BaronessMusic.com In this third and final part of our exclusive, hour-long interview with Baroness frontman John Baizley , we discussed his face-to-face encounter with the moment of death. Baizley shared his experience with what he perceived to be the absolute end, going into heart-wrenching detail about how his views of finality have been reshaped by the band’s bus crash. We also discussed Baroness’ masterful double album ‘Yellow & Green’ with Baizley, who concluded our conversation with his hopes of when the band will hit the road once again. How has that crash shaped your views on the moment of death or about any sort of afterlife? Well to be brutally frank, it’s just shown me what is there. It’s given me a glimpse of what exists once you take that step and in my experience, which I will preface in by saying it’s my experience. I’m not trying to be philosophical or to dictate to anyone else how to think about this, but I felt it, I looked at it. I did everything but take the one more critical step that I would have needed to take and there was nothing there, that was what impressed itself so deeply in me; the fact that it wasn’t horrifying, it wasn’t comforting, there wasn’t any emotion at all. It was just very calm, very quiet, very calculated. I keep saying scientific, but I mean, that’s only to say it was very sterile. Just another part of nature? Yeah, and I was sure at that moment, had that whole thing ended differently for me, you just wouldn’t know. It’s like “poof,” gone, and at this point I’m still feeling fairly close to the accident so I wouldn’t say I’ve come to terms with this yet. But it would seem to me the most sensible way to move onwards is just to ‘seize the day.’ If there’s nothing waiting for you tomorrow and even if there is, who cares? But if there’s nothing tomorrow, if that’s one potentiality, then I’m not wasting time. I’m not wasting any more time. I’ve effectively conquered any misgivings I had about pain. I think I felt it about as extremely as you can and it wasn’t impossible to deal with, it was fully possible to deal with, and I’ve dealt with a number of things over the past month which I wouldn’t wish on my worst enemy. Things like being stuck in a non-native health care system that has no means or protocol in which to deal with you. I’m not even saying that the British health care system is bad, I’m just saying there was no provision for me. At some points, I felt like my paperwork had been lost and there were moments that I ran out of medications, and I’m not talking about things like pain killers, I’m talking about things like blood thinners and an anti-inflammatories and all these scary things I was on that I didn’t know if I could be off. I had to figure out a way out of the hospital because I got stuck there, and once I was out, I had to figure out a way how to get back in because there was just no protocol for me. I’ll make a very long story short; so my wife and I spent a lot of days wondering what state I was in. Am I healing? Am I fine? One day I’ve got basically a nurse alongside me taking my blood pressure, checking my vitals and making adjustments to me as necessary, and then I’ve got nothing. I hadn’t seen a doctor or a medical professional for three weeks because I couldn’t get scheduled. I got moved around to three different hospitals while I was there. The first week-and-a-half while I was there was unbelievably good. The care I received was awesome and then after that it was kind of a nightmare, because I never knew what was going on with myself. As incapacitated as I was, there was nothing I could do about it. So, being wheelchair-bound and not being able to prepare meals for yourself, clothe yourself, all the basic functions of being in a state where you can’t provide that for yourself, and there was no medical professionals to weigh in on your situation. It’s wasn’t really scary, but it was just very, very frustrating. Since then, things have been beginning to normalize and it’s been great. I’d like to just ask you some quick questions about ‘Yellow and Green.’ I truly love this album and it’s been out for a while now. Have you been able to gauge the reaction to the record from both fans and from yourself compared to your previous works? Yeah, I mean, it goes without saying that it was a new type of record for us. Honestly, I was actually saying the same thing right after the record came out. I was telling people, “Well this is a new kind of record for us and a step in a slightly different direction,” but I know that I like it. It’s absolutely bar none my favorite record that we’ve done. It came out on the tour that we had the accident on. We were playing a bunch of the new songs and the crowd reaction seemed great to it and everything like that. At the time we were touring it was still a really fresh record, so I actually don’t have a really good perspective on things. I hope everybody likes it. The press initially was good on it, but you and I both know that doesn’t mean fans and audiences are going to lap it up. Just based on the amount of support we’ve gotten since the accident; it seems great. I don’t know if we’re just a pity party now [Laughs] but I stand behind this work the same way I stand behind our past records, only I think with this record we’ve pulled the curtain back a little bit more. What we’re trying to do is we’re trying to write heartfelt music. We’re trying to find the core of what it is that makes our band special and unique and we’re trying to express who we are individually while at the same time trying to touch on the universal aspects of music that are so important to listeners. I think we’ve taken a step in the right direction. We’ve left so much unsaid at this point that I’m excited to see where it goes. I think a lot of people love the record. My favorite ‘Yellow & Green’ song at the moment is ‘March to the Sea.’ I really love the lyric, “ You tied yourself up and jumped in the sea ,” and the whole ‘March to the Sea’ concept of a downward spiral from drugs. Is there anything you could tell us about the meaning of that song? Yeah, not to get too specific, but the whole record lyrically speaking is based on parts of my life, people that I know, things that have occurred around me, experiences that I’ve gone through, and there’s some autobiographical content to that song. I think that the way that I’ve tried to raise it and frame that song is from older Baroness material in that it’s quite a bit more exposed in terms of its content. What I intend to do, basically what I think is the most moving and powerful aspect of music, is the fact that you can take one person’s individual idiosyncratic and unique pain and when it’s expressed in the right way, the whole world has the ability of connecting to it. With a song like ‘March to the Sea’ and almost nearly all of the songs on the record, I’m not talking about things that are unique, I am talking about things that have touched us all at some point. Whether it was substances, the loss of a loved one, pain, anxiety, all of these things that I gravitate towards when I’m writing songs; they are things that I think I have in common with people as opposed to things I think that separate me from other people. These are, while it’s played out in a way for me, there’s actually nothing unique about it. We all will deal with these things and I try not to pass too much judgement on it. Just with that song ‘March to the Sea,’ it’s more like a question than an answer in every way. There was a lot of time to reflect on the subject matter for that record. I wasn’t able to come up with any solid answers, it was just something where every time I wrote a song and I was thematically asking a question, it just gave me more questions, which gave me more songs, which in that way, has reflected something kind of big. It was 18 songs worth of material. It may seem like a million miles away right now, but do you guys have a goal or a date in mind for when you’d like to start touring again? We don’t have a specific date, but it goes without saying; the sooner we do it, the better. I think that every minute worth of space in between our crash and our next show makes things more difficult for me. I’m an eager person; you can ask the other guys in the band. I’m kind of antsy and jumpy. I just want to get back to it. It’s helpful for me. I’ll say that we’re better once we’re playing again. Put us in a rehearsal space and see what we can do. This accident will do nothing but challenge our notion to know who we are and what we do, and we just have to come out on the other side of this relatively as the same people with the same interests. The accident hasn’t deluded my passion for music one iota. Thanks again to John Baizley for the incredible interview and we’d like to send our unwavering support to Baroness and the other passengers involved in the bus crash. Here’s to a speedy and full recovery. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/baroness-john-baizley-bus-crash-isnt-going-to-stop-us/” title=”Part 1: A Bus Crash Isn’t the Sort of Thing That’s Gonna Stop Us” align=”center”]
Roadrunner This year has been phenomenal when it comes to rock and metal music tours, and with 2012 coming to an end, the year will surely be remembered as one defined by many spectacular achievements. We’re going to miss 2012, but Gojira , Devin Townsend and the Atlas Moth have just put together a must see tour set to pummel the year 2013. Beginning Jan. 14, three of modern music’s most progressive and genre-bending acts will team up for a month long North American tour. Hot off the heels of their ‘L’Enfant Sauvage’ album, Gojira are currently at the highest point of their career. Gojira’s latest record has opened their music up to a broader audience, creating one of the year’s greatest breakthrough accomplishments. Gojira frontman Joe Duplantier recently spoke with radio goddess Full Metal Jackie about touring with Devin Townsend and the Atlas Moth. “They’ve had an influence on us,” begins Duplantier, “the way we behave onstage, the way we play, they way we approach the whole thing, sometimes it’s purely technical like the way they plug in their gear. So we always learn something from touring with people that’s why I’m so happy to tour with Devin, he’s such an incredible singer – one of my influences actually and he’ll be opening for us [Laughs] how crazy is that? We’re all huge fans of Devin Townsend, Strapping Young Lad, it’s a great honor to have him on tour.” Devin Townsend released ‘Epicloud’ this year, displaying a more omniscient and comforting sound in contrast to his heavier past. After a solid run with Katatonia and Paradise Lost, Townsend and his band will hit North America again very soon. For those unfamiliar with the Atlas Moth, the Chicago-based sludge band have been trudging forward since 2007, releasing two full-length albums and two EPs since their inception. Keep these guys on your radar, because they’ve got the talent to create an incredibly accomplished future. Check out the tour dates for Gojira, Devin Townsend and the Atlas Moth’s 2013 tour below. Gojira, Devin Townsend + the Atlas Moth 2013 Tour Dates 1/14 – Minneapolis, Minn. @ Mill City Nights 1/15 – Winnipeg, Manitoba @ Garrick Centre 1/16 – Saskatoon, Saskatchewan @ Odeon Events Centre 1/17 – Calgary, Alberta @ MacEwan Hall 1/19 – Vancouver, British Columbia @ Vogue Theatre 1/20 – Seattle, Wash. @ Studio 7 1/21 – Portland, Ore. @ Hawthorne Theatre 1/23 – San Francisco, Calif. @ The Fillmore 1/24 – Sacramento, Calif. @ Ace Of Spades 1/25 – Los Angeles, Calif. @ Henry Fonda Theatre 1/28 – Tempe, Ariz. @ Marquee Theatre 1/29 – Albuquerque, N.M. @ Sunshine Theatre 1/31 – Dallas, Texas @ Granada Theatre 2/1 – San Antonio, Texas @ White Rabbit 2/3 – Houston, Texas @ Warehouse Live 2/4 – St. Petersburg, Fla. @ State Theater 2/5 – Atlanta, Ga. @ The Masquerade 2/7 – Baltimore, Md. @ Rams Head Live 2/8 – New York, N.Y. @ Irving Plaza 2/9 – Millvale, Pa. @ Mr. Smalls 2/11 – Chicago, Ill. @ House Of Blues 2/13 – Toronto, Ontario @ Phoenix Concert Theatre 2/14 – Montreal, Quebec City @ Le National 2/15 – Worcester, Mass. @ The Palladium 2/16 – Philadelphia, Pa. @ Theatre Of Living Arts [button href=”http://loudwire.com/gojira-joe-duplantier-talks-upcoming-north-american-tour-randy-blythe-explosia-video/” title=”Next: Gojira’s Joe Duplantier Talks to Full Metal Jackie” align=”center”]
Photos: Facebook: Danko Jones / EMI P.O.D. have made their way to Loudwire’s Cage Match Hall of Fame after five consecutive wins, which means it’s time for two new bands to duke it out. First up, we have Danko Jones and their blistering new track ‘Just a Beautiful Day’ off of the band’s latest disc ‘Rock and Roll Is Black and Blue.’ The band is currently on tour in Europe; for a full list of dates and countries, go here . Adelitas Way enter the matchup with ‘Alive,’ the fourth single off of their disc ‘Home School Valedictorian.’ They are currently on tour in North America with Theory of a Deadman. Check out a full list of dates and cities here . (This Cage Match will run until Wednesday, Oct. 24, at 8AM ET. Fans can vote once per hour! So come back and vote often to make sure your favorite song wins!) Listen to Danko Jones, ‘Just a Beautiful Day’ Listen to Adelitas Way, ‘Alive’ ? 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 The Sword caught the attention of critics and fans alike with their first three albums, and the band has steadily developed a strong following through relentless touring. Now, the Texas quartet is back with its fourth full-length effort, ‘Apocryphon.’ Their stoner metal sound is intact on ‘Apocryphon,’ but the Sword have stepped up their songwriting prowess. There are more hooks, and the songs are more direct while still leaving room for some experimentation and jamming. It’s a really good balance. The opener ‘Veil of Isis’ is a good representation of the album. There are heavy riffs, tempo shifts and plenty of instrumental breaks. It’s also the longest track on ‘Apocryphon,’ clocking in at just under six minutes. When it comes to tempo, the Sword are not your typical stoner/doom band. Instead of plodding, glacial songs, they keep the speed up, usually mid to up-tempo. Their sound is consistent, but the shifting tempos help add diversity. The faster songs also make them more appealing to those who might not typically listen to stoner metal. Guitars are front and center on ‘Apocryphon, with Kyle Shutt and J.D. Cronise getting plenty of opportunity to showcase their fuzzy riffs and psychedelic solos. Cronise is also the band’s vocalist, and his voice is melodic with a slight edge. There’s a hint of Ozzy-era Sabbath in his croon, but Cronise has a smoother delivery. The Sword’s rhythm section also deserves praise for ‘Apocryphon.’ Bassist Bryan Ritchie makes his presence felt and his rumbling rhythms are nice and high in the mix. Santiago ‘Jimmy’ Vela III is the newest addition to the band, and the drummer fits in perfectly, a rock solid anchor. There are some subtle electronic elements on the album, including the title track. ‘Dying Earth’ has a trippy synth intro before kicking into a fairly straightforward and catchy song. Speaking of catchy, ‘Execrator’ is packed with memorable hooks. It’s lean and mean, and you’ll find yourself singing along to the chorus after just a couple of listens. ‘Apocryphon’ is the Sword’s best album to-date. Their existing fan base will love it, and it will be a big draw for stoner metal fans. In addition, fans of classic rock, hard rock and traditional metal will find plenty to sink their teeth into, as well. You can also spend a couple of extra bucks and get the deluxe edition of ‘Apocryphon.’ It includes four live tracks and a cover of the ZZ Top song ‘Cheap Sunglasses.’
