Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine has been one of the most discussed and controversial musicians of 2012. After a myriad of questionable quotes throughout the year, Mustaine admits that he’s “learned a valuable lesson from all this stuff,” concerning the negative attention he’s received from various claims. Throughout the year, we’ve reported on Mustaine’s support of former Republican Presidential candidate Rick Santorum; his opposition to gay marriage ; telling starving African women to “ put a plug in it ” in regards to the inability to properly support a child; insisting that the President was born in Kenya even after Obama had released his long-form birth certificate, while likening First Lady Michelle Obama to a “black widow”; and claiming that the President had staged various shooting massacres to increase support for gun control. The slew of comments has resulted in immense criticism from fellow musicians, with GWAR ‘s Oderus Urungus telling Mustaine to “ shut the f— up ,” Deicide ‘s Glen Benton calling Mustaine a “ prolapsed rectum ,” Metallica ‘s James Hetfield giving Mustaine the title of “ big mouth ,” and Motley Crue bassist Nikki Sixx labeling the Megadeth frontman as a “ f—ing a–hole .” It’s been quite a year for Mustaine, and in a recent interview with Rolling Stone , the legendary musician looked back at his many controversies. “You can’t joke around very much anymore without people misinterpreting what you’re saying,” begins Mustaine. “You know, I probably should’ve said things differently. I probably should’ve skipped that altogether,” Mustaine says about his comments on Obama staging shootings on U.S. soil. “I learned a valuable lesson from all of this stuff.” Mustaine was repeating a theory by pro-gun activist and head of Guns Owners of America, Larry Pratt, when the musician made his comments about the “false flag” shootings. “He [Pratt] said something about it and no one went after him. But everyone went crazy on me,” Mustaine says. “I’ve been talking about politics my whole career. The second album – my God, it shows the U.N. completely blown up and destroyed. So I don’t know why, all of a sudden, now’s the time for people to take exception with what I’m saying … I need to remember that being a public figure, I have a choice. I can be a really good example for people – which I really desire to do – or not.” [button href=”http://loudwire.com/megadeth-dave-mustaine-discusses-being-hit-beer-rocks-croatian-festival/” title=”Dave Mustaine Discusses Being Hit With Beer + Rocks at Croatian Fest” align=”center”]
Facebook: Digital Summer / Photo Finish Records Digital Summer and their new single ‘Forget You’ (featuring Sevendust’s Clint Lowery) beat out Otherwise over the weekend, but will they be able do it once more against today’s competition? New Medicine enter the Cage Match with their new track ‘Rich Kids’ off of their album ‘Race You to the Bottom.’ The band is gearing up for a string of U.S. tour dates with Deuce later this year. For a full list of shows, go here . So will Digital Summer continue on the path to victory with ‘Forget You’ or will New Medicine go for the throne with ‘Rich Kids’? Get in on the action and vote for your favorite track in the poll below! (This Cage Match will run until Wednesday, Nov. 7, at 8AM ET. Fans can vote once per hour! So come back and vote often to make sure your favorite song wins!) Listen to Digital Summer, ‘Forget You’ Listen to New Medicine, ‘Rich Kids’ ? Sorry, you need to have javascript running to see this poll. ? Email Me When Cage Match Winners Are Announced Enter your email address below to receive the Loudwire newsletter, which will include notification of the daily winner of the Cage Match, as well as our top stories of the day. Email Rules of Cage Match: Fans can vote once per hour for their favorite song. If a song remains the reigning champ for five straight cage matches, it is retired to the Loudwire Cage Match Hall of Fame. With so many great songs out there, we have to give other bands a chance!
