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FEAR FACTORY

DOWN Added To ‘Revolver Golden Gods Tour’ Headlined By BLACK LABEL SOCIETY

Manos Spanos
DOWN has been confirmed as the "first special guest" on this year's Revolver Golden Gods Tour, presented by Epiphone. The trek, which will be headlined by BLACK LABEL SOCIETY, will kick off on April 16 in Portland and wrap up on June 7 in Los Angeles. Also rumored to be appearing on the bill is DEVIL YOU KNOW, the new band featuring former KILLSWITCH ENGAGE singer Howard Jones; Francesco Artusato, celebrated solo artist and guitarist with ALL SHALL PERISH and THE FRANCESCO ARTUSATO PROJECT; and John Sankey, drummer for the Australian band DEVOLVED, who has also worked with FEAR FACTORY and DIVINE HERESY. Revolver Golden Gods Tour dates: Apr. 16 - Seattle, WA - Showbox Sodo Apr. 17 - Portland, OR - Roseland Apr. 18 - Boise, ID - Knitting Factory Concert House Apr. 19 - Missoula, MT - Wilma Theater Apr. 21 - Billings, MT - Shrine Auditorium Apr. 25 - Milwaukee, WI - The Rave Apr. 26 - Nashville, TN - Marathon Music Works Apr. 29 - Ybor City, FL (Tampa) - The Ritz Apr. 30 - Lake Buena Vista, FL - House of Blues May 02 - Birmingham, AL - Iron City May 04 - Silver Spring, MD - Fillmore May 05 - Clifton Park, NY (Albany) - Northern Lights May 07 - Philadelphia, PA - Electric Factory May 08 - Worcester, MA - The Palladium May 09 - Sayreville, NJ - Starland Ballroom May 10 - New York, NY - Best Buy Theater May 12 - Norfolk, VA - Norva May 13 - Stroudsburg, PA - Sherman Theater May 15 - Pittsburgh, PA - Stage AE May 17 - Ft. Wayne, IN - Piere's May 19 - Sioux Falls, SD - The District May 20 - Chicago, IL - House of Blues May 21 - St. Paul, MN (Minneapolis) - Myth May 23 - Grand Prairie, TX (Dallas) - Verizon Theater May 27 - New Orleans, LA - House of Blues May 28 - Houston, TX - House of Blues Jun. 01 - Denver, CO - Ogden Theater Jun. 02 - Salt Lake City, UT - The Complex - Rockwell Jun. 04 - Tempe, AZ - Marquee Theater Jun. 05 - Las Vegas, NV - Brooklyn Bowl Jun. 06 - San Francisco, CA - Regency Ballroom Jun. 07 - Los Angeles, CA - Fonda Theater DOWN has completed work on its new EP for a spring release. The CD was recorded at singer Philip Anselmo's New Orleans studio, Nodferatu's Lair and is the second in a series of EPs to be released over the next few years, each touching on a different aspect of the band's sound. Speaking about the band's new material, DOWN guitarist Pepper Keenan told the "Metal Hammer" radio show: "It's kind of slight continuation of the first EP, but it's a little bit more… It's hard to say, man… It's more… I wouldn't say 'aggressive,' but it's definitely got some freaky guitar stuff on it. And it's definitely got a pretty good groove factor. And we spent a lot of time trying to make all the songs [fit together stylistically]. We had several songs that didn't quite match it, so we kind of [set them aside] and we're gonna move them to another EP. But it's got a super-heavy vibe to it, man. I mean, I'm really excited about it. Everybody in the band is excited about it." He continued: "We wrote it kind of like we did the 'NOLA' record. Each one of us had some riffs and we got in a room and we just hashed it out like the old days — just going off each person's experiences and ideas. Everybody's ideas were valid, and it really ended up being well rounded and slamming. It was [a] very creative [process], let's put it that way. Actually, it was surprising some of us how much we really still got it." Pepper also spoke about the cover theme for the next DOWN EP and how it will be connected to last year's "Down IV Part I - The Purple EP". "When the second [EP] comes out, you'll see it as being an extension of the last cover," Pepper said. "So number 2 is gonna connect sideways to number 1, and you'll start to see a morphing kind of process. There's some kind of liquid light kind of thing that's kind of melding across as you go… I hate to quote the overall color, but I believe it's something like orange. I haven't looked at it in a while. It might not be orange yet, but it's heading in that direction." Released in September 2012, "Down IV Part I - The Purple EP" sold 12,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 35 on The Billboard 200 chart. Guitarist Kirk Windstein recently left DOWN and was replaced by Bobby Landgraf, the band's former guitar tech who was previously in GAHDZILLA MOTOR COMPANY, a 1990s outfit also featuring Jason McMaster (DANGEROUS TOYS, WATCHTOWER), and HONKY. "I couldn't feel more blessed," Landgraf, 48, said in an interview. "Phil could've gotten anyone to play guitar, but I've been jamming with them during soundchecks, so they know we can play together." "It's really a dream come true," added Landgraf. "It's what you're working for all those years." The new BLACK LABEL SOCIETY studio album, "Catacombs Of The Black Vatican", will be released in Europe on April 7 via Mascot Label Group and one day later in North America through eOne Music. BLACK LABEL SOCIETY recently amicably parted ways with longtime guitarist Nick Catanese and replaced him with Dario Lorina (LIZZY BORDEN). blacklabelsocietyrevolvertour2014
05 min read

