Yet another rock band has announced that they will launch a Las Vegas residency. With bands such as Motley Crue and Guns N’ Roses having successful tenures in Sin City, Def Leppard are the latest act to confirm a series of shows in Vegas. Def Leppard’s residency will be titled ‘Viva Hysteria!’ and will be focused around the band’s most beloved album, ‘Hysteria.’ The group will be playing the record in its entirety, which features the legendary tracks, ‘Animal,’ ‘Love Bites’ and ‘Pour Some Sugar on Me,’ along with select hits from their other albums. The famed Hard Rock Hotel and Casino will host Def Leppard’s residency, with nine shows scheduled to begin on March 22. “We’re very happy to be part of what I call the first wave of rockers to take Vegas back from the lounge singers — Wayne Newton and his type,” Def Leppard frontman Joe Elliott tells USA Today . “Things like ‘Run Riot,’ ‘Don’t Shoot Shotgun’ and ‘Love and Affection’ got left by the wayside because of the popularity of other songs that, to be frank, if you don’t play them live, you don’t get out of the building alive. The oddest thing is going to be doing ‘Sugar’ fifth. In many respects, it’s like the Troggs opening with Wild Thing.” Elliot continues, “The downtime will not go to waste. Two of the guys in the band live in Dublin and the other three live in California. This is a great opportunity for a band that has decided to live all over the world to be in one room at one time, to look each other in the eyes and to come up with ideas.” Ultimate Classic Rock actually spoke with Def Leppard guitarist Phil Collen earlier this year about the possibility of a Las Vegas residency. “We’ve been talking about this for 10 years, me and Joe Elliot, more than anyone else. We [would] do [whole albums like] ‘Hysteria’ or we do ‘Pyromania’ one night and something like that would be great, but we’ve just talked about it. Obviously we haven’t got it into gear, it would be cool. It’s getting the time to do it in a venue; I think that’s brilliant Motley Crue doing it.” Check out Def Leppard’s upcoming Vegas dates below. Tickets go on sale Nov. 16. Def Leppard 2013 Las Vegas Residency Dates: March 22 March 23 March 27 March 29 March 30 April 3 April 5 April 6 April 10
Reprise The guiding principle of Deftones albums is the push and pull between singer Chino Moreno and guitarist Stephen Carpenter. That’s an age-old rock ‘n’ roll construct — the tension between singer and guitar player — and Moreno and Carpenter being at consistent sonic odds is what makes Deftones music so dynamic. They employ this technique on their new album ‘Koi No Yokan.’ It’s recommended that you listen to all Deftones albums, especially this one, in the dark, with the volume turned up, to fully absorb the layers of sound without distraction or interruption. There is so much more going on under the surface of those quiet-loud bursts and the exchange of energy between Moreno’s croon and Carpenter’s heavy artillery demands a deeper listen. ‘Koi No Yokan’ is erected on the aforementioned foundation, with Carpenter pounding out gritty, bottom-heavy, resonant riffery, while Moreno adds a bit of an androgynous touch, thanks to his clean vocals, which have always been indicative of his PJ Harvey worship. Moreno screams like a banshee, at times, but it’s his clean, pretty vocals which are way more interesting to Deftones fans. They are almost like an instrument unto themselves. ‘Koi No Yokan’ is a bloodied record that bares its claws. ‘Swerve City’ opens the disc, and is the get-it-out-of-the-way song in that it makes the point that the Sacramento, Calif., band is here to rock and retain its heaviness. The lush ‘Romantic Dreams’ has a whimsical bend, with Moreno cooing “I wish this night would never end” over a Meshuggah-influenced gust of Carpenter riffage. That’s the case for much of his techy guitar tone, which anchors the album and makes it feel constructed of iron ore. The dynamics aren’t just at play because Moreno and Carpenter face off musically. DJ Frank Delgado is also working overtime to spin those extra sonic flourishes into the mix, like the sound bites buried under that gnarly riff in ‘Romantic Dreams.’ ‘Leathers’ has a ghostly, cinematic quality to the first few seconds, before it erupts into a torrent of screams and wails. ‘Poltergeist’ kicks off with handclaps and a engine-revving riff that could cause a 50-car pile up. ‘Entombed’ is the prettiest song on the record, with sweeping vocals and a shimmery tone. But that doesn’t mean it’s soft. It’s just swells with beats that sound like a thumping heart and there’s an electrical, Delgado-designed current that buzzes through the fade out. ‘Graphic Nature’ is melancholic, with chunky riffery, while the undulating single ‘Tempest’ has a melody line similar to that of ‘Change (In the House of Flies),’ which is the band’s biggest radio hit. It doesn’t sound like ‘Change,’ but it is from the same melodic family. ‘Gauze’ could cause an involuntary ejection from your seat, since it comes on with a full blast of noise. ‘Rosemary’ is a sweeping exercise in quiet-loud, Deftonesian dynamics and contrasts. It starts the final moments of the album correctly. It sends volts of electrical charges rushing through your veins. ‘Koi No Yokan’ is 11 tracks, so it doesn’t wear out its welcome or leave you wanting more, either. It’s a satisfying length and since the songs have such a thunderous guitar bottom end, it would tire you out if it went on for too long, so the band and producer cut things off at the right time. Much of the underlying flourish, provided by Delgado, has a film score quality to it and could be cut up, dissected, re-arranged and used in noirish thrillers. No, we don’t mean slasher or horror flicks, either. While ‘Koi No Yokan’ might not match ‘White Pony,’ which is the transitional and pinnacle album for the band that came out over 12 years ago, it has a similar spirit to that album and the self-titled release that followed it. In fact, if ‘Koi No Yokan’ had come out after 2003′s ‘Deftones,’ it would not interrupt the catalog’s flow. Overall, if the Smashing Pumpkins were heavier, ballsier and angrier, they’d make albums that sound like this, since Deftones do have an alt-metal vibe. Moreno’s lyrics are often from-the-journal-page and stream of thought, making them entirely open-ended and capable of attracting the disaffected. The album’s title is a Japanese term for the moment you know you will fall in love with someone, and the disc itself delivers more of what the band’s fans have come to love. Deftones already made that creative left turn a decade ago, and it served them well, so they serve it up again.
Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Hatebreed frontman Jamey Jasta was the guest on Full Metal Jackie’s radio show this past weekend. He spoke all about the band’s forthcoming album ‘The Divinity of Purpose,’ as well as hitting the road with Lamb of God and how playing shows has changed since Randy Blythe’s arrest. Read the full interview with Jamey Jasta below: You are obviously part of this awesome Lamb of God tour and you are probably doing 12 bazillion things, as you do? Metal is a life style and no one in the metal community is more immersed in that lifestyle than you. When did you realize that metal would become so prominent in so many aspects of your life, musician, songwriter, label owner, media personality. Coming from the punk and hardcore scene – I just saw that there needed to be more unity with metal. We always played with metal bands and we always enjoyed metal bands like thrash bands, death metal however you want to call the different sub-genres and I thought “It’d be good to just be more involved and bring people together.” I always liked the inclusionary aspect of metal whereas coming from the punk and hardcore scene a lot of it is exclusionary where there’s a lot of strong beliefs. So I thought “Man, it would be great to have a balance of the two” so very young I started learning about how shows were booked and how tours were booked and how different bands got signed and I just tried to learn so that if I ever was to be in a band, which I ended up being in – I had a little bit of an edge. Especially coming from the punk and hardcore scene there’s so many bands and it’s so hard to break especially in the Northeast – being from Connecticut we were sandwiched in between New York and Boston where there’s hundreds of bands, you really have to work super hard to get noticed. Growing up and having bands like Biohazard and Sick of It All but also bands like Anthrax and all of the Florida death metal bands, we ended up getting to play with a lot of those bands. You see how die-hard the fans are and how truly supportive and they stay with the band and now we’re seeing it more than ever with Testament and Anthrax and even Megadeth – they constantly keep having these huge rebirths in a way where the fans pass it along to younger fans. We just wanted to do that but