The End Records The latest album from the Finnish masked maniacs Lordi will be released March 19. ‘To Beast or Not To Beast’ was recorded at WireWorld Studio in Nashville, Tenn. with producer Michael Wagener ( Metallica , Ozzy Osbourne , Megadeth ). It’s the band’s first album since the death of drummer Tonmi “Otus” Lillman , who passed away earlier this year. “The road to this album has truly been paved by hardships,” says frontman Mr. Lordi. “However, the new line-up of the band has given us new and fresh touch and an energetic edge to the recording process, and to the album itself.” Lordi’s new members are Mana and Hella. Mana is the new drummer, and Hella replaces the band’s long-time keyboardist Awa who left the band last summer. Mr. Lordi explains the album artwork. “The album cover painting is actually a part of a larger picture. The original artwork had this vintage- styled lady holding a horned skull, which, however, was not the main point of the art piece. ?There was something not quite right with the setting, so I made experiments with various versions and framings. Album title was Upgradead at that point in time, and the painting was done with that title in mind.” “But now, with a changed concept of the artwork, the title did not seem to fit anymore,” he continues. “We did not consider it an A-class name either. Our guitarist Amen came up with the final title, which we felt suitable and perfect both for the cover artwork and the album.” Lordi – ‘To Beast or Not To Beast’ Track Listing: ‘We’re Not Bad For The Kids (We’re Worse)’ ‘I Luv Ugly’ ‘The Riff’ ‘Something Wicked This Way Come’ ‘I’m The Best’ ‘Horrifiction’ ‘Happy New Fear’ ‘Schizo Doll’ ‘Candy For The Cannibal’ ‘Sincerely With Love’ ‘SCG6: Otus’ Butcher Clinic’
Oblivion In December 2012, All Shall Perish founding member and guitarist Ben Orum left the group after a decade of service. The decision couldn’t have been an easy one for Orum, but the accomplished axe-man chose to leave in order to spend more time with his family. Luckily, Orum is far from finished when it comes to making music, having joined Californian metal act Oblivion . The band recently self-released their debut full-length, ‘Called to Rise,’ and you can hear the entire album right here on Loudwire. Last month we helped unleash Oblivion’s video for ‘Reclamation’ as an exclusive premiere , and now we’ve got the full album streaming for all you metalheads out there. Oblivion vocalist Nick Vasallo gave us an exclusive quote on what he and the other Oblivion musicians plan to accomplish with the project: As a band, OBLIVION doesn’t want to just fit into the typical death metal category. Sure, we come from primarily a death metal background and we fulfill all the stylistic criteria associated with it. But we want our music to have broad conceptions and extreme depth. I believe that musical eclecticism is the future of music and what is needed to prevent deadlock in our art. I get bored quite easily with a single style so on this album you’ll hear a lot of different types of extreme music: technical death metal, black metal, post-metal, progressive metal, doom, and even modern classical music. The trick is to balance all of these and unify them in a single voice. I urge any fan of extreme music to give this album a chance and listen to the whole thing. Uninterrupted and fully attentive…there’s a lot to pick out. Check out the music player below to hear Oblivion’s ‘Called to Rise’ in full. To purchase the digipak CD, which is limited to only 1000 physical copies, or a digital download of the album, click here .
Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com Megadeth frontman Dave Mustaine may be one of the most controversial musicians on the planet in terms of his personal beliefs and public statements, but even his most colossal naysayers will surely find themselves praising Mustaine for this most recent announcement. Mustaine has revealed that he will fund a soup kitchen in Haiti, which will feed up to 8,000 meals a day to those in need. Mustaine announced news of his soup kitchen and attached Christian ministry, ‘Outside the Bowl,’ late last night (Jan. 13) via Megadeth’s Facebook page. Mustaine writes: Droogies, I just wanted to take this time on a peaceful Sunday to stop and thank you for your tremendous support. I know not everyone here is a fan, but that’s ok too; this message will be waiting for you when you change your opinion of me/us. Until then, I want to sincerely thank those of you for something you have no idea that you’ve done, but that is really a righteous and unbelievable thing to do. You see, all faults aside, I really am trying to live my life differently today, and part of that was in finding something to believe in. One of the things that has happened since I started this transformation is getting involved with helping widows and orphans, and helping the homeless. Now, here’s what you’ve done… I was approached with an opportunity, and thanks to your unwavering support, my family and I have been able to fund a soup kitchen in Haiti with a ministry called, “Outside The Bowl,” and you will be proud to know that when it is started (which will be very soon), we will be feeding up to 8,000 meals a day to the less fortunate. I am so very grateful, and I love you all so very much (yes, even you haters), because even when I am being vilified and having my character assassinated, I can find comfort knowing up to 8,000 meals will be served each day, along with a healthy serving of love and some spiritual nourishment as well. Again, I cannot thank you enough. Love and bruises, Dave Mustaine Megadeth are currently in the studio recording their yet-untitled 14th full-length album. The band has been releasing short clips of their recording sessions via YouTube, which you can watch in the videos below. Megadeth at Vic’s Garage – Studio Update No. 2 Megadeth at Vic’s Garage – Studio Update No. 3 [button href=”http://loudwire.com/megadeth-dave-mustaine-rants-on-chemtrails-blasts-cnn/” title=”Dave Mustaine Rants on Chemtrails, Blasts CNN” align=”center”]
Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Buckcherry have a big year ahead of them with their upcoming album ‘Confessions,’ due out Feb. 19. The disc’s first single ‘Gluttony’ is quickly rising up the rock charts, while the band is currently in the midst of a headlining trek before hitting the road with Kid Rock for an arena tour across the States. Loudwire recently caught up with Buckcherry singer Josh Todd, and he talked about what the album’s catchy lead single ‘Gluttony’ means to him. “It’s just about trying to control your behavior,” he explains. “They always say that you have to do everything in moderation and that’s never been my experience. One is okay, two is better, three is fantastic and four is the best. I want to consume everything, I want to go big or go home. I’m either on 11 or I’m asleep.” Todd concludes, “That’s my problem, that’s my struggle, trying to moderate — that’s what ‘Gluttony’ is about. It’s like ‘I want it, I need it, I love it’ and everything that feels good to me, I want to overdo it. It’s just who I am and I don’t understand why I can’t do it.” The ‘Gluttony’ single is currently available via iTunes . Stay tuned for our full exclusive interview with Buckcherry frontman Josh Todd. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/kid-rock-2013-rebel-soul-u-s-tour-dates-openers-buckcherry-hellbound-glory/” title=”Next: Buckcherry Tour Dates with Kid Rock ” align=”center”] Check Out the Lyric Video for ‘Gluttony’ Below
Epitaph Bring Me the Horizon have parted ways with guitarist Jona Weinhofen. The guitarist is also a founding member of Australian metalcore band I Killed the Prom Queen, and although the media has just noticed the news, a year-old Tumblr post from Weinhofen points to the possibility that the musician had left Bring Me the Horizon a while ago. Today, (Jan. 14) many metal news outlets have announced Weinhofen’s departure from the group, citing an official comment from Bring Me the Horizon just released. The British band reportedly broke the news very recently with a short post. Offering absolutely no explanation as to why Weinhofen was no longer a member of the band, Bring Me the Horizon writes: Bring Me The Horizon are Oliver Sykes, Lee Malia, Matthew Kean, Matthew Nicholls and Jordan Fish. Jona Weinhofen is no longer in the band. According to a Tweet by new BMTH member Jordan Fish, he has not replaced Weinhofen on guitar, taking the position of the band’s keyboardist. The missing pieces of Jona Weinhofen’s departure of the band may possibly be filled by a year-old post on the guitarist’s Tumblr page: After a lot of time and thought ive decided to leave my current position as guitarist with Bring Me The Horizon. things in the band have been very tense with a lot of disagreements between myself and certain members who i wont name. im thankful for my time with BMTH and i have met many good friends and been able to travel the world more. Im planning on moving back to Australia to pursue other musical ventures. thanks Jona No new rhythm guitarist has been announced by Bring Me the Horizon, but stay tuned for a potential update on the band’s lineup. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/bring-me-the-horizon-new-single-shadow-moses/” title=”Bring Me the Horizon Premiere New Track ‘Shadow Moses'” align=”center”]
Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Tim Lambesis of As I Lay Dying was the guest on Full Metal Jackie’s radio show this past weekend. Lambesis spoke about the band’s upcoming co-headlining tour with The Devil Wears Prada, as well as plans for the release of his own side project and much more. Read Full Metal Jackie’s interview with Tim Lambesis below: ‘Awakened’ came out back in September and it’s pretty much a two year period between As I Lay Dying albums but you’ve already come up with an idea or two for what comes next. When does it hit you that you’re consciously starting to think about the next album? Usually we tour the main touring places and when we start to overlap and play the same city twice on one album then we realize “Okay we should problem do a new album before we go back out on tour.” So believe it or not it’s the touring cycle that determines when we need a new album. Tim, you’re pretty well known for your humanitarianism. Does it provide you with a source of lyrical inspiration? Yes, it’s definitely a part of my life for me, my kids are adopted and I’ve visited their country – they’re from Ethiopia and that was eye opening to what the world is really like, at least a third of the world. I think that just influences my entire world view even if I’m not necessarily writing a song about humanitarian work, I’m writing a song about what truly makes us happy in life and those types of think that have been influenced by my experiences. You’re going to be co-headlining with The Devil Wears Prada through the beginning of April and touring is a unique means of seeing the world. Where is the place you always make a point of visiting if you’re in the area on tour? For me, I always try to find good food. One of the hardest tours to do is actually arena tours because it’s in the middle of nowhere since many arenas are outside the cities. For a band like us we usually play in clubs or theaters right in the middle of downtown for the most part. We typically just walk around – and I eat like six meals a day so I got to find a few good meals. You definitely must have some sort of workout regime as well, I got to imagine. You’re pretty buff. Yeah that’s why I eat six meals a day, I got to keep my body fueled. It’s pretty tough – I’m a naturally very thin person so I have the opposite problem of most people, I try to put on weight. I think it was like a progression, when we first met you were really skinny and as the years have gone on you’ve definitely had this huge build. Is it something like one day you were just like, “I want to start working out more.” How did that come about? Yeah it’s funny because I saw a lot of my peers past their prime, so to speak, where they were starting to get older and starting to show and they weren’t quite putting on the same stage show. One day I was like “Well all of our peers seem to be trailing off and I want to be the band that keeps getting better with age” of course as the frontman that means I need to be in the best shape of my life. It kind of went a little overboard but I feel like I’m in the best shape of my life. Tim, last month you performed with Suicide Silence at a show that was a tribute to Mitch [Lucker], their singer who died unexpectedly in November. Like Mitch, you’re a singer and a father, what went through your head when you played that show? It was definitely an emotional show, everybody was pretty choked up. We showed a video clip of Mitch growing up and his family was there. It was really tough, I think for me seeing his parents was probably the most emotional event of the night. Beyond the tour with The Devil Wears Prada, what can we expect from the band this year? Well after that tour, we’re going to hit a few places internationally that we skipped over. This isn’t necessarily from the band but I have a little side project in the works that I want to release sometime next there is a slight break in the As I Lay Dying schedule – something more on the death metal, extreme end of the spectrum. We recorded a few songs and hopefully that will be out by the summer time. Full Metal Jackie will welcome Hatebreed frontman Jamey Jasta to her program this coming weekend. She can be heard on radio stations around the country — for a full list of stations, go to fullmetaljackieradio.com .
Photo by Dave Ma As excitement for Alice in Chains ‘ 2013 as-yet-untitled album continues to build, fans have been gifted with more good news from the band. Alice in Chains have just announced a month-long U.S. tour beginning in Miami Beach, Fla., on April 25. Alice in Chains haven’t ventured on a comprehensive tour for well over two years, having last performed a lengthy string of dates in 2010 to support their most recent album, ‘Black Gives Way to Blue.’ The legendary grunge rock band recently unveiled a music video for the new track ‘Hollow,’ which was put together by acclaimed director Roboshobo ( Metallica , Mastodon , Green Day ). Accompanying the hypnotic and tripped out song, the video for ‘Hollow’ adds a visual dimension to the song’s protagonist losing himself in an empty repetition of daily tasks until his last thread stitched into reality finally snaps away. Check out Alice in Chains’ upcoming tour dates below and stay tuned for more news on the band’s 2013 album as further information is revealed. Alice in Chains Spring 2013 U.S. Tour Dates: April 25 – Miami Beach, Fla. @ Fillmore April 30 – Birmingham, Ala. @ BJCC Concert Hall May 01 – Augusta, Ga. @ William B. Bell Auditorium May 05 – Norfolk, Va. @ Norva May 07 – Bethlehem, Pa. @ Sands Events Center May 08 – Pittsburgh, Pa. @ Benedum Center May 14 – Sioux Falls, S.D. @ KRROfest – Lyons Fairgrounds May 15 – Milwaukee, Wis. @ Eagles Ballroom May 18 – Philadelphia. Pa. @ WMMR – Susquehanna Bank Ctr May 21 – Ft. Wayne, Ind. @ Embassy Theatre May 22 – Evansville, Ind. @ Aiken Theatre May 24 – Lincoln, Neb. @ Pinewood Bowl Amphitheater [button href=”http://loudwire.com/alice-in-chains-hollow-video/” title=”Alice in Chains Release Music Video for ‘Hollow'” align=”center”]