Bazillion Points Although there is no inherent discrimination within the metal community, it’s plain to see at any concert that most metalheads happen to be white males. While music genres can become polarizing, the central focus should always be the music itself, as author and black female Laina Dawes set out to argue in her new book, ‘What Are You Doing Here?: A Black Woman’s Life and Liberation in Heavy Metal.’ Dawes found herself connected to metal music, especially that of Judas Priest , at a very young age, but due to her gender and race, the youthful Canadian metalhead found it difficult to integrate herself into the scene. “Being 11 or 12 years old, I really resonated with the sound of anger and my internal struggles or what I was going through,” Dawes explains to NPR . “I found that listening to the music in my bedroom, being able to feel like you could scream and yell and really express your anger, that really helped me out when I was a kid.” Despite Dawes finding personal salvation within metal as an individual, she faced some unnerving backlash within social circles. “There was a boy who went to another high school,” begins Dawes. “He was really into metal, and we would talk on the phone, and I remember that he said that he wanted to meet me at a shopping mall on the weekend. And he said, ‘Well, what do you look like?’ And I said, ‘Well, I’m black and this and this…’ and he hung up the phone. I never heard from him again. [I also remember] my black female friends in high school and their parents wondering why I was wearing a Def Leppard T-shirt or whatever, and really kind of questioning me on my cultural legitimacy as a black person. All of those together made me really understand at a pretty young age that, as a black woman, I’m not supposed to be doing this, and there’s something wrong with me because I enjoy this music.” Despite the barriers Dawes faced, metal has remained the soundtrack of her life. The foreward to Dawes’ book was penned by renowned black female rocker Skin of the British rock group Skunk Anansie. ‘What Are You Doing Here?’ is available for purchase at Bazillion Points Books and various online outlets.
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New Book Details Author’s Experience as a Black Woman in the Metal Community
January 4th, 2013 
Metalkult 
Posted in News 
Tags: a-black-person-, a-black-woman, a-pretty-young, a-shopping-mall, a-very-young, doing-here, into-the-scene, leppard-t-shirt, life, metal, Music, news, phone, skunk-anansie 
No Comments »Anthrax’s Charlie Benante Talks Past Grammy Nominations, Upcoming Covers Release + More
December 20th, 2012 Metalkult Paul Hawthorne, Getty Images Right after Anthrax ‘s ‘I’m Alive’ was nominated for the 2013 Best Hard Rock / Metal Performance Grammy Award , we hopped on the phone with Anthrax drummer Charlie Benante for a congratulatory conversation. Having been placed against Halestorm , Iron Maiden , Lamb of God , Marilyn Manson and Megadeth , Benante shared an excited and interesting perspective on the Grammys, both past and present. This is Anthrax’s fourth Grammy nod, the band’s first since their collaboration with Public Enemy, ‘Bring the Noise,’ was nominated in 1994. We asked Benante about past winners and if they deserved the golden gramophone, along with a b-sides and covers album that Benante says may be released in early 2013. Your Grammy opponents are pretty tough this year. You’re against Halestorm, Iron Maiden, Lamb of God, Marilyn Manson and Megadeth. What are your thoughts on those artists? Well, this is a difficult question because some of the artists I don’t really listen to. Some of the artists I do know and listen to. With Megadeth and Maiden … we look up to Iron Maiden so much. If you took Megadeth, Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax, the common denominator there would probably be Iron Maiden. In some way, shape, or form, we all kind of modeled our band with Iron Maiden in mind. Not just that band; there’s other bands but I’m saying they played a pretty big role in the shaping of those four bands. So to be nominated with Iron Maiden, it’s just f—ing awesome. Looking up your past nominations for the Grammys, the one thing that’s easy to spot is that all those nominations came when Joey Belladonna was on vocals. So to you, how essential is the performance of Joey when it comes to these nominations? Well, it’s the classic Anthrax sound when we were nominated prior. I couldn’t be happier with the way that this record [‘Worship Music’] came out and you know, it’s something that I touched on in the statement that we made was this