HEAD
Did AVENGED SEVENFOLD Copy MACHINE HEAD’s Logo?
San Francisco Bay Area metallers MACHINE HEAD have posted the following message on their official Facebook page:
"Last night, the BLABBERMOUTH.NET Facebook posted a side by side photo of AVENGED SEVENFOLD's new stage set against MACHINE HEAD's 16-year-old lion crest. Unquestionably, lion crests have been around for ages, but there are some uncanny similarities to MACHINE HEAD's distinct lion crest.
* Lions (with axes)
* Roman numerals at the bottom
* Band symbol in the center
* Black-and-white juxtaposition in the center
"Head Cases, tell us what think."
AVENGED SEVENFOLD singer M. Shadows told the Worcester/Boston, Massachusetts radio station WAAF that he isn't bothered by recent comments from MACHINE HEAD frontmanRobb Flynn, in which Flynn called the band's new "Hail To The King" CD a "covers album."Flynn specifically called the band out for songs like "This Means War", which bears a strong resemblance to METALLICA's "Sad But True", along with others.
Shadows told WAAF's Mike Hsu (hear audio below): "I think, more than anything, [Robb's comments] brought a lot of attention to the record.
"I saw a lot of people saying, 'Oh, well, I didn't like AVENGED before, but now I'm gonna check it out, and I like this record.' So that was kind of funny.
"But, you know, [I'm] just trying to be displomatic about the whole thing."
He continued: "I don't really care what anyone says, but when people ask you about it over and over, you have to have some sort of response. And my response is just, look, I know the guy. He can say whatever he says. He's a grown-ass adult. He's 40-something years old and has an opinion on our record. I guess he can write and say whatever he wants."
Flynn didn't pull any punches in his critique, writing, "Congratulations to AVENGED SEVENFOLD On their latest 'covers album' coming in at #1. Who knew that re-recordingMETALLICA, GUNS N' ROSES, and MEGADETH songs could be such a worldwide hit!!?? Ba-dap Psssssss!!"
AVENGED SEVENFOLD Singer Responds To MACHINE HEAD Frontman’s ‘Covers Album’ Critique
AVENGED SEVENFOLD singer M. Shadows claims that he isn't bothered by MACHINE HEAD frontman Robb Flynn's criticism of AVENGED SEVENFOLD's new album, telling a radio station in Canada that "everyone should be entitled to say whatever they want."
In a lengthy critique of "Hail To The King" at MACHINE HEAD's Facebook page, Flynn wrote that the new AVENGED disc is a "blatant jackery" of material from other acts.
Flynn didn't pull any punches, writing, "Congratulations to AVENGED SEVENFOLD on their latest 'covers album' coming in at #1. Who knew that re-recording METALLICA, GUNS N' ROSES, and MEGADETH songs could be such a worldwide hit!!?? Ba-dap Psssssss!!"
The singer/guitarist went on to list his "Top 10 jokes about the new AVENGED SEVENFOLD record," starting with Number 10: "AVENGED SEVENFOLD — Now with even MORE METALLICA.
" For Number Seven, Flynn wrote, "Eyeliner sales skyrocket as thousands of heartbroken goth girls realize 'Hail To The King' is actually 'that ugly AC/DC band's song 'Thunderstruck'."
It was back to METALLICA for Number Three, as Flynn wrote, "'Black album' sales skyrocket as fans realize where new songs came from."
And at Number Two, he fired off, "After hearing AVENGED's GUNS N' ROSES cover 'Doing Time', Axl actually calls Slash, says, 'Dude, what the fuck?!'"
Flynn maintained that he was just having some fun with AVENGED in his critique, saying he was "happy" for the band's success and adding, "While I like the new record, and really dug the last record 'Nightmare' . . . It's time to poke a little fun at A7X."
MACHINE HEAD Frontman Congratulates AVENGED SEVENFOLD On Success Of Their ‘Covers Album’
MACHINE HEAD frontman Robb Flynn's latest installment of his online blog, "The General Journals: Diary Of A Frontman... And Other Ramblings - Life Affirming", reads as follows:
"Congratulations to AVENGED SEVENFOLD on their latest 'covers album' coming in at #1.
