Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com Lucky, lucky England! Two headliners were recently unveiled to close out the Saturday and Sunday night dates of the three-day 2013 Download Festival. The legendary Iron Maiden will finish up the Saturday show (June 15) and German metal phenomenon Rammstein will be headlining the Sunday lineup (June 16). After a bit of a wait, Slipknot have now been confirmed as the headlining act for Friday, June 14. Now that all three headlining bands have been announced, fans can have high hopes for Download 2013, as the festival has three major bands already confirmed, with a ton of acts yet to be announced. Download has an incredible track record for bringing in quality acts, with Black Sabbath, Metallica, Megadeth, Soundgarden and many more having played the 2012 Download fest. As for Slipknot, this will be the second time the band has headlined a Download Festival date, making their presence felt in 2009. Slipknot percussionist Shawn ‘Clown’ Crahan shared his enthusiasm for the band’s upcoming date. “We are extremely honored to have been asked once again to headline the Download Festival. It’s always good to have the church of the Knot, the alter of the Knot, giving the sermon of the Knot to the congregation of the Knot, the culture of the Knot.” Clown concluded his ‘Knot’-filled statement, “This summer cannot come soon enough. Partake in the imagination or don’t bitch.” Download 2013 presale tickets are currently available for Download subscribers, with general ticket sales beginning tomorrow (Sept. 28) at 9am London time. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/slipknot-clown-talks-knotfest-antennas-to-hell-legacy-of-paul-gray-more/” title=”Watch our Exclusive Interview with Slipknot’s Shawn ‘Clown’ Crahan” align=”center”]
Beyond The Bridge, Facebook Musician and producer Simon Oberender, who played guitar and keyboards for the German progressive metal band Beyond the Bridge, has passed away. Beyond the Bridge released their debut album ‘The Old Man and the Spirit’ earlier this year, and played ProgPower USA in Atlanta less than two weeks ago, the band’s first U.S. show. Oberender was also the keyboardist for Amanda Somerville’s band Trillium. The cause of death has not been announced. In an interview with About.com Heavy Metal earlier this year, guitarist Peter Degenfeld explained how Oberender came to join Beyond the Bridge. “Christopher (Tarnow, one of the band’s founders) met Simon during his studies and they became good friends. After finishing University, Simon went to the Gate Studios in Wolfsburg where he is now a sound engineer and producer. He also recorded, mixed, mastered (together with Sascha Paeth) and produced ‘The Old Man And The Spirit.’ Simon also brought Fabian (drums) and Herbie (vocals) to the band.” Oberender appeared on several other albums, including Avantasia’s 2010 releases ‘The Wicked Symphony’ and ‘Angel of Babylon,’ Edguy’s ‘Age of the Joker’ (2011), Epica’s ‘Requiem for the Indifferent’ (2012), Rhapsody of Fire’s ‘The Frozen Tears of Angels’ (2010) and Kamelot’s ‘Silverthorn,’ which will be released next month. As an engineeer, Oberender worked on albums by Avantasia, Destination’s Calling, Edguy, Epica, Mayan and others. The band has posted a photo of Oberender on their Facebook page with the message, “We deeply mourn the passing away of Simon Oberender, our producer, band-mate, and above all, best friend there will ever be. There are no words that could describe our loss. Simon, we will always miss you!” Loudwire offers its deepest condolences to Simon Oberender’s family and bandmates. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/adam-yauch-death-2012/” title=”See the Rockers We’ve Lost in 2012″ align=”center”] ?
