DEVIL HILL online store.
A fixture on 2013 best-of lists, the album has fans and critics alike raving…
“A spectacular sophomore effort that hits all the right buttons… Expertly played, pristinely produced, catchy (but not tacky) and richly textured, ‘REVOLUTION RISE’ is a monster of an album!” -About.com / Heavy Metal
“An earthquake inducing album… The new record is a sweltering masterpiece that crackles with intensity and rhythmic syncopation.” -The Front Row Report
“The first KILL DEVIL HILL record kicked everyone in the ass. The second, ‘REVOLUTION RISE’, will not only kick your ass, it will crush your ears and your mind as well… It’s loud, it’s dirty, it’s KILL DEVIL HILL!” -The Hellion Rocks
“Throw away the tired super-group label, KILL DEVIL HILL is simply one ass-kicking hard rock outfit making heavy as f*ck rock and roll music.” -Metalholic
Legendary drummer VINNY APPICE (KILL DEVIL HILL, HEAVEN & HELL, BLACK SABBATH) is featured in a new interview with The Rockpit. An excerpt is available below:
The Rockpit: I think it’s great that you’ve hit on something that is potentially as immense as Kill Devil Hill, it would be great to fast forward a few years and see where you’ll be.
Vinny: “I’ve had a long career, with some big bands, but none of the bands were my own. Sabbath was already established, and so was RONNIE JAMES DIO, but Dio was started from the beginning, but still he had a big name. So, this was something that had always been a dream of mine, to have a band that I could start with, and this would be fantastic if within the next couple of years we could become a little bit bigger and more successful, and was able to keep writing music and make an album. It’s a great band live too, it kicks ass!! I really love the first album, and I think the second album is even better; I’ll keep my fingers crossed.”
Vinny Appice has powered the rhythm of bands such as BLACK SABBATH, DIO, HEAVEN & HELL, OZZY OSBOURNE, WWIII, AXIS, RICK DERRINGER, and KILL DEVIL HILL. He has been drumming across the world for over two decades and has co-written songs on over 25 records; many of which are multi-platinum. He is also the author of the instructional book Rock Steady and DVD Hard Rock Drumming Techniques.
Now Vinny Appice is conducting a live streaming online master drum class at the GoDpsMusic pro artist showroom Saturday January 11th. The class will cover: solo techniques, songwriting, creating signature fills, memorable rock grooves, pedal techniques, warm up exercises and more. Reservations available now for only $49.98!
Class includes:
· 2 hour live streaming online master class with Vinny Appice Jan 11th 1pm PST
· Live Q&A with Vinny
· DrumMonster T-Shirt
· Vic Firth 5A Vinny Appice Signed Drumsticks
· Vinny Appice signed poster
· Certificate of completion
· Letter from Vinny
To purchase or for more information visit this location. Register your spot today.
Eric Spitznagel of MTV Hive recently conducted an interview with former PANTERA and current KILL DEVIL HILL bassist Rex Brown. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
MTV Hive: Why write a memoir now?
Rex: Is there ever a good time to do it? Really? I’d been thinking about it for awhile, and I was always like, “No, I don’t want to talk about this shit.” It took me awhile to really get my shit together. I wanted to keep the memory of [late PANTERA guitarist] Dime [“Dimebag” Darrell Abbott] alive. But this is not about Dime, this is more about me. This is my truth, how I saw it, and I had really good seats for the fucking thing.
MTV Hive: Is it possible you wrote the book because you needed the money? I read something in USA Today last year that you owe $449,567 in back taxes.
Rex: Wrong!
MTV Hive: That’s not true?
Rex: That’s all bullshit. Dude, I didn’t write a book for the money. I think we all owe a little bit in back taxes, but that’s just bad management skills. You’re the first one to ask me that. I’ve done 40 or 50 interviews for this book and nobody’s asked about taxes.
MTV Hive: Maybe they forgot to Google you.
Rex: You know why I think it is? I think kids start blogs and they write what they want and people actually believe it. Which I don’t subscribe to. I don’t read the blogs. I could care less, man. This is my truth.
MTV Hive: Is a PANTERA reunion ever going to happen?
Rex: [Long pause] I’ll put it this way. I never say never to at least grasping the opportunity to be brother to brother. Phil [Anselmo, vocals] and I have that. And Vinnie [Paul, drums] just hasn’t gotten on with the picture. It’d be great for us to sit in a room and figure out if we ever want to do that again. But I don’t really think there’ll ever be another PANTERA without Dime in it. So, it’s a very complicated story. At the same time, it’d be nice to maybe play a couple shows and have a bunch of guest stars. But as far as reunion, there’s no reunion, man. Dime‘s dead.
MTV Hive: It must’ve been difficult writing about Dime‘s death.
Rex: It was, man.
MTV Hive: Was there at least some comfort in knowing that he left doing something he loved? As gruesome and terrible as his death was, his last memory was wailing on his guitar.
Rex: Yeah, that’s one of the things I cling to. It’s just the timing that was completely fucked. The guy who killed him, he didn’t just want Dime, he wanted the whole fucking band. He was that delusional. I had it from police reports, which I don’t carry around with me but they’re in my office at home, this guy thought he wrote all of our songs. He was really out of his fucking mind.
