Toby Canham, Getty Images / Relapse “Who’s more evil than Larry King?” asks Pig Destroyer vocalist J.R. Hayes before the band’s ultra-violent set in Brooklyn last night (Oct. 18). We got to speak with the entirety of Pig Destroyer for a rare interview, when the subject of discussion took an unexpected turn towards iconic broadcaster Larry King. With Pig Destroyer about to release their punishing fifth studio album, ‘Book Burner,’ we went in depth about the record during our exclusive interview and hit on one of their new tracks, ‘The Bug.’ Widely known for their use of samples within their music, a demonically-manipulated voice begins to recite a quote as ‘The Bug’ leads off: “This is libel, slander, defamation of character. This is a prolonged insult, a gob of spit in the face of art, a kick in the pants to God, Man, Destiny, Time, Love, Beauty … what you will. I am going to sing for you, a little off key perhaps, but I will sing. I will sing while you croak, I will dance over your dirty corpse.” “That’s a pretty famous quote from Henry Miller’s ‘Tropic of Cancer,’” says Hayes. “It’s a book from the ’30s where he’s an ex-patriot in France. He’s very much talking about how art can be offensive but still artful at the same time. That quote always struck me as kind of resonant.” Pig Destroyer guitarist and producer Scott Hull interjected with a fascinating truth about the audio used for the quote. “It’s Larry King,” reveals Hull. “He read ‘Tropic of Cancer’ for a book on tape.” Funnily enough, Hayes was unaware that King possessed the disembodied voice within ‘The Bug,’ and acknowledged that his mind was official blown. ‘Book Burner’ won’t be available to purchase until next week, but to hear ‘The Bug’ along with the rest of the new album, NPR has got an exclusive stream of the record in full. Stay tuned for our full interview with the deathgrind innovators of Pig Destroyer. [button href=”http://www.npr.org/2012/10/14/162728112/first-listen-pig-destroyer-book-burner#playlist” title=”Listen to Pig Destroyer’s ‘Book Burner’ in Full” align=”center”]
Facebook: Finch Finch were one of the more promising bands of the early 2000s, but label and band issues eventually led to their split in 2010. However, the group members have been talking of late and decided to reunite to pay tribute to their stellar major label debut, ‘What It Is to Burn,’ which is celebrating its tenth anniversary. The disc spawned three singles, led by the outstanding title track and followed by ‘New Beginnings’ and ‘Letters to You.’ The ‘What It Is to Burn’ single recently placed at No. 47 on Loudwire’s Top 21st Century Hard Rock Songs list. However, the group had trouble maintaining that momentum after their breakout disc. In 2006 they went on hiatus so that the band members could pursue other projects, but a year later the discussion of a Finch DVD got the group talking again and they decided to reform. The band started showcasing new material and released a four-song EP with plans to follow with a full-length. Unfortunately, a period of inactivity followed and that third studio album never came to fruition. Recently, the band members have been more active in posting material on their Facebook page, leading to speculation that something was in the works. They confirmed their reunion in a posting that read: Finch will be reuniting to commemorate the 10th anniversary of ‘What It Is to Burn’ on Feb. 1, 2013 at the Glasshouse in Pomona, Calif. We are excited to play ‘What It Is to Burn’ from front to back in its entirety. Ticket information will be released soon. We’ll see you at the show! Love Finch, Nate Barcalow, Randy Strohmeyer, Alex Linares, Daniel Wonacott and Alex Pappas It is not known whether or not Finch will continue beyond the one date.
