Interview

Interview With Stabbingback

Seattle based metal band Stabbingback have taken an interesting approach to their music, choosing to exclusively release dual albums, one strictly heavy metal and a companion that is more acoustic rock oriented. The band was just recently signed to C2M2 Records and released their debut albums "Redeemer" and "Absolution." They answered some questions with me just before playing some of their lighter set at a cafe in Great Falls, Montana. More...

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The Bitches are Back

Known for her arsenal of BC Rich guitars - affectionately called "bitches" by those who play them - and her talent for ripping things up as good as the next guy, Lita Ford shredded things up last night at Rocklahoma in Pryor, OK, a four day rock and metal fest featuring bands from the '80s like Queensrÿche, Warrant and Tesla.

Joining her on stage were Stet Howland (W.A.S.P.) on drums, Teddy Cook (Dio) on Bass, Michael T. Ross (Bent Pussycat) on keyboards, and Tom Cavanagh (Angel) on guitar.

According to Rocklahoma's official website this is Lita's first show in 15 years, not counting the warm-up gigs she did around New York earlier this month under the guise of a Lita Ford tribute act called Kiss Me Deadly.

After gaining notoriety for her guitar skills with The Runaways, Lita left the all-female rock group to forge a solo career in 1979, scoring huge hits with tunes like "Gotta Let It Go," "Kiss Me Deadly," and "Close My Eyes Forever," a duet with Ozzy Osbourne.

At the height of her career, Lita toured with some of the biggest acts in rock and metal, heavy hitters like Black Sabbath, Anthrax, Iron Maiden and Judas Priest, proving that girls could play guitar and helping introduce a once male-dominated genre to legions of head-banging chicks across the globe.

The Queen of Metal recently signed on with Coallier Entertainment , a New York-based label that also houses Foreigner and Twisted Sister on their roster. Does this mean we can expect a new album from the metal glamazon? This mother of two is keeping mum, but rumours of a press conference on Monday should reveal if her hiatus is finally over.

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Onslaught Working On New Album

UK thrash band Onslaught has announced they are working on a new album which they state will be "666% Pure Thrash." The band issued the following statement on their MySpace page:

Just to let you all know, Onslaught will now begin work on writing the follow up album to last years thrash assault 'Killing Peace'.......First track was written and completed early last year, but now over the next few months we will forge ahead to write the remaining slabs of 666% Pure Thrash....We have a choice of 3 titles for the new album and all of the basic song outlines are firmly in place...

We're all real excited about making this album, we have our own studio set-up and a whole new outlook on how to make this next record a screaming fucking monster...!!!! with Andy Rosser-Davies now in the band there's gonna be lots of fresh input and a slightly different slant to the 'Slaught'...He's a very aggressive player, very much like me, so the musical violence is gonna be increased considerably...with serious amounts of shredding.......!!!!!

We'll keep you all updated as we progress with each song and all other album related info...

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Oblique Rain Replaces Bass Player

Portuguese progressive metal band Oblique Rain has announced the replacement of their bassist. The band issued the following statement on their MySpace page:

Through this press release we would like to announce that Daniel Botelho no longer belongs in the band, professional reasons were the motive that unfortunately made us lose such an excellent bass player! We would like to thank him for all his excellent studio and live performance work, that revealed him to be one of the best bass players in the Portuguese Metal scene, we wish him all the best for his future and hope he has all the success he deserves with his own personal projects.

Since Oblique Rain is going through an intermediate stage of composition in what will be our "Isohyet" successor, we decided that delaying the acquisition of a new member could slow down and delay this always complex process! So, we would like to announce that Oblique Rain's new bass player is David Miguel(www.myspace.com/davidmiguelmus). We hope that this new partnership will bring us even more creative aspects to our music.

Currently the band is working very hard composing for "October Dawn", the new songs are sounding very good and refreshing to us, we hope to post some of the new material online soon in here, but we don't want to say much about this because we want you to check it out for yourselves.

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Quo Vadis Parts Ways With Three Members

Canadian death metal band Quo Vadis have parted ways with their vocalist, drummer, and bass player. The band issued the following statement on their MySpace page:

The reason of this press release is to inform you that vocalist Stéphane Paré is leaving the band along with drummer Yanic Bercier and bassist Dominic ‘’Forest’’ Lapointe.

