Archive: Headline News
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Post Mortem Vocalist Passes Away
Boston punk metal band Post Mortem has issued the following statement about vocalist John McCarthy passing away:
"John McCarthy the singer for Post Mortem has died. He was 40. He was/is one of my oldest friends. An interesting character with many great stories to tell, he will be missed...
"We had just finished recording the music for a new Post Mortem record (John wrote most of the words for it.) The vocals were not done and John was planning on doing his vocals in February. His goal of making another Post Mortem record has ended. This band was everything to him. I think we’ll finish it up somehow and dedicate it to him..... See ya John!!"
After Forever Calls It A Day
Dutch metallers After Forever has decided to break up. A message from the band reads as follows:
"Dearest fans,
"After nearly 15 years and with heavy hearts, we have decided to call an end to a great and exciting time as After Forever.
"We are extremely proud of what we have accomplished, and especially of the road we took to get here.
After Forever has never been a band that repeated itself; we always tried out new things, even though many of them were certainly done at a risk. We think that that has been one of the reasons we’ve always enjoyed enormous support from all our loyal fans. More...
Acrassicauda Granted Refugee Status In U.S.
According to msnbc.msn.com, Iraq based metal band Acrassicauda have come to the United States and been granted refugee status. The band was recently the subject of the documentary "Heavy Metal In Baghdad." Excerpts from the MSNBC article are below:
"Drummer Marwan Riyadh, 24, arrived at Newark Liberty International Airport on Friday, where he was greeted by band mates Firas al-Lateef, 27, and Faisal Talal, 25. Fellow member Tony Aziz, 30, was visiting family in Detroit.
"The New York Times reported that the group met idols Metallica on Sunday after a concert at the Prudential Center in Newark, N.J. James Hetfield, Metallica's lead singer, presented them with a guitar signed "Welcome to America."
"The Times said the U.S. government has granted all four members of Acrassicauda refugee status, which allows them to apply for green cards in a year."
Read the full article at msnbc.msn.com.
Marazene Drummer Kristopher Kemp Passes Away
Kristopher "Kristov" Kemp, drummer and a founder of Chicago's very own MARAZENE has passed away due to complications with his fight with cancer.
Kristov's friend and bandmate DieTrich Thrall wrote an impromptu obituary which has been posted on the band's Myspace page and the text of which follows:
"On Monday, January 26th, Kristopher Kemp passed away due to complications from his fight against cancer. He was 34.
"Kristopher Kemp was born on October, 28th 1974. He spent most of his early years in the Naperville, IL area and attended Naperville High School. More...
Thunder Calls It A Day
British rock legends Thunder has posted the following message online:
"As we enter Thunder's 20th anniversary year, we've found ourselves becoming increasingly busy with our various activities outside of the band, and we've come to the conclusion that there are simply not enough hours in the day to fit it all in. Having discussed it at length, we've decided that this is a fitting time for us to hitch up our wagons and ride into the sunset. We've therefore decided to give you advance notice that we intend to cease all recording and touring activity, as of the summer of 2009.
"In practical terms, this means that we will cease to be a band as of the summer, but until then it will be more or less business as usual. The 2008 Xmas Show CDs will be released as promised, and the previously announced shows in Europe (February) and Japan (April) will go ahead as planned. We will use these shows, as well as any festival slots we can secure, to make the most of the time left, and say our goodbyes to you.
"With that in mind, despite only touring a couple of months ago, we couldn't make our exit without saying goodbye to UK fans, so we've arranged a final UK tour, which will take place in early July. The dates are as follows:- More...
Former Lizzy Borden Member Corey James Dies
Los Angeles metal band Lizzy Borden has just announced the death of former member, Corey James. Here are the details:
"Our Brother and former guitarist Corey James (Daum) passed away Saturday morning in Nashville, Tennessee from an auto accident. Corey was a Lizzy Borden guitarist from 1989 to 1995; he appeared in 2 Lizzy Borden video’s ‘We got the power’ and ‘Love is a crime’ as well as on the Master of Disguise tour; we were looking for a second guitarist to play along side Alex Nelson and We had a cattle call of guitarist come down to audition. As soon as Corey walked in the room I had high hopes for him. He was a tall, bone skinny kid with long blonde hair and a giant Colgate smile. He started playing and singing away with no fear and gave it all he had, I liked him immediately and so did everyone else. After he was done I told him that we would get back to him after we finished the day, but in my mind I already knew that he was the guy. I called him later that night and asked him if he wanted to see the world and live in a tour bus for a couple of years, he was ecstatic and I could tell even over the phone that that smile would not leave his face while he slept that night… More...
