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MEGADETH’s SHAWN DROVER: ‘Record Buying Is Slowly Becoming A Thing Of The Past’

Manos Spanos
Earlier this week, Michael "Mick" McDonald of the National Rock Review conducted an interview with MEGADETH drummer Shawn Drover. You can now listen to the chat using the audio player below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). On whether MEGADETH will try anything new, stylistically speaking, on its next studio album: Drover: "I don't think so. We definitely branch out to a couple of different areas, stylistically speaking. For me, I'm always an advocate for the heavy stuff, so that's usually what I present to the band — something a little more violent, a little more heavy and oftentimes fast stuff. Because that's how I write. Of course, MEGADETH has done so many different kinds of metal over the years, but for me, I'll always try to represent the more furious side of it, because that's just part of who I am, it's part of my creative DNA to try to write heavy riffs. Whether it gets accepted not, it obviously just depends on how it's going [with the writing process for] the record. We all have so many ideas, not everything is gonna make it. Case in point, on the 'Endgame' record, I had a song called 'Head Crusher', which was a pretty fast, heavy song. It was the first single, the first video and it was nominated for a Grammy Award. So you always try, but you just never know what you're gonna end up with. It just depends on how the recording process goes. But I'll always have ideas to submit, certainly." On how music downloading has affected the record industry and rock bands in particular: Drover: "If you're a real fan, you're gonna buy the product. And nowadays it's [done largely] through iTunes or Amazon or Spotify or things of that nature. But, to be honest, a lot of kids don't. And their theory is, 'Why should I spend fifteen dollars on something when I can get it for free?' You just go to a torrent site and you can have it [for free] in a matter of seconds. I think a lot of this younger generation, and not to generalize, [because this doesn't apply to] everybody, but a lot of people, a lot of the younger people, and maybe even the older people, they're, like, 'Why should I buy a record when I can get it for free?' Not even thinking of the damage that it has done to the music industry since this whole Napster garbage started over 15 years ago that's caused irreparable damage to the music industry. It's not debatable; that's a fact." "This could turn into a really long and potentially depressing conversation, but it is what it is, and it happened. Until somebody can figure out how to change this, whether it's some kind of new format, or something that you can't… I think if someone could find a format where you could purchase a product and there's no way that you could copy it or get it on a torrent site, then that would obviously help the industry. But that's wishful thinking, I think, on my part. I just think the damage has been done now and record buying is slowly becoming a thing of the past. And certainly, to a large degree, record sales are down right across the board. You don't see bands selling 15 million albums, like DEF LEPPARD's 'Hysteria' or all the pop [albums], like the MICHAEL JACKSON records and the MADONNA records, I don't see anybody selling eight, 12, 13 million albums anymore. It's just not happening." MEGADETH latest album, 2013's "Super Collider", sold 29,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 6 on The Billboard 200 chart. "TH1RT3EN" opened with 42,000 units back in November 2011 to enter the chart at No. 11. The band's 2009 CD, "Endgame", premiered with 45,000 copies to debut at No. 9. This was slightly less than the 54,000 first-week tally registered by 2007's "United Abominations", which entered the chart at No. 8. 2004's "The System Has Failed" premiered with 46,000 copies (No. 18) while 2001's "The World Needs A Hero" moved 61,000 units in its first week (No. 16). Interview (audio):
04 min read

