Legendary bay area thrash metal giants TESTAMENT delivered two killer shows on the inaugural MEGADETH‘s ‘Megacruise 2019’ abroad the ‘Norwegian Jewel’ (October 13th-18th). Get more information on the cruise here.
Watch below the fan-filmed video footage from the TESTAMENT shows (courtesy of Alex Vigil).
TESTAMENT will team up with EXODUS and DEATH ANGEL for “The Bay Strikes Back 2020” European tour, kicking off on February 6 in Copenhagen, Denmark and will hit 25 cities before concluding on March 11 in Hannover, Germany.
Find all the upcoming TESTAMENT shows and tours at this location.
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Please Note, STEVE DI GIORGIO is available for studio sessions as well as session bassist for tours. For further information, please contact via email: alexalphaomega@gmail.com – robertoalphaomega@gmail.com.
The fretless guru, STEVE DI GIORGIO doesn’t need any longer introductions, as he is widely renowned as a pioneer on the fretless bass in heavy metal music, being the bassist of TESTAMENT, DEATH and SADUS, among others. Within his genre, STEVE DI GIORGIO is respected for his playing skills, versatility and incredible technique. He has more than 40 studio album recordings and over 20 years of touring the world.
Watch Steve Di Giorgio LowDown: Bass Playthrough | Terra Odium – Crawling:
We had the honor to talk with Megadeth’s legendary bassist David Ellefson before the next leg of his “Basstory Tour”. We discussed his latest book “More Life with Deth” and the structure of the tour that will take him to Europe and Latin America, including a special date in Wolverhampton, where he will be joined by K.K. Downing, Ripper Owens and Les Binks to play a set of Judas Priest classics.
David also told us about the story behind his eclectic compilation album “Sleeping Giants” featuring previously unreleased tracks, including collaborations with John Bush, Chris Poland and David Glen Eisley. Of course, we also talked about the present and future of Megadeth, including the upcoming Megacruise, the recording of the new album and the recovery process of Dave Mustaine.
We leave you the full transcript (slightly modified to improve readability) of the interview below as well as the original audio version on YouTube:
David (MSF): You’re currently promoting your latest book “More Life with Deth” through a series of bass clinics, signing sessions and shows. The next dates are in the UK, mainland Europe and Latin America. Can you describe a little bit the concept behind these different variations of the “Basstory Tour”?
David Ellefson:
Yeah, everyone is gonna be a little different, you know. The first show, that I’m kicking off with, started originally just as a kind of book signing at KK’s Steel Mill (K.K. Downing’s club) up in Wolverhampton. And K.K. (Downing) being a dear friend, obviously we like to play music, and we’ve never played music together. So, we’re gonna get on stage and fire up a big thing with Tim “Ripper” Owens, Lis Binks, my partner Thom (Hazaert) and A.J. Mill. We’re gonna fire off one show, so that’s kind of a standalone show on November 3rd. And then, November 4th we’ll be down to London in the Underworld. That’s going to be a bit more similar to what I’ve been doing here in America with the Sleeping Giants band, being a full band set, playing some of the classic songs people know me for, as well as material off my own Sleeping Giants album, and book signing afterwards. And I’ll do that same type of thing across Europe, across Italy and one date in Switzerland. And then, when I wrap up in Rome, a couple days later I will be starting the Latin America Basstory. That’s going to be slightly different, I’m going to actually use some local musicians in every city, and part of that is just because I want to involve local musicians as well as fans. There’s a lot of cover bands, tribute bands of various musicians who … I just thought it would be fun for them to get up and to basically play some songs together. So, that’ll be a little bit more like my Basstories were in 2018 and even earlier this year in 2019, when I was doing Basstory across Europe. So, everyone is going to be a little bit different, which I think sets the stage for a unique experience for the fans and everybody who comes to these shows.
David (MSF): Yeah, definitely. This is your second book after 2013’s “My Life with Deth”. Have you found something therapeutic about writing that you couldn’t express through music or what was your motivation to write this second part?