Razor & Tie / Nuclear Blast Connecticut hardcore act Hatebreed have finally revealed the juicy details about their upcoming sixth studio album, which is titled ‘The Divinity of Purpose.’ Along with U.S. and European release dates, Hatebreed have also unveiled the cover art for the highly anticipated record. We recently reported on Hatebreed signing with Razor & Tie records in the North America and Nuclear Blast Records in Europe, but now we’ve got some release dates officially confirmed for both territories. Europe will see a Jan. 25 release for ‘The Divinity of Purpose,’ while North American audiences will be given a Jan. 29 release date. The upcoming record was co-produced by the band, along with Zeuss ( Suicide Silence , All That Remains , Shadows Fall ) and Josh Wilbur ( Lamb of God , Avenged Sevenfold ), who also mixed the album. The artwork for ‘The Divinity of Purpose,’ created by painter Eliran Kantor, is reminiscent of classic religious artworks of the Renaissance era. Hatebreed are currently touring the U.S. with Lamb of God, In Flames and Sylosis , and will embark on a 10-day European tour beginning Jan. 10. Hatebreed 2013 European Tour Dates: Jan. 10 – Berlin @ Astra (Germany) Jan. 11 – Lint @ Eurocam Media Center (Belgium) Jan. 12 – Oberhausen @ Turbinenhalle (Germany) Jan. 13 – Paris @ Bataclan (France) Jan. 14 – Saarbrücken @ Garage (Germany) Jan. 15 – Wiesbaden @ Schlachthof (Germany) Jan. 16 – Hamburg @ Docks (Germany) Jan. 17 – Stuttgart @ LKA (Germany) Jan. 18 – Lichtenfels @ Stadthalle (Germany) Jan. 19 – Dresden @ Event Werk (Germany) Jan. 20 – Tilburg @ O13 (Netherlands) [button href=”http://loudwire.com/top-albums-of-2002/” title=”Next: Hatebreed on Top Albums of 2002 List” align=”center”]
Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Anthrax bassist Frank Bello was the guest on Full Metal Jackie’s radio show this past weekend. He spoke all about the band’s journey and their success with their latest record ‘Worship Music,’ as well as the forthcoming re-release of the album. He also dished about being in the film ‘Greetings From Tim Buckley’ and much more. Read the full interview with Frank Bello below: The last couple of years have been a whirlwind for Anthrax – Joey Belladonna rejoined the band, you had the Big 4 shows, ‘Worship Music’ being released, a year long tour with Testament and Death Angel, how important has all of that been in setting up the future of Anthrax? You just said it – it’s all one. The Big 4 actually gave Anthrax a kick in the ass to really get going, we were working on songs – Scott [Ian], Charlie [Benante] and I and that made us really get back to being a serious band again. We were working and saying “We need to get a record out” and that made us finish the record. I tip my hat to Metallica for doing that for us. They didn’t have to put the Big 4 together and they did and it worked out really nicely and there’s a whole new fan base with that, which it great. Right now, you’re recording a few cover tunes for an expanded re-release of ‘Worship Music’ — like Journey, Boston, Rush – how have those bands influenced a faster, heavier band like Anthrax? Anthrax, we’ve done this stuff forever – those are our influences honestly, whether you want to take Journey and the melodic influences, great band, great musicians. I think it’s like a sponge thing like Boston, great harmonies, great vocals, great guitar. All of these things, these are the things we’ve grown up with and we would probably jam out sound check – we never really play Anthrax songs, music’s supposed to be fun and we play Anthrax for the set but it’s just so much fun to get it together. What we’ve always been known to do is to put these on a b-side and people just really dig it. I dig it – I did the Journey song yesterday, this is what we do and just the fun part about it is to hear the result. Joey [Belladonna] at times can sound like Steve Perry and I haven’t even heard his vocals on it and to hear him sing Boston – it’s going to be fun, I can’t wait to hear the finished product. This is special for the fans – you get the re-release yes but there’s always a little something different on top of it so I think it’s a special thing later on. What did it feel like for you guys to comeback with a new record in this time in terms of music and have it receive such high praise? You know what it is, after eight years first off – it was hard enough to get the record out just because getting management, lawyers out of the way all that garbage that gets in the way of music and personalities. We knew what we wanted Anthrax to be again the real deal so again I’ll go back to Big 4, it really gave us a kick in the ass to get back and really clear everything to go forward – ‘Worship Music’ we knew we had something special, we got