Metalunderground.com's Best of 2008 Awards
2008 was a great year for metal releases. What's more, it was a great year for real metal. Never before have I seen a "best of" poll with so few mentions of trendy and mainstream metal bands. Despite a slew of hugely anticipated releases by bands such as Metallica, Guns N Roses, AC/DC, Testament, and more, it was the many other intriguing metal releases that made 2008 special.
That said, let's get down to the details and talk about those bands that made 2008 such a good year for heavy metal by announcing the Metalunderground.com staff picks for 2008. As in previous years, I've polled the entire staff here at Metalunderground.com about their favorite albums and performances of the year.
Here are the Metalunderground.com staff picks for the following categories: Best Metal Album of 2008, Best Metal DVD of 2008, Best Metal Newcomer of 2008, Best Live Act of 2008, and Most Anticipated Release for 2009. More...
Led Zeppelin Is Over According To Page's Manager
Despite reports contradicting reports earlier this month, Jimmy Page's manager says that Led Zeppelin will not be touring or recording in 2009 and is, in fact, "over."
Peter Mensch, whose company Q Prime also represents Metallica, Red Hot Chili Peppers, Lostprophets and Muse, had told the BBC's digital station 6Music that:
"John Paul Jones [bass] and Jimmy Page [guitar] enjoy playing with each other, Jason Bonham is a really good drummer so why not? We just need to find a singer."
However, in an interview with Music Radar this on January 7, Mensch said:
"They tried out a few singers [to replace Robert Plant], but no one worked out. That was it. The whole thing is completely over now. There are absolutely no plans for them to continue. Zero."
"Led Zeppelin are over," he added. "If you didn't see them in 2007 [at London's O2 Arena], you missed them. It's done. I can't be any clearer than that. Frankly, I wish everybody would stop talking about it."
January 12 marked the 40th anniversary of the release of Led Zeppelin's eponymous debut album.
Metallica To Be Inducted Into RnR Hall of Fame
Metallica has reacted to their Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction with a message on their site:
"Wow... what a great way to start off 2009! We are beyond proud to let you know that we will indeed be inducted into the Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame in a ceremony held in Cleveland (Ohio) on April 4th, 2009. As a refresher, it has to have been 25 years since your first record was released to be eligible and while it certainly doesn't feel like it's been that long, we hear that's the case!
"So here's the other cool part. For the first time in the 24 years that the Hall Of Fame has been around, tickets to the ceremony will be available to YOU! The induction ceremony will be held at Public Hall in Cleveland, and if you're a member of the Hall Of Fame and Museum, you can buy tickets in a pre-sale on January 22nd and 23rd. There is a walk-up sale on Saturday, January 24 (that means you have to find your way to the box office at the Hall Of Fame that day), and finally they will be available through all Ticketmaster outlets starting on Monday, January 26th. Met Club members should check www.metclub.com for info about a special ticket sale for them. More...
Lord Belial Calls It Quits
Black metal band Lord Belial has issued the following statement on their website:
"LORD BELIAL 1992 - 2009
"Lord Belial has quit all their activities. All future gigs are canceled. We would like to thank all fans, bands we have played with, labels, organizers and everyone involved in the band for the past 17 years!
"The main reason for this is the hearing problem (tinnitus) that has grown into a quite big problem for Micke the last years… The other members in the band were not forced to put an end to the band but instead they mutually agreed that finding another drummer was not a solution for the future.
"Anyhow, if Micke’s hearing will be at least a little bit recovered after a break from music and especially live appearances for some time, we really hope that we can continue where we ended.
"We will not comment or discuss this in emails etc."
Flaw Guitarist and Possibly More Members Depart
Flaw and guitarist Nathan McDaniel have gone their separate ways following a not-so-friendly MySpace bulletin, which has since been deleted. Whoever is in control of the band's MySpace, which seems to be McDaniel, has posted the following message about recent events:
"The WHOLE truth
"Keep hearin rumors that we were actually kicked out. I'm sure thats what Volz and his cronies are telling everybody to try and save face. If you did not read the bulletin before I'll make sure its here for all to see. We left the band because Chris Volz is a drunken, woman beating, lying, washed up waste of a human being. I'm sure money hungry vultures will jump into our spots just to try and make a name (what a name to have) or go somewhere. It took me finding out for myself but FLAW is in fact a fucking joke now.