David Ellefson:
You know, I like to write. I found over the years, you know, that probably if there was a word for me, it would be “communicator”. And sometimes, I do that with a bass, sometimes I do it with a guitar, sometimes I do it just like you and me are doing right now talking over the phone, other times it’s writing a book, maybe it’s doing a Basstory masterclass clinic performance, etc. So, it’s all about just communicating, you know. Communicating thoughts, ideas, creative things. Creating it out to your audience. The books are just one of those ways to do that. You can do things in a book you can’t do in a song, and vice versa. I think with “More Life with Deth”, the thing is … I kind of hit a sweet spot on it, because a lot of this stuff with social media, it’s like everything is so immediate. And people kind of know I’ve got a record label, I’ve got a coffee company. So, I talked about those things in the book, some of the backstory to them, got a little deeper into some of the underpinnings and workings of those processes. But I think the one thing that was kind of an unexpected sweet spot in the story for me was, as I started talking about acquiring the rights to Combat Records, and relaunching that record label, it took me way back to the origin of Megadeth, to 1983. When, and how the band started. And I had some of my childhood friends from Minnesota who moved out to California, when we met Dave and got the band started. And I had them weigh in and give some personal testimonies about that. I think those, to me … I had as much fun reading their personal testimonies in my book as I did reading what I wrote about it. So, the Combat events really took me back to the earliest days of Megadeth, and that’s largely been an untold part of the Megadeth history. Kind of “Rust in Peace” onwards it has largely been told and pretty well known. A lot of those artifacts live online, on YouTube and whatnot. But the early days in the 80s, it was really fun to go back and open that chapter up, and really dig deep in and again, get these personal testimonies from other band members and friends who were with me on the journey back then.
David (MSF): Yeah, that’s very interesting. You mentioned the compilation album “Sleeping Giants” and there’s a lot of metal stuff in it, with different musicians. But I was very surprised by your collaboration with David Glen Eisley. What’s the story behind his partnership?
David Ellefson:
With the Sleeping Giants songs you mean?
David (MSF): The one’s with David Glen Eisley, this kind of soft rock tracks …
David Ellefson:
You know, in the “Countdown to Extinction Tour” in 1993 we had a tour break, and I met up with a friend of Nick Menza’s. His name was Pat Schunk, and we used to mountain bike, riding in the hills there in Los Angeles and hang out. Pat and I became fast friends, and we started doing some writing, because he’s also a songwriter, so we began doing some writing together. I put some of those songs on “Sleeping Giants” because there were some demos that we’d written, and I really just loved the songs. One of them “If You Were God”, which features John Bush on vocals, was something I actually did bring in as a consideration to the “Youthanasia” record, and it didn’t really fit the scope of where we were in that record, so it didn’t make the cut. But it’s a great song, and I have always loved it. I wrote the music, Pat wrote the lyrics and John Bush sang it. So, you know, to include that it’s been really fun because John Bush and I, we do stuff with Metal Allegiance and we’ve been friends for many years. So, it’s been fun to really collaborate with him again, even on stage, singing that song when I do Basstory shows. And then some other stuff, some stuff that I did with F5 during the 2000s, you know. That David Glen Eisley stuff, you know he was a friend of Pat Schunk’s, they were in a group together called Dirty White Boy, which featured David Glen Isley, some members of the group called Autograph, who were a pretty popular radio rock band here in America during the 80s. And, you know (we wanted) to write, and have different singers come in. These were really just demos and I thought, these things have been sitting in the vault, literally sleeping in the vault, yet I felt they were pretty cool songs. I mean, I think the title “Sleeping Giants” is not only a good title for the lead off track on the record, but it’s also a good description of the songs that are embodied on the album.
David (MSF): Yeah, exactly. Since we’re slowly running out of time, I don’t know if you’re okay with a couple of Megadeth related questions (David agrees). How’s the process of the new album going on, do we have any potential release date for it?
David Ellefson:
You know, we don’t. I mean, with Dave’s throat cancer treatments, that he has now completed, he’s just going through the recovery now and we’re hopeful and optimistic about a full recovery for him with that. But yeah, once he’s through with that process, and we’re gonna just let that take as much time as it needs, then we will resume with the album. I’d like to hope maybe in 2020 we’ll be able to get a new album out.