for bands who were crossover bands who had roots in the hardcore scene and everything comes with that – the lifestyle aspect of it, trying to make a brand, have your own clothing, have your own label, have your own TV show or radio show or whatever it is. You want to have a medium to promote the stuff and it’s been cool and a lot of people are still doing things like that; Kerry King from Slayer had a clothing line, Scott Ian has a web TV show and it’s nice to see that through metal there are all these cool opportunities being had. I believe in abundance I’m like, “Share the wealth and have everybody express their views and interests and have the music be that medium to get the message across.” As you mentioned there’s a new Hatebreed record coming out in January and tell us what will fans love most about this new record? I just think if you like any one Hatebreed record there’s a little bit of something for you on this one. I feel like if you like ‘Satisfaction [Is the Death of Desire]’ and you’re in your thirties and that hardcore was a big part of your life, there’s some stuff you’ll like on this record. If your more ‘Perseverance’ type of person and from the last ten years onward have been a fan there’s a lot of themes that are similar. Then there’s the thrash and the crossover influence, as well. I think it’s got all of the cool elements of Hatebreed records in the past but has that identity where it’s fresh and new but you know when you put it in, you know it’s Hatebreed. Even if you hate us at least you won’t be like “Who is that? What is that?” you know who it is. You guys are celebrating an anniversary coming up right? We just celebrated the 10 year anniversary of ‘Perserverance’ and Nov. 11 [marks] the 15th anniversary of ‘Satisfaction Is the Death of Desire.’ I don’t think we’ll get the chance to do a tour or a re-release of the record or anything which would have been cool but the past is the past – we’re proud of it but it’s like we got to put this new record out in January and it’s onward and upward. This is a huge tour for us to play out to a new audience. It’s great to see Lamb of God – even though they might not be new to some people, we’re seeing a lot of young kids and I feel like they’re the new leaders of aggressive metal or modern metal. Both Hatebreed and Lamb of God are both powerful aggressive bands in an instant how did things change for you as a musician, entrepreneur and for metal as a whole when Randy [Blythe] was arrested in Prague? Well it was crazy because it instantly put this magnifying glass on how a concert should go as far as searching the fans, security, barricades and we come under a lot of scrutiny because we’re from the hardcore scene. There are some people who are very vocal about us becoming a big band – they don’t like that. There’s always been this kind of punk rock guilt in the scene like “You can’t be successful, you can’t make money or play big shows on big stages” but we’ve always been looking for the most success possible – we’ve never been ashamed of that. Randy getting arrested has really brought that out and people have said, “What are you going to do? Are you going to be able to play shows without a barricade.” We’ve been playing shows with barricades for the last 12 years it’s just people that wasn’t to cause a stir and act like we’re compromising our integrity in some way. They’ve brought all this stuff up like, “Everybody should be welcome on the stage” and all this stuff – not at a metal show maybe at a punk and hardcore shows and God Bless them if they can police the stage and be on top of it. God forbid somebody breaks their neck like we had happen at The Staircase in PA and that’s probably going back to 2002, 2003 – that club shut down, we almost got named in the lawsuit. Even before Lamb of God we were dealing with these types of issues before Lamb of God was even signed so they just brought it to the forefront – it’s such a unique incident where they feel Randy is at fault which he isn’t, he’s totally innocent. Regardless I think it’s a bigger question or a bigger thing where people just need to respect each other at a show, respect the security and vice versa. What do you want out of the show? Do you want to enjoy it or do you want to hurt people and hurt yourself? You have to ask yourself that. If you’re looking to hurt people or hurt yourself then maybe you should just stay home. As far as the bigger metal bands like Lamb of God, Anthrax and Slayer – don’t ever