Reprise Green Day are a band who’ve reached the level where each new album is greeted with anticipation and scrutiny to see where they’ll take their music next. After taking a couple of years off and then returning with the announcement that a trilogy of albums was en route, there’s more focus than ever on what the band will provide listeners. The band’s latest, ‘¡Uno!,’ may deserve a second look once the whole trilogy arrives, but for now it stands on its own as a mixture of the punk goodness, attitude and heart that their early albums delivered combined with some nods to the straight ahead rock ‘n’ roll that they grew up on. The band dials back the political rhetoric to some extent on ‘¡Uno!,’ and puts the focus back on the angst and the joys of the heart, with tracks like ‘Stay the Night’ and the lead single ‘Oh Love’ offering variations on the theme that feel perfect for radio. ‘Fell for You’ is also a mid-album standout, speaking to the nervousness of first love, while ‘Sweet 16′ is an infectious gem. But for those not looking to get in touch with their feelings, there’s some great rock tracks on this album as well. ‘Let Yourself Go’ is destined to be a longtime concert favorite, with its blistering aggression, f-bomb filled lyrics, and the full punk scream of Billie Joe Armstrong begging for an audience sing-along to “ Gotta let it go / Gotta let it go .” And while we’re on the subject of sing-alongs, it won’t be long before crowds are joining Armstrong with “ We’re all crazy / You’re all crazy ” from ‘Loss of Control.’ Meanwhile, ‘Kill the DJ’ finds the band venturing into Franz Ferdinand -like beats; ‘Angel Blue’ has guitar work reminiscent of the Clash version of ‘I Fought the Law’; and ‘Troublemaker,’ with its chugging Tre Cool drums and clap-along vibe, seems a perfect fit for the live setting. There’s also a sense of familiarity on the album, as the leadoff track ‘Nuclear Family’ immediately lets you know from the opening drum beats and guitar riff that this is the band you have come to love. This piece of ear candy will be stuck in your head for months and fits perfectly alongside some of their greatest hits. Meanwhile, ‘Carpe Diem’ is ‘¡Uno!’s’ anthem, with Armstrong belting, “ Carpe diem, the battle cry / Are we all too young to die? / Ask a reason and no reply / Are we all too young to die? ” With more pointed lyrics like ‘ Making a living / Making a killing / What’s worth forgiving? ” the track is one of the strong statements on the record. All in all, it looks like the reflective ‘¡Uno!’ is the first step to a promising future from the ambitious trilogy project. We can’t wait to see how it fits with ‘¡Dos!’and ‘¡Tre!.’
Mary Oullette, SheWillShootYou.com Here’s a look at the top stories of the day on Loudwire and around the Web: – Welcome back Avenged Sevenfold ! The band is continuing their association with the ‘Call of Duty’ video game series by offering up the song ‘Carry On’ for ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops II.’ [ Loudwire ] – Kid Rock is finally ready to roll with the follow-up to 2010′s ‘Born Free.’ ‘Rebel Soul’ is on target for a November release. [ Loudwire ] – On this day back in 1991, Nirvana released their classic album ‘Nevermind.’ Thought you knew everything there was to know about it? Check out 20 Things You Didn’t Know About Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind.’ [ Loudwire ] – Lynyrd Skynyrd fans can settle down, as guitarist Gary Rossington has clarified his Confederate flag comments made on CNN and stated that the flag will still fly “every night” at shows. [ Ultimate Classic Rock ] – Arcade Fire , Thom Yorke and Beck – they’re all part of a new BBC Radio 6 live compilation celebrating the U.K. music source’s 10-Year Anniversary. [ Diffuser.fm ] – The Doors ‘ ‘Live at the Hollywood Bowl’ from their 1968 appearance has been restored for an audio and video release. [ Rock Music Report ]
Angela Weiss, Getty Images Korn ‘s Jonathan Davis will not be joining the Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson -led ‘ Twins of Evil ‘ tour after all, as exhaustion has taken its toll on the singer. The vocalist has kept a busy schedule in 2012, not only supporting Korn’s ‘The Path of Totality’ album on tour, but also exploring his budding electronic music career under the stage name ‘JDevil.’ The rocker has been doing remixes for other artists like his ‘Twins of Evil’ tourmate Rob Zombie and taking the opportunity to do DJ sets here and there. But apparently the full schedule of 2012 has caught up with him as he informed fans of his decision to back out of the tour via a Facebook posting . It read: Hey Guys- we wanted to let you know right away that JDevil will no longer be able to join Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson on their co-headlining Twins Of Evil Tour this October. Due to exhaustion from his recent eight week overseas tour with KORN, Jonathan’s doctors have ordered him to refrain from any travel and performing for the next few weeks while he recuperates. We got this from management: “Jonathan is really bummed right now and regrets having to disappoint anyone, especially his fans and his good friends Marilyn Manson and Rob.” We’ll keep you updated here, everyone expects he’ll be back on track soon. The singer also tweeted to fans, “I’m sorry guys. My head and my body are really f—ed up. Back on meds trying to get better. Dr. said no way I could perform. F—! I’m sorry. I really love you guys. I’m so depressed.” Davis announced his participation in the ‘Twins of Evil’ Tour at the end of July, revealing that it would allow him to pursue his EDM side project. At the time of the announcement, the vocalist stated , “I like to think of JDevil as the ‘anti-christ’ of EDM. To play along side Zombie and Manson is going to be a f—ing sinister night all around, and an unbelievable experience. I can’t wait.” Even without Davis, the pairing of Rob Zombie and Marilyn Manson is a formidable bill. The ‘Twins of Evil’ tour launches Sept. 28 in Phoenix. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/korn-co-headliners-shiprocked-2012-cruise/” title=”Next: Korn to Co-Headline 2012 Shiprocked Cruise” align=”center”] ?
