Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Static-X have dropped off the remaining dates of their trek with with Emmure and Ill Nino due to medical issues affecting frontman Wayne Static . The singer-guitarist had to return to Los Angeles in order to prepare himself for some medical procedures to help remedy unspecified health issues that have been affecting his performance. In a press release, Wayne Static states, “I’m so sorry to all my fans but I cant give you the 1000% you deserve from Static-X every night right now. Evil disco will continue in 2013. Just wait until you see whats next!!!” Emmure and Ill Nino will be continuing on the tour for the remaining dates, during which Emmure will be headlining. In a few weeks, Static-X will be able to perform two local shows in Lancaster, Calif., on Oct. 27, and Ventura, Calif., on Oct 28. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/static-x-new-york-city-concert-review-photo-gallery/” title=”Check Out Photos of Static-X Performing in New York City” align=”center”]
Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Machine Head guitarist Phil Demmel was the guest on Full Metal Jackie’s radio show this past weekend. He spoke all about his enthusiasm for the band’s upcoming tour with Dethklok, All That Remains and The Black Dahlia Murder, as well as the band’s very successful album ‘Unto the Locust’ and why Machine Head isn’t sticking to a specific timeline for the next album. If you missed Jackie’s show, read the full interview with Phil Demmel below: First and foremost, I saw Phil randomly in Las Vegas recently and as it turns out we should congratulate Phil who is now married. So, congratulations! Thank you very much, yeah we bumped into each other in the lobby and you were there for the convention and I was there I actually jammed out with Steel Panther that weekend. Yeah we got it done – kind of impromptu but yeah I married the love of my life. [Note: Demmel recently married Bleeding Through’s Marta Peterson.] That’s the way to do it too, there’s no planning and craziness. Anybody who I’ve known who’s gotten married and gone throw all that it seems like exhausting all the picking things and who to put at what table. You guys did it right, congratualtions. Yeah we had both been married previously and we just wanted it to be us, so we’re selfish and that’s what we did. [Laughs] Machine Head is part of the North American tour with Dethklok that was announced recently, also All That Remains and The Black Dahlia Murder. It’s starting at the end of October, what a great line-up. Are you excited about being on tour with Dethklok? Had you seen Dethklok before? You know I’ve seen bits and pieces of the cartoon and not really all too familiar with it but I know that it’s a whole different demographic that’s coming to a Machine Head show and touring with bands like All That Remains and Black Dahlia it’s such a diverse group and such a cool, eclectic bill. I’m looking forward to touring with all of the bands, I think it’ll be great. Phil, now that you’ve got the distance of a whole year since it was released what’s changed about what you like about your last record ‘Unto the Locust.’ The record is my favorite Machine Head record, I’ll revisit every once in a while and I’ll get stuck on a tune that really grabs me but the constant has been ‘Darkness Within’ we’re kind of working on doing a radio push for the song and we did a video for it – kind of a real f—ed up video, it’s only available on YouTube [ after debuting on Loudwire ]. Yeah, it’s been a year – kind of crazy but Machine Head records have that steady lock, we’re not in a rush, we milk them out as long as we can. You’ve played with Rob Flynn for something like 30 years, going back to Vio-Lence in the ’80s, what aspects of those earlier years together still come into play as the foundation of Machine Head in 2012 and beyond? I think in the previous band we played together, there was a different dynamic in the fact that, that was my band – I was the main song writer for that band and he kind of came in as this new part of that. So that dynamic has been 180 where that’s my role in Machine Head now but still kind of geeking out on guitarists and learning stuff and playing stuff together. We still have that real symmetry when we get together and our harmonies – we know when each other’s going to go somewhere and we just have that really weird connection so that’s been the constant through our playing together. We’re men now, we have children [Laughs] it’s been 25 years but that’s been the one constant. What are your preparations for such