expect to be allowed onstage. Hatebreed has already done shows since this has happened without barricades and it was just a couple random shows like my birthday show in Switzerland and everything was fine. We took a risk by doing that and if could’ve gone wrong but we told the crowd “Look this is super important that everybody respects each other, if somebody dives you got to catch them, if somebody falls you got to pick them up.” I don’t see that being something that can still go on especially not in America, definitely not in America. I think that in America, especially after the ‘Perseverance’ tour which was probably our most violent tour we’ve done in a long time, with the exception of Pomona. Pomona was incredible, seeing all the unity and everybody picking each other up and really no fights – that was great but every other place was super violent and I’m not complaining. I understand it’s heavy music and a crazy show and we write some stuff that’s going to cause the kids to go crazy but at some point you have to say “Enough is enough, let’s respect each other.” If you get hit in the pit just deal with it and shake it off. At the Detroit show there were girl fights and it was crazy. I know when you involve booze and heavy metal you’re bound to have a couple fights but we had a lot of shows where it was literally like 30 fights – two, three fights every song and you’re like “Alright this has got to chill for a little bit.” That’s why with Hatebreed we try to do the bigger tours like Mayhem Fest where we can play to a ton of people, get out message out and not have to worry about people getting hospitalized. In terms of Hatebreed, what surprises people most about you in terms of their perception that’s based on Hatebreed and your music? Well now after the whole CNN debacle where they basically misreported us being a racist band or having a racist agenda – because our fans stood up for us and really just bombarded them with Tweets. It actually got us a little bit of mainstream attention and now people who might not know about Hatebreed at least they get it and they say, “Okay their negativity or the negative aspects that they see or feel in the world they’re trying to do something positive with it” and they get that we’re trying to have a positive agenda. So I guess when people meet us and we’re regular guys and we’re not out here beating people up or sacrificing goats or whatever they think that we’re doing – they get it. Also, when you perform at this level – we’ve done more shows than most bands who’ve been around for 20 years, 30 years, we’ve done a higher volume of shows. We’ve gotten out a lot of energy, when you scream your head off for 40 to 90 minutes a night – it’s hard to be upset during the day, that’s the therapy. That’s probably another thing that people don’t realize – I get all the bad stuff out, I have that release. That’s why with this whole record and going into this new world tour and everything, I have a really good outlook because I still get that fulfillment – that’s why I feel like we’ve had such long term success it’s a cyclical power, people get that from the show and we get that from performing. We just need now to make it be more of a fun experience and hopefully the next tour won’t be as crazy and violent. We write some heavy stuff so it is to be expected. Do you think looking back at starting out in terms of punk roots and you have to be in an angry mindset in general on that whole genre – thinking back then to now do you still feel that anger and rebellion in general? Yeah, but also I think it goes in waves now we have the election coming up and the way the economy is and as you get older you see so many people are down and out. People are dealing with depression and anxiety and struggles that you face throughout your life, it’s just constant fuel for the fire I think. I feel like life is never going to be a hundred percent peachy so you got to have that balance. You don’t always want to eat pizza, you can’t eat pizza for every meal, you want to switch it up just like you don’t always want to listen to Hatebreed, maybe some people do and God bless them – but for when you do need that release or you want that aggressive music whether it’s in the gym or on your ride to work hopefully we’re that band. Full Metal Jackie will welcome Dez Fafara of DevilDriver on her next show. Full Metal Jackie can be heard on radio stations around the country — for a full list of stations, go to fullmetaljackieradio.com .