David (MSF): Hopefully it works out. Considering Dave’s health situation, the upcoming Megacruise and the dates you have confirmed for the beginning of next year in Europe. How do you see Dave’s recovery in order to perform live?
David Ellefson:
I think with the cruise, we’re really just taking that a day at a time. Me, Dirk and Kiko are gonna be on the boat, holding down the fort and doing some musical stuff ourselves on there, to just kind of keep a celebration of all things Megadeth. But, you know, we’re definitely giving Dave the time and space to heal and recover, that’s first and foremost for this week. And then, moving into the new year with the Five Finger Death Punch + Bad Wolves tour, you know, hopefully Dave will be ready to go. Sometimes, life throws you a card you didn’t expect and you just try to, you know … Megadeth we’ve always been a resilient band, we’ve always just worked around obstacles. Dave is a fighter, as we know, I was just talking to him and he sounds very optimistic about the future for Megadeth.
David (MSF): Yeah, that sounds great, hopefully he recovers soon. Well, thank you David for your time, it was a pleasure to talk with you. Take care, have a great Megacruise and send my best wishes to Dave!
Norwegian progressive metallers ARTICULUS will release their debut album, simply tiltled “I” through their own label Etymology Recordings on November 1st, 2019.
Today the band has unleashed a new single and video for the song “The Bonfire of the Vanities”, watch it below. “The Bonfire of the Vanities” is the opening track from their debut album “I”, which is available now for preorder, through bandcamp: https://articulus.bandcamp.com/releases
The album features 12 songs of atmospheric progressive metal that all tell the story of a historical figure or event, guided forward by extensive use of melody and heavy guitars, and framed in drums performed by Dirk Verbeuren (Megadeth).
The themes on the album are rooted in an appreciation for history and art. The album is written, produced, engineered, performed and mixed by Willumsen and Malm, with the notable exception of Verbeuren’s drums. The elaborate artwork is created by Francisco Solé, known for creating the artwork for the mysterious ’90s film “The Ninth Gate”.
The album will be availble on vinyl, digipak-CD and limited edition double cassette boxset as well as on all digital platforms. The physical formats all contain a unique 16 page art booklet with drawings by Solé.
Tracklist:
1. The Bonfire of the Vanities
2. Beneath the Veneer
3. The Unconfined
4. Absinthe
5. And Velvet became Iron
6. Mutiny
7. The Smouldering Ember
8. Pulse of the Earth
9. Letter from Rome, 1610
10. The last
11. A Fair Intruder
12. An Asp unto my Breast
Grammy Award Winning Megadeth bassist David Ellefson has announced a European solo tour, featuring a full band playing songs from his recent solo release SLEEPING GIANTS, and other Metal classics. Featuring vocals by his‘More Live With Deth’ co-author Thom Hazaert, plus guitarist Andy Martongelli, who toured with Ellefson and Frank Bello’s Altitudes and Attitude, and appears on the SLEEPING GIANTS track ‘Hammer (Comes Down)’ (featuring vocals by Hazaert and Eric AK (Flotsam and Jetsam) with Chris Poland, Mark Tremonti, Dave McClain (Sacred Reich, Ex-Machine Head), Joey Radziwill (Sacred Reich), and more).
Ellefson published his new memoir ‘More Live With Deth’in July via Jawbone Press, which was an Amazon #1 bestseller, along with a companion solo release SLEEPING GIANTS, which features collaborations with Hazaert, DMC, John Bush, Mark Tremonti, Chris Poland, Bumblefoot, Dave McClain (Sacred Reich, Ex-Machine Head), Joey Radziwill (Sacred Reich), Eric Ak and Steve Conley (Flotsam and Jetsam), David Glen Eisley, and more, and which debuted on 13 US Billboard Charts on release.
The tour kicks off November 3rd in Wolverhampton with a live one-off show at K.K.’s Steel Mill featuring a full band set from Ellefson’s Sleeping Giants band, followed by a full-length set of Priest Classics with legendary former Judas Priest guitarist K.K. Downing, former Judas Priest drummer Les Binks, and former Judas Priest vocalist Tim “Ripper” Owens. Former Iron Maiden vocalist, Blaze Bayleywill be the evening’s opening support act.