"Who knew that re-recording METALLICA, GUNS N' ROSES and MEGADETH songs could be such a worldwide hit!!?? Ba-dap Psssssss!!
"I'm on fire!!
"In case you've been living under a rock, AVENGED came in at #1 in multiple countries throughout the world. I'm happy for them. Good band. And while I like the new record, and really dug the last record 'Nightmare', hopefully we're all coming down from our post-orgasmic #1-album-bliss, because it's time to call a spade a spade!! It's time to poke a little fun at A7X, cause there's some blatant jackery goin' on there wiggas!!
"So here are my top 10 jokes about the new AVENGED SEVENFOLD record:
10) AVENGED SEVENFOLD - 'Now with even MORE METALLICA'
9) AVENGED SEVENFOLD to change name to "SAD BUT TWO"
"Number of 'spurting penises' drawn on AVENGED logos suddenly skyrockets
7) Eyeliner sales skyrocket as thousands of heartbroken goth girls realize 'Hail To The King' is actually 'that ugly AC/DC band's song 'Thunderstruck'.'
6) After hearing 'Heretic', Dave Mustaine flips out, blames Obama, METALLICA and UFOs for the A7X stealing 'Symphony Of Destruction'.
5) After seeing how much success the band BUSH had stealing other band names for song titles, A7X decided to steal 'In Flames' for latest chorus. Future chorus lyrics include 'Tr-vi-um' and 'Kill-switch En-gage'
4) Upon hearing latest album, Lars Ulrich goes all gangsta, breaks bottle of Dom Perignon on M. Shadows head, while his 11ft girlfriend put Shadows in headlock, as he screams in Shadows' face, 'You're gonna rip off 'St. Anger' next right, HUH? You're gonna rip off 'St Anger' NEXT RIGHT? HUH, HUH, HUH!!"
MACHINE HEAD Frontman Attends Birthday Party Dressed In Drag
MACHINE HEAD frontman Robb Flynn turned 46 this past Friday, July 19, while on tour with the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival. To commemorate the occasion, as well as to celebrate the birthday ofMayhem and Rockstar Taste Of Chaos organizer John Reese, a party was thrown last night, with Flynn sporting a complete style transformation by attending the event dressed in drag (see photo below). He says: "My goal was [to look like] the 70-year-old hooker from the movie 'Barfly'. SUCCESS!!!"
In the latest installment of his online blog, "The General Journals: Diary Of A Frontman... And Other Ramblings - Life Affirming", Flynn wrote: "I'm going to be 46 [on July 19].
MACHINE HEAD Featuring New Bassist JARED MACEACHERN: Toronto Fan-Filmed Video Footage
Fan-filmed video footage of MACHINE HEAD 's July 10 performance at the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival at Molson Canadian Amphitheatre in Toronto, Ontario, Canada can be seen below.
Bassist Jared MacEachern (pictured below) made his live debut with MACHINE HEAD on June 24 in Spokane, Washington.
Some fans might remember MacEachern from MACHINE HEAD's 2007"The Black Tyranny" tour, on which he performed with his previous band,SANCTITY. MACHINE HEAD, challenged to find a fill-in bass player for the North American tour after an injury sidelined their then-four-stringerAdam Duce, also found themselves in need of someone to sing harmony with singer/guitarist Robb Flynn.
Earlier this year, MACHINE HEAD conducted an extensive search for candidates through various channels, the most fruitful of which proved to be video submissions. Sifting through more than 400 videos, the band personally reviewed and evaluated everyone's performances, includingMacEachern, who made the short list without a second thought.
Does MACHINE HEAD Use Fake Guitar Amps?
Robb Flynn and Phil Demmel (pictured below) of San Francisco Bay Area metallers MACHINE HEAD have defended themselves against accusations that they use fake amps as a part of their stage show, insisting that it's something that's been a part of rock shows for decades.
Responding to an article that was posted on the web site of the El Paso, Texas radio station KLAQ 95.5 FM that attempted to call out MACHINE HEAD for using dummy cabs on stage, the band released the following statement:
"Wow?