Ethan Miller, Getty Images Twisted Sister made headlines last month with talk that they were planning to take legal action against the owner of a Minneapolis food truck over usage of their band name, but guitarist and a manager Jay Jay French says there really wasn’t much of a choice in taking action. The band sent a cease-and-desist letter to the owner of the Twisted Sister House of Hunger food truck, and owner Wesley Kaake told local station WCCO-TV that in researching the matter, he discovered that there were at least six other businesses who also received similar letters from the band. In response to the backlash, French told Blabbermouth , “I get how stories like these appear like David vs. Goliath. I also get how easy it is to take cheap shots at my band because of our former image and the ’80s-era iconography. [But] the fact of the matter is that trademark law doesn’t give me a choice on who and what to defend. The law is very clear: either defend your trademark or lose rights to it.” The guitarist says over the years he’s had to take action against major companies like Six Flags, Urban Decay, and Harley-Davidson as well as some of the “mom and pop companies.” He adds, “The defense is almost always the same. They first claim that they never heard of the band and then they say that no one would confuse the two anyway. I have won every case. The unique juxtaposition of the words ‘Twisted’ and ‘Sister’ have never ever appeared in print prior to my band’s use of it. This was established in the Six Flags case.” French concludes, “The name is so unique, like Led Zeppelin, that any use would confuse the marketplace as either the product or service is owned or endorsed by us. Also, if I let one go, that just emboldens someone else with the rationale that ‘you didn’t bother them, so why go after me.’ I have heard this many times before.” The guitarist also states that he’s not opposed to the food truck using the name for their business so long as they legally license it from the band. He adds, “One hundred percent of the licensing money will go to the OUIF (Ocular Immunology and Uveitis Foundation.” [button href=”http://loudwire.com/twisted-sister-pee-wees-big-adventure-cameo/” title=”Next: Twisted Sister – Musician Movie Cameos” align=”center”]
Matthew Simmons, Getty Images The Used will head up the 2013 Take Action Tour, and they’ll be squeezing a little extra life out of their ‘Vulnerable’ album by re-releasing it as a two-disc effort titled ‘Vulnerable II’ that coincides with the run. The Used will welcome We Came As Romans , Crown the Empire, and Mindflow for the tour, which launches Jan. 11 at the Las Vegas House of Blues. Like past Take Action treks, the tour has a charitable association. This year, proceeds from the trek will be directed to the It Gets Better Project, created to provide youths in the LGBT community with a positive outlook by showing the potential of what can happen by surviving the often difficult teen years. Ten percent of each ticket sold will be donated to It Gets Better and the annual charitable sponsor, Sub City. Tickets are on sale at the Take Action website . The Used’s Bert McCracken and Jeph Howard have created an “It Gets Better” video to help support the cause. The promo can be seen below. “It’s our privilege to work with such a lovely charity that does so much good in this confusing world,” says McCracken. “Pease check out itgetsbetter.org and we’ll see you at the Take Action Tour.” In addition, Hopeless Records will partner with Sub City to offer the ‘Take Action Compilation, Vol. 11,” which features tracks from The Used, Bad Religion, AWOLNATION, Falling in Reverse , Whitechapel and more. As with the tour, a portion of the proceeds from sale of the two-disc set will go to It Gets Better. As for The Used’s ‘Vulnerable II’ re-release, the album has now expanded to a two-disc set, with the second disc offering multiple remixes and acoustic versions of tracks from the original effort. It’s due in stores Jan. 22, and can be pre-ordered here . Watch The Used’s Bert McCracken and Jeph Howard’s “It Gets Better” Spot 2013 Take Action Tour Dates: 1/11 — Las Vegas, Nev. — House of Blues 1/12 — Salt Lake City, Utah — In The Venue 1/14 — Denver, Colo. — Summit 1/16 — Kansas City, Mo. — The Beaumont 1/17 — Minneapolis, Minn. — First Avenue 1/19 — Milwaukee, Wis. — The Rave 1/20 — Indianapolis, Ind. — Egyptian Room 1/22 — St. Louis, Mo. — The Pageant 1/23 — Chicago, Ill. — House of Blues 1/25 — Pittsburgh, Pa. — Stage AE 1/26 — Rochester, N.Y. — Water Street Music Hall 1/28 — Washington, D.C. — 9:30 Club 1/29 — Boston, Mass. — House of Blues 1/30 — Sayreville, N.J. — Starland Ballroom 2/1 — Hartford, Ct. — Webster Theatre 2/2 — Atlantic City, N.J. — House of Blues 2/4 — Atlanta, Ga. — Tabernacle 2/5 — Tampa, Fla. — Ritz Ybor 2/7 — Asheville, N.C. — Orange Peel 2/8 — Cincinnati, Ohio — Bogart’s 2/10 — Detroit, Mich. — Fillmore 2/11 — Cleveland, Ohio — House of Blues 2/13 — Tulsa, Okla. — Cain’s Ballroom 2/14 — Houston, Texas — House of Blues 2/16 — Austin, Texas — Emo’s East 2/17 — Dallas, Texas — House of Blues 2/19 — San Antonio, Texas — Backstage Live 2/20 — El Paso, Texas — Tricky Falls 2/22 — Albuquerque, N.M. — Sunshine Theatre 2/24 — Phoenix, Ariz. — Marquee Theatre 2/26 — San Francisco, Calif. — The Fillmore 2/27 — San Diego, Calif. — House of Blues 3/1 — Los Angeles, Calif. — The Wiltern The Used ‘Vulnerable II’ Track Listing Disc One 1. ‘Come Alive’ 2. ‘This Fire’ 3. ‘Hands and Faces’ 4. ‘Put Me Out’ 5. ‘Shine’ 6. ‘Now That You’re Dead’ 7. ‘Give Me Love’ 8. ‘Moving On’ 9. ‘Getting Over You’ 10. ‘Kiss It Goodbye’ / ‘Kinda Hectic’ (Interlude) 11. ‘Hurt No One’ 12. ‘Together Burning Bright’ Disc Two 1. ‘Surrender’ 2. ‘The Lonely’ 3. ‘Machine’ 4. ‘Disaster’ 5. ‘I Come Alive (Revolvr and Danny Mihai Remix) 6. ‘Hands and Faces’ (Bobby Alt Remix) 7. ‘Put Me Out’ (Kraddy Remix) 8. ‘I Come Alive’ (acoustic) 9. ‘Put Me Out’ (acoustic) 10. ‘Together Burning Bright’ (acoustic) [button href=”http://loudwire.com/the-used-discuss-new-album-vulnerable-intense-encounter-with-super-fan-more/” title=”Next: The Used Discuss ‘Vulnerable’ Album” align=”center”]
PearlJam.com Pearl Jam are one of the leaders when it comes to providing their fans with bootleg performances of their shows, but they intend on making the turnaround a little quicker and offering some special deals in the future. As such, they’ve launched what they’re calling the “Instant Classic” bootleg series. In late September, the group played one of their few shows this year in Missoula, Mont. as a show of support for Montana Senator Jon Tester’s re-election campaign. The Adams Center performance was the first time in seven years the group had played in Missoula, and it turned out to be such a high energy show that the band declared it “an instant classic.” As a result, they put a rush on making the performance available to their fans for a limited time at a special price. The period is currently underway and continues through Tuesday (Nov. 13) with fans being able to purchase the bootleg in MP3 format for $4.99. Most bootlegs retail for $9.99 at the group’s website . During this sale period, proceeds will be donated to the Poverello Center in Missoula. After Nov. 13, all formats (MP3, FLAC, FLAC-HD, and CD) of the show performance will be available at regular prices. Visit www.pearljam.com/goods to place your order. Pearl Jam are in the process of working on new music, though bassist Jeff Ament recently admitted that they are taking it at their own pace and that he doesn’t expect they’ll continue work on the disc until sometime early next year. He added that even though there are seven or eight songs recorded, “It’s still sort of a blank slate and that’s exciting.” No timetable has been set for delivery of the next album. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/best-grunge-bands/” title=”Next: 10 Best Grunge Bands” align=”center”]
Stephen Dunn, Getty Images There’s no doubt that Red Hot Chili Peppers bassist Flea is definitely an avid basketball fan, and that his loyalties lie with his Los Angeles home teams. On Friday night, he won over numerous UCLA fans while donning a homemade t-shirt in support of suspended basketball star Shabazz Muhammad as he performed the national anthem. Donning a baby blue t-shirt that read “Free Shabazz Muhammad” written in black marker, the musician was greeted with a warm reception. Muhammad, one of the top ranked freshmen in the nation, was declared “indefinitely ineligible” by the NCAA just prior to the team’s first game as a result of alleged extra benefits received during his recruitment. Flea tweeted , “Free Shabazz Muhammad. NCAA is out of control. This is absurd.” According to Yahoo Sports , Flea’s shirt mirrored the thoughts of some of the team’s fans, as several students were noticed donning “Free Shabazz” shirts with the player’s likeness on the front. The shirt likely eased a few tensions for the bassist as well, as he took classes at UCLA’s crosstown rival USC a few years ago. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/red-hot-chili-peppers-flea-back-to-the-future-cameo/” title=”Next: Flea – Musician Movie Cameos” align=”center”]