a rigorous tour schedule having been diagnosed with Cardiogenic Syncope. It’s been a while since my last episode on the road. I was dealing with the death of my father in 2007 and went on the Mayhem tour and then a tour with Hellyeah directly after that so hanging out with Vinnie Paul [Laughs] wasn’t the most sobering of tours for sure. It’s really easy to do being a touring musician, especially in a metal band, it’s around you every night, it’s easy to fall into that – just getting drunk every night and self medicating and just numbing down feelings that you should be processing at some point. We were on the Mayhem tour and I had an episode and I decided to stop drinking and that’s when all these feelings I had been numbing down, all these emotions came to me and it coincides with the condition that I have and it really affected me. I was having these pass outs sometimes half a dozen in a day, I wouldn’t tell the band about them, it happened on stage a couple times and we had to pull off the Slipknot European tour at the very end. It was just time for me to clear my had with a lot of these issues and going through depression, it was just a process I had to go through. It’s been gone through – I think in ’09 it was the last episode I had onstage. It helps being with the girl that I am who keeps me really grounded and helps me. [Laughs] The last time I saw Dethklok, you guys played that day too – Dethklok played that first Mayhem date in San Bernadino not this past Mayhem but the Mayhem before. I think it’s going to be an awesome crowd between fans of the two bands and even the openers as well. I think it’s going to be a diverse group of metal fans that are all going to be coming together. Are you looking forward to bringing in a different crowd? Absolutely, it’s the main reason Machine Head is doing this tour – all the different bands that are on here to reach the people that wouldn’t normally come to a Machine Head show. I didn’t get a chance to see them at that Mayhem date, I had my son and my now wife with me and had to drive them back home after we played. I’m looking forward to seeing those guys who are crazy good musicians and the All That Remains guys are awesome guitar players and Black Dahlia too. The musicianship on this tour is going to be crazy good. Phil, the last three albums from Machine Head have been separated by four years time, does that mean that there won’t be a new Machine Head album until 2015 or are new ideas already being developed? I think that Robb is putting some stuff together, I have a couple ideas and maybe [drummer Dave] McClain has been working on some stuff too. The reason for the last one taking so long was that we got offered all these crazy tours. We thought we were about to wind it down and then Slipknot said, “Hey come on, let’s tour the world” and then Metallica comes around and says “Hey let’s go tour all over the place” you can’t say no to the biggest metal bands in the world. We don’t know what’s going to happen, we didn’t plan it that way, we’re not planning to have that big of a space between these but if the big bands come around again and want us to go we’re definitely going to go. We have an idea to kind of fill the gap but I don’t think I can really talk about how that’s going to be but we’ve got something in the works that might fill the gap. I’m going to be as vague and vanilla as I can. There will be something coming up pretty soon that’s going to make that happen. We want to keep it fresh, we want to keep the ball rolling and all the momentum that we have with ‘Locust’ going. I don’t think it’s going to be that long in between. You guys take your time, I think that sometimes bands make a mistake of sticking to some sort of timeline and some promise of dates or whatever and I guess you can’t really control creativity or when it’s going to come or how long it’s going to take. Props to your guys for doing it on your own terms, for when you felt ready. Yeah that’s exactly how we operate too, it amazes me how these bands go “Oh yeah we’ve got like 25, 30 songs that we’ve written in six months” and it’s like oh geez – granted a Machine Head tune is sometimes between 8 to 10 minutes long but that’s just how we operate. We’re comfortable in just letting the song simmer and letting the album just kind of cook and when it’s ready then it’s time to go. It’s nice having that opportunity and luxury to do. If we didn’t have that we might be putting out less quality records in a shorter amount of time. Full Metal Jackie will welcome David Vincent of Morbid 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 .