'As of today, July 13th, we are officially leaving the band for various reasons. As for the shows that are already booked, we are still going to perform as agreed, on a professional basis.'

This decision is the hardest for drummer Yanic Bercier as he has been in the band since day one, 15 years ago. As for vocalist Stéphane Paré, he was in the band for more than 5 1/2 years.

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Slipknot DJ Breaks Both Heels At Show

DJ Sid Wilson of Slipknot broke both of his heels at the first show of the Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival on July 9 in Auburn, Washington and has been forced to wear casts on both legs. He apparently jumped off one of the stages in the background of Slipknot's stage set and landed incorrectly. Despite having casts on both legs, Sid has vowed to play all shows on the Rockstar Energy tour, even if it means getting around in a wheelchair, as was the case at the July 12th concert in Mountain View, California.

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New Moonspell Music Video Posted Online

Portuguese dark metal band Moonspell has completed a new music video for the title track of their album "Night Eternal." The video can be viewed below. More...

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Agathodaimon Searching For New Vocalist

German metal band Agathodaimon are currently looking for a new vocalist to complete their line-up. The band issued the following statement on their website:

We are currently finishing the works on our upcoming fifth album "Phoenix", but still on the search for a new vocalist as permanent member.

Please note that only applications from Germany are taken into consideration- thanks to all those people from around the globe who’ve shown their interest so far, but it’s of no use if a potential vocalist is living on another continent as we’re rehearsing often. Until a new member is found, Jonas Iscariot will support us for upcoming gigs such as the one in Romania, 26th July.

Skilled and motivated vocalists are invited to send info/bio and samples of their work to management@agathodaimon.de!

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Sabbat Check In With Tour Diary

UK thrash band Sabbat have posted an extensive tour diary on their website. A few excerpts from the diary are available to view below.

By the hand of fate and the alignment of planets it came to be that we were finally able to "Bat Into America". With our 'stage set in a suitcase" and the promise of all other equipment waiting for us we were at last on our way to the land of the free and the home of the brave. Martin had already flown ahead ,experiencing a 24 hour delay in Chicago, to hook up with long time friend John Snelling who was to handle our merchandise on all four dates. The rest of the band and soundman/vampire James Dunkley flew out to New York a couple of days later. Tour management and guitar teching were to be in the more than capable hands of Andy's long time friends Richard Ward and Mike Martin (of the bands Stuck Mojo and Fozzy).

Next day, Sunday, was showday and we got some fantastic views of the New York cityscape and skyline as we journeyed in to the centre and BB Kings Blues Club. Nerves were on edge prior to showtime but there was no need to worry; we are playing better than ever and the fans are baying maniacs who have waited nigh on 20 years for this. We did not aim to disappoint ! Cautionary, Hosanna, Clerical, Crooked Cross, Dark Horses, Eye 4 an Eye, Best of Enemies, How Have the Mighty, Church Bizzare, Wildfire and For Those Who Died; the numbers sped by and all too soon its over and we're celebrating our first US gig like the kids we started out as. We spend as much time as we can meeting fans and sharing some beers. Eventually, we get back but without Gizz. He is very kindly being driven back to the hotel by a fan who has the same directional dysfunctionality as our taxi driver and eventually has to leave Gizz at a garage in order to get another taxi back to the hotel. Kin,ell its only been 24 hours and we nearly a man down already! More...

Read the full article at Sabbat's Official Web Page.

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Indianapolis Metal Fest Returns I September

Following a successful 2007 debut, the Indianapolis Metal Fest is returning this September 26 and 27 to prove itself as the Midwest's premiere metal festival.

The festival includes an assortment of headliner-status and personally-chosen unsigned artists, including three bands that will be making their U.S. debuts. Bands already confirmed are: Dew Scented, Kittie, Divine Heresy, Mustasch, Daylight Dies, Bleed The Sky, Into Eternity, Ekotren, Skeletonwitch, The Destro, Gigan (ex-Hate Eternal), Psyopus, Level-C, Obszon Geschopf, Black Chapel, Demiricous, Gates of Slumber, Threat Signal, and The Absence. In all, the festival will host 60 bands over the two days. More...