Liz Ramanand, Loudwire In conjunction with the reissue of one of their classic albums, Corrosion of Conformity will be embarking on a tour in November that will take them across the U.S. and Canada and wrap up just before the end of the year. Supporting bands include ASG, Royal Thunder, Saviours, YOB and Zoroaster. In addition, C.O.C. will team up with High on Fire , Goatwhore and LoPan at three December shows in California. A full list of dates is below. Tickets for the Corrosion of Conformity headline shows are on sale now, and can be purchased here . C.O.C.’s self-titled album, their first since 2005, was released earlier this year. Now, their 1984 debut ‘Eye for an Eye’ is getting the reissue treatment on Nov. 6 via Candlelight Records. It has been remastered, and the new version includes the ‘Six Songs with Mike Singing’ E.P., originally released in 1989. There will also be a deluxe digibook edition of ‘Eye for an Eye,’ which includes extended liner notes and rare photos. It will be limited to 1000 copies in North American, and only available via Candlelight’s official webstore and select retailers. Corrosion of Conformity Fall 2012 Tour Dates: 11/06/2012 — Pittsburgh, Pa. — Altar Bar w/ Zoroaster, Royal Thunder 11/07/2012 — Richmond, Va. — Kingdom w/ ASG, Royal Thunder 11/08/2012 — Philadelphia, Pa. — North Star w/ ASG, Royal Thunder 11/09/2012 — Brooklyn, N.Y. — Saint Vitus w/ ASG, Royal Thunder 11/10/2012 — New London, Ct. — El ‘N’ Gees w/ ASG, Royal Thunder 11/11/2012 — Ottawa, Ontario –Mavericks w/ ASG, Royal Thunder 11/13/2012 — Kingston, Ontario — Revolutions 11/14/2012 — Hamilton, Ontario — Corktown Pub w/ ASG, Royal Thunder 11/15/2012 — London, Ontario — London Music Hall w/ ASG, Royal Thunder 11/16/2012 — Detroit, Mich. — Harpo’s w/ ASG, Royal Thunder 11/17/2012 — Joliet, Ill. — Mojoe’s w/ Zoroaster, Royal Thunder 11/18/2012 — Lexington, Ky. — Cosmic Charlies w/ Zoroaster, Royal Thunder 12/11/2012 — Vancouver, B.C. — The Biltmore w/ Saviours 12/12/2012 — Seattle, Wash. — The Crocodile w/ YOB, Saviours 12/13/2012 — Portland, Ore. — Dante’s w/ YOB, Saviours 12/14/2012 — Eugene, Ore. — Oak Street Speakeasy w/ YOB, Saviours 12/15/2012 — Sacramento, Calif. — Harlow’s w/ YOB, Saviours 12/16/2012 — Oakland, Calif. — Uptown Theater w/ Saviours 12/18/2012 — Santa Cruz, Calif. — Catalyst w/ High on Fire, Goatwhore, LoPan 12/19/2012 — San Diego, Calif. — The Brickhouse w/High on Fire, Goatwhore, LoPan 12/21/2012 — Santa Ana, Calif. — The Observatory w/ High on Fire, Goatwhore, LoPan
Robert Sebree, Getty Images System of a Down singer and social activist Serj Tankian offers many opinions in a new in-depth interview. Among the topics discussed is the 2012 Presidential Election. In the fascinating interview with American Rock Scene , Tankian went into detail about America’s current political structure. “Here’s the thing, if you want more choices you have to create more choices,” begins Tankian. “We need more parties and that’s been the case for many, many years … We really need a healthy left wing party in this country like the Green Party or — I’m down to start a socialist party because President Obama is not socialist. The republicans are calling him socialist and I’m like, “come on,” the guy made legislation where you have to buy insurance from private entities. That’s not socialism, there’s no public option. Most of his policies are centrist, just to the right of center, sometimes left of center. That’s not socialism, but apparently, America has no idea what socialism is.” Tankian goes on to speak about Republican candidate Mitt Romney. “Mitt Romney’s policies are, well first of all, he’s gone back and forth between so many different policies. First he supported health care in Massachusetts and then he turned a 360 and said, ‘I don’t like it anymore I was wrong. Everything I thought, was wrong, I repudiate.’ He’s just trying to get the right wingers on his side but ultimately they are failed policies of the past. It hasn’t worked for America. It’s left us in debt, it’s left us in wars. And the fact that he actually even said that he doesn’t care about 47 percent of America. I would f—ing toss him off the ticket now. That’s offensive. His answer was that it wasn’t a classy way of explaining it, he didn’t even refute it. He admitted saying those things.” Check out the rest of Serj Tankian’s interview with American Rock Scene here . [button href=”http://loudwire.com/system-of-a-down-toxicity-top-21st-century-metal-songs/” title=”System of a Down – Top 21st Century Metal Songs” align=”center”]