VINNY APPICE: Why I Left KILL DEVIL HILL

Manos Spanos
On March 14, rock journalist Mitch Lafon conducted an interview with legendary drummer Vinny Appice (BLACK SABBATH, HEAVEN & HELL, DIO, LAST IN LINE, KILL DEVIL HILL). You can now listen to the chat in the YouTube clip below. A couple of excerpts follow (transcribed by BLABBERMOUTH.NET). On writing new, original material with LAST IN LINE — the band featuring DEF LEPPARD guitarist Vivian Campbell alongside fellow founding DIO members Vinny Appice, Jimmy Bain and Claude Schnell, plus singer Andrew Freeman, who has previously fronted HURRICANE and LYNCH MOB: Vinny: "Yeah, we started writing, and it's gone great. 'Cause that's the hard part. OK, it's easy to get together and play the old songs and have fun and go out and play. And then it comes down to, 'OK, we're gonna write next week.' Then you don't know how it's gonna go, because we haven't been in a room writing together for 30 years. And it went fantastic. We've got about five tunes written, and they're really cool, and they sound like us; they sound like DIO. And it's very interesting how quickly it came together. And we're happy about it, we're having fun down there exchanging ideas. It's really, really a good vibe. It's nothing where there's any attitudes or egos or anything like that; it's wonderful, actually. And this way, when it's in that environment, you can express your ideas without having to worry or think about some guy that's gonna go, 'Well, I don't think that's good,' or, 'No, we shouldn't do it that way.' All the ideas are put out there and we go, 'Yeah, that's cool. Let's try it.' There's no quarrels, there's no attitudes. It's really cool. So it's going great. In April, we're going into the studio to record a couple of [the songs], so we have some stuff down. And it looks like we have a pretty nice record deal sitting there. And Steve Strange from Europe — he's a very famous guy in Europe — he's handling the band, and he is in the driver's seat, and we've got a great driver." On his decision to leave KILL DEVIL HILL: Vinny: "It wasn't a musical breakup at all. It was more of… What you wanna do with… I mean, I started the band; it was my band and then Rex [Brown, former PANTERA and DOWN bassist] came into the band and he was a known dude and strong personality, and it became a great band. So it's not a musical problem at all; it's more a business thing where… scheduling and the idea of how to make this work, the time involved, and all the different things. Obviously, I had a lot of stuff on my plate, and it's hard to devote to one thing when these other really good things are happening too. So it was just a mutual thing where… 'Look, I think it's better if you guys continue and get somebody else,' and see what happens. "Actually, [KILL DEVIL HILL] was started at the end of 2009, when I started doing this. You devote four years, almost five years to this thing. And it's, like, 'Wow! What does it take to get this across?' Especially when Rex joined the band. It's, like, people know Rex, people know me. It's not like it's a bunch of new guys trying to make it. And it was, like, 'Wow! It's really, really hard to get this thing off the ground.' It seems to be doing better now. And it comes down to getting people around you that know what they're doing, like record companies, managers, agents and different things. That's a real important part of being in a band. Unless it's an all-star band; then it's easy to go out and do stuff. Like LAST IN LINE is a lot more sellable on this level than KILL DEVIL HILL when it comes to agents booking gigs. That's the way the business works; people wanna see, or hear music that they know. "It's a crazy business right now. Rex and I were shocked that… 'Wow! This is the third tour already, and we're still struggling to get this thing off the ground.'… You're going out and you're making merch money, but it's all going back into keeping this thing alive. There's no tour support, there's no advertising… Where do you advertise? You can only advertise on the Internet, really; there's no more [print] magazines. And even then, it's hard to get a budget for advertising. Videos… You do videos… Basically, it seems like you just need somebody that does social media that you just hire 24 hours a day, every day, 16 hours a day, get on the Internet and get it everywhere. That seems to be the way to do it."
04 min read

GOTTHARD: ‘Feel What I Feel’ Video Released

Manos Spanos
"Feel What I Feel", the new video from veteran Swiss rockers GOTTHARD, can be seen below. The song is taken from the band's new album, "BANG!", which will be released on April 7 through PIAS. GOTTHARD has been at home touring the globe for over 20 years throughout Europe, North and South America and Asia on the back of 14 studio and live albums. They have collected multiple gold and platinum awards on the way, selling almost three million records and appearing at the biggest, most important festivals on the map of rock. The dynamic boogie groove of the "BANG!" title track is also new ground for the band, reflecting their unbridled energy and pure confidence. Also worthy of mention is a duet with the unknown (so far) American vocalist Melody Tibbits on a ballad entitled "Maybe". As is the blues excursion the band takes in "Spread Your Wings". The final "Thank You" is a veritable epic complete with orchestra and goosebumps, flowing against radio friendly convention to a length of more than ten minutes. Written as a tribute to the departed mother of guitarist Leo Leoni, it serves as a homage to mothers everywhere. The first single from the new album is "Feel What I Feel", a perfect demonstration of the group's talent for combining melodic vocals with strong guitar hooks. These songs are set against a background of classic GOTTHARD rock tunes like "Get Up 'N' Move On", "Jump The Gun" and "My Belief", which traditionally grace every album by the Swiss combo. All told, "BANG!" presents a compelling mix that is sure to take its rightful place in the proud legend of GOTTHARD. Recorded and produced by Charlie Bauerfeind and GOTTHARD's own Leo Leoni at Yellow House Studios in Lugano in the Swiss canton of Tessin, "BANG!" was then mixed at the Dutch Wisseloord Studios (Mick Jagger, Paul McCartney, Tina Turner) by Ronald Prent, who has managed to keep the GOTTHARD sound but transport them into 2014. No wonder, after all Prent has worked in the studio with bands such as the SCORPIONS, 3 DOORS DOWN, DEF LEPPARD and WITHIN TEMPTATION. Apart from a standard jewel case, the album will be available in digipack version, with two bonus tracks and also on vinyl. GOTTHARD's last album, "Firebirth", entered the chart Switzerland at position No. 1 — the 14th time that a GOTTHARD CD has topped the Swiss chart in the group's career so far. In addition, the album landed at No. 9 on the German Media Control chart. "Firebirth" was released in June 2012 via Nuclear Blast/Warner Music. The CD was produced at the band's own Yellow House Studios in Lugano, Switzerland, with guitarist/songwriter Leo Leoni and Paul Lani (who has previously worked with GOTTHARD on several of their earlier albums, including "G-Spot" and "Homerun") at the helm. "Firebirth" marked GOTTHARD's first release with singer Nic Maeder, who was born in Lausanne, Switzerland, lived in Melbourne, Australia and grew up between Switzerland and "Down Under." GOTTHARD's previous vocalist, Steve Lee, was killed on October 5, 2010 in what has been described as a freak road accident in Nevada. gotthardbangcover
03 min read