Twitter: alka_seltzer666 Frances Bean Cobain has apparently created a new Twitter account to reveal what she says is the true story behind the motivations of the man recently arrested for breaking into her home . While not completely confirmed, the new Twitter account, alka_seltzer666 , seems to be authentic as it does contain two new Instagram pictures of Frances Bean looking very much like a cross between her father, late Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain , and her mother, Courtney Love. Tweeting that “the police aren’t doing their jobs and have released inaccurate information” regarding the case, Frances Bean went on to explain “this situation is far more serious than a ‘transient’ wandering into my home & eating my food.,” as had been reported , but an obsessed, homicidal fan of her late father. “We later found out that he considers my fiancé a ‘problem’ and planed [sic] to kill him,” continued Frances Bean. “The intruder wrote my fiancé’s first & last name out in his journal with the words ‘Kill’ circled and pointing to his name.” It’s the type of incident that would make a lot of people want to just curl up in a little ball for awhile, but Cobain isn’t about to let the situation resolve itself quietly — as she put it , “I figure releasing this information directly to the public will garner media attention & hopefully will mean that this b—— f—– won’t have the opportunity to be released from jail & can’t hurt those i love because of his obsession with someone i’m related to.” All of the above quoted material assumes that Frances Bean is the rightful owner of the specified Twitter account. Again, this is not confirmed. The suspect, 22-year-old Mark James Franco, pleaded not guilty to charges of first degree burglary. He was reported to have been doing laundry and helping himself to food when a Frances Bean relative discovered him in the Los Angeles home. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/intruder-in-frances-bean-cobain-home-invasion-charged-with-first-degree-burglary/” title=”More on the Frances Bean Cobain Burglary Case Here” align=”center”] Twitter: alka-seltzer666
Leann Mueller After five straight wins, P.O.D. , ‘Higher’ soars into the Loudwire Cage Match Hall of Fame. The song, which appears on the band’s latest album, ‘Murdered Love,’ took down some worthy opponents along the way. P.O.D. took down their fifth and final competitor, Coheed and Cambria , after beating heavy hitters Hellyeah and Kid Rock , as well as Tremonti and Hinder . Congrats to P.O.D. and their fans on this impressive achievement. Their song ‘Higher’ now joins tunes from such bands as Avenged Sevenfold, Down, Fozzy, Anthrax, Korn, Trivium and more in Loudwire’s Cage Match Hall of Fame. In addition to an upcoming tour with 3 Doors Down and Daughtry, P.O.D. will be performing on the ShipRocked cruise setting sail in late November. Listen to P.O.D., ‘Higher’ [button href=”http://loudwire.com/in-this-moment-maria-brink-p-o-d-sonny-sandoval-shiprocked-2012/” title=”Check Out P.O.D. Frontman Sonny Sandoval talking about Shiprocked 2012″ align=”center”]
Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Gojira frontman Joe Duplantier was the guest on Full Metal Jackie’s radio show this past weekend. He spoke all about the band’s upcoming North American tour with Devin Townsend and Atlas Moth. Duplantier also voiced his opinion on the situation of Lamb of God vocalist Randy Blythe being imprisoned in the Czech Republic. If you missed Jackie’s show, read the full interview with Joe Duplantier below: Devin Townsend and Atlas Moth, you’re going to be touring with these guys. Just out of curiosity, do the bands on a tour influence or change the way you think about music? Yes absolutely and that’s why we are who we are today is because we toured with all these bands throughout our career. They’ve had an influence on us – the way we behave onstage, the way we play, they way we approach the whole thing, sometimes it’s purely technical like the way they plug in their gear. So we always learn something from touring with people that’s why I’m so happy to tour with Devin, he’s such an incredible singer – one of my influences actually and he’ll be opening for us [Laughs] how crazy is that? We’re all huge fans of Devin Townsend, Strapping Young Lad, it’s a great honor to have him on tour. He’s such an awesome and really intelligent guy so I’m sure there’s going to be a lot of crazy late night conversations between the two of you guys. Yeah [Laughs] sometimes you get lost when you talk with him because it’s so wide – you have a wide range of subjects he can talk about. He’s an awesome guy. Devin sang on your ‘Sea Shepherd’ EP and you sang on his ‘Deconstruction’ album; any chance you’ll