record, more so than a lot of other records, there was so much blood, sweat and tears that went into this record and I don’t know if those other records that are nominated could say the same thing. I mean, I’m not taking anything away from those other recordings, but all I can say is that I know how much went into making our other record. When I saw that we were nominated it just kind of made everything, “Wow, all that hard work and we get noticed.” It made sense to me. It wasn’t just making another record, you know? It was a different thing, it was different experience and it was a life changing experience. The first Grammy you were nominated for was for ‘Persistence of Time’ and you were against Judas Priest’s ‘Painkiller,’ which is incredible, Megadeth’s ‘Rust in Piece,’ which is amazing and Suicidal Tendencies, ‘Lights… Camera… Revolution!” But then the Grammy went to Metallica’s ‘Stone Cold Crazy.’ [Laughs] Yeah, I remember that! I think that was soon after the Metallica /Jethro Tull thing. It’s kind of funny where the Grammys have gone. I remember the first rap category, it wasn’t televised and there was a big uproar about that and then nowadays, there’s like three rap categories or more are on there and that are televised. It’s funny to see how it’s turned. It’s unfortunate that the metal one isn’t going to be televised though. Well, yeah. Take out one of those other categories and you know give (a category to metal) because I always said this: heavy metal and hard rock — the fans are the most loyal fans that really attach themselves to a genre of music. It’s not a fickle form of music. You can tell a metalhead walking in the street, you can tell what they are all about and it’s a lifestyle, it’s a way of life. It’s funny how people go that route and it’s how other people don’t go that route. I always found it kind of fascinating how I grew up listening to the Beatles and yet when I was in my teens, I latched onto that style of music, but I always kept the Beatles as my main sort of influence. So looking back on it your first Grammy nomination in 1991, who do you think should have won? I think Metallica should have won it for their ‘Black Album’ in 1992. I don’t agree with ‘Stone Cold Crazy,’ but you know, it’s hard to say who should have won. Of course I’ve got to pick myself, but it did include Megadeth and Judas Priest in there as well, those are all albums that went on to have legendary status. But, you know, look at the Grammys back in the day. Did the Beatles ever win or did Led Zeppelin win a Grammy at that time? Fun facts: Led Zeppelin have never won a Grammy and were only nominated once for Best New Artist in 1970. However, Zeppelin were given a Lifetime Achievement Award from the Grammys in 2005. The Beatles won only five Grammys from 21 nominations during their active career. In 1995, Anthrax’s collaboration with Public Enemy, ‘Bring the Noise,’ went up against Megadeth’s ’99 Ways to Die,’ Pantera’s ‘I’m Broken,’ the Rollins Band’s ‘Liar,’ and the band who won that year was Soundgarden for ‘Spoonman.’ Do you think you guys should have won that year? I think Anthrax and Public Enemy should have won that year, but the people would have said, “No, because that’s not heavy metal.” But isn’t that what the Grammys are all about? You know, kind of branching out, different forms of music combining, different art forms? Anthrax and Public Enemy should have won the Grammy that year. That was definitely a strong piece of metal history. So when it comes to 2013, I’ve read that you guys would “like to” release an album sometime next year. Are there any solid plans right now for a 2013 album? The only thing that we’re working on right now, as far as a record, are some B-sides and some cover songs that we’ve been really, really enjoying making. It’s been a while, but it’s just because the band has been busy doing shows and stuff like that. [We’re covering] a lot of classic rock songs that we’ve just ingested throughout the years and shaped a lot of us and the musicians that we came to be. There’s a song by Boston, there’s a Rush tune, there’s a Cheap Trick tune, there’s a Thin Lizzy tune, there’s an AC/DC tune … We just said ‘F— it.’ These f—ing songs may be very popular, some of them may not be very popular, but we’re going to do it. That’s what we set out to do. So, this record will probably be out the beginning of the year. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/anthrax-charlie-benante-2013-grammy-nomination-complete-shock/” title=”Charlie Benante on Grammy Nod: ‘It Was Just Complete Shock'” align=”center”]
Chevelle Debut New ‘Fizgig’ Single With Theatrical Lyric Video
