Archive for January 4th, 2013

Daily Reload: Anthrax, Bleeding Through + More

Kevin Winter, Getty Images – Anthrax guitarist Rob Caggiano  has announced his exit from the band. [ Loudwire ] – The members of Bleeding Through have revealed they are breaking up. [ Loudwire ] – Oblivion Myth guitarist Chris Selby has been arrested for attempted murder. [ Loudwire ] – The parents of slain Metallica fan Morgan Harrington are thankful for the band’s continued support in trying to find the killer. [ Loudwire ] – Bring Me the Horizon debuted their new song ‘Shadow Moses.’ [ Loudwire ] – The Rolling Stones are weighing a number of offers for 2013 tour dates. [ Ultimate Classic Rock ] – The Beatles ‘ ‘Abbey Road’ has ended a two-year run as the top-selling vinyl album. [ Ultimate Classic Rock ] – Vampire Weekend revealed that their next album will arrive this spring. [ Diffuser.fm ] – Some bands have enjoyed creative rebounds during their run. Check out Diffuser.fm’s list of 10 Albums That Saved a Band’s Career. [ Diffuser.fm ]

Introducing the Loudwire VIP Lounge

Loudwire Loudwire appreciates the support that you, the readers, have given us, and we want to show you how much by launching the new Loudwire VIP Lounge . The new section to the Loudwire website allows you to play games, answer trivia, take surveys and accumulate points in order to enter our many contests. The newly launched Loudwire VIP Lounge lets you earn points in a number of ways. You can visit any of our featured links, check out the interesting info and add the advertised point total to your overall score. The trivia section sends you to particular articles to get an answer for a question that will also add more points on your overall total. For those who like games, especially ones with a little risk to them, there is also the option of accumulating (or losing) some points by trying your hand at Blackjack, Slots or Scratch ‘N Win. You can also add significantly to your point total by offering your feedback. Just simply enter the survey portion and tell us what you think about the topic at hand and you can add to your overall sum. Once you’ve accumulated a certain amount of points, you can enter the various contests in the VIP Lounge. Our current featured contest is an all-inclusive trip for two to see Soundgarden in Seattle. At present, the lounge also features such items as an iPod Touch; a Dyson heater and fan; Diddybeat in-ear headphones; a Samsung Galaxy Tab; gift cards for Amazon, Lowes and Target; a Garmin GPS; a Kindle Paperwhite 3G; a Samsung 40-inch television; an Xbox 360 Nike and bundle and $250 spending cash which you can also enter to win with your points. Check out the new Loudwire VIP Lounge by clicking the button below: [button href=”http://loudwire.com/vip/” title=”Visit the Loudwire VIP Lounge” align=”center”]

Robot Band Compressorhead Bring the ‘Metal’ With Motorhead’s ‘Ace of Spades’

YouTube Lemmy Kilmister may be an ageless wonder, but the Motorhead frontman need not worry about his band’s music surviving for the long haul. That’s because the robot band known as Compressorhead does a pretty nifty job of taking on the Motorhead classic ‘Ace of Spades.’ The mechanical outfit is not only quite adept at playing the hard-driving song, but one of the robots, guitarist Fingers, has the headbanging action down pat as well. However, watching Compressorhead play gives you newfound respect for Motorhead drummer Mikkey Dee, as it’s noticeable that the robot drummer Stickboy has a few more appendages to pull off what Dee normally does behind the kit. Compressorhead take their “metal” roots to heart, also covering such songs as AC/DC ‘s ‘TNT’ and Pantera ‘s ‘ Becoming ‘ as part of their repertoire. Drummer Stickboy previously performed at the 2008 Big Day Out festival in Australia and will return with the full robot group to be part of the 2013 Big Day Out bill . Watch Compressorhead Perform Motorhead’s ‘Ace of Spades’ [button href=”http://loudwire.com/robot-band-marilyn-manson-beautiful-people/” title=”Next: Watch Another Robot Band Cover Marilyn Manson’s ‘Beautiful People'” align=”center”]