Solid State Records After 15 years, seven albums, Grammy and Dove award nominations and 1.3 million albums sold, the metalcore band Underoath has announced they are calling it a day. The band will release a retrospective album ‘Anthology 1999-2013′ on Nov. 6 via Solid State Records. “It’s sad to say that we feel like it’s time to close this chapter, but we have never seen things more clearly,” says vocalist Spencer Chamberlain. “These have been the best years of my entire life, and I owe that to every single person who ever supported this band along the way. This wasn’t a quick decision by any means. It’s just time for us to move on.” The compilation will include songs from all of Underoath’s albums, from 1999′s ‘Act of Depression’ through 2010’s ‘Ø (Disambiguation)’. In addition to previously released material, the collection also includes two newly recorded songs: ‘Sunburnt’ and ‘Unsound,’ the final material recorded by the band. Fans will get a chance to see Underoath one last time, as they are planning a farewell tour. “Over the past decade or so of our lives, we have been able to live a dream traveling the world, playing music that excites us, and meeting more amazing people than we could have ever fathomed,” says keyboardist Chris Dudley. “This couldn’t be a more bittersweet moment for us. We have accomplished more, met more friends, seen more places and have just done more than we could have ever imagined, and we really wanted to just go out on the highest note possible.” “That’s why we have put together a group of great friends and musicians for what will be our final tour ever,” Dudley continues. “We are taking every moment of this tour as an opportunity to say goodbye to you all, as well as celebrate what has taken place over all these years. The love we have and the debt of gratitude that we owe to all of you is not able to be measured in any way.” More information about the farewell tour, which will embark in 2013, will be announced soon. “We don’t take this very lightly and it’s heartbreaking for all of us,” Chamberlain says of the band’s announcement, “but all good things must come to an end. We love all of you and hope to see you again soon.” Underoath – ‘Anthology 1999-2013′ Track List 1. ‘Sunburnt’ 2. ‘Unsound’ 3. ‘In Division’ 4. ‘Catch Myself Catching Myself’ 5. ‘Paper Lung’ 6. ‘Desperate Times, Desperate Measures’ 7. ‘Too Bright To See, Too Loud To Hear’ 8. ‘In Regards To Myself’ 9. ‘You’re Ever So Inviting’ 10. ‘Writing On The Walls’ 11. ‘A Boy Brushed Red Living In Black And White’ 12. ‘Reinventing Your Exit’ 13. ‘It’s Dangerous Business Walking Out Your Front Door’ 14. ‘I’ve Got Ten Friends And A Crowbar That Says You Ain’t Gonna Do Jack’ 15. ‘When The Sun Sleeps’ 16. ‘Cries Of The Past’ 17. ‘Heart Of Stone’
Photo by Ty Watkins In 1982, Brian Slagel started a record label that would turn into one of the premiere labels in the world of hard rock and metal. Celebrating 30 years in the industry with Metal Blade Records, Slagel decided to throw a party for the fans in New York City. Michigan heavy metalers Battlecross opened the night at Santos Party House, and As I Lay Dying closed things out. Being with Metal Blade for nearly a decade, it was no doubt an unbelievable honor for As I Lay Dying to help Slagel celebrate 30 years. Before the gig, Loudwire had the chance to catch up with Nick Hipa and Phil Sgrosso, both guitarists from the band, to chat about their new album, what it was like touring on the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival and more. Leading up to the release of your latest album, ‘Awakened,’ you gave your fans a taste of what to expect with the tune ‘Cauterize.’ Do you think that is a good representation of the album as a whole? Nick Hipa: We’re all pretty confident that the fans are going to be into the album as a whole based on the response we got from ‘Cauterize.’ That’s just the tip of the iceberg as far as the whole album goes. If people can get into that, they’ll be stoked for what the rest of the album is. You recorded ‘Awakened’ in Fort Collins, Colo. I get the feeling this is a bit isolating as far as the metal community goes. NH: You know, the experience was awesome. It allowed us to be more productive than we’ve ever been. That mostly was a result of Phil and I being able to record all day, everyday for the majority of the day in our own rooms while the rest of the guys were recording in San Diego. That made it a lot more enjoyable. We weren’t as stressed out with timing and scheduling. The icing on the cake is that Fort Collins is just a really cool place. Phil Sgrosso: It definitely