Relapse Heavier-than-hell doom band Hooded Menace recently released their third album, ‘Effigies of Evil.’ The album is an absolute beast, but one of the most captivating parts of the record is the stunningly terrifying album art. David D’Andrea created the art for ‘Effigies of Evil,’ and we’ve got the exclusive back-story about D’Andrea’s piece, along with sketches detailing the process of creating the visual aspect for ‘Effigies of Evil.’ “The Effigies of Evil artwork is based on the “Blind Dead” film series,” says David D’Andrea , “which began in 1971 with Amando de Ossorio’s original entitled “La Noche del Terror Ciego” (The Night of the Blind Terror). This film was proceeded by three more which loosely followed the story line.” He continues, “Blind Templar zombies swarm their human victims at an obscenely slow and creepy pace. The eyes are hollow pits due to the fact that they were gouged out by seagulls while their Templar corpses hung from the gallows. Seagulls also play an important part in the fourth film, ‘La Noche de las Gaviotas.’” “Hooded Menace recommended I use the film series and the title “Effigies of Evil” as inspiration,” D’Andrea details. “I could not have asked for a more fruitful starting point! The piece evolved quite naturally and eventually became the wrap-around scene as featured on the album. The original piece is India Ink on illustration board, roughly 11 x 17 inches.” Now that you’ve gotten the inside info behind the masterful artwork, check out an exclusive look into the creation of the ‘Effigies of Evil’ piece. To buy Hooded Menace’s ‘Effigies of Evil,’ click here .
Metal Blade Experimental metallers Between the Buried and Me are approaching the release of their sixth studio album, ‘The Parallax II: Future Sequence.’ The band has already treated fans to the 10-minute epic ‘Telos’ along with the album’s kickstart track ‘Astral Body,’ but now Loudwire is proud to exclusively host never-before-seen, close-up footage of BTBAM guitarists Paul Waggoner and Dustie Waring demonstrating the dual guitar mastery from ‘Telos.’ In our recent interview with Paul Waggoner, the guitarist described ‘Telos’ as “the meat” of the band’s upcoming 72-minute album, and once the record comes out, fans will surely gain an understanding of what Waggoner means. ‘The Parallax II’ is the full-length follow-up to their 2011 EP, ‘The Parallax: Hypersleep Dialogues,’ which begins the storyline continued within ‘Future Sequence.’ “The two main characters of the story take on a journey through space and time with the unenviable task of having to cure the flaws of humanity by any means necessary,” begins Waggoner. “While the EP served mostly as an introduction to the characters, ‘Future Sequence’ contains the action of the story. The lyrics are written in the stream of consciousness style, which really helps to capture the perspective and emotion of the characters. We really enjoyed the challenge of writing this record, and I think we were all pleasantly surprised with how well the music and lyrics jived with one another.” Between the Buried and Me’s latest masterwork, ‘The Parallax II: Future Sequence,’ will blast fans into the infinity of space on Oct. 9. To hold you over until the album’s release, check out this exclusive footage of Paul Waggoner and Dustie Waring jamming on ‘Telos.’ Paul Waggoner ‘Telos’ Guitar Demonstration Dustie Waring ‘Telos’ Guitar Demonstration
Ethan Miller, Getty Images We’d like to send out a very happy 50th birthday today (Oct. 3) to legendary Motley Crue drummer Tommy Lee . Having manned the kit for Crue since 1981, Tommy Lee has been a crucial part of rock and metal’s musical fabric for over three decades. Known for his infamous exploits both on and offstage, we celebrate the unique life of Tommy Lee. Motley Crue perhaps set the benchmark for pure debauchery during the ’80s hair metal era. Along with his contributions to Motley Crue’s music, Lee added to the band’s reputation of consuming superhuman amounts of alcohol and drugs, escapades with an immeasurable amount of women, constantly adding new ink to their bodies and having numerous run-ins with the law. Crue dominated the airwaves during the ’80s with tracks such as ‘Girls, Girls, Girls,’ ‘Dr. Feelgood,’ ‘Kickstart My Heart,’ ‘Shout at the Devil’ and many more. After 18 years of drumming for Motley