Archive for December 13th, 2012

‘Heavy Metal’ Religion Defeats Scientology, Druidism + Satanism in U.K. Census

Ronnie James Dio: Official Facebook A hardy congratulations is in order for the religion of heavy metal … Yes, the religion of heavy metal. In the beautiful United Kingdom, thousands of people claimed “heavy metal” as their religion in a recent census, beating out Druidism, Satanism and Scientology. Bless all you metalheads out there in the U.K., for you’ve chosen to follow the path of Reverend Dickinson, Pastor Halford and Saint Dio, among other blessed musicians within the heavy metal realm. According to The Guardian , 6,242 people answered ‘Heavy Metal’ when asked their religion within the census. Paganism and Wicca ended up with more write-ins than Heavy Metal, but only 4,189 people declared themselves as druids, with even less claiming Scientology as their religion. Additionally, a total of 1,983 chose to label themselves as Satanists and a whopping 176,632 people claim to have mastered “the force” as Jedi Knights. The Heavy Metal outpouring has been spearheaded by Saxon singer Biff Byford, who helped gather the votes of metalheads. “Heavy metal is a tribal music and everyone is a member of the tribe,” Byford told Independent.co.uk in 2010. “The audience is very, very loyal… especially the Germans. It’s not like pop music, where if the next song isn’t good enough then forget about it; with our music, people will allow you to be shit sometimes, and that’s one of the great things.” “The music’s not about love,” Byford adds.” Our songs are more about Richard the Lionheart, steel trains and thunder. But when you do click with a big audience, it can be quite an experience, a massive connection… I suppose you could say it is a religious experience in a way.” Check out Byford’s victory video statement below via Metal Hammer. Saxon’s Biff Byford Celebrates Heavy Metal Religion Victory

Queens of the Stone Age Describe New Album as ‘Manic and Unpredictable’

Kristian Dowling, Getty Images Queens of the Stone Age are having a little fun with the media leading up to the release of their next album. Singer Josh Homme and band took the time to write up a missive on their forthcoming release for Mojo magazine, admitting a little bit of the pretention that comes with quotes hyping an album. Queens of the Stone Age have been in the studio for a good part of 2012 with Foo Fighters leader Dave Grohl coming on board to play drums for the full record and both former Queens of the Stone Age bassist Nick Oliveri and Nine Inch Nails mastermind Trent Reznor lending a hand as well during sessions. The Mojo message , which featured a rather artful drawing of a single eye with a clock face in place of the pupil that’s set to 9:00, reads as follows: Dear Mojo, A stitch in time will save you 9, but … there’s no way we could have prepared for the journey up the river that is this album. In our grand plan, we envisioned our lives and recordings running like clockwerk. However, the reality has been manic and unpredictable. These songs aren’t recollections of the times we had. They are depictions of what we are going through in real time. It means even a bad event can turn into an unforgettable song — at least for us, ha. The record sounds like running in a dream inside a codeine cabaret. I hope you understand what that means, cause we don’t. Sounds like a load of pretentious s—! What? Gotta go, the therapist says our time is up… Queens of the Stone Age Homme recently spoke about the difficulty the band has had in getting their new album to completion. Though a firm title or release date has yet to be announced, it’s expected that the next Queens of the Stone Age album will arrive in the first half of 2013. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/nick-oliveri-vocals-queens-of-the-stone-age-album-rejoins-kyuss-lives/” title=”Next: Nick Oliveri Contributes to New QOTSA Album” align=”center”]

Suffocation Members Talk ‘Pinnacle of Bedlam,’ Future of Vocalist Frank Mullen + More

Nuclear Blast Suffocation  have had a strange, yet incredibly productive year in 2012. Despite the messy breakup with drummer Mike Smith and the news that vocalist Frank Mullen would no longer be touring extensively with the band, Suffocation have finished recording ‘Pinnacle of Bedlam,’ their first full-length album since 2009′s ‘Blood Oath.’ We had the chance to sit down with Suffocation guitarist Guy Marchais and newly appointed drummer Dave Culross, who manned the kit for the band’s ‘Despise the Sun’ EP, in their swanky hotel before their Stamford, Conn., show on Dec. 8. The duo reassured fans that Mullen is still 100 percent committed to the band, described what fans should expect from ‘Pinnacle of Bedlam,’ clues on who Mullen’s part-time replacement vocalist could be and much more. Check out our in-depth conversation with Guy and Dave of Suffocation. Suffocation Talk to Loudwire

Paul McCartney + Nirvana Members Perform New Song ‘Cut Me Some Slack’ at 12-12-12 Concert