December 2nd, 2012 Metalkult Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Chevelle will finish out 2012 with their greatest hits collection, ‘ Stray Arrows: A Collection of Favorites ,’ and as with most hits compilations, there’s at least one or two new songs tacked on. In this case, fans will have a chance to check out ‘Fizgig,’ a track that upon first listen fits perfectly right alongside of the rest of the band’s favorites. The group just debuted the song via a theatrical lyric video posted at their website . What exactly does ‘Fizgig’ mean? It’s defined as a flirtatious or frivolous girl, but the word isn’t even uttered during the length of the song. However, the track itself is vintage Chevelle. It opens with a darkly haunting, industrial sound but picks up before the first words are sung. The end result is a trudging yet aggressive rocker that could have found itself just as comfortable in the grunge era of rock as it does today. With a lyric like, “ The past is on the phone. New roads don’t pave themselves ,” this may seem like the perfect bridge between the first portion of the band’s career and what’s to come, but the song isn’t so much about the group’s transition as it is an angsty ode about moving on from a relationship with Pete Loeffler deftly adding in the requisite emotion to the track. As for the lyric video, it’s equally dark and haunting as it takes place in a darkly lit abandoned theater with the lyrics precariously hanging from the rafters one by one as the song progresses. Some words take solace in the shadows while others move front and center, sharing the stage with an odd array of imagery. Chevelle’s ‘Stray Arrows: A Collection of Favorites’ arrives in stores this Tuesday (Dec. 4). Check out the ‘Fizgig’ lyric video below. Watch Chevelle’s ‘Fizgig’ Lyric Video [button href=”http://loudwire.com/chevelle-the-red-top-21st-century-hard-rock-songs/” title=”Next: Chevelle – Top 21st Century Hard Rock Songs” align=”center”]
Posted in News Tags: a-lyric-like, chevelle, chevelle-pete, lyrics, phone, songs, stray-arrows, track, videos No Comments »Eve to Adam Showcasing Two Songs From Forthcoming Album on Fall Tour
November 25th, 2012 Metalkult Photo: Kathy Flynn Eve to Adam continue to enjoy a successful run on their ‘Banquet for a Starving Dog’ album, but are already ahead of the game on their follow-up release. During their stop in Los Angeles as part of a triple-bill with Halestorm and In This Moment , the band revealed that they’ve already worked out half of their next record with producer Elvis Baskette and plan to return to the studio after their current run concludes to finish up the disc. Loudwire caught up with the band to discuss their breakout after years of struggle, their current recording sessions, and the addition of Dope guitarist Virus to their live lineup. ‘Banquet for a Starving Dog’ is now over a year into its cycle and still going strong. In many ways, this has to be a breakout record for you guys, right? Taki Sassaris: In a lot of ways, yes, it’s helped to introduce us to a lot of people that weren’t familiar with our music, with our style, and I think it’s a pretty solid foundation record for us, you know. It’s allowed us to get back with radio and get a larger fanbase, coast-to-coast and internationally, and it’s definitely got a lot of peoples’ interest piqued and they’re watching to see what we’re gonna do in the new year with the new material, so I think we’re one of the bands that’s on the radar that a lot of people have high expectations for. It’s a good place to be, but it’s a little bit of pressure because you know that you’ve got to deliver, but I think we do our best work when our back’s against the wall and I think that it’s pretty well evidenced by this new material that we’re laying down that I think we’re going to turn a lot of peoples’ heads with this new music. You’ve been touring for such a long time on this record, but Alex, if you could, what’s you’re favorite songs of this record that you love as much now as you did when you started supporting this record over a year ago. Alex Sassaris: I’m torn. ‘Run Your Mouth’ and ‘Reach,’ the two singles that were from that record, they obviously represent a certain sonic quality of Eve to Adam, but the message of ‘Reach’ and the tempo kind of inspires me every night, and I think off the ‘Banquet’ album that is pretty much my favorite song to play live. It’s in the set tonight and it always gets a reaction and the dedication that we give before we play the song to armed service personnel and people that keep us going and safe, it kind of means a lot, so I would say ‘Reach’ definitely. Guarav, same question, something in the live set that’s really standing out to you… Guarav Bali: Well, for me, and for all of us I think we’re really enjoying trying out the new material we did. We’re playing actually two songs these days live. One of them is an amazing song called ‘Straightjacket Supermodel’ that was co-written by Eric Bass of Shinedown . After the last Creed tour we flew down to his studio in two days and recorded it with Elvis [Baskette] and it turned out amazing. The other one is a very different song for us. It’s called ‘Bender.’ It real fast, quick tempo, and Taki does some Lemmy-like vocals and it’s a real fast tune that picks up the set a lot. The process of this has been different for us because for the first time we actually weren’t home for a long time writing. We actually wrote some stuff on the road for the last Creed run and then we got back, demoed it really quickly and got down to Orlando with Elvis and sort of finished it as we were recording it, which was really different for us. We actually wrote a song with him with different parts that turned out amazing. We actually just got the final mixes today of that song. So for me, it’s actually the two new ones that are very exciting, and it makes the older stuff more exciting too. Luis, how are you liking the pace so far? Obviously going out on the road with the band now for a bit, but immediately going into the studio at the first break is not something that’s common. Do you prefer that? Luis Espaillat: I think this is exactly what I want. A break in between is nice, and I’ve had those opportunities before, but this pace seems to keep the creativity going and the energy up because we’re coming from a situation where we’re creating from the ground up and then going straight to live where we’ve got the energy we’ve got from the new songs and be able to present it to the audience, so right now, it’s working really well. Right now, we’ve been out away from home for almost a month since we started the recording process and now we’ve started this tour with Halestorm and In This Moment and it hasn’t felt this long at all, just because we were busy, and when we’re out here I’d rather be busy and not stagnating and just sitting around, so I like this pace a lot, yes. Elvis Baskette is known for having a pretty cool studio. Can you talk about what it was like working with him? TS: He’s going to be located now out of Orlando and he’s got great gear. He’s got an amazing board. We were recording on a 75 Nieve. It was like The Who recorded on it and it’s one of nine in the world. He’s got amazing outboard stuff and compressors and he just, he’s a detail oriented individual and he’s very creative and he’s a lot of fun to work with and he loves creating rock and roll, high energy stuff, and it was just a lot of fun. And when things are fun in the studio it goes by really quick and you come up with really great stuff and everybody’s having a good time and it doesn’t seem like work. So I think anytime you’re in a studio and it doesn’t feel like work, you’re in a good spot. So I’m really excited to finish this album with him in January, and I can’t wait for some of our fans to hear this cause I think it’s going to be the shot in the arm that they’ve all been waiting for. Everybody really loved ‘Banquet,’ but I think a lot of the anthems on this are just going to have an energy that the audience is going to take to live and tear the place apart, so I’m looking forward to a lot of pandemonium. I think it’s kind of cool this way, that you’ve recorded some stuff, but then get to go out on the road for a bit before you go back in. Does that kind of rejuvenate you and both the live and recording processes? AS: We’ve never had an opportunity to do it like that and working with a guy like Elvis and knowing we’re gonna go back to him with this great live experience in between, I mean, this will be 150 live shows for us after this run is done, and that’s a good amount of touring for our band and I think we’ll be able to infuse that into the final five or six songs, or whatever it’s going to be. I was happy that the chips fell like this this time. And Creed were the guys that tipped you off to Elvis? TS: Yeah, it was Mark Tremonti and Eric Friedmann. We were blown away by the Tremonti album and on that last Creed run we lived with that album a lot. We liked the production on it and thought it was fantastic so we were like, ‘Mark?! What can we do here?’ and Elvis was in the midst of making the Falling in Reverse record so he was kind of hard to get a hold of