Metal Mark of SkullsNBones.com recently conducted an interview with former PANTERA and DOWN and current KILL DEVIL HILL bassist Rex Brown about Rex‘s memoir, “Official Truth, 101 Proof: The Inside Story Of Pantera”. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below.
SkullsNBones.com: For starters, you were always considered the “quiet” member of PANTERA, and you really hold nothing back in the new book. Was it challenging or weird for you to let people in more than you ever have before?
Rex: It was more cathartic for me than anything else. It was a lot harder than I expected, but I think it turned out great. Writing a book ain’t easy, man. [laughs] Trying to get all those words in, all the stories in, and everything else in 320 pages was really difficult. It could have been over 900 pages, but we made sure it wasn’t, ya know. As for it being weird, I would never say it was weird, because I had a story to tell, and it’s finally coming out for everyone next week.
SkullsNBones.com: For me as a PANTERA fan, reading about where you were the moment you heard about [the death of PANTERA guitarist “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott] and the days after, it was tough to get through. How hard was it for you to go back to those memories and sort of relive them for this book?
Rex: Bro, the word cathartic just keeps coming up for me. Having to rewrite this thing so many times, it was good, but at times it was really sad. I really wanted to put my experience out there, because I’ve heard so many others, so now people know my experience with hearing the news as well. It’s still devastating to think about, but I think we all feel that way. It was definitely tough, though, man; I won’t lie.
SkullsNBones.com: As you mention Dime, the parts in the book about all of you growing up together is really an awesome read. From the classrooms to the jam sessions, it’s really cool to learn. Of course, no one could have imagined how huge PANTERA would become, but it seemed right from the beginning that you knew that this was going to be something good.
Rex: Yes and no. We were four completely different individuals, even in the beginning, but we had that drive to be the best we possibly could. We just went through a crazy ride that took us to the top and it was unreal at times. It wasn’t always good and fun, but in the end, you mention PANTERA and the amount of respect that name brings is something I’m sure we are all super proud of still to this day.
SkullsNBones.com: As you know, with every musician’s book, there will be those people who say it’s only your side of things and it may not be completely accurate. How do you respond to those who say that?
Rex: It’s all true, man. I didn’t fabricate anything. I threw in entertaining stories, to keep the reader involved, but it’s all true. Everyone that has read it can clearly feel the honesty, and that was important to me. The bottom line was if I was happy with it, and I am, so people can respond how they choose. I’m very proud of this book. This is just my story, man. I didn’t write it for money or to piss people off; it’s just me telling the story from my eyes, because I lived it. There were only four of us who knew what went on, and this is my story. I can’t stress that enough.
SkullsNBones.com: Throughout all the bad things that may have happened during those years, it does not take away that you four guys lived a dream that only a few people can say they have. Do you have any regrets looking back on those years?
Rex: I totally agree, man. We were very fucking lucky, we were very fucking determined, and I have absolutely no regrets. The only regret is what happened to Dime, but I had no control over that. It’s a shame that some fucking deranged idiot decided to do that to someone so special in this world. It’s a bigger shame that we will never know what might have happened. As I said in the book, if Dime was alive, I believe we would still be jamming together. To put it plain and simple, I have no fucking regrets. You can always look back and say we could have done things differently, but that’s life in general. You live and you learn, ya know.
Drumheller 99.5FM recently conducted an interview with former PANTERA/DOWN and current KILL DEVIL HILL bassist Rex Brown. You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below.
KILL DEVIL HILL is the new band featuring legendary drummer Vinny Appice (DIO, BLACK SABBATH, HEAVEN & HELL, KILL DEVIL HILL) alongside Rex Brown (PANTERA, DOWN) on bass, Mark Zavon (RATT, W.A.S.P., 40 CYCLE HUM) on guitar and Jason “Dewey” Bragg (PISSING RAZORS) on vocals.
The self-titled debut album from KILL DEVIL HILL sold around 1,800 copies in the United States in its first week of release. The CD landed at position No. 9 on the Top New Artist Albums (Heatseekers) chart, which lists the best-selling albums by new and developing artists, defined as those who have never appeared in the Top 100 of The Billboard 200.
“Kill Devil Hill” was produced by Warren Riker, who is best known for his work with DOWN, CORROSION OF CONFORMITY, SUBLIME and CATHEDRAL. The effort was made available in a standard CD edition, as an iTunes digital download, and double gatefold LP.
According to Appice, KILL DEVIL HILL‘s sound is “like a cross between BLACK SABBATH, ALICE IN CHAINS and a little bit of LED ZEPPELIN thrown in. It’s heavy, but with a lot of cool hooks and melodic overtones, too.”
KILL DEVIL HILL will support legendary shock rocker Alice Cooper this November. This jaunt kicks off November 23 and runs through November 29.
KILL DEVIL HILL is:
* Jason “Dewey” Bragg (PISSING RAZORS) – Vocals
* Mark Zavon (RATT, W.A.S.P., 40 CYCLE HUM) – Guitar
* Rex Brown (DOWN, PANTERA) – Bass
* Vinny Appice (HEAVEN & HELL, BLACK SABBATH, DIO) – Drums
Metal Shock Finland (World Assault ) 