"While it seems absurd that El Paso, Texas-based radio station 95.5 FM KLAQ would choose to go through the effort to post this on their website, we guess in-light of the big hub-bub about BLACK VEIL BRIDES getting 'called out' by the drummer for THE BRONX for having 'fake cabs' on theWarped tour earlier this month, some 'brain donor' over at the station has decided to drop the 'newsflash of the century' and 'call out' MACHINE HEAD for having 'fake amps' too! A practice that for over 40 years now has been common-place in rock 'n roll going back to the days of VAN HALEN and AC/DC.
MACHINE HEAD Frontman: ‘I Definitely Consider Myself Lucky’
Earlier this week, Linda Leseman of LA Weekly conducted an interview with guitarist/vocalist Robb Flynn of San Francisco Bay Area metallers MACHINE HEAD. An excerpt from the chat follows below.
LA Weekly: I was going to ask you where you think your musical talent comes from, but then I read that you're adopted. Do you know whether your biological parents were musicians?
Flynn: I don't know my birth parents. No one in my adoptive family was musical. We would listen to music. It's kind of funny because I wasn't raised with metal. All of my early musical experience was the Beatles.
MACHINE HEAD Announces New Bassist
San Francisco Bay Area metallers MACHINE HEAD have announced Jared MacEachern as their new bass player. Jared has already begun rehearsals with the rest of the band for the upcoming Rockstar Energy Mayhem Drink Festival tour and will soon relocate from North Carolina to Northern California to begin pre-production for MACHINE HEAD's upcoming eighth studio release.
Some fans might remember MacEachern from MACHINE HEAD's 2007"The Black Tyranny" tour, on which he performed with his previous band,SANCTITY. MACHINE HEAD, challenged to find a fill-in bass player for the North American tour after an injury sidelined their then-four-stringerAdam Duce, also found themselves in need of someone to sing harmony with singer/guitarist Robb Flynn. Flynn remembers: "We had locked inBrandon Sigmund of local boys HOSTILITY to play bass on that tour, but we soon realized we'd need someone to hit the high harmonies. Our A&R guy [at Roadrunner Records], Monte Conner, recommended Jaredsince he was already on the tour, and that ended up being a great call.Jared flew out a few days before the tour and rehearsed with us and did great. What was most impressive about the whole thing was that he was doing double duty — opening for MACHINE HEAD with his band at the time, SANCTITY, and then later singing with us. He would stay sober until after our set, and often get in the van and drive all night. His seriousness and dedication was awesome to see and it stuck with us."
Earlier this year, MACHINE HEAD conducted an extensive search for candidates through various channels, the most fruitful of which proved to be video submissions. Sifting through more than 400 videos, the band personally reviewed and evaluated everyone's performances, includingMacEachern, who made the short list without a second thought. Lead guitarist Phil Demmel recalls: "There were dozens of amazing players, and it was interesting to watch each one take on our tunes. One of our biggest criteria for this gig was to be able to sing the high harmonies. That was our litmus test. And Jared passed with flying colors."
FIREWIND: ‘Head Up High’ Performance From ‘Apotheosis – Live 2012’ Available For Streaming
Greek melodic metallers FIREWIND, who feature in their ranks current OZZY OSBOURNE guitarist Gus G., will celebrate their 10th anniversary by releasing a live album on June 24 via Century Media Records in Europe. Entitled "Apotheosis - Live 2012", the CD will contain 17 songs recorded at special anniversary shows in Greece as well as all over Europe during the band's "Few Against Many" tour in 2012. With a playing time of 69 minutes, the effort is a great overview of the band's career so far, which consists of seven studio albums. It also marks FIREWIND's final release with singer Apollo Papathanasio, who decided to leave the group at the end of last year. He has since been replaced by Kelly Sundown Carpenter (ADAGIO, BEYOND TWILIGHT) as session frontman for all 2013 live activities.
The cover artwork for "Apotheosis - Live 2012", which will be released as a digipak in its first limited-edition pressing, was designed byFIREWIND's longtime partner in all design matters, Gustavo Sazes(ARCH ENEMY, ANGRA, DREAM EVIL) based on live photography byHans-W. Rock.