Photo by Matthew Rodgers A year ago, Anthrax took the metal world by storm with ‘Worship Music,’ the band’s tenth studio album and first in eight years. ‘Worship Music’ also marked the return of vocalist Joey Belladonna, whose prior disc with Anthrax was 1990’s ‘Persistence of Time.’ When Loudwire recently caught up with bassist Frank Bello, we asked him about the one-year anniversary of ‘Worship Music’ and his reflections on the year since it’s release. “What I love about it is that I can listen to it today and a year later it feels as fresh as when it first came out” says Bello. “When we wrote it, let’s face it, there’s so many songs and here’s the deal with this – honestly when we’re going on tour I thought. ‘I want to play more songs from the record that we haven’t played yet’ and that’s the mark of the record that I like and how I know the record is that good for me.” It’s no secret that ‘Worship Music’ is loved by fans and critics alike. Bello spoke on this by saying, “From what I hear other people are saying it, everybody likes the whole record and for anybody to say after 30 years this is our finest record and our best record – that’s the ultimate compliment and that came across in a big way when we released it.” Bello continues, “I want to play so many more songs and we’re certainly not done with this record, I don’t think our fans aren’t done with it yet that’s why we’re not going to rush another record but it certainly won’t be eight years for the next record.” In addition to our conversation with Bello, the entire band released the following the following statement to celebrate the one year anniversary of ‘Worship Music.’ “To our Fans and everyone who has supported Anthrax and Worship Music : It was a little more than a year ago – September 13, 2011 – that Worship Music was released, and all of us in Anthrax can’t believe how much has happened since then. Our friends in the press gave the album great reviews, and so many writers singled it out as one of the best metal albums of the year. Our label just told us that Worship Music has just passed the 100,000 mark on albums sold. Since Worship Music ‘s release, we’ve played 107 concerts all over the world – in the U.S., Canada, Europe, Japan, Russia, South America, and the U.K. – we’ve gone home to New York to not only play Yankee Stadium as one of The Big Four, but had September 14 named “Anthrax Day” in The Bronx, where Charlie, Frankie and Rob grew up. We’ve been so lucky as a band, and we know we’re able to do what we do because of you, our fans and all of our supporters in the press, at radio and retail, online, on the road, everywhere. We’ve had one of the best years of our career, and we share it all with you. So thank you for making the Anthrax’s “year of Worship Music the best! More to come! Frank, Scott, Charlie, Rob and Joey” After their stint on this summer’s Mayhem Festival, Anthrax are continuing to support ‘Worship Music’ in North America and Europe. For a full list of tour dates, go here . [button href=”http://loudwire.com/anthrax-bassist-frank-bello-discusses-his-role-in-the-film-greetings-from-tim-buckley/” title=”Next: Frank Bello Talks New Film Role” align=”center”]
Metal Blade Between the Buried and Me are set to unleash their new album ’The Parallax II: Future Sequence’ on Oct. 9, and Loudwire is giving away a BTBAM prize pack in celebration of the disc’s release. Excited? Of course you are! The winner will receive a zip-up black ‘Parallax’ hoodie (pictured left) and a gray ‘House’ Between the Buried and Me t-shirt (pictured right) along with the ‘Parallex II’ CD, assorted patches and a signed drum head! To enter Loudwire’s Between the Buried and Me, ‘Parallax II: Future Sequence’ contest, fill out the form below. And be sure to visit BTBAM’s Metal Blade Records page , along with the band’s official merch site to see what other BTBAM goodies you could get your hands on. Good luck, space travelers! Between the Buried and Me ‘Parallax II’ Prize Pack Contest Enter your e-mail address for a chance to win a Between the Buried and Me ‘The Parallax II: Future Sequence’ CD, hoodie, t-shirt, patches and autographed drum head. Contest ends October 24, 2012. Click here for official rules . By entering this contest, you will automatically start receiving daily newsletters from Loudwire. You can unsubscribe at any time. You will also be added to Between the Buried and Me’s mailing list. Email T-shirt Size [button href=”http://loudwire.com/between-the-buried-and-me-paul-waggoner-talks-parallax-ii-summer-slaughter-more/” title=”Next: Loudwire Interviews BTBAM’s Paul Waggoner” align=”center”]