MEGADETH To Enter Studio Next Summer

Manos Spanos
Rooster of 94.5 FMX's "The Wrecking Yard" in Lubbock, Texas recently conducted an interview with MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine. You can now listen to the chat at KFMX.com. Speaking about MEGADETH's plans for a new studio album, Mustaine said: "We right now have a bunch of dates that's gonna take us up until August of next year. That's when we start recording the next record. We've already started working on writing stuff… "Sometimes we've been forced to really kind of write on the spot. Right now we've got an amazing luxury to be able to take some time. "Besides doing a lot of interesting things, the other guys in the band, I've got a performance coming up in April with the San Diego Symphony. And just interesting stuff like that. "We're trying to go a little bit out of our comfort zone while we're near the end of this cycle, because we wanna make sure that we really experience as much as we can." He continued: "Life is what you make it, man. And we really, really enjoy what we're doing right now. I mean, we're not in it for anything other than just the love of playing music and looking at the smiles on your faces. That's, to me, the biggest reward. Because if you've got a roof over your head and your kids are healthy, then you're very wealthy. And if you've got enough friends to count on one hand, then you're a really blessed person. I've had a great life and I love playing for our fans." MEGADETH's tour with FEAR FACTORY and NONPOINT kicked off on November 23 in St. Paul, Minnesota. MEGADETH's latest album, "Super Collider", has sold more than 70,000 copies in the United States since its June 4 release. The CD arrived in stores via Mustaine's new label, Tradecraft, distributed by Universal Music Enterprises (UMe).
02 min read

MEGADETH Debuts New Christmas Disc ‘Thrashing Through The Snow’ On ‘Jimmy Kimmel Live!’

Manos Spanos
MEGADETH took part in a funny holiday skit on last night's (Monday, December 16) episode of "Jimmy Kimmel Live!" in which they debuted their new holiday disc, "Thrashing Through The Snow: A Very Megadeth Christmas". In addition, they performed the song "Kingmaker" live on the show's outdoor stage in front of a standing-room-only crowd. Check out video footage below. MEGADETH's tour with FEAR FACTORY and NONPOINT kicked off on November 23 in St. Paul, Minnesota. MEGADETH's latest album, "Super Collider", has sold 74,000 copies in the United States since its June 4 release. The CD arrived in stores via MEGADETH mainman Dave Mustaine's new label, Tradecraft, distributed by Universal Music Enterprises (UMe). "I think 'Super Collider' is kind of like a really broad [distillation] of what our whole catalog represents," Mustaine told The Morning Call in a recent interview. "There's aggressive stuff, there's thrashy stuff, there's kind of more of the heavy metal stuff. There are someof the more introspective lyrics. There are some simple lyrics and soon and so forth. I think that's what really makes the record refreshing is that it shows everything that we've done. It's almost like a biopic of our career. It's a pretty good slice of everything I've learned over the years."
01 min read