AVENGED SEVENFOLD: ‘Shepherd Of Fire’ Video Released

Manos Spanos
AVENGED SEVENFOLD's video for the song "Shepherd Of Fire" can be seen below. The clip was directed by Wayne Isham, who has helmed videos for such artists as METALLICA,PANTERA, GODSMACK, DEF LEPPARD and BON JOVI. Isham previously worked with AVENGED SEVENFOLD on the "Seize The Day", "Afterlife","Nightmare" and "So Far Away" clips. "Shepherd Of Fire" comes off AVENGED SEVENFOLD's sixth album, "Hail To The King", which sold 159,000 copies in its first week of release, giving the California band their second straight chart-topper after 2010's "Nightmare". Speaking to Kerrang!, vocalist M. Shadows stated about "Shepherd Of Fire": "If you just listen to the music, if feels you've been taken down to Hell. From the riffs, to the bells ringing, to the horns, to the drumbeat, it feels like you've been dragged down." M. Shadows said a few months back that the sound of the new CD was channeling earlier records from acts like PANTERA, METALLICA, BLACK SABBATH and others, and he told The Pulse Of Radio again just recently that the band was aiming for an older feel. "We said, 'Well, why don't we make a record that we would want to listen to today, that sounds like a late '90s or before record?'" he said. "And then we said production-wise we've got to make it sound like one of those records. We've got to have the big guitars, the huge drums that are over the top, and just like the punch that those records gave you. So what I would say is that this is a record in 2013 that reminds me of like an early '90s or before type metal record." "Hail To The King" is AVENGED SEVENFOLD's first full album written and recorded without drummer and charter member James "The Rev" Sullivan, who died in December 2009 during the early stages of writing for "Nightmare".
02 min read

AVENGED SEVENFOLD Singer: ‘We Have So Many Eerie Similarities To METALLICA’

Manos Spanos
Radio.com recently conducted an interview with AVENGED SEVENFOLD vocalist M. Shadows and bassist Johnny Christ. You can now watch the chat below. Asked how it feels to be compared to METALLICA, M. Shadows said: "To me, we have so many eerie similarities to METALLICA, it's ridiculous. We lost a member during one of our most important times. We have an album now which is being compared to the 'black' album [byMETALLICA], which is very… For us, we kneel at the throne. We're very much big fans ofMETALLICA. At the same time, we're just doing our thing, we're trying to create our own legacy." AVENGED SEVENFOLD recently filmed a video for the song "Shepherd Of Fire" with directorWayne Isham, who has helmed clips for such artists as METALLICA, PANTERA, GODSMACK,DEF LEPPARD and BON JOVI. Isham previously worked with AVENGED SEVENFOLD on the "Seize The Day", "Afterlife","Nightmare" and "So Far Away" videos. AVENGED SEVENFOLD's sixth studio album, "Hail To The King", sold 159,000 copies in its first week of release, giving the California band their second straight chart-topper after 2010's"Nightmare". AVENGED SEVENFOLD kicked off its first major tour in support of the new CD on October 3 in Chicago.
01 min read