New Book Details Author’s Experience as a Black Woman in the Metal Community

Bazillion Points Although there is no inherent discrimination within the metal community, it’s plain to see at any concert that most metalheads happen to be white males. While music genres can become polarizing, the central focus should always be the music itself, as author and black female Laina Dawes set out to argue in her new book, ‘What Are You Doing Here?: A Black Woman’s Life and Liberation in Heavy Metal.’ Dawes found herself connected to metal music, especially that of Judas Priest , at a very young age, but due to her gender and race, the youthful Canadian metalhead found it difficult to integrate herself into the scene. “Being 11 or 12 years old, I really resonated with the sound of anger and my internal struggles or what I was going through,” Dawes explains to NPR . “I found that listening to the music in my bedroom, being able to feel like you could scream and yell and really express your anger, that really helped me out when I was a kid.” Despite Dawes finding personal salvation within metal as an individual, she faced some unnerving backlash within social circles. “There was a boy who went to another high school,” begins Dawes. “He was really into metal, and we would talk on the phone, and I remember that he said that he wanted to meet me at a shopping mall on the weekend. And he said, ‘Well, what do you look like?’ And I said, ‘Well, I’m black and this and this…’ and he hung up the phone. I never heard from him again. [I also remember] my black female friends in high school and their parents wondering why I was wearing a Def Leppard T-shirt or whatever, and really kind of questioning me on my cultural legitimacy as a black person. All of those together made me really understand at a pretty young age that, as a black woman, I’m not supposed to be doing this, and there’s something wrong with me because I enjoy this music.” Despite the barriers Dawes faced, metal has remained the soundtrack of her life. The foreward to Dawes’ book was penned by renowned black female rocker Skin of the British rock group Skunk Anansie. ‘What Are You Doing Here?’ is available for purchase at Bazillion Points Books  and various online outlets.

Anthrax Guitarist Rob Caggiano Announces Departure From Band

Megaforce Breaking news from the legendary thrash metallers of Anthrax . Lead guitarist Rob Caggiano has left the band to focus on production work. Having joined Anthrax in 2001, Caggiano stuck with the New York thrash band until the group’s ‘Among the Living’ lineup reunited in 2005. However, Caggiano was brought back in 2007, remaining as Anthrax’s lead guitarist until now. The announcement comes as a big surprise, as Anthrax have been experiencing their greatest success in years on the heels of their critically acclaimed 2011 album, ‘Worship Music,’ which just yielded a Grammy nomination for the track ‘I’m Alive.’ Caggiano explains his departure in statement just released by the guitarist himself: I’m extremely proud of my time in Anthrax. Actually, that’s an understatement! We accomplished so many great things together over the years and I shared some of the best times of my life with these guys. As a band, we also weathered quite a few storms along the way. It’s been a wild ride (to say the least) from Day One and I wouldn’t change one single thing about the last 12 years. This is an extremely difficult and emotional decision for me to make but my heart is just steering me in a different direction right now. I’ve always been one to follow my heart in everything that I do and while this might be one of the hardest decisions I have ever had to make, it feels like the right one for me at this time. Scott, Charlie, Joey, Frankie (and John Bush) will always be part of my family and this decision doesn’t change the way I feel about that in the slightest. I would also like to say thanks to all the amazing fans I’ve met and hung out with worldwide over the years. You guys always were and always will be the reason why I make music! In this day and age, being a musician isn’t always easy -also an understatement- but the fans truly make it worthwhile for me. I hope to see each and every one of you again really soon. The fact that Anthrax is at the top of their game right now and totally ‘out for blood’ after all these years is a testament to this band’s longevity and conviction! I’m truly honored to have been a part of their brilliant legacy. As for this future, the former Anthrax shredder will continue his career as an in-studio producer: I can’t wait to get back in the recording studio again! Over the years, I’ve been blessed with the privilege of working with a wide range of great bands/artists from Anthrax and Cradle of Filth all the way to Bruce Springsteen, and I look forward to a hopeful continuation of that side of my career while I figure out my next move as an artist. BTW in case anyone was wondering after reading all of this, I do FULLY intend to get back out there on the road very soon in some way shape or form….it’s in my blood! Anthrax have also released their own statement, wishing their friend the best on his new path: Rob has been an integral part of Anthrax for so many years, as our lead guitarist, in a production capacity, but most of all, as our close friend.  His contributions to the band have been enormous. While we are sad that he is leaving, we wish him nothing but great success going forward, and hope to share the stage with him again sometime down the road. With the Metal Alliance Tour on the horizon, we have been considering several lead guitarist options, and will be making an announcement on that shortly. Stay tuned for Anthrax’s decision on who will replace Caggiano on lead guitar for the 2013 Metal Alliance tour, along with Caggiano’s future plans as a producer. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/dates-revealed-2013-metal-alliance-tour-anthrax-exodus-municipal-waste/” title=”Anthrax – 2013 Metal Alliance Tour Dates” align=”center”]