initially, but once we got in touch, Mark’s recommendation and vote of confidence really made a difference. He wasn’t really looking to do another project, but because Mark had spoken so highly of us, he took on the project, and he was really glad he did, because we had a great time and came down with some really great material and it gives him the opportunity to take a brand new, up-and-coming band and put his stamp on it and showcase why he is who he is. So it’s a really perfect union for a group that is as hungry as we are, colliding with a producer who is ready to remind the world why he sold 25 million records. I think when you get that kind of synergy, really incredible things happen. I think if the energy and experience we had with him in the studio as contagious as it was, as uplifting and enthusiastic as it was, if the audience catches wind of that, I think it’s going to spread like wildfire. I think in 2013, you better look out cause this group is about to turn things on its ear. You mentioned Tremonti and the guys from Creed. It’s got to be a better experience being out on the road with guys you like. So often starting off, you may not know the bands you’re playing with. Guarav can you talk about getting to check them out nightly and the camaraderie there? GB: It’s amazing, because I think the biggest thing is it’s a learning experience to see how they do it, and you pick up tips here and there about various things, whether it be performance, sound, pacing of a set, cause I mean Creed played for a long time, and when I say long time, I mean they played a long set, and they played 15 or 17 songs that every time you hear them, you’re like, ‘I know every one of these songs.’ And that’s hard to do for a band that has a catalog like that. So it was a great learning experience to be out with them. Just the fact that they’re amazing guys just made it that much better. And I saw on the website, that Virus has joined you guys? How did that come about? GB: Well the boys here have been talking for several years about having a second guitar player, and I was never really comfortable with it for various reasons, but the theme of these new songs and our upcoming year is expanding our horizons and we’re writing with new people, which we’ve never done, and we’ve got a new producer, and so we decided to expand the sound live as well. I do a lot of different guitar parts on record which you can’t obviously play live without having eight arms, so I’m limited to choosing what I play live. So this allowed me to play some of those parts on the records that I’ve never had to play live and Virus got recommended to us, I talked to him on the phone, I was comfortable with him and he came to Queens and hung out with us and it was like we’d known him all our lives. That’s the most important thing because everyone has to remember that the show is however long it is per day, whether it be 30 minutes, an hour, two hours, but the other remaining time you just have to live with someone in a confined space so that’s important too. And he’s very easy to get along with, a great player, professional, and he was the one I felt comfortable saying, ‘Hey, what about him? I think he would be cool.’ Virus no longer makes you the new guy, but you’re still fairly new. Luis how has it been playing with these guys? Luis Espaillat: It’s been great. I’m the next newest guy. I’ve been with the band since July. I met these guys when I was playing with Tantric last year and they were on the bill as well, and when they invited me, I love their material from the get go already, and at that point they were already playing ‘Run Your Mouth’ and ‘Reach’ which are two of my favorites from ‘Banquet.’ I mean they’re great. Not only do they really care about what they do more than anybody else I know, they’ve been at it for many years. And there’s many people that I know that some of the stuff these guys have gone through, they would have quit, so I really appreciate the tenacity these guys have and the dedication, which is always something I wanted to align myself with because I take my craft very seriously and what I do very seriously, and these guys have put in a ton of time and I appreciate them first and foremost. They’re great people, and they’re great players so there’s not much more I could ask for. As far as Virus coming into it, it’s been great as well. Virus has been around and has that experience with Dope, and him bringing his experience to this whole mess if you want to call it that has been fantastic, so it’s been really great. The reason we’re here tonight is the show with Halestorm and In This Moment. If