be joining each other onstage on this tour? We’re trained to do good, we’re trained to do our homework, we stress all day because we want to give it our best and he’s still like that. It makes it harder to jump onstage for him after he played or for me when I’m warming up. We haven’t talked about it actually but maybe by the end of the tour we will do something together – that would be awesome. We did in Australia one time – it was a disaster [Laughs]. We didn’t get the chance to rehearse the song at all so it was really weird but it was great because we were onstage with Devin and Fredrik [Thordendal] from Meshuggah so it was very exciting to be onstage with those guys – almost too exciting, we played way too fast and I was watching them onstage and made a lot of mistakes on the guitar. Originally, Gojira was on the bill of the Lamb of God tour that got canceled, France isn’t far from the Czech Republic, what surprised you most about Randy’s [Blythe] situation? What surprised me the most was that they were not aware that one of their fans died before they went there. They were so surprised when they arrived there that police came straight there in the plane and took them to jail – the whole band went to jail the first day. I talked to Chris Adler on the phone, the same day and he was so depressed and they were shocked and surprised that it happened. I don’t know something went wrong somewhere that the information didn’t go to them. I’m sure they would do something if they knew a kid died at one of their shows – at least try to reach the family, send some money – the surprise is what made it really bad for them because they’re gentlemen. Randy is such an incredible guy and I’m sure he would have done something before – I just thought about this now while you were asking me the question, for me it was a bad situation, a very sad situation. I saw Randy when he came back, he has a good, strong spirit so he knows how to react to this and he’ll go back there and finish this whole thing. I hope it will turn good for him, I hope he will not give have to give some more money or go to jail. It’s a well known band it would not have been difficult for someone to get a hold of him, for two years to pass and no one to even try – call the venue, call the agent call the manager, it would’ve taken two seconds. It still just baffles me. The Czech Republic is very, very different than France and other countries – yes you’re right it’s not far, it’s like another state for you Americans but in Europe each country is such a different world. I don’t know how it works over there, it seems like they took advantage of that – having a big American star in their jail, maybe they tried to get some money out of this probably. For me it’s just an accident, he’s not guilty of anything, he’s just a rockstar. He’s a beast onstage and you go to see him onstage, you’re not supposed to be onstage. Anybody who’s been to a Lamb of God show knows it can get violent down there and to go onto the stage while somebody’s performing, it’s not smart. Yeah absolutely, I kicked so many people off stage. Sometimes people get onstage and they dance in front of the microphone so I cannot even see the crowd with them in front of me so I just kick this person, nicely but it could turn out bad. This person could fall on their head and now everybody’s thinking about what happened and I talk to a lot of singers and they said “Never again they will touch a fan, it’s too dangerous.” The new video for ‘Explosia’ really shows the intensity of Gojira live. On tour how do you come down from so much adrenaline? I think it’s the faith that we have in what we do. We really, truly, deeply embrace our music and believe in what we do, I usually say that we’re not great musicians – Mario [Duplaniter] is a very good drummer and he’s very stable, he’s very tight and inventive and he can groove but the rest of us [Laughs] my God it’s a big mess. If you could hear the separate tracks of each show, every guitar player knows when you move your head, you dance on the stage or whatever, it’s hard to play tight so we’re also very, very focused and we try to deliver a very tight show. That show was really hard for us because it was really hot and the stage is small so at one point we said “You know what, let’s be a punk band tonight” [Laughs] because we did this tour recently in the States in small clubs and it was awesome to go back to small clubs and to feel the craziness of the crowd and the heat. I don’t know when we jam onstage we just play our music which is the thing we like the most in life and we feel inspired by this music in general. Full Metal Jackie will welcome Mark Osegueda of Death Angel 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 .