Crue, Tommy Lee left the band in 1999 to pursue other interests. Lee went on the build a career with Methods of Mayhem, along with two solo records, an album with supergroup Rock Star Supernova and a number of guest appearances with Nine Inch Nails , Rob Zombie and more. But thankfully, Lee rejoined the Crue in 2004 and has been rocking out with them since. Tommy Lee is one of the world’s most entertaining live drummers, with stunt-like feats constantly being performed by the percussionist. Along with his 360 degree spinning drum contraption and flying around stadiums to hidden percussion kits, Lee now brings his drum rollercoaster to Crue performances, upping the insanity level to a new high. We wish Tommy Lee a very happy 50th birthday, as does his bandmate Nikki Sixx in the tweet below: HAPPY B DAY to my brother @ mrtommyland .I love you. — Nikki Sixx (@NikkiSixx) October 3, 2012 Tommy himself tweeted out to all his well-wishers, with a big thank you: HOLY F@cking B-DAY WISHES!! My laptop’s smokin! Thank you n I love you guys… #rage — TOMMY LEE (@MrTommyLand) October 3, 2012 Check out Lee’s awesome live drum solo in the following video, which features the insane drum roller coaster. Then, click below that to see Ultimate Classic Rock’s list of the Top 10 Motley Crue Songs. Tommy Lee Rollercoaster Drum Solo [button href=”http://ultimateclassicrock.com/motley-crue-songs/” title=”Next: Top 10 Motley Crue Songs” align=”center”]
Troy Augusto, Getty Images Pearl Jam made good on playing their lone political fundraiser as a full band this past weekend, packing the Adams Center in Missoula, Mont., to help out the re-election campaign of Sen. Jon Tester. The group has personal ties to Tester, as bassist Jeff Ament grew up with the senator in a small Montana town. “I can vouch for how much he cares for Montana,” said Ament at a pre-show event. “I couldn’t be prouder to be up here with the band.” The senator and his wife were seated alongside Pearl Jam fan club members watching the show. Tester told Billboard that the show was not the traditional campaign fundraiser, but they did sell some premium ticket packages. However, the Senator says the primary goal was “to get people to vote and have fun in the process. If we can get everybody to vote who is eligible, that’s really what’s most important. And then everything will turn out right.” While Pearl Jam do tend to work in a few cover songs into their sets, the band added several that were very specific to the issues at hand. They rocked through the Clash ‘s ‘Know Your Rights,’ Neil Young ‘s ‘Rockin’ in the Free World,’ and Creedence Clearwater Revival ‘s ‘Fortunate Son.’ They would also perform MC5 ‘s rocking anthem ‘Kick Out the Jams’ with longtime cohorts Mudhoney, who opened the show. As is typical, Eddie Vedder , who recently played solo for a Barack Obama benefit , took the chance to speak openly to the audience. In this case, he used the platform to discuss Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney, stating, “The candidate on the other side talks as if 47 percent of people are living off the country, taking welfare and living on food stamps. The person that said that has never had the thrill or terror of walking on the tightrope without a net. He doesn’t understand that that doesn’t represent half the country. We can all agree on that. Only maybe one percent can relate to him.” Meanwhile, Mike McCready , speaking with Folha de S. Paulo , opened up about the progress of their latest album. The told the Brazilian press, “There are seven songs recorded and at least 15 ideas on which we’re working. But we’re taking it slowly. Eddie Vedder is on a solo tour. Matt [Cameron] is playing with Soundgarden , and I’m playing with Duff McKagan .” [button href=”http://loudwire.com/pearl-jam-the-fixer-top-21st-century-hard-rock-songs/” title=”Next: Pearl Jam: Top 21st Century Hard Rock Songs” align=”center”]