Monika Graff / Kevin Winter (2), Getty Images Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello , System of a Down singer Serj Tankian and Rise Against frontman Tim McIlrath have joined forces to create an unofficial anthem for the Occupy Wall Street movement. Morello recently performed a free show to mark the one-year anniversary of Occupy and to help “re-energize” the political faction. Perhaps the most vocal celebrity supporter for Occupy after its members converged on New York City’s Zuccotti Park last year, Morello felt inspired to create an anthem for the movement, which has now taken form in the song ‘We Are the 99 Percent.’ Slightly similar to Ministry ‘s pro-Occupy song, ‘ 99 Percenters ,’ the song’s backbone is in its refrain, which also features field recordings of Occupy protesters from Zuccotti Park and Liberty Square. “It’s our gift to the movement,” Morello tells Rolling Stone about the new song. “I wanted to do a huge riff-rock anthem. It would feel like the excitement of the global Occupy Wall Street movement.” Morello goes on to speak about what he views as Occupy’s biggest strengths. He cites the movement’s ability to “inject into the global dialogue the horrific economic inequality that plagues the planet.” He also believes that Occupy has exposed the “grotesque global poverty and the growing inequality in our country.” Morello adds concerning Mitt Romney’s presidential run, “When is the last time when a Republican candidate for president has had hit feet held to the fire because he’s too rich?” Check out Tom Morello, Serj Tankian and Tim McIlrath on ‘We Are the 99 Percent,’ which officially premiered today on RollingStone.com: [button href=”http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/song-premiere-tom-morello-tim-mcilrath-serj-tankian-and-occupy-wall-street-we-are-the-99-percent-20120927″ title=”Click Here to Listen to ‘We Are the 99 Percent'” align=”center”]
Universal Republic What a fitting title for Soundgarden ‘s brand new single, since for all intents and purposes, they had ‘Been Away Too Long.’ Diehard fans of the Seattle band have missed them for the past several years, and while the reunion, live performances and ‘Avengers’ song ‘Live to Rise’ have been rad and appreciated, this is the beefy, puts-hair-on-your-chest Soundgarden rocker we’ve been waiting for. ‘Been Away Too Long’ is a frenetic, fast-paced song that calls to mind the band’s earlier catalog, thanks to raw, booming riffs, jackhammer percussion and Chris Cornell’s bluesy, soulful pipes. It’s got an anthemic and urgent quality, especially in the chunky verses. So if you’ve got long hair, this song is designed to get you to start whipping it around while rocking out with furious, reckless abandon. Overall, there’s not an overabundance of polish, and it’s not pretty, which is preferred. Instead, it’s potent, hell yeah, high-five hard rock. Just like we like it. The song will appear on the band’s upcoming album ‘King Animal,’ due out Nov. 13. After tearing through this song a few times, check out our 10 Best Soundgarden Songs list . Listen to Soundgarden, ‘Been Away Too Long’ [button href=”http://loudwire.com/soundgarden-king-animal-album-cover-track-listing-trailer/” title=”Next: Soundgarden Unveil ‘King Animal’ Album Cover + Track List” align=”center”]
Earache If you were to blindly listen to Cerebral Bore, whether on tape or at a live show, there would be absolutely no hint that the band’s vocalist is female. As metal vocalists are continually searching for lower registers to base their screaming techniques, Cerebral Bore’s Simone ‘Som’ Pluijmers can bring low, rumbling vocals that could match almost any man. Having joined the Scottish band in 2010, Som was only 18 when she started in Cerebral Bore. The Dutch vocalist, along with the other members of the band, were given a contract by Earache Records later that year. Cerebral Bore’s debut album, ‘Maniacal Miscreation,’ which had originally been self-released, was given a wide release in June 2011. Som’s techincal capabilities are no less than jaw-dropping. Get ready for the brain-scrambling frontwoman to assault your eardrums in the videos below. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/landmine-marathon-grace-perry-brutal-female-metal-vocalists” title=”Next Female Vocalist: Metal’s Praying Mantis” align=”center”] Cerebral Bore, ‘The Bald Cadaver’ Cerebral Bore, ‘Entombed In Butchered Bodies’ (Live)
Facebook: Three Days Grace ‘Transit of Venus,’ the fourth studio album from Three Days Grace , is due out on Oct. 2, but fans can hear the entire album online now thanks to an advance stream on IGN.com. The debut single ‘Chalk Outline’ from the forthcoming disc, has been heating up radio and music charts alike. ‘Transit of Venus’ also includes a rendition of Michael Jackson’s ‘Give in To Me.’ In IGN.com ’s exclusive interview with drummer and backing vocalist Neil Sanderson, he talks about what Three Days Grace were going for with this new album. “This one is definitely a little tighter and more articulated. We wanted to take a different approach with this record, and we wanted to push the boundaries as far as our sound and what we’re singing about — dig a little bit deeper than a lot of the other rock bands that we’re hearing out there these days” says Sanderson. He goes on to say, “We thought outside the box a little bit and tried not to be as formulaic, experimenting with multiple layers … We wanted to have songs that felt more progressive … without alienating our original sound. We still sound like Three Days Grace, and we wanted to keep it real.” Three Days Grace will keep it real with a North American tour in support of ‘Transit of Venus,’ which starts in October. For a full list of dates and cities, go here . [button href=” http://www.ign.com/articles/2012/09/26/three-days-grace-premieres-transit-of-venus ” title=”Listen to Three Days Grace’s ‘Transit of Venus’ at IGN.com” align=”center”]
Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Charm City Devils have been flying high on the success of the first single from their latest studio album, ‘Sins.’ Their cover of ‘Man of Constant Sorrow’ has received a lot of radio airplay and has turned into a fan favorite at the band’s live shows. Opening for Mark Tremonti ‘s solo-project in New York City, we were able to grab a few minutes with lead singer John Allen. Allen filled us in on everything from their new record label, the band’s latest single ‘Unstoppable’ and some new music that he’s been excited about. During tonight’s set, you mentioned this was your first show in New York City. Well, I guess we played a little showcase for a distribution company at a club years ago, but we really haven’t been back since. Ever since Crue Fest 2, we never got back, the closest we came was in Sayreville [New Jersey] at the Starland Ballroom, just an awesome place. But to be back in New York City, the crowd was so awesome, so warm. It was really nice. You’ve got a few shows with Mark Tremonti’s solo project, you’ve got the new album that’s been out for a few months now. How is everything going? Everything is great, it’s just tremendous. We released the record on a very small independent label and then [our new label] eOne Music picked it up and released it for real, like nationwide in late July. Things have gone great. We pick back up with Theory of a Deadman on Oct. 20 and that’ll carry on for a little while. We just did the Rock Allegiance Festival at Hershey Park with some legendary bands like Stone Temple Pilots , Fuel , Three Days Grace and Buckcherry . It was an honor for us to be on that show. It was incredible. The first single from ‘Sins’ is also the song you closed tonight’s set with, ‘Man of Constant Sorrow.’ I know you’ve talked about that song a lot in past interviews, choosing to cover it because you’re a blues fan and you loved the movie ‘O Brother, Where Art Thou?’ When you were deciding which song to cover, what other songs were brought up in the conversation? I don’t want to give anybody ideas! What if we go back and want to pick it up? A lot of the songs were blues-based, but of course this song is more bluegrass and we completely mangled it and changed it. It’s tricky, we were trying to think outside of the box. But you know what? You can always whip out a Foghat song, man! On the next album and in future live sets, will you bust out any more covers? I’ve got no problem playing a cover song here or there. Early when we started we’d play ‘Highway to Hell’ in our set. We used to play a Black Keys song every now and again. When we play our stuff, I feel more of a responsibility to really honor the record and play it as close as possible to the original version. If you play a cover, it feels a lot more freeing and relaxed for me. We can have a lot of fun up there with it. ‘Man of Constant Sorrow’ isn’t the case, though, because it took on a life of its own. We did change it, though, I mean, I did write a chorus for it that wasn’t there. Certainly there is still a responsibility there for that song. You could tell you were having a lot of fun when you guys busted into Hendrix’s ‘Voodoo Child’ during tonight’s performance of ‘I Got Mine.’ There is so much pressure to be perfect, but then with a song like that you can just let your guard down and have a good time. Your second single is out now, ‘Unstoppable.’ You told the audience tonight that the theme of the song follows along the lines of, “Things will get better.” Certainly the title of it was something that I wind up talking about a lot. Never say die, you know, that kind of attitude. I’ve never given up, I’ve been doing this a long time. We’re lifers, man. I stopped playing music for a very brief time and I got pulled right back in. Earlier you mentioned eOne Music, your new label. They’ve got quite the roster including Saving Abel , Hatebreed , Smile Empty Soul and Black Label Society . How does it feel to be a part of that family? It’s crazy, they have such a wide array of bands, man. We’re very fortunate to be a part of that label. Hanging out with those guys, they’re good people. It’s really refreshing in our industry to be around those types of guys. It feels great. It is wonderful to be there. 2012 has brought with it a lot of new releases, some from familiar bands and others from brand new up-and-comers. Has there been anything out there that’s caught your ear? Outside of the genre, I’ve been listening to Alex Clare. Her song, ‘Too Close,’ is incredible. I know it’s not what the rockers want to hear, but it’s incredible. I still love AWOLNATION. Monster Truck, I dig them. I love the new Three Days Grace track. The Shinedown record is awesome and so is the Halestorm album. There’s just so much good stuff out there. It’s a great time to be out and playing. Since he covered ‘Man of Constant Sorrow,’ I have to ask if you’ve heard the new Bob Dylan album. I love Bob Dylan. I’ve got his first album and it’s just incredible. He’s just a great lyricist and poet. I have a tremendous amount of respect and admiration for him. I didn’t know he did a cover of the song when we decided to pick up that challenge. Had I known that Dylan did a cover of it, I don’t think we would’ve gone into it. But, I will say, a lot of people covered that song, and none of them are like ours. We wrote our own chorus, we got rid of all the music, we just kept the basic melody of the song. We’ve had tons of positive responses to it. We did have one lady, though, who was so emotionally connected to the original song that her response was just awesome. She Tweeted at us and called our version of the song an abortion and said we should all die in a fire! I figured we must have done something right, man! So what’s on the horizon for Charm City Devils? Now that I’ve been home for a couple of weeks, I have definitely started coming up with a ton of new ideas, but an album is a little ways away. I’ll get busy here in the next few weeks, but I think we’ll be working this latest album for awhile now. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/mark-tremonti-crushes-new-york-city-with-assist-from-wolfgang-van-halen/” title=”Read Our Review of Tremonti + Charm City Devils’ Show In NYC” align=”center”]