Theo Wargo, Getty Images The fun part of Neil Young ‘s annual Bridge School benefit is seeing acts who normally rock out attempt to pull off a fully acoustic performance, and that’s what fans got Saturday night when Guns N’ Roses unplugged for a rare stripped-down set for those on hand. Young’s annual event, which raises funds to aid in the education of severely handicapped children, returned to its yearly home in Mountain View, Calif. for the first of two nights. It was there where Jack White , Flaming Lips and others performed acoustic sets, but the real curiosity of the evening would be how Guns N’ Roses would handle it. How rare was the performance? Recently, guitarist DJ Ashba revealed , “A lot of the acoustic shows in the past, I would still play on the [electric] Les Paul — but for this, we’re going all acoustic, no electric anything. That’s how Neil [Young] envisioned the whole thing, so we’re gonna stay true to that, for sure.” The group worked up a seven-song set that surprisingly included such harder-edged tracks as ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ and ‘Paradise City.’ Other highlights from the performance included the rather funky opening number ‘You’re Crazy,’ the “sentimental” favorite ‘Used to Love Her’ and a really cool stripped down version of ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine.’ The band not only seemed to be having fun with the challenge, but also took in their surroundings as various members wandered to the side of the stage to play specifically to the students the show was benefitting. A number of videos from the performance have turned up online and can be seen below. Proceeds from the night will aid the Bridge School’s continued efforts in advancing the educational pursuits of severely handicapped children. Watch Guns N’ Roses Perform ‘You’re Crazy’ Acoustic Watch Guns N’ Roses Perform ‘Used to Love Her’ Acoustic Watch Guns N’ Roses Perform ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ Acoustic Watch Guns N’ Roses Perform ‘Better’ Acoustic Watch Guns N’ Roses Perform ‘Sweet Child ‘O Mine’ Acoustic Guns N’ Roses Bridge School Benefit Set List: ‘You’re Crazy’ ‘Used to Love Her’ ‘Welcome to the Jungle’ ‘Better’ ‘Patience’ ‘Sweet Child O’ Mine’ ‘Paradise City’ [button href=”http://loudwire.com/best-guns-n-roses-songs/” title=”Next: 10 Best Guns N’ Roses Songs” align=”center”]
Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Lacuna Coil are making sure their faithful followers are able to keep up with the latest news from the band by launching their own social network-fan community. The group teamed with Mobile Backstage to create the application, which will allow fans easier access to all kinds of Lacuna Coil information. As part of the new application, Lacuna Coil followers from around the world will be able to connect in real time and share photos, videos, audio, and get the latest updates from the band. They’ll also be able to invite the friends to take part and follow Lacuna Coil’s activities while the band is on the road. The application is currently available via the band’s website , on their Facebook page , and through iPhone and Android smart phones. Get the iPhone app here and the Android app here . The group just kicked off their Dark Legacy European Tour in support of the ‘Dark Adrenaline’ album. Co-vocalist Cristina Scabbia says, “The Dark Legacy tour is a dream come true! This tour will present the history of Lacuna Coil, melding old fans with a new generation of Coilers. The Dark Legacy set will offer both the electric and acoustic vibe and absolute melodic epicness!” Co-vocalist Andrea Ferro added, “We wanted to give our fans a special present for Lacuna Coil’s fifteenth anniversary and that was the inspiration for the Dark Legacy tour. The Dark Legacy show will be very special, with a lot of our history in a surprise-filled set. You won’t want to miss it!” [button href=”http://loudwire.com/lacuna-coil-cristina-scabbia-rejects-solo-career/” title=”Next: Lacuna Coil’s Cristina Scabbia Rejects Solo Career Talk” align=”center”]