Joey in on it and that was the cherry on top of it all. We’re fans of this music so we knew we had something good, thankfully the people, the fan base has taken on this record – this is our biggest selling record in a long time. It’s just done really well, thank God and thank the fans out there, great support- that’s why we’re still on tour. In three weeks we leave for a Motorhead tour – pretty much all sold out in Europe, which is crazy. Think about it, 30 years in, Jackie, who would have thought we’re still around – Anthrax, Motorhead in Europe selling out places, we’re very lucky, we’re humbled. It’s a really nice thing that’s going on and we couldn’t be happier, we’re stoked. I have to tell you a funny old school Anthrax story, I grew up in Jersey and in my backyard was the offices for Megaforce Records and when I was a kid – you know you don’t know what a record label does, you just assume that the bands are hanging out there and working there. I must have been 12 or 13 years old and a buddy of mine and I were like “Hey let’s go over and maybe Anthrax is hanging out” and we went into the Megaforce offices like “Hey what’s up is Anthrax here?” There were times where Scott and I and Charlie did go there. It’s funny because it was way out there too, in Jersey and they would be like “Just come by to the office” and I’m not driving from the Bronx to Jersey. There were times where we would get boxes of our stuff to give out to our families, plus all of the Metallica stuff we’d get that was for free if we went there. In ‘Greetings From Tim Buckley’ you play Richard Hell and you’ve done TV and other films too like ‘One Long Day.’ How does the rush of acting compare to the rush of playing music? It’s weird that you say that and thank you for mentioning it – it’s the same thing for me. It’s really like writing a song and I don’t want to talk acting nonsense but putting little pieces together like a chorus or verse and stuff like that, I like just being somebody else. I think it’s really cool to be somebody else so when you sink yourself into it, it’s just like a song, it’s this little life, you give a song life – it’s the same vibe in my gut that makes me feel good. I have a fire for this music, I’ve always had a fire for acting – who gives a f— about fame, it means nothing, we all know fame is bulls—. The whole thing of being a working actor really turns me on because it’s being somebody else for a little while. Being able to create gets something out of me that I need to get out – I don’t know what it is but it’s a lot of fun and I hope to do more, it was a blast. Compare to ten years ago, twenty years ago, what has been the best thing about being in Anthrax in 2012? Well right now it’s nice to be back and being accepted by not only our audience but there’s a new audience out there: 15-, 16-year-old kids. I got 15-year-old kids coming up to me saying “You’re an influence.” You don’t realize how good that feels – it’s something I’ve done right in my life and I’m very proud of it. It that kid could pick up a bass and feel the way I feel about it and make his day be a little bit better, that’s what it’s all about. It’s like passing the torch a little bit – we’ve been lucky, we’ve had a great time, if I could make somebody feel as good as the bass and music has made me feel that’s what it’s all about at this point. I feel like Anthrax is finally getting the recognition you guys deserve after all of these years, working so hard and putting out music and touring the hell out of your records. I congratulate you guys and I think it’s finally your time. Thank you, well and you know, Jackie people like you and this isn’t a kiss ass – the truth of the matter is we know our friends and people like you have supported the band forever and have been with us along this ride, peaks and valleys. There are no angels in this band, we know you have good times, you have lean times, there have been a lot lean times but it’s good to be back in this kind of way right now. We don’t know where it’s going to go – we hope it goes further but we’re taking it day to day, it’s a good vibe. There’s a metal thing going on right now, there’s a resurgence that we all know is here so we’re very happy to be part of it. We’re humbled that we are still a part of it – 30 years in, come on, we’re having a great time, we’re more relevant than ever, people love this record. For people to say this is our finest work – which we’ve heard in a lot of reviews and thank you for that, God that’s all you could really ask. That means it’s relevant and it made people feel a certain way and that’s what matters. It really got people listening again and we’re ready for it. Full Metal Jackie will welcome Jamey Jasta of Hatebreed 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 .