Additionally, the Steel Mill will also host a special pre-show VIP event whereby attendees will be treated to a ‘More Live With Deth’book signing event and one on one Q&A session with Ellefson, Downing & Hazaert, moderated by Mark Eglinton who co-authored K.K. Downing’s recent memoir “Heavy Duty Days and Nights in Judas Priest”
Says Downing, “I am very pleased to have been asked to perform a unique and special concert with Megadeth’s David Ellefson to celebrate the release of his new book “More Life With Deth”. The concert will also bring about the opportunity to play again with some very dear and talented metal legends from the past, the combination of these Icons will for sure enable us to deliver up one of the most exciting concerts this year, so much so that it would not be out of place to call this the ultimate ass kicking “MegaPriest” fest, and is one that is not to be missed.”
Adds Ellefson, “I speak very candidly in my new book “More Life with Deth” about the significance Judas Priest played in my early musical trajectory, specifically the ‘Unleashed in the East’ live album with its picture-perfect image of what heavy metal should look and sound like. To me that album, along with its powerful cover image, captured the excitement I felt for a new era of music, one that would transition me from my roots in American Hard Rock over to that of British Heavy Metal. Over the years K.K and I became fast friends while we toured together with Priest & Megadeth, and I’m beyond thrilled to perform together onstage with him and his former Priest band mates, as we light up the Steel Mill together for a night of molten metal classics!”
He continues, “Thom (Hazaert) and I have been touring all summer across the USA supporting the new book and our SLEEPING GIANTS release. Plus “Ripper” and I have shared stages all around the world in the last decade or so, and now to add Les Binks in the mix, who to my generation was the ultimate metal double bass drummer, this has become the ultimate ‘metal’ family reunion!”
11/03 – Wolverhampton, ENG – KK’s Steel Mill – (featuring K.K. Downing, Les Binks and Tim “Ripper” Owens) 11/04 – London, ENG – Camden Underworld
11/08 – Bellinzona, CH – Pit
11/09 – Collegno, ITA – Padiglione 14
11/10 – Milano, ITA – Legend Club
11/12 – Bologna, ITA – Alchemica
11/13 – Tuoro Sul Trasimeno, ITA – Supernova
11/14 – Roma, ITA – Let It Beer
Copies of David’s new book ‘More Life with Deth’ will be available on the merch stand at all shows!
Ellefson will follow the European tour with his first ever solo BASSTORY clinic tour of South America later in November & December.
11/19 – Ciudad Obregon, Mexico – Desert Bar
11/20 – Mexico City, Mexico – Teatro Ofelia
11/22 – Bogota, Colombia – Ace of Spades
11/23 – Quito, Ecuador – La Ideal
11/25 – Lima, Peru – Teatro Federico Garcia Lorca
11/26 – Santiago, Chile – Rock & Guitarras
11/28 – Asuncion, Paraguay – Centro Paraguayo Japonés
11/30 – Sao Paulo, Brazil – Manifesto
12/1 – Manaus, Brazil – Teatro Manauara
Norwegian progressive metallers ARTICULUS will release their debut album, simply tiltled “I” through their own label Etymology Recordings on November 1st, 2019. The album features 12 songs of atmospheric progressive metal that all tell the story of a historical figure or event, guided forward by extensive use of melody and heavy guitars, and framed in drums performed by Dirk Verbeuren (Megadeth).
The themes on the album are rooted in an appreciation for history and art. The album is written, produced, engineered, performed and mixed by Willumsen and Malm, with the notable exception of Verbeuren’s drums. The elaborate artwork is created by Francisco Solé, known for creating the artwork for the mysterious ’90s film “The Ninth Gate”.
The album will be availble on vinyl, digipak-CD and limited edition double cassette boxset as well as on all digital platforms. The physical formats all contain a unique 16 page art booklet with drawings by Solé.
