Liz Ramanand, Loudwire / Ethan Miller, Getty Images Throughout the past year, the surviving members of Pantera have commented on the possibility of Zakk Wylde filling in for the late Dimebag Darrell if the band were ever to reunite. While it’s all been speculation thus far, singer Phil Anselmo now reveals that he recently discussed the topic with Wylde himself. Anselmo says that both he and Wylde would be open to it, but that his strained relationship with Dimebag’s brother and Pantera drummer Vinnie Paul Abbott, is a major obstacle to overcome first. “I talked to Zakk about two weeks ago, and he’s very open for it,” Anselmo tells the Village Voice . “He’s got an open mind about it. But, truth be told, Vince has got a grudge against me that is really unfounded. And, honestly, I’ve always had a wide-open door when it comes to Vince.” The singer adds, “If it takes me standin’ there and lettin’ that little guy punch me in the f—in’ face repeatedly, over and over and over, til his hands were tired of hittin’ my rock-hard f—in’ head, as long as we could sit down and talk afterwards, I’m all for it, man.” Earlier this year, Wylde said he would be honored to fill in for Dime if he got the call. “I love all those guys,” Wylde told the radio station Banana 101.5 . ”If they were ever to actually do that and they asked me — of course I would do that in honor of Dimebag. Why wouldn’t I? It would just be an amazingly beautiful thing to celebrate Dime’s greatness and what the band achieved.” Vinnie Paul, meanwhile, may have started the whole conversation when he said , “If [a Pantera reunion] ever were to happen, [Zakk] would be the guy [to step in for Dimebag]. But I honestly think, out of respect for my brother, we should just leave the 14 amazing years Pantera had be.” Whether fans are in favor of this potential reunion or not, Anselmo warns that the idea is still far-fetched at this point. ”I didn’t say that the Pantera thing is a realistic thing,” he explains in the Village Voice interview. “I don’t think that’s the important thing. I think what the important thing is, what Zakk and I discussed, is just Vince actually dropping his guard and realizing there is no treachery afoot.” Dimebag Darrell was tragically gunned down onstage by a deranged concertgoer while performing with Damageplan on Dec. 8, 2004, in Columbus, Ohio. Anselmo is currently out on tour with his band Down , who just released a new EP titled ‘Down IV Part I: The Purple EP.’ Vinnie Paul’s current group, Hellyeah , released their latest album, ‘Band of Brothers,’ earlier this year. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/phil-anselmo-talks-upcoming-down-ep-solo-album-more/” title=”Next: Phil Anselmo Discusses Down EP, Solo Album + Tour” 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”]
Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com Congrats are in order for Linkin Park , whose fans just helped the group become the first rock band to surpass one billion YouTube views. At present, there are only three other acts to have reached the milestone, each of them pop stars. Justin Bieber leads the way with 2.8 billion YouTube views, followed by Rihanna and Lady Gaga . The fact that Linkin Park have reached the goal is not only a credit to their music, but also to the video work they’ve done over the years, most of which came courtesy of the band’s DJ, Joseph Hahn. The musician began to explore the visual side of his career by co-directing the videos for ‘Papercut’ and ‘In the End’ with acclaimed director Nathan “Karma” Cox. From there, he assumed much of the band’s video-making responsibilities, overseeing the shoots for ‘Somewhere I Belong,’ ‘Numb,’ ‘What I’ve Done,’ ‘Bleed It Out,’ ‘New Divide,’ ‘Waiting for the End,’ and ‘Burn It Down’ among others. It may be a while before another rock band reaches the billion mark, as Gigwise reports that the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Green Day are next in line with 327 million and 245 million respectively. You can add to Linkin Park’s YouTube total by checking out their latest Honda Civic Tour video posting. In it, the band welcomes a new guitarist – none other than Incubus ‘ Mike Einziger. As a precaution, you see the members warning Einziger about their pyro as the song he’s guesting on has fire emerging from the stage at a very specific point. Watch the video below. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/linkin-park-in-the-end-top-21st-century-hard-rock-songs/” title=”Next: Linkin Park: Top 21st Century Hard Rock Songs” align=”center”] Watch Linkin Park’s Guest Guitarist Mike Einziger Perform With the Band ?
Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com Whoever said that good things come in threes was obviously referring to the pack of trios that provide the core lineup of the ‘Triple Threat’ Tour. Headlined by the trio Seether with support by fellow three-piece acts Sick Puppies and Kyng , there’s a lot to love about the number three. Of course, opening quintet Young Guns broke the ‘three’ chain, but more of that later. Seether have quietly churned out five albums over the past decade on Wind-Up Records with their grunge infused brand of rock. Their massive collection of hits seem to sneak up on you and It’s not until you experience their live set that you realize how deep their catalog runs and the range of success they’ve had. Throughout their rock ‘n’ roll tenure they’ve impacted the genre with singles ranging from ‘Gasoline’ from 2002’s ‘Disclaimer’ all the way through to ‘Country Song’ from the trio’s latest release, 2011’s ‘Holding Onto Strings Better Left to Fray’ – both of which made it into the set list. Seether fans generally know what’s in store when the band hits the stage but with the ‘Triple Threat’ tour kicking off last night the band debuted their new stage set up for the headlining run. Seether have always sported imaginative sets and their latest is no different, but we encourage fans to check it out for themselves! We can tell you this, bassist Dale Stewart hit the stage sporting a silver facemask and drummer John Humphrey’s drum kit was flanked by swanky chandeliers while the more elusive Shaun Morgan settled in behind his microphone with guitar in hand, but the rest, well, tune in to check it out. Their meaty set flew by quickly so don’t blink or it will be over before you know it. Sick Puppies have stepped away from the live stage for a bit to concentrate on their upcoming disc but they dusted off the road rust for one of the best sets of the evening providing a high-energy, interactive romp that showed what the Aussie rockers are all about. With bassist Emma Anzai’s thumping basslines to Mark Goodwin’s rhythmic lead on drums and lead vocalist, guitarist, and all around Sick Puppies ring-leader Shimon Moore instructing the audience to bounce, clap, and get to know the people around them a little better because after all “this is a sweaty rock show,” their set clocked in at 45 minutes of intense rock. Highlights of the Sick Puppies set included a first listen to a new song, at least a short instrumental piece of it. (Fans who pre-ordered the new disc were entered to win a chance to hear the whole new album with the band backstage post show!), a moving cover of the Tears For Fears tune ‘Mad World,’ and their single ‘Maybe’ from their last disc ‘Tri-Polar.’ Throughout the set Moore’s vocals were complemented beautifully by Anzai’s female touch, just another element of the band that sets them apart from the rest. Kyng provided a short but powerful set with their “new age vintage” mix of classic rock meets classic metal with influences of the 90s era of grunge thrown in for good measure – paying homage to the best of the past and molding it into their own unique sound. Their no-nonsense approach to their set allowed for the maximum allotted time for head-banging and getting caught in a groove. Their disc ‘Trampled Sun’ came out in September of last year and the trio has been riding high since. Music fans who got to the House of Blues early met Wind-Up Record’s latest signing, the UK rockers in Young Guns. The youthful group showed a lot of promise and gratitude making the most of their opportunity to play in front of the large Boston crowd. Their set was highlighted by the title track off of their disc, ‘Bones.’ Four bands over the course of one night provided a ton of rock n’ roll goodness and all with their own spin on things making for an eclectic evening of music. The ‘Triple Threat’ tour rages on through the end of October so hit it up when it rolls into your town. Check out our exclusive photos from the show below. Seether: Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com Sick Puppies: Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com Kyng: Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com Young Guns: Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com
New Ocean Media Bobaflex are sure to turn a few heads with their standout cover of Simon and Garfunkel ‘s ‘The Sound of Silence,’ and Loudwire is proud to present the exclusive premiere of the new video for the song. In the clip, the band members deal with an obsessed fan with murderous intent on her mind. Singer/guitarist Marty McCoy explains, “The idea for the video came from the song itself. ‘The Sound of Silence’ was written about the assassination of JFK, and how the nation felt as a whole during this tragic event. Today, we as nation experience the same feeling every time the news shows another unmeditated psycho, with a gun shooting innocent people, in places we thought were safe.” The video shows the fan’s growing obsession with the group through her shrine built at home featuring numerous pictures of the band. From there, she turns up at show after show before finally getting the nerve to hop in her car and speed off to find the group members to enact her plan. For Bobaflex, Simon and Garfunkel might not seem like an obvious choice. However, the hard rockers show they are more than capable with the vocal and musical skill to pull off the faithful and harmonic sounds that the original duo had for the first portion of the song before they finally rock-up the track, thus putting their own stamp on a classic. McCoy says, “Picking this song to cover was an easy choice. I had become a little disenfranchised with the way that music was being performed live. It seemed that everybody was using tracks with background vocals, guitars, and keyboards that weren’t really on stage. It had become so common that I wondered if we were missing the boat. Should Bobaflex be using tracks? The answer is … NO!!!! I was watching the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame induction one night and it all became clear. Paul Simon and Art Garfunkel took to the stage with an acoustic guitar and one microphone. My mind was forever changed. Those two guys made music that was beautiful and real. The next day we were in the studio recording ‘The Sound of Silence’ and trying our best not to butcher it.” ‘The Sound of Silence’ is the third single from Bobaflex’s ‘Hell in My Heart’ album, which is out now. The group is currently touring , with dates lined up into late October. Watch Bobaflex’s Video for ‘The Sound of Silence’ [button href=”http://loudwire.com/bobaflex-want-to-become-the-biggest-band-in-the-universe/” title=”Next: Bobaflex Share Their Ambitions” align=”center”]
Red Hot Chili Peppers guitarist Josh Klinghoffer would be considered “the new guy” in the band, but he still got to experience a milestone with the group earlier this year when they were inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame. For the guitarist though, he’s not sure what it all means at this point. Klinghoffer told Hitfix of the Rock Hall, “It’s a weird thing to have a
Today marks a day of reflection for many as we remember the tragic 9/11 attacks in New York, Washington, D.C. and Shanksville, Pa. Amidst terrorism, there were also great acts of heroism with many sacrificing their lives to protect others. While time has passed since that horrific September morning in 2001, every year provides a reminder of what was sacrificed on that day and there are many in the rock