Nuclear Blast The time is almost upon us for Cradle of Filth to unveil their tenth studio album, ‘The Manticore and Other Horrors.’ The band has already given fans a peak into the disc with the tracks ‘Manticore’ and ‘For Your Vulgar Delectation,’ but now the goth metal act has released a video for ‘Frost on Her Pillow.’ The visuals are quintessential Cradle of Filth. ‘Frost on Her Pillow’ brings the feeling of an 1800s masquerade ball with a much darker focus. As the video switches between shots of the band performing in a dark attic and the story, a voodoo witch doctor and a demonic figure that lurks in the darkness stalk the video’s heroine. There’s no sign of a manticore (a mythical creature with a human head, lion’s body and a dragon or scorpion’s tail) just yet, but perhaps we’ll see one from the band soon. Cradle of Filth vocalist Dani Filth recently described the band’s upcoming record in a press release. “This is our tenth commandment in metal,” begins Filth. “We have diversified and kept alive the spirit of this band and breathed it into something that I can proudly say, slays like an absolute motherf—er. The Manticore is coming … Long live the filth!” Check out Cradle of Filth’s captivatingly dark music video for ‘Frost on Her Pillow’ in the player below. Watch Cradle of Filth’s ‘Frost on Her Pillow’ Video
Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com Motorhead are filling the time between albums with their latest live document, ‘ The World Is Ours Vol. 2 – Anyplace Crazy as Anywhere Else ,’ but the thought process has begun for their next record and frontman Lemmy Kilmister says there is the possibility that it could be a covers disc. The musician tells Classic Rock Revisited , “We did discuss it, but we haven’t come to a concrete decision on it. It would be fun to do. The three of us are very different when it comes to music, so it would be a very diverse album. We’d make them all into Motorhead songs, anyway. We’ve done covers before.” While the wheels are starting to churn concerning their next project, Kilmister confesses, “[We don’t have any new music] yet. We will just go into the studio a month before we do the next album and just write.” He recently stated that Motorhead were eyeing a January studio return . If that seems like a short creative timeline, it’s really not as the Motorhead mastermind says it doesn’t take long to turn a track into one of the band’s songs. He explains, “I only play one way, so if we have an idea that is outside of that, then, by the time we are finished with it, it sounds like us. We’ve done off the wall stuff, like ’1916,’ and we did ‘I Ain’t No Nice Guy’ and we did some tracks that were absolutely not normal for us, but they sounded good.” As for why Germany’s Wacken Festival is special to them and was chosen as the featured show for their latest live release, the frontman says, “We played there early on when it was only one day and now it is four or five days. There were only a few thousand people in the old days and now it’s 85,000. I’ve got a plaque from them for Motorhead being the band that has played Wacken the most times.” [button href=”http://loudwire.com/motorhead-brand-own-line-headphones-earphones/” title=”Next: Motorhead Brand Earphone-Headphone Line” align=”center”]
Roadrunner Leave it to Corey Taylor to go big with his latest vision. The Stone Sour singer just continued his dedication to the ambitious ‘ House of Gold & Bones ‘ double-album by introducing intricate packaging for the two releases, which when put together forms the shape of a house. Fans will be able to get the first part this week when ‘House of Gold & Bones, Pt. 1′ arrives in stores, but it will take the second part, which isn’t due until next spring, to complete the house-shaped packaging. While we have to wait to construct the full ‘House of Gold & Bones,’ Stone Sour has posted a trailer to show their fans how it will all fit together. The clip can be seen below. On top of the double disc, fans can look for a four-issue comic book . The comic book series debuts April 17, 2013 through Dark Horse Comics. Taylor also recently stated that he’s interested in creating two films to represent each record. Stone Sour will hit the road to support both releases, but the band is starting their run outside of the U.S. Aside from two Halloween week shows (Oct. 28 and 29) at Wooly’s in Taylor’s hometown of Des Moines, the trek will span through Mexico, South America, and Europe for the remainder of the year. Stone Sour will kick off 2013 taking part in Australia’s Soundwave Festival . North American dates are expected to follow, but have yet to be announced. Pre-order bundles for the Stone Sour ‘House of Gold & Bones’ discs can be found here . Watch Stone Sour’s ‘House of Gold & Bones’ Album Packaging Trailer [button href=”http://loudwire.com/stone-sour-debut-gone-sovereign-video/” title=”Next: Watch Stone Sour’s ‘Gone Sovereign’ Video” align=”center”]