Juan Naharro Gimenez, Getty Images Between releasing a new Smashing Pumpkins album and finally opening the Chicago tea house of his dreams, 2012 was shaping up to be a pretty great year for Billy Corgan — but apparently a tree had to go and ruin everything. The fateful wood in question once stood on Corgan’s Beverly Hills property, until a major 2011 storm uprooted it and sent it crashing into the home of his neighbors, ‘ Grey’s Anatomy ‘ star Eric Dane and his wife Rebecca Gayheart. TMZ reports that Dane and Gayheart — who was nine months pregnant at the time — were faced with the tricky situation of attempting to evacuate a “quickly flooding” home that had a tree and broken power lines poking through the roof. As you might imagine, the Dane-Gayhearts are a little miffed; in fact, they’re claiming that Corgan was warned that the tree posed a threat, and they’re suing him to the tune of unspecified damages for “nuisance, negligence, and injunctive relief.” For his part, Corgan insists the whole thing is a misunderstanding, telling TMZ that “I was horrified when I learned about the tree falling during what was a massive storm, a storm with winds strong enough to uproot a 50 foot tree by its base! Thankfully no one was injured.” Corgan went on to call the lawsuit “a shame” and referred to his legal assailants as “nice people.” [button href=”http://loudwire.com/tags/billy-corgan/” title=”Next: Billy Corgan Talks Next Smashing Pumpkins Album” align=”center”]
Vans Metal legends Metallica are teaming up with the iconic skate shoe company Vans for a new line of sneakers that celebrate the band’s storied career. “I’ve been wearing Vans on stage my whole freakin’ career (and way before that!),” said Metallica bassist Rob Trujillo. “Whether I’m walking the streets of Venice or San Francisco, Vans provides the funk in my stride!” The collaboration kicks off with a limited edition Vans x Metallica 20th Anniversary Half Cab Pro . It’s part of of the year long celebration marking the 20th anniversary of the Half Cab, the most popular skate shoe of all time. The heavy-duty canvas and suede “black to the floor” Metallica edition features classic band lyrics embossed in the side, exclusive Vans x Metallica x Steve Caballero labeling and a unique clear rubber sole with ‘Kill ‘Em All’ album artwork showing through. “To have Metallica, my all-time favorite metal band, collaborating with me on this 20th anniversary Half Cab shoe is an honor and a dream come true,” said Caballero. “I’m very stoked that Vans is working with such a legendary band and the Half Cab is just the beginning.” In early 2013, the ‘Passion Projects’ will launch. James Hetfield, Lars Ulrich, Kirk Hammett and Rob Trujillo each designed shoes for the collection. They created Vans shoes reflecting their own style, drawing from music, art and action sports. Members of the band’s fan club (Met Club) will have the first opportunity to buy the Vans x Metallica Passion Project shoes in January. They’ll go on sale to the general public in February. The Metallica shoes won’t stop there. In March of 2013, to mark the 30th anniversary of Metallica’s debut album, ‘Kill ‘Em All’ theme shoes will be available. Emblazoned with artwork commemorating the anniversary, the shoes will be available in the Classic Slip-On and Sk8-Hi styles. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/kirk-hammett-upcoming-metallica-album-encounters-with-kurt-cobain/” title=”Next: Kirk Hammett Talks Next Metallica Album + More” align=”center”]
Roger Kisby, Getty Images Soundgarden frontman Chris Cornell and his wife Vicky have been sued by their former maid, who claims she was overworked and underpaid. According to TMZ , the couple hired Elia Mora to clean their house in 2006 and she stayed on until December 2011. Mora says that last year, on the day after Christmas, she declined to return to the couple’s home to do additional cleaning after finishing up her shift. This apparently didn’t sit well with Mrs. Cornell, whom Mora claims responded by screaming a series of insults. Apparently, the conversation ended with Mora out of a job, and now she’s taking the Cornells to court. Mora’s lawsuit claims she was forced to work 43 hours a week without overtime, and was never given uninterrupted lunches or breaks. According to TMZ, neither of the Cornells have commented publicly yet, and the report doesn’t mention specific damages Mora is seeking. In the meantime, Soundgarden are getting ready to release its sixth studio album (and first in 16 years), ‘King Animal,’ due on Nov. 13. The first single, ‘Been Away Too Long,’ was unleashed last week. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/soundgarden-new-single-been-away-too-long/” title=”Listen to Soundgarden’s ‘Been Away Too Long'” align=”center”]