"And just to let you guys in on another fact. All of the new songs any of you heard on the road after jay left, are mine and Tylers and some of them Van's (our former bass player) - Indifferance, Uncurled, Last December and most of Believe In Me. So enjoy a buncha shitty versions of our songs. And please buy a lotta albums so they have some money to pay us when we sue their asses off.
"Keep on checkin. More goodies to come in about a week. And no, you cannot have the Password to this site..hahaha(inside joke)"
It is unclear at the moment if drummer Terry Harper and bassist Tyler will remain a part of the band, although the message above would suggest otherwise.
Flaw is expected to release a new studio album in 2009.
Axl Rose Hints At New Album, Addresses More Issues
Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose has hinted that a follow up to "Chinese Democracy" could be on the cards after finally breaking his silence over the long awaited album.
Speaking to various fan forums and messageboards, the singer said there was a wealth of material left over which could be released in the near future.
"For now we'll concentrate and keep our focus on this album but I will say I've always thought of it as a double," he said.
He also spoke about why the original line-up split and a recent court case brought by Duff McKagan and Slash, reports Billboard.
"What I can say now is you've been told a lot of things in order for others to promote themselves that factually they cannot backup in regard to either," Rose said. "They are complicated legally, financially and have devoured a good portion of my life."
Meanwhile, the band's manager Irving Azoff has dimissed rumours of the original line up getting back together, according to Yahoo!.
In a statement he said: "There are no plans of a reunion, nor have there been any discussions of a reunion, with former Guns N' Roses band members."
Adrian "The Energizer" Bromley Passes Away
Adrian "The Energizer" Bromley passed away in his sleep on December 7th, 2008 at the young age of 37 from complications due to pneumonia. He had just celebrated his birthday on November 30th.
Brave Words and Bloody Knuckles reports: To say that Adrian was active in the metal scene is an understatement. Early in his journalism career he worked at Canada's M.E.A.T Magazine (along with BW&BK's Carl Begai and "Metal" Tim Henderson). Soon-after, Adrian, along with Gino Filicetti formed one of the world's first extreme metal webzines called Chronicles Of Chaos. Adrian went on to create Unrestrained! Magazine which gained worldwide popularity in the extreme underground realm. More recently he worked press and publicity at The End Records and moved on to form Ixmati Media, a company that represented the likes of Listenable Records, Blistering Records, Northern Storm Records, Ibex Moon Records, Shadow Kingdom Records among others. He had also started his new label called Absurdist Records.
BW&BK President/CEO "Metal" Tim Henderson had this to say about his passing: "We are in total shock. We used to joke that BW&BK and Unrestrained! were vicious rivals, but that was totally inaccurate. I'd known Adrian since the M.E.A.T. days in Toronto in the late '80s as we all were trying to cut it as potential journalists! Hell, he lived on our BraveBoard! You won't meet anybody in this biz that worked as hard as Adrian, fighting for "the cause" at every waking moment. And the key was that his heart was in the right place. He'd give you his left arm if you needed it. Always a friendly hand-shake or a heavy metal hug. Every band and label that Adrian represented felt his presence. His head was filled with a sea of metal knowledge - underground and above ground. Virtually every conversation we had was about music - it was his life. Adrian had incredible vision, always thinking of ideas on how to push the scene to greater heights. Those of us based in Toronto - take a look around at your next metal show/gathering. Adrian touched every one of those souls as he helped the scene grow larger than ever.
"Damn, it as just over a year ago we lost Ray "Black Metal" Wallace. Life just ain't fair.
"He will be terribly missed..." More...
Dark Disciple Vocalist Commits Suicide
Dark Disciple vocalist Mat "Sicko" Sargent has taken his own life at the age of 30. The Baltimore, Maryland based metal band has posted an extensive blog on their MySpace page in regards to this news. Here are some excerpts:
"Today is not a good day for me or anyone in the Dark Disciple family, Mat Sargent known to many as "SICKO" or Villain5150 took his life on November 26th 2008, Mat was only 30 years old. For those of us who had the chance to know him and see what kind of person Mat was, it was an honor to say the least, he will be never forgotten for there are way to many good times to remember. Mat join the band late in 2003 after replacing founding member Bones. When we all heard Mat audition the first night the rest of the guys in the band were like where's the hidden tape recorder or the sound effect box. Mat had this gift; he could make his vocals sound like three different people singing almost simultaneously at once. The band was blown away by this and said you're in and we have studio time in a month for our first album. He said really, we said yeah, he said I guess I better start working on it. In one month Mat not only came up with the Albums title ("Unholy Hate Gore") he also change the song titles and wrote the lyrics to 9 songs to help create this raw underground master piece."