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New Dagoba Album Release Date Revealed

French metal band Dagoba has announced an official release date for their upcoming album "Face the Colossus" through record label Season of Mist. The band issued the following statement on their MySpace page:

Hi Everybody,

The new album from Dagoba "Face The Colossus" will be released : September 29th 2008 in Europe and October 14th 2008 in US - Season of Mist Records.

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New Alice Cooper Trailer Posted Online

A second video trailer has been posted online for Alice Cooper's upcoming album "Along Came A Spider." The song "Vengeance is Mine" is currently available to listen to on the band's MySpace Page. The video trailer can be viewed below. More...

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Dead Nervous System To Play Reuinion Show

Orlando, Florida based death metal band, Dead Nervous System, have booked a reunion show on September 20th at the Backbooth in Orlando. Check out the flyer here.

Also playing are the current bands of the founding members of Dead Nervous System: Dead Mens Dreams, Devolve, and Gorillafight.

For more information about the band and the show check out their MySpace page.

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Rob Halford Speaks On "Nostradamus"'s Reception

Blabbermouth.net reports: In a recent interview with Decibel magazine, Judas Priest frontman Rob Halford had the following to say on the reception:

"I think our reaction is one of basically, if you're a hardcore PRIEST fan, and you've been waiting and waiting and waiting for this moment to happen — waiting for a concept release — you're gonna give it the time that it needs," he said. "Much like if you're a basketball fan, you watch four quarters — you don't leave at halftime. Or if you're watching a great movie, you don't walk out three-quarters of the way through. And that's what it's about: It's a great musical adventure that's telling a story. And we have no worries or fears or concerns about it, because we believe so strongly in the music and the way that it really draws you in and captures your mind and imagination."

He also had a go at playing Nostradamus himself, predicting: "I do predict that 'Nostradamus' is going to be embraced. I can see it being performed by Cirque du Soleil in Las Vegas. I also think I can see a little bit of a Grammy in there."

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Saliva Reveals New Album Title

Memphis based hard rockers Saliva have announced that the title of their new album will be "Monster." The album is being produced by Bob Marlette who has previously worked with acts such as Seether, Shinedown and Ankla and is currently excpecting a late 2008 release via Island Records.

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Bullet For My Valentine Adds More U.S. Shows

Welsh act Bullet For My Valentine have added another 14 shows to their tour of North America. Venues and support act details will be revealed shortly.

The new dates are as follows:

September 2 Ft. Lauderdale, FL
September 4 Orlando, FL
September 5 N. Myrtle Bch, SC
September 6 Atlanta, GA
September 8 Knoxville, TN
September 9 Asheville, NC
September 10 Norfolk. VA
September 12 Louisville, KY
September 16 Kansas City, MO
September 17 Des Moines, IA
September 19 Tulsa, OK
September 22 Denver, CO
September 23 Salt Lake City, UT
September 25 San Francisco, CA

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In Flames Explain Reasons For Cancelled Show

Swedish metal band In Flames issued the following update on their MySpace page about the canceled Evolution Festival show in Italy:

Unfortunately tonight's show at the Evolution festival in Italy was canceled. The cancellation was due to extreme rain and bad weather. The main reason for us having to cancel the show was that the rain found it's way on to the stage shutting the monitor mixing desk down and also making it extremely dangerous to perform for the band and the crew.. As we all know, water and electricity and don't mix well together…

We are VERY sorry for having to cancel this show. We were really looking forward to play tonight but as you hopefully understand it is beyond out control.

We'll be back in Italy on October 21st @ Alcatraz so hope to see you all there!

Again, our sincere apologies for having to cancel tonight's show!

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Atheist Members Working On New Material

Vocalist Kelly Shaefer of legendary technical death metal band Atheist has issued the following update about new Atheist material:

"[I'm] heading to Atlanta next Friday to jam with Atheist drummer and my best friend Mr. Steve Flynn, this will mark the first time we have written together since 1991's 'Unquestionable Presence'. So I am curious how it will sound. I know it will be sick, there is a formula that me and Flynn have that automatically sounds like Atheist...so it will be fun to hear what it will sound like. And who knows? If it it goes well...?? We will see what happens."

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