you want to share what it’s like and your relationship with the two other acts on this bill so far. TS: I think it’s great to see these bands reaping such success from so much hard work that they’ve put in because it gives us hope. Being the opening slot on this tour while we’re seeing these two bands break out now [is great]. They both have Top 10 rock singles and Halestorm has multiple. I think In This Moment is going to be enormous. They have a very wide, appealing sound. They’re modern and I think ahead of the curve, and the curve is going to catch up with them in 2013. They’re gonna blow up huge. And Halestorm are amazing instrumentalists. Lzzy and Arejay are a lethal combination duo, and great showmanship. She’s got an amazing voice and songwriting. You know, it’s great to see strong good bands do well, instead of what we’ve had for quite some time — you know, the one hit wonders or bands that got by on a gimmick. You know, these bands are the real deal and they’ve earned where they are. It certainly reaffirms that hard work pays off and sticking to your guns certainly does. It’s inspiring to us and we’re happy to be here and thank them for being gracious hosts. Obviously Halestorm has the sibling thing going on and here we’ve got Taki and Alex. What was it like growing up brothers and deciding who was going to do what? AS: Well, we were pretty bad at sports, so we figured out alternative measures. [laughing] TS: Speak for yourself. AS: Uh, well, he was a high school hero I guess, but I don’t remember those years apparently. [laughs] Okay I was terrible at sports, so we picked music watching Guns N’ Roses on MTV kind of blowing minds when ‘Appetite’ came out we just kind of looked at each other and thought it would be fun to not have to grow up and do music and it really bit us hard at very young ages and it just gave us a bond and something to work toward together and I wouldn’t want to play music if it wasn’t for Taki on the stage. I seriously think that’s where I belong and that’s how I envision it playing out. TS: We could’ve never gotten through this river of s— without each other by the way. I can’t stress enough to you how duplicitous this business is and it’s so difficult to try to become an artist and put your heart and soul into your work and really achieve things from inside of you and watch them blossom and create art because especially in today’s day and age or whatever, people are so callous and it starts with the industry. They don’t have time for anything and nobody wants to develop anybody. There’s no patience. It’s really an anti-art culture, the business itself, and you have to fight through all of that to get to why you got into this in the first place. You have to protect the embryonic dream with everything that you are, while trying to navigate and maintain relationships with people that you may not necessarily like and are quite, in fact, the enemy, to your central motivation. So it’s a very complex relationship, and if I didn’t have him to stabilize me and crosscheck things with I probably wouldn’t be here right now … I really feel like it’s a new beginning. We’re close a chapter and beginning a new era and the stakes are getting higher and the pressure’s getting more, so I’m really glad that I have two more brothers. So it’s like what John Lennon said about Elvis. It’s unfortunate that he was by himself to go through all that madness, and at least they had each other as the Beatles, and I kind of feel like that’s what the great part of being in a band is — that you don’t have to go through all this s— by yourself. Looking ahead, what’s on the horizon? TS: ‘Straightjacket Supermodel’ is likely going to be the lead-off single. We don’t have a release date as of yet, but we’re probably looking at middle of spring, late March or early April for a release, right into a spring tour and summer tour. What else can you tell us about ‘Straightjacket Supermodel’? Where did it come from? TS: Well we wrote this song with Eric Bass and when we listened to the track and everything, he kind of asked me where I wanted to lyrically go with this and he kind of asked me what concept I had for the song and the song, it had this really kind of eerie, kind of crime scene thing, and I know [Guarav] really loves ‘CSI’ and stuff, and ‘Dexter’ and there was a bit of a serial killer vibe to this thing, and the way it sets up, it’s kind of methodical and the lyric lays out this plan and ideology of this egocentric character that is hell bent on creating this act that will reap him immediate fame and media glory, and it’s very reflective of what it is today