Read the full article at Dark Disciple's MySpace blog.
Axl Rose Missing For Two Months
A number of news outlets are reporting that Guns N Roses frontman Axl Rose has been missing for two months.
Music-News.com reports: Guns N' Roses frontman Axl Rose has been missing for two months.
The eccentric rocker has infuriated bosses at record label Geffen after disappearing without promoting the band’s long-awaited "Chinese Democracy" album, which was released last week 15 years after the last Guns N' Roses LP.
A source told Britain's The Sun newspaper: "People have been trying to contact Axl for two months and he’s completely AWOL [Absent Without Leave].
"It is frustrating because the album would have had a much better chance of going to number one if he had only been prepared to show his face.
"You would have thought after spending all those years on an album you might do a few weeks of promotion. 'Everyone knows Axl is a bit of a maverick genius and won’t do anything he doesn’t want to.'"
As previously reported, "Chinese Democracy" debuted on the Billboard album charts at number 3. The album apparantly sold 261,000 copies in its first week of release in the United States. So far, Chinese Democracy has only gone to number one in Brazil and Finland.
Loudness Drummer Munetaka Higuchi Passes Away
Munetaka Higuchi, drummer for Japanese heavy metal band Loudness, passed away yesterday in Osaka, Japan yesterday morning. He was 49 years old. He had been diagnosed with Hepatocellular Carcinoma in April of this year and undergone two rounds of chemotherapy treatment and an operation to remove part of his liver.
Higuchi himself posted the following message online, twelve days before his death: "It has been half a year since I was diagnosed with liver cancer. I am really sorry that the fans are worried. The cancer has become worse despite the fact that I have been taking care of my health, and I will need more time for my treatment. [Even after undergoing the] big operation to remove half of my liver, I still need more treatment. There are various risks and dangers involved with my condition, but I'll do my best to keep my spirits up and maintain my physical strength to fight this illness. I know it is still the middle of my treatment, but I just wanted inform you about my progress since the operation. Thank you very much for all the support."
Loudness was formed in 1981 by Higuchi and guitarist Akira Takasaki and were the first Japanese heavy metal act to be signed in the United States. The band have released over twenty studio albums to date, seven live albums and twelve compilation albums. The bands most recent gig was supporting Motley Crue in October of this year at Greater Tokyo Area's Saitama Super Arena.
New Guns N Roses Album Banned In China
Guns N Roses has finally released their eagerly awaited new album, "Chinese Democracy," to the world. However, for fans in China, they will have to go underground for the album as the Chinese government has deemed the album inappropriate for the public. A video report from New Tang Dynasty Television discussing the album, it's banning and sales can be viewed below and features a contribution from Chthonic mainman Freddy Lim. More...
Nazxul Guitarist Greg Morelli Killed In Crash
Legendary Australian thrash metal band Mortal Sin has posted the following message online:
"Our long time friend Greg Morelli, guitarist of NAZXUL was tragically killed in the early hours of Thursday morning November 20th in a motorcycle accident. As many locals would know a huge storm hit Sydney last night and Greg was riding his motorbike home and hit a greasy wet patch on Parramatta road North Strathfield.
"Greg's death will be a huge loss to the Australian metal scene and of course the international black metal scene. The new Nazxul album had just been completed and Greg was really looking forward to getting back out on the road and we had also talked about the possibility of heading over to Europe for some shows next year. Greg explained to me that the new album was sounding like they finally wanted to sound like, and was really proud of what he had achieved.
"I hope all the black metal fans out there will raise their horns tonight for Greg. Rest in peace mate, you're a fucking legend."
Whiplash Reunites and Plans New Album
80's thrash metal band WHIPLASH has announced that they're reuniting to give their fans a long awaited breath of fresh new material. WHIPLASH stays true to their fans with the power-thrash riffs and double bass that broke them into the industry.
Aside from the new material, Displeased Records will be releasing the band's first two classic albums on one CD.
Deftones Bassist Chi Cheng In Coma After Car Crash
The Sacremento Bee reports: Deftones bassist Chi Cheng is in a coma in a San Jose hospital following a car accident in Santa Clara on Monday.
The band's singer, Chino Moreno, reached by phone, confirmed the news but declined to give specifics.
"I don't know everything that's going on -- I just know it's very serious," Moreno said. "I'm on my way to be with his family, I'm pretty freaked out about it." More...
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