helped that we didn’t have any distractions, not worrying about family plans or something that would cause us to leave early. It was great to just focus on the record and get it done. Just a little over a month ago, you guys wrapped up the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival. What was it like touring with bands like Slayer, Anthrax and Slipknot? PS: It was great. The mainstage was all the older bands and the classic metal bands. Slipknot , they’ve been around for 15 years or so, but they’re such a presence on the tour. It was nice playing with those bands and sharing the stage with them. There was a lot of energy with the festival. Everyone was pretty stoked about it. Any crazy stories from that tour? NH: Not so much crazy, but one of the things that sticks out to me is that a lot of the nights on tour there would be a tour-sponsored mixer where a band would be in charge of throwing a party. Usually there was a theme associated with it. Anthrax had a Halloween theme and everyone dressed up. Lemmy and the rest of the dudes from Motorhead showed up in costume, they were dressed up as the Blues Brothers. To me that was incredible because Lemmy is definitely an older guy and he’s been around for a really long time. It was great to see that someone like that hasn’t been jaded by the biz. He’s got a really good sense of himself and is really down to earth. He still has a good time. That was really awesome to me. It was like, “Oh, Lemmy’s here, and he’s in a costume!” What’s it mean to be a part of the Metal Blade family, playing their 30th anniversary show tonight? NH: We’re all proud to be on a label like Metal Blade. Metal Blade has been very reputable the whole time, it’s cool to be a part of it and be amongst the roster of bands that have excelled in their genres or done cool things in the world of heavy music. It’s been a pleasure working with them and being on the label for this long. PS: It’s kind of crazy to think that we’re playing our label’s 30th anniversary show. The owner, Brian Slagel, has seen it all happen. We’re definitely honored to be with them. You mentioned the world of heavy music. As I Lay Dying have been around for over a decade, and I would say you have ventured past the term ‘up-and-comers.’ That being said, in the last couple of years, there have definitely been some new bands that have really made a splash in the music scene. Have there been any acts that have caught your ear? NH: Even though we’re in a [Loudwire] Death Match with Gojira right now, they’re one of the heavier bands that are out there right now that are blowing us all away. They write such creative and crushingly heavy music, and we got to play with them a few months ago. They’re incredible live. They’re one of my favorite heavy bands right now. [Editor’s note: As I Lay Dying’s ‘A Greater Foundation’ was in battle with Gojira’s ‘The Axe’ at the time of the interview.] What’s next for As I Lay Dying? PS: We’ll be heading over to Europe for a month with Trivium. Then after that we’ll be on the Monster Outbreak Tour, a few Canadian dates and the rest will be in the states. So, basically two months of touring for the rest of the year. ? Live Photos From the Metal Blade 30th Anniversary Party As I Lay Dying: Spencer Kaufman, Loudwire Spencer Kaufman, Loudwire Spencer Kaufman, Loudwire Spencer Kaufman, Loudwire Spencer Kaufman, Loudwire Battlecross: Spencer Kaufman, Loudwire Spencer Kaufman, Loudwire Spencer Kaufman, Loudwire
Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Only six months after the live return of vocalist Jesse Leach to Killswitch Engage , the band has announced that they will embark on a 2012 tour to celebrate the 10th anniversary of their landmark album ‘Alive or Just Breathing.’ During the monthlong North American tour, Killswitch will be playing the album in its entirety. Shadows Fall and Acaro will support the trek. Last month, it was revealed that Killswitch Engage would be headlining the 2012 California Metalfest, with the marquee announcement of their performance being that the band would be playing every song from ‘Alive or Just Breathing.’ Perhaps due to the immense fan reaction of both excitement and jealousy of fans who aren’t able to make it to California, Killswitch will now give fans across North America an opportunity to experience the 10-year-old album before the year is up. Killswitch Engage announced the news via their Facebook page accompanied by the words, “This is for all the fans.” The announcement came in video form, mixing film from 2002 (which gives an unexpected wave of nostalgia to those who remember the album’s release) with footage from 2012. The video continues to say, “‘Alive or Just Breathing’ 10 Year Anniversary Tour. Performing the entire record from beginning to end … with special guests Shadows Fall and Acaro,” before scrolling through the upcoming tour dates. “I honestly never thought I would have the opportunity to sing these songs on stage with Killswitch again,” says Jesse Leach in a press release. “Now here I am back in the band and celebrating 10 years of the release of this record. I am absolutely thrilled for this tour. I can’t wait to sing ‘Rise inside’ and ‘Just Barely Breathing’ among others. On top of it all, we have our good friends in Shadows Fall and Acaro joining us. This tour will be one we will all remember! ” Check out the announcement video and the full list of tour dates below. Killswitch Engage Announce ‘Alive or Just Breathing’ 10th Anniversary Tour Killswitch Engage, ‘Alive or Just Breathing’ 10th Anniversary Tour Dates 11/24 – San Bernardino, Calif. – NOS Event Center (California Metalfest VI) 11/25 – San Francisco, Calif. – Slim’s 11/27 – Seattle, Wash. – Studio Seven 11/28 – Portland, Ore. – Hawthorne 11/30 – Boulder, Colo. – Fox Theater 12/01 – Kansas City, Kan. – Beaumont Club 12/02 – Dallas, Texas – Trees 12/04 – Tampa, Flo. – State Theater 12/05 – Pensacola, Flo. – Vinyl 12/07 – Asheville, N.C. – Orange Peel 12/08 – Atlanta, Ga. – Masquerade 12/10 – Chicago, Ill. – Bottom Lounge 12/11 – Columbus, Ohio – Alrosa Villa 12/12 – Toronto, Ontario – Opera House Dec. 14 – Buffalo, N.Y. – Town Ballroom 12/16 – Lancaster, Pa. – Chameleon Club 12/17 – Brooklyn, N.Y. – Willamsburg Music Hall 12/18 – Burlington, Vt. – Higher Ground 12/19 – Northampton, Mass. – Pearl Street 12/20 – Portland, Maine – State Theater [button href=”http://loudwire.com/killswitch-engage-members-discuss-new-song-jesse-leachs-return-more/” title=”Watch our Video Interview with Killswitch Engage” align=”center”]
Lucy Johnston, Getty Images The Melvins are in the midst of their ’51 States in 51 Days’ tour, attempting to set a Guinness World Record for fastest tour of the United States. Frontman Buzz Osborne has been keeping a tour diary at Spin.com , and had some interesting observations about previous tours with Nine Inch Nails and White Zombie . Playing Sioux Falls, S.D. on the tour reminded Osbourne of the last time the Melvins played there, which was with Nine Inch Nails in the mid ’90s. He remembers NIN smashing up the dressing room there, causing about $30,000 in damage. “This was NIN’s ‘Downward Spiral’ tour, which ended up being the bands zenith, meaning it was their biggest and most interesting album along with the biggest and most semi-interesting point in their career,” Osborne writes. “I honestly didn’t know much about NIN before this tour. I mean I knew they were popular with the MTV baby rock crowd and that they had sold a lot of records but I had never actually listened to one of them. Why would I? I usually have no interest in checking out what sort of bands the baby rockers dig. This is as a result of almost always hating whatever bands the baby rockers dig.” Osborne says at least Nine Inch Nails and their crew were nice to them during the tour. He can’t say the same about White Zombie, and unloads with both barrels. He describes it as the worst tour experience of his life, due mainly to a road manager dubbed ‘Mr. Mullet.’ “Mr. Mullet told us straight up that he was going to see to it that we got fu–ed over every night PA-wise in order to not piss off his boss, the swollen White Zombie dictator Rob Zombie,” Osborne recalls. “And it just went from there. He openly told us that Rob acted a prick to him, and that’s how life on the road was going to go for us as well. Perfect.” He goes on to say, “One insane thing after another every day for the whole tour. On one of the few times we actually got a soundcheck, Mr. Mullet came on stage and pulled the plug because Rob was eating and that we were to “shut the f–k up” because he didn’t like the “noise.” The ’51 States in 51 Days’ tour isn’t even halfway done yet, with plenty more tour diary entries to come. Hopefully Osborne will spill more great stories from the good old days as the tour progresses.
Just before Creed and Alter Bridge guitarist Mark Tremonti was preparing to kick off the first tour with his solo project Tremonti, he found out the bassist Brian Marshall would be unable to join him on the road. Enter Wolfgang Van Halen, who agreed to step in for the tour. Less than 24 hours later, Tremonti’s first show was in Coventry, R.I., and now behind the scenes footage has been