Christopher Polk, Getty Images In a new interview with Hello! magazine, Ozzy Osbourne ‘s wife, Sharon Osbourne , made the surprising revelation that she recently opted for a double mastectomy after doctors told her she carried a gene that put her at risk for breast cancer. It was a relatively simple decision for Osbourne, who suffered through colon cancer 10 years ago. Describing it as “a no-brainer,” she told the magazine, “I didn’t even think of my breasts in a nostalgic way, I just wanted to be able to live my life without that fear all the time.” Also factoring into her decision: Experiencing the joy of being a first-time grandmother after Jack , Sharon’s son with Ozzy, recently celebrated the birth of his first child with new bride Lisa Stelly. As Sharon put it, “I didn’t want to live the rest of my life with that shadow hanging over me. I want to be around for a long time and be a grandmother to Pearl.” It’s been a year full of health drama for the Osbourne clan — earlier this year, the family publicly struggled with Jack’s multiple sclerosis diagnosis . Here’s hoping they manage to find a long period of relative normalcy after the extreme highs and lows of 2012. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/rob-zombie-vs-ozzy-osbourne-president-of-heavy-metal-election-finals/” title=”Next: Ozzy Competes for President of Heavy Metal” align=”center”]
RCA Elvis Presley’s ‘Blue Suede Shoes’ have just been turned blood red, as remix master Andy Rehfeldt has given the classic rock ‘n’ roll track a technical death metal makeover. Originally written by Carl Perkins, ‘Blue Suede Shoes’ was taken to new heights by ‘The King of Rock ‘n’ Roll’ –Elvis Presley. Country legend Johnny Cash also had a hand in creating the concept for the ’50s track after telling Perkins a story about how a military airman, who Cash met while serving in Germany, had dubbed his military regulation air shoes as “blue suede shoes.” Shortly after, Perkins was playing a dance party when he saw a man lambast the girl he was dancing with for stepping on his blue suede shoes. Perkins began to write the classic track that very night. ‘Blue Suede Shoes’ certainly has a rich history, having been covered by acts such as Black Sabbath , Jimi Hendrix, Helloween and the Beatles, but Rehfeldt is likely the first to turn the song into technical death metal madness. Rehfeldt, who has made viral ‘Radio Disney’ makeovers of Slipknot ‘s ‘Wait and Bleed’ and Slayer ‘s ‘Angel of Death,’ along with death metal versions of the Jonas Brothers’ ‘Paranoid’ and Justin Bieber’s ‘Baby,’ has created another hilarious remix spliced with video of Elvis Presley performing ‘Blue Suede Shoes.’ If you want to see Elvis Presley shred on his acoustic guitar and unleash demonic gutturals while shakin’ those morally corrupting hips like only he can, then check out this death metal version of the classic, ‘Blue Suede Shoes.’ Elvis Presley, ‘Blue Suede Shoes’ (Death Metal Version) [button href=”http://loudwire.com/best-death-metal-makeovers-of-pop-songs/” title=”Next: Watch the 10 Best Death Metal Makeovers of Pop Songs” align=”center”]
Facebook: I See Stars As promised, both I See Stars and their label Sumerian Records have issued official statements regarding the band’s ousting from the Falling in Reverse -led ‘The Thug in Me Is You’ tour . The news went public late Friday, with singer Ronnie Radke issuing a statement that he had the band removed from the tour. Radke stated that he had worked hard to maintain his sobriety and after learning of the group’s drug bust this summer shortly after the tour was announced, he attempted to get them removed from the bill. The singer stated that he was persuaded to give the band a second chance by their management, but that things were not working out on the tour with the band being late and unprofessional. I See Stars initially posted that the reasons given by Radke were far from the truth and that they would reveal the real truth in statements issued shortly. I See Stars’ statement reads as follows: ‘All it takes is a spark to ignite my bad intentions.’ – Ronnie Radke/Falling In Reverse Here is the truth: Months ago before “The Thug In Me Is You” tour started, a cop found marijuana in our van. We were arrested. As a result, Ronnie said we were kicked off the upcoming tour. All the shows on the tour were already on sale with our name being advertised, so we didn’t think it was fair to the fans or to ourselves to not be able to go play where people were expecting us. We offered Ronnie to play the shows for free so he could keep our pay every night of the entire tour as long as we could still keep our commitment to the fans, i.e. the people who are the reason any of this is even possible. Ronnie said OK and allowed us back on the tour but said that we would have to sign paperwork saying we would not tell anyone that we weren’t getting paid to be on the tour. The venues and the fans were both not allowed to