Tracklist:
1. The Bonfire of the Vanities
2. Beneath the Veneer
3. The Unconfined
4. Absinthe
5. And Velvet became Iron
6. Mutiny
7. The Smouldering Ember
8. Pulse of the Earth
9. Letter from Rome, 1610
10. The last
11. A Fair Intruder
12. An Asp unto my Breast
Legendary former Megadeth guitarist Chris Poland has announced he has signed to David Ellefson’s relaunched COMBAT RECORDS label, who will release a deluxe reissue of his 1990 solo debut RETURN TO METALOPOLIS in November. Originally released on Enigma Records in 1990, METALOPOLIS was Poland’s return to the stage after his 1987 departure from Megadeth. Regarded by many as an unsung shred masterpiece, Metalopolis showcases Poland’s signature Jazz-infused thrash/rock style, in a collection of timeless instrumental compositions.
Says Poland, “I was out of Megadeth, and went through rehab and had gotten clean. I had no gear, and I wasn’t even sure if I wanted to ever play guitar again. Friends started bringing me gear; guitars, amps, pedals, telling me, “you have to play again.” So, I started playing. Andy Sommers, Megadeth’s agent, heard I was clean and doing well, and the Circle Jerks needed a bassist, so I toured with them for over a year, playing bass. And while I was doing that, I was in the back of a 16-passenger van, writing the songs that would become Return to Metalopolis.”
“I didn’t have a drummer, so I asked my brother Mark to play on it. I said, “We’re gonna make a record, and I need you to play drums.” He agreed, and we started doing demos. Janie Hoffman shopped it and we got a really good deal with Capitol Records, but shortly after we did the deal, for whatever reason, we get a call from the A&R guy who says they can’t do the deal on Capitol, but they offered me a deal on Enigma. So that’s where it came out.”
Poland continues, “I just feel like it’s timeless. I don’t listen to it and think that it’s some dated 80’s bullshit. It’s not like that for me. Of course, I’m super close to it, and I love it, but I really feel like it has held up well.”
The Return to Metalopolis reissue will be released on November 22nd on double CD, and digital, and in December on limited edition double LP, and Cassette, remastered with bonus material, including live tracks that originally appeared on the out of print 2007 release Return to Metalopolis Live, plus 3 brand new tracks recorded in 2019, featuring the rhythm section of Carlos Cruz and Chase Bryant of Warbringer.
After over a decade with Metal on the backburner, despite guest appearances with Lamb of God, Tourniquet, Redemption, and more, with Poland focusing his energy on playing and recording with his Jazz fusion trio OHM, which also featured late former Megadeth drummer Nick Menza, and the Chris Poland Resistance, another fusion project being released by the eclectic Modern Jazz-centric Ropeadope Records, Poland has also announced work on the long-awaited follow up to METALOPOLIS, to be released in 2020 on COMBAT.
“I never really got away from Metal, I’ve always been a Rock guy. And even the stuff we do with Ohm is really heavy and dynamic. But when I started playing with Nick (Menza) he really put a fire under my ass to write new, heavy music. I was over at his house every night after work, my wife told me I was having a “bro-mance”, but I couldn’t stop writing songs. Nick and I had hooked up with James Lomenzo (ex-Megadeth, White Lion), and we were actually going to start a band together, which didn’t work out, but I had literally hours and hours of ideas for songs that me and Nick were going to do together when he passed away. Now I’m working on putting them all together for a new solo release that will also come out on Combat.”
On reconnecting with his former bandmate David Ellefson, and his Combat Records imprint, Poland adds, “I’m super excited about it. I had been talking to Thom (Hazaert), David’s partner, and we had been bouncing ideas back and forth. The two of them came over to my studio in LA one night, we had a meeting, and ended up hanging out for hours and talking about it, and it just felt right. David said, “We started on Combat, and this record deserves to come back to Combat.” And he was right.”
Poland also appears on the track “Hammer Comes Down” on Ellefson’s debut solo release Sleeping Giants, in stores now via COMBAT, which also features Hazaert on vocals. Poland will Ellefson, Hazaert and their live band onstage Thursday, September 5th in Fullerton, CA at The Slidebar, as part of David Ellefson’s BASSTORY tour.
“Honestly the whole thing was a blur. Thom had told me they were working on what would become the SLEEPING GIANTS record, and I asked him if I could play on it. It was great to reconnect with David, musically, and the song has such a great energy. It was such a quick, painless process, and there’s so many other incredible players on the song, Mark Tremonti, etc, that it really couldn’t have been any cooler.”