MEGADETH: VIP Ring Offered During U.S. Tour

Manos Spanos
A special MEGADETH VIP ring featuring the band's mascot, Vic Rattlehead,will be a part of the special Ultimate VIP package during the group's U.S. tour. The Ultimate VIP Packages for MEGADETH's U.S. tour include a Dave Mustaine Peace Sells VMNT Dean Guitar, concert ticket, meet-and-greet with the band, MEGADETH VIP Ring, signed copy of "Super Collider", VIP laminate, commemorative VIP ticket, priority check-in, pre-show party, prizes and more. MEGADETH's tour with FEAR FACTORY and NONPOINT kicks off on November 23 in St. Paul, Minnesota. For more information, visit Megadeth.com. MEGADETH's latest album, "Super Collider", has sold around 70,000 copies in the United States since its June 4 release. The CD arrived in stores via Mustaine's new label, Tradecraft, distributed by Universal Music Enterprises (UMe). In a recent interview with The Rock Pit, Mustaine stated about the current lineup of MEGADETH: "I think if you ask any of us, they will all tell you this is their favorite period and the great thing is with Chris Broderick (guitar) being around for a while it's pretty significant with him. and Shawn Drover (drums) has been around longer — he's seen more — but when we got David Ellefson (bass) coming back in and he's saying this is the best that he's ever seen it and he's the one that's seen some pretty big successes among us in MEGADETH so for him to say that just shows you that things are on the rise for MEGADETH again. I'm totally excited."
02 min read

TESTAMENT’s ALEX SKOLNICK: JEFF HANNEMAN’s Riffs Are ‘All Over’ SLAYER’s Iconic Tunes

Manos Spanos
Peter Atkinson of Metal-Rules.com recently conducted an interview with guitarist Alex Skolnick of San Francisco Bay Area metallers TESTAMENT. A couple of excerpts from the chat follow below. Metal-Rules.com: The last time you toured with SLAYER, was Jeff Hanneman still with the band? Skolnick: The last time we toured with them, I think it must have been one of the last tours that Jeff did. Of course, no one knew that at the time. He hadn't developed his health issues so Gary [Holt, SLAYER's current touring guitarist] wasn't there yet, he was still going full-time with EXODUS, who we also toured with. You couldn't have known what was going to happen. That was 2010, and it was only 2011 when the "Big Four" shows happened and he [Hanneman] couldn't do those, which was such a shame. Metal-Rules.com: You wrote a very eloquent and well-circulated tribute to Hanneman after his death. TESTAMENT toured with SLAYER many times, but did you really know him that well or was that more to show respect for his talents? Skolnick: I never really knew him well at all. He was very difficult to get to know, actually. And I don't say that disrespectfully. Even close friends of his said it would take a long time to get to know him. Robb Flynn, a friend of ours from MACHINE HEAD, wrote that he'd toured with them, like, eight times and he still felt like he barely knew him. He kept to himself more. I don't think he related to many people — that was just the way he was — but he was a towering presence, no question. I wrote about him more from his reputation, which is tremendous. When you think about the music, the music is great and he is such a part of it. With all due respect to Kerry [King], when you take a look at the iconic SLAYER tunes, it'sHanneman's riffs all over it. Metal-Rules.com: I haven't seen anything about Chuck's [Billy, TESTAMENT singer] health in a long time, so I'm assuming no news is good news there and his health is good. How's the rest of the band holding up, since none of you are kids anymore? Skolnick: Yeah, thankfully, that's worked out really well. Chuck's been much better [after a battle with rare form of cancer in 2001]; he's been in great shape. Everybody in this band, knock on wood, is in relatively good health. I think as time goes on and you realize that you don't have as much free time as you once had, your perspective changes. Fortunately, most of us realize that and take better care of ourselves. I was always a lightweight when it came to alcohol and never really developed a taste for other substances, so I think that worked to my benefit. I was taking care of myself early on, and I would get a lot of funny looks, but it seems like now many people are catching up to me. Metal-Rules.com: TESTAMENT's been pretty busy, especially over the last few years, and just about everyone has at least one other band going on the side — notably Gene [Hoglan, drummer] with DETHKLOK and now, apparently, with DARK ANGEL again. Are you all finding you are able to balance TESTAMENT with the other things you want to do? Skolnick: That's been the toughest, I think, with Gene. I used to be the thorn in the side, with my trio shows and I was doing TRANS-SIBERIAN ORCHESTRA for a long time. I narrowed it down to TESTAMENT, my trio [ALEX SKOLNICK TRIO] and a world music project I'm working on. But I have control over those, so I am able to let the chips fall where they may withTESTAMENT, because usually their shows are booked well in advance. Occasionally, there are some curveballs where we get last-minute things like festivals or something. I'm mostly able to work my activities around the TESTAMENT schedule. Eric [Peterson, TESTAMENT guitarist] and Chuck do their side projects [DRAGONLORD and DUBLIN DEATH PATROL, respectively] so sporadically that it never poses scheduling problems. With Gene, it got a little bit easier when he wasn't playing in FEAR FACTORY anymore, which happened last year. And theDETHKLOK shows are usually booked far in advance, so we can work around those. Occasionally, he'll have to miss a few dates, a friend of ours, Mark Hernandez fromFORBIDDEN, was able to fill in and it worked out. But with all of us, we really feel like the core lineup and we do everything that we can so the fans get to see this lineup. Read the entire interview at Metal-Rules.com.
05 min read