to be in this society because every situation seems to be a juggernaut with the media cycle. You can go from zero to villain in three seconds, and it seems like everybody has their own little chaotic psychotic world going on with their Twitter and Facebook and everybody is pretty much the center of their own universe now, so it’s getting a little crazy, so that’s the ‘Straightjacket’ part, and ‘Supermodel’ is just being looked upon as being beautiful and perfect and that quest for an obsession for physical perfection and to be looked upon in that limelight as the ultimate badass. So it has a lot to do with what we’re trying to do also, so it’s not like we’re talking about someone else. It’s definitely autobiographical, but I think that’s why it connects really well. We’ve been playing it four shows in and the song’s gotten a really great reaction. We have high hopes for the tune and really enjoy playing it, which is the best part. Have you guys done the Thanksgiving on the road? AS: Applebee’s baby! [Laugh] We’ll be somewhere in Portland on this run, but you know, we’re with our family already — our extended family anyway. It would be nice for Luis to be with his family in Nashville, but, you know, we’ll be together. TS: It’s part of the sacrifice of doing this. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/eve-to-adam-reach-exclusive-lyric-video-premiere/” title=”Next: Watch Eve to Adam’s ‘Reach’ Lyric Video” align=”center”]
Falling In Reverse Bring Heat to Chilly New Yorkers With Help From Enter Shikari + Letlive
November 9th, 2012 Metalkult Liz Ramanand, Loudwire While snow was covering New York’s Time Square outside, things were heating up in the Best Buy Theater on Wednesday night (Nov. 7) with high energy from fans who stood in the messy cold weather to see Falling In Reverse , Enter Shikari and Letlive. The phenomenal opening act Letlive performed with enormous amounts of passion and force. Their sincerity and intensity onstage was refreshing to see, not to mention the band’s very acrobatic frontman Jason Aalon Butler doing back flips and front flips and everything in between. Letlive’s set had the essence of an old school 90’s punk show at CBGB’s and for a New York crowd their presence was an invigorating one to see. The UK lads of Enter Shikari always get fans jumping and their blood pumping especially with a vigorous set like theirs. The band has found an infectious balance of mixing a hardcore and metal style with electronic, dubstep feel that heightens the force of their set. Bassist Chris Batten has a knack for jumping into the crowd and the entire band of English men have some very fancy footwork. You can’t talk about fancy foot work without talking about Falling in Reverse frontman Ronnie Radke, who can move with the best of them. FIR’s set started out with the very personal song ‘The Westerner’ which led into catchy singles ‘I’m Not a Vampire,’ ‘Pick Up the Phone,’ ‘Good Girls Bad Guys’ and much more off of the band’s debut record ‘The Drug In Me Is You.’ Falling In Reverse also played a cover of ‘Situations’ from Radke’s former band Escape the Fate. Even though I See Stars were kicked off the tour, a few of their die-hard fans showed up. And despite the “I See Stars” chant, Radke didn’t seem to fazed by any of it as he thanked his diehard New York fans for trekking out to the show during a Nor’easter. Catch all of Falling in Reverse, Enter Shikari and Letlive on the ‘Thug In Me Is You’ tour. For a list of remaining dates and cities, go here . And enter to win an iPhone 5 and more from Falling in Reverse in the contest box at the bottom of this post. Check out Photos of Falling In Reverse, Enter Shikari and Letlive Below: Falling In Reverse: Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Enter Shikari: Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Letlive: Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire ? Falling in Reverse iPhone 5 Prize Pack Enter your e-mail address and shirt size below for a chance to win a brand-new iPhone 5 and a t-shirt bundle from Falling in Reverse. Contest ends Dec. 1, 2012. Click here for official rules . By entering this contest, you will receive email newsletters from Loudwire and be added to the Falling in Reverse mailing list. You may unsubscribe at any time. Email T-Shirt Size
Posted in News Tags: band, butler, contest, enter shikari, falling in reverse, girls, phone, reverse, ronnie-radke, westerner No Comments »Gojira’s Joe Duplantier Talks Upcoming North American Tour, Randy Blythe + ‘Explosia’ Video
October 22nd, 2012 Metalkult 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 .