Bleeding Through Are Breaking Up

Rise Records With 14 years together and seven studio albums under their belt, the California metal band  Bleeding Through have announced that they will disband. The band first began as a side project for vocalist Brandan Schieppati’s in 1999, who was a member of Eighteen Visions at the time. Bleeding Through released their latest album, ‘The Great Fire,’ in 2012. Prior to disbanding, Bleeding Through will embark on a farewell tour. Schieppati released an official statement via Blabbermouth.net addressing the band’s decision to go their separate ways: “When you have some success doing something that you love, you never really think about writing a statement about that something coming to an end. Well, that dream that we have had as Bleeding Through has come to an end. I think I can speak for the rest of my bandmates in saying that we always hoped it would end on our terms, and it has. We have been fortunate to have a strong fan base worldwide and have brought joy to many and pissed off many more. As Bleeding Through was always a band that wore the emotion of the music on our sleeves. We cared about everyone like family that ever took the time to listen to our band, support our merchandise and go to our shows. Since 1999, we have been blessed to be able to tour the world, record seven records with some great musical minds, tour with amazing bands and people, work with people with character such as management, booking agents and road crew. Most importantly, we made lasting friends from this journey. We have been honored to be part of a expanding the musical movement of heavy music and hope to be remembered as a benchmark and pioneer of a specific style of music. We have been a band since 1999, and many of us just had life catch up with us in the way of marriages, kids, businesses and other endeavors. We can no longer dedicate what we need to to keep as Bleeding Through going. Personally, I feel doing this band in a part-time fashion is not what this band is about and feel like we have always been an all-or-nothing band. With that being said, and because we have established a worldwide following over the last 14 years, we want to give us and those people one more chance to share in this music together. We are setting up farewell tours. Dates will be up and promoted very soon. To those who supported this band: It has been an honor.” Stay tuned for information in regards to Bleeding Through’s Farewell tour dates. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/bleeding-through-dave-nassie-interview-new-album-the-great-fire-more/” title=”Next: Bleeding Through’s Dave Nassie Talks ‘The Great Fire'” align=”center”]

Most Anticipated Early 2013 Rock Tour – Readers Poll

Christopher Polk / Michael N. Todaro / Mark Metcalfe / Kevin Winter / Jim Dyson, Getty Images While it may be hard to even envision sitting on the lawn of an amphitheater hill and catching one of your favorite rock bands under the sun and stars during these cold winter months, that doesn’t mean the touring season has stopped for most bands. In fact, most acts are continuing the promotion of their music in clubs and arenas across the country. As 2013 kicks off, we’re asking you which early year rock tour piques your interest the most. Green Day are making their return to the stage. Kid Rock and Buckcherry are teaming up for a run with newcomers Hellbound Glory. Marilyn Manson ‘s career revival continues with new dates featuring support band Butcher Babies. Sevendust are meeting up with Italian rockers Lacuna Coil for North American shows. And the reunited Soundgarden continue to be a hot ticket, especially with a new album to promote. There are solid package tours to consider. Would you rather spend your money on a Stone Sour / Papa Roach double bill or triple bill featuring  Shinedown ,  Three Days Grace and  P.O.D. ? There’s Flyleaf and Drowning Pool , both with new singers, teaming up for a trek. 3 Doors Down and Daughtry are holding over their successful 2012 tour for another leg. And rock vets Nonpoint have invited promising upstarts Candlelight Red and Digital Summer along for dates in the coming months. In addition, bands like Deftones , Black Veil Brides , Tremonti , A Day to Remember and Hollywood Undead are certain to be top draws once their 2013 ventures get under way. Those are just a few of the rock tours launching in the first few months of 2013. Here’s your chance to tell us which one excites you the most. Cast your vote in the poll below. Sorry, you need to have javascript running to see this poll. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/most-desired-2013-album-readers-poll/” title=”Previous Readers Poll: Most Desired 2013 Album” align=”center”]