SEPTICFLESH Begins Recording New Album

Manos Spanos
Greek metallers SEPTICFLESH have entered Devasoundz Studios to record 10 new songs for their as-yet-untitled next full-length album for an early 2014 release via Prosthetic Records in North America. The follow-up to 2011's "The Great Mass" is being produced by formerMACHINE HEAD and SOULFLY guitarist Logan Mader (CAVALERA CONSPIRACY, FEAR FACTORY, GOJIRA) and will once again include a collaboration with the Prague Philharmonic Orchestra. In addition, the group will also utilize full regular and children's choirs on the CD, which will surely further enhance the epic nature of their music. SEPTICFLESH has earned extensive international acclaim for its eight albums to date, as well as its live appearances alongside the likes of CRADLE OF FILTH, AMON AMARTH,GORGOROTH, SATYRICON and CHILDREN OF BODOM. The group, which recently headlined the "Conquerers Of The World" North American tour, will take part in next year's 70000 Tons Of Metal cruise. After the success of the reissues of SEPTICFLESH classics "Mystic Places Of Dawn"(originally out in 1994) and "Esoptron" (1995), Season Of Mist will release a newly remastered version of the Greek demons’ 1997 masterpiece "Ophidian Wheel". Enhanced with three previously unreleased bonus tracks and a brand new cover artwork designed by SEPTICFLESH frontman Seth Siro Anton himself, the reissue of "Ophidian Wheel" will be available on October 25 (October 29 in North America) on CD and various LP editions.
01 min read

CARCASS Frontman Says Illegal Music Downloading ‘Can Be A Positive Thing’

Manos Spanos
Tarja Virmakari of Metal Shock Finland and TrueMetal.it recently conducted an interview with bassist/vocalist Jeff Walker of reactivated British extreme metal pioneers CARCASS. You can now listen to the chat using the audio player below. Asked about his views on illegal music downloading, Walker said: "It can be a positive thing, if people download an album, hear it, enjoy it and buy it. The danger is that there is a hard core of people who download and never buy anything, and that's damaging to the music scene. They're not supporting anybody, they're not supporting the artists as fans. But for the most part, I think it's positive. Because I understand fully why people do it. There's so much music out there; people don't have the money or the resources to buy everything. And also people have probably spent or wasted money in the past on albums that have disappointed them. So it gives people a chance to test something before they buy it. I personally don't think it's any different to hearing music on the radio. But, like I say, it's that hard core of people, who… their attitude is very nihilistic and it's out of step with the idea of what being a fan is about. You shouldn't be trying to damage the artist who's trying to being people pleasure. We're not at war with the audience." CARCASS' new album, "Surgical Steel", sold around 8,500 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 41 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was released on September 16 in the U.K., September 13 in the rest of Europe and September 17 in North America via Nuclear Blast Records. The effort was produced by Colin Richardson(FEAR FACTORY, MACHINE HEAD, NAPALM DEATH, SLIPKNOT, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE) and mixed by Andy Sneap (MEGADETH, ACCEPT, EXODUS, ARCH ENEMY). Joining guitarist Bill Steer and bassist/vocalist Jeff Walker in CARCASS' current incarnation are new drummer Dan Wilding (ABORTED, TRIGGER THE BLOODSHED) and guitarist Ben Ash(PIG IRON, DESOLATION, LIQUEFIED SKELETON). In a recent interview with Chile's Radio Futuro, Walker stated about the new CARCASS CD: "We think we've made a good album, so it's gonna be very interesting when people get to hear the record. We can't wait to see what people think." He continued: "It sounds like CARCASS. Even the drumming sounds like CARCASS. Everything about it… I think it's gonna shock people, how good it is. I think it's got all the elements that people like, yet it still sounds fresh. So that's all I can say, really, 'cause we don't really sound like any other band, and the fact that after 17 years, we wrote music and it still sounds likeCARCASS, I think it's good." Regarding the direction of the new CARCASS album, Walker previously stated: "We've taken stylistic cues from all the albums because it's in our blood, but it's no rehash or mess of ideas. I think it sounds almost like the missing link between the third and forth albums but with some groove in there. I've jokingly christened some parts 'trad blast' and some 'death sleaze'… don't think for a minute this is just some nostalgic throwback album — we're setting up another 17 years of ideas for other bands to copy and clean up on. [laughs]"
03 min read