know the truth, because Ronnie knew it would make him look really bad to the world. The fact that money changed Ronnie‘s mind about kicking us off the tour just goes to show his lack of integrity. If he was really that concerned or fundamentally against that we got caught with a little weed, then the extra cash in his pocket wouldn’t have changed his decision. Because Sumerian Records was willing to give us a serious amount of financial tour support, we were still able to hit the road without getting paid. However we would quickly find out that us agreeing to Ronnie‘s ridiculous terms of silence and playing for free were simply not good enough for him. He resulted to threatening violence against Zach in Grand Rapids because “he didn’t like his stupid f’n face” and then the next night in our hometown of Detroit kicked us off the tour. His 47-year old tour manager then physically assaulted our tour manager and the FIR camp once again resorted to violent behavior. Ronnie would later that night throw fans out who paid to get in to the show because they are chanting another band’s name and make fun of their physical attributes in front of everyone. That is the act of a true coward. We have been lucky enough to to tour with a lot of great bands like Parkway Drive, Suicide Silence, Asking Alexandria, Trivium, Motionless In White, A Day To Remember, Stick To Your Guns, Memphis May Fire, The Word Alive and others … and never had a problem. We want to thank Enter Shikari, LetLive, Matt Toka and all the other members of Falling In Reverse besides Ronnie for being great people and a true pleasure to tour with. We are sorry to all the fans out there who were expecting to see us. We’ll be back as soon as we can. – I See Stars In addition to the band, Sumerian Records offered their own statement on the tour troubles. Their statement read: There is nothing cool, rock & roll, punk rock, or admirable about treating your peers or fans like they are pieces of garbage. Ronnie Radke is not a good human being. It’s one thing to love someone’s music, but do not love someone as an individual for who they are not. We do not think it is a coincidence this is the same guy who was arrested for the horrible, violent things you can read about in the links below. He cares about no one but himself and he has reminded us all of this. His latest tweet “people at our shows come to see us everything else is irrelevant. Nuff said,” is his way of telling all the other bands he tours with that they don’t matter. Why any artist would throw that type of negativity and disrespect out is something we will never understand. This scene is supposed to be about compassion and understanding. Ronnie is rotten. Out of respect for the industry professionals involved in this debacle, we will not be publicly disclosing any legal documents on the Internet. We can confirm that Ronnie kicked the band off the tour but allowed them back on after they forfeited their pay. We can confirm that they were being forced to sign a non-disclosure agreement regarding this in order to stay on the tour. We can confirm that I See Stars were not kicked off yesterday in Detroit because of anything to do with drugs. It was because a grown man was throwing a temper tantrum who claims to be “rock & roll” but is actually worse than a neurotic pop-star diva with a God complex. Just because you no longer do drugs doesn’t mean you are no longer a horrible human being. Ronnie now abuses people instead of substances.” – Sumerian Records The statement concluded with links to Radke’s past transgressions with battery and domestic abuse , a racist joke he told on Twitter and his recent arrest for throwing microphone stands into the audience that injured fans at a show. After both I See Stars and Sumerian Records released their statements, Falling in Reverse’s Ronnie Radke followed with another one of his own. He stated (via Alter The Press ): Ladies and gentlemen, lend me your ears, why do we immediately assume that what we read on the Internet is the whole truth? Does it not make us guilty in ourselves to assume and accuse another for what you read? Did it ever occur to anyone that maybe some people make things up to get attention drawn to them for a moment of spotlight or fame? Maybe the person you are accusing and bashing hateful things towards and putting so much time and effort into something that you have no idea about much less should even care about is false? Would it be wrong of you to tell that person how terrible they are? For what? A moment of recognition by the one you “hate” so much? Before I ever assume something about someone I make sure I meet that person before I hate them. We all should be ashamed of ourselves. we are filthy creatures. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/falling-in-reverse-talk-warped-tour-workout-routine-travel-essentials-more/” title=”Next: Falling in Reverse Discuss Workout Routine + Travel Essentials” align=”center”]