Ben Pruchnie, Getty Images / Twitter: Krist Novoselic Throughout the 12-12-12 Concert for Sandy Relief at New York City’s Madison Square Garden, a monumental bulk of talent occupied the grand stage. During the charitable event, which lasted for over five hours, legendary artists such as Bruce Springsteen, the Who and the Rolling Stones performed for a worldwide audience, but the true highlight of the night was the collaboration between Beatles legend  Paul McCartney  and  Nirvana members Dave Grohl , Krist Novoselic and Pat Smear (touring member) on the new song ’Cut Me Some Slack.’ Earlier in the day, there were rumors that McCartney would be singing the late Kurt Cobain’s parts for some Nirvana covers, but the collective instead performed an original track that they had written during an impromptu jam session . Bassist Krist Novoselic tweeted earlier that the song was “kind of ‘Helter Skelter’ meets ‘Scentless Apprentice.’ It rocks with a heavy groove. St. Paul is powerful.” Novoselic also tweeted out the above photo of himself with Grohl and Smear. ‘Helter Skelter’ ended up being the first song Sir Paul played as he finally to, followed by ‘Let Me Roll It,’ ‘Nineteen Hundred and Eighty-Five’ and ‘Blackbird’ among others before the one-time Nirvana musicians joined the Beatles legend. Throughout the 12-12-12 show, the official Foo Fighters Twitter page had been posting pictures of single letters in succession, eventually spelling out, “Cut Me Some Slack.” Rocking an electric ukelele and a glass guitar slide, McCartney showcased his trademark howl in the new track ‘Cut Me Some Slack,’ which mixed a heavy Nirvana sound with a ‘Helter Skelter’ attitude. The band was so incredibly tight, you would have sworn that the group were playing together for years. Grohl, in particular, was a beast on the drums. (Watch a clip of the performance below.) The song was genuinely mind-blowing, and the good news is that it will be the first cut on the soundtrack to Dave Grohl’s ‘Sound City’ documentary, according to a Foo Fighters tweet after the performance. Before McCartney’s performance with the members of Nirvana, the audience was gifted with the voice of Pearl Jam ‘s Eddie Vedder earlier in the night. The singer took a spot next to Pink Floyd legend Roger Waters to sing the rock anthem ‘Comfortably Numb.’ Vedder’s voice fit perfectly within the Pink Floyd standard, offering a diverse cadence to the track while switching back and forth with Waters. For more on the 12-12-12 Concert, click here . To donate to the relief efforts, click here . Watch a 30-Second Clip of McCartney + Nirvana Members Performing [button href=”http://loudwire.com/20-things-you-didnt-know-about-nirvana-nevermind/” title=”Next: 20 Things You Didn’t Know About Nirvana’s ‘Nevermind'” align=”center”]

Marilyn Manson Announces 2013 North American Winter Tour

If you missed Marilyn Manson and his band during their 2012 tour, you’ve got another shot to see them in 2013. Manson & Co. have just announced dates for a North American Winter 2013 trek. The tour kicks off Jan. 18 in Milwaukee and wraps up Feb. 23 in Las Vegas. Joining Marilyn Manson on the trek as special guests will be the Los Angeles band Butcher Babies. Marilyn Manson was recently nominated for a Grammy Award for Best Hard Rock/Metal Performance for his track ‘No Reflection’ off his latest album, ‘Born Villain.’ He’s also competing for Rock Song of the Year, Rock Album of the Year and Rock Video of the Year in our very own 2012 Loudwire Music Awards. Voting is open here . See the dates for Marilyn Manson’s 2013 tour below. Visit Marilyn Manson’s  website  for ticket info. Marilyn Manson 2013 North American Tour Dates: 1/18 – Milwaukee, WI – Eagles Ballroom 1/19 – Cincinnati, OH – Bogart’s 1/20 – Columbus, OH – The LC Pavilion 1/22 – Detroit, MI – The Fillmore 1/23 – Cleveland, OH – House of Blues 1/25 – Wallingford, CT – The Dome 1/26 – Boston, MA – House of Blues 1/28 – Montreal, QC – Metropolis 1/29 – Oshawa, ON – General Motors Centre 1/30 – Hamilton, ON – Hamilton Place Theatre 2/1 – Sudbury, ON – Sudbury Arena 2/4 – Winnipeg, MB – MTS Centre 2/5 – Moose Jaw, SK – Mosiac Place 2/6 – Saskatoon, SK – TCU Place 2/8 – Calgary, AB –  Stampede Corral 2/9 – Edmonton, AB – Shaw Conference Centre 2/11 – Vancouver, BC – Queen Elizabeth Theatre 2/12 – Seattle, WA – Showbox SoDo 2/13 – Portland, OR – Roseland Theatre 2/15 – Modesto, CA – Modesto Centre Plaza Feb 17 – Reno, NV – Grand Sierra Resort 2/19 – San Francisco, CA – Warfield Theatre 2/20 – Anaheim, CA – The Grove of Anaheim 2/21 – Los Angeles, CA – Club Nokia 2/23 –  Las Vegas, NV – House of Blues [button href=”http://loudwire.com/marilyn-manson-born-villain-is-my-comeback/” title=”Next: Read Loudwire’s Exclusive Interview With Marilyn Manson” align=”center”]