CARCASS: New, Previously Unreleased Song ‘Zochrot’ Available For Streaming

Manos Spanos
A new, previously unreleased song from reactivated British extreme metal pioneers CARCASS was made available through Decibel magazine's Flexi Series. "Zochrot" was included in the subscriber version of the magazine's October issue. You can now stream the track at this location. A limited number (fewer than 30) of copies of the issue that includes the flexi is available for sale in the Decibel webstore. CARCASS' new album, "Surgical Steel", sold around 8,500 copies in the United States in its first week of release to debut at position No. 41 on The Billboard 200 chart. The CD was released on September 16 in the U.K., September 13 in the rest of Europe and September 17 in North America via Nuclear Blast Records. The effort was produced by Colin Richardson (FEAR FACTORY, MACHINE HEAD, NAPALM DEATH, SLIPKNOT, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE) and mixed by Andy Sneap (MEGADETH, ACCEPT, EXODUS, ARCH ENEMY). Joining guitarist Bill Steer and bassist/vocalist Jeff Walker in CARCASS' current incarnation are new drummer Dan Wilding (ABORTED, TRIGGER THE BLOODSHED) and guitarist Ben Ash (PIG IRON, DESOLATION, LIQUEFIED SKELETON). In a recent interview with Chile's Radio Futuro, Walker stated about the new CARCASS CD: "We think we've made a good album, so it's gonna be very interesting when people get to hear the record. We can't wait to see what people think." He continued: "It sounds like CARCASS. Even the drumming sounds like CARCASS. Everything about it… I think it's gonna shock people, how good it is. I think it's got all the elements that people like, yet it still sounds fresh. So that's all I can say, really, 'cause we don't really sound like any other band, and the fact that after 17 years, we wrote music and it still sounds like CARCASS, I think it's good."
03 min read

CARCASS: Entire ‘Surgical Steel’ Album Available For Streaming

Manos Spanos
"Surgical Steel", the new album from reactivated British extreme metal pioneers CARCASS, can be streamed in its entirety in the YouTube clip below. "Surgical Steel" will be released on September 16 in the U.K., September 13 in the rest of Europe and September 17 in North America via Nuclear Blast Records. The effort was produced by Colin Richardson (FEAR FACTORY, MACHINE HEAD, NAPALM DEATH, SLIPKNOT, BULLET FOR MY VALENTINE) and mixed by Andy Sneap (MEGADETH, ACCEPT, EXODUS, ARCH ENEMY). "Surgical Steel" will be available on several collectible formats, which can now be ordered with or without an exclusive t-shirt design here. Joining guitarist Bill Steer and bassist/vocalist Jeff Walker in CARCASS' current incarnation are new drummer Dan Wilding (ABORTED, TRIGGER THE BLOODSHED) and guitarist Ben Ash (PIG IRON, DESOLATION, LIQUEFIED SKELETON). CARCASS' first studio LP since 1996's "Swansong" will feature guest vocals from original sticksman Ken Owen. In a recent interview with Chile's Radio Futuro, Walker stated about the new CARCASS CD: "We think we've made a good album, so it's gonna be very interesting when people get to hear the record. We can't wait to see what people think." He continued: "It sounds like CARCASS. Even the drumming sounds like CARCASS. Everything about it… I think it's gonna shock people, how good it is. I think it's got all the elements that people like, yet it still sounds fresh. So that's all I can say, really, 'cause we don't really sound like any other band, and the fact that after 17 years, we wrote music and it still sounds like CARCASS, I think it's good."
05 min read