Liz Ramanand, Loudwire What better way to spend Valentine’s Day that with some thrash metal? Testament and Overkill rocked New York City’s Best Buy Theater on Thursday Feb. 14 along with support from Flotsam and Jetsam and 4arm for the ‘Dark Roots of Earth’ Tour. Testament got a warm welcome from their very energetic fans who crowd surfed nonstop and belted out songs with frontman Chuck Billy. They began their set with the new track ‘Rise Up’ from their latest record ‘Dark Roots of Earth,’ and also worked in a wealth of other songs from the disc such as ‘Native Blood,’ ‘True American Hate’ and the title track ‘Dark Roots of Earth.’ Guitarist Alex Skolnick shredded like none other as the crowd rocked out throughout the evening to such favorites as ‘Over the Wall,’ ‘Into the Pit’ and ‘New Order.’ Overkill gave an incredible performance ahead of Testament. Vocalist Bobby Blitz’s force onstage was completely infectious as the band kicked off their set with ‘Come and Get It’ and ‘Rotten to the Core.’ To see Blitz charge the microphone during songs from the side of the stage throughout their set just reinforced the power of their music. They East Coast natives ended their powerful performance with ‘Elimination’ and their rendition of the Subhumans favorite ‘F— You.’ Arizona rock vets Flotsam and Jetsam and Aussie metallers 4arm began the night with passionate performances as well. If you want to catch Testament and Overkill on tour with Flotsam and Jetsam and 4arm as part of the ‘Dark Roots of Earth’ tour, click here . Check Out Photos of Testament, Overkill, Flotsam and Jetsam + 4arm in NYC Testament: Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Overkill: Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Flotsam and Jetsam: Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire 4arm: Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire
Facebook: August Burns Red August Burns Red have enjoyed their break from the road, but now have enough material to begin recording their next studio album. The group confirmed their return to the studio via a series of Facebook posts this past week, with drummer Matt Greiner getting his tracking out of the way first. One of the first studio photos can be seen above. Even before a note was recorded, Greiner had been pounding away. In a photo posting , it was revealed that the drummer physically wore down his drumsticks during the writing process. Guitarist JB Brubacker told Alternative Press , “2012 turned out to be quite intense for us from a touring standpoint. We did more traveling than we had ever previously done in our career and after three straight months on the road to end the year, I think we were all ready to come home and shift into writing/recording mode. Now that the writing is complete, we are all itching to get started with the actual tracking.” Speaking about the sound, the guitarist added, “This new record will push the boundaries of our genre more than we ever have before. We set out to write a record where every song stands out from the last. There is a lot of ground covered here and a ton of meat to this album. It’s full of odd metered rhythms and breakdowns, unexpected twists and turns and some of our most technical riffing to date. Each of us have parts that make our heads spin and we have had to practice like crazy to get some of this stuff together.” Brubaker says that the album, which he calls their “most ambitious album yet,” is expected later this year via Solid State Records. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/august-burns-red-video-empire/” title=”Next: Watch August Burns Red’s ‘Empire’ Video” align=”center”]
Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com (2) / Karl Walter, Getty Images The ever-evolving music industry endured another shift recently when Vivendi SA’s Universal Music Group agreed to sell Sanctuary Records, the onetime label of metal giants Black Sabbath , Iron Maiden and Megadeth , to BMG Rights Management. The Los Angeles Times reports that the deal was part of divestitures required by European Commission regulators. Sanctuary Records was among the assets requested by European regulators and sources report the label was sold for $62 million. In addition to Black Sabbath, Iron Maiden and Megadeth, Sanctuary released albums from Motorhead , The Kinks and more. Sanctuary is the second label sold off by Universal Music this month, with Parlophone recently being sold to Warner Music Group. Parlophone had the rights to past releases from Coldplay , Pet Shop Boys and Tina Turner. Universal has yet to sell off two additional assets — Co-op, a British independent marketing and sales company and EMI’s European stake in the ‘NOW!’ musical venture. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/best-megadeth-songs/” title=”Next: 10 Best Megadeth Songs” align=”center”]
Ethan Miller, Getty Images While Guns N’ Roses are off the road, guitarist Richard Fortus will help other aspiring musicians learn his chosen trade. The axeman has agreed to host a master class this coming week at the University of Central Oklahoma that will give him a chance to share his skill. Fortus is the latest musician to visit the campus’ ACM@UCO Performance Lab, following in the footsteps of Rock and Roll Hall of Famers Roger Daltrey and Jackson Browne , Black Country Communion ‘s Joe Bonamassa, Flaming Lips instrumentalist Steven Drodz and singer-songwriter Ben Folds among others. The guitarist joined Guns N’ Roses in 2001 and can be heard on the ‘Chinese Democracy’ album. He’s also performed or recorded with Thin Lizzy , the Psychedelic Furs, Fiona Apple and Jesse Malin among others. His master class will take place this Thursday (Feb. 21) at the Academy of Contemporary Music lab at the University of Central Oklahoma in Oklahoma City’s Bricktown district (329 E. Sheridan) at 7PM local time. For more information, visit the UCO website here . Fortus will take his place onstage with Guns N’ Roses this spring when the band headlines the Governors Ball and Rocklahoma festivals. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/guns-n-roses-offer-first-look-at-3d-concert-film-announce-tour-dates-in-australia/” title=”Next: Guns N’ Roses Offer Peek at 3D Concert Film” align=”center”]
Kathy Flynn, WickedGoddessPhotography.com / Gilbert Carrasquillo, Getty Images The rift between longtime Pantera bandmates Phil Anselmo and Vinnie Paul has been well documented, but that hasn’t kept Anselmo from offering olive branches to open communication in the media over the years. The former Pantera frontman once again opened up about his onetime band and their disintegrated relationships in Revolver magazine’s latest issue, which recently hit newsstands. “I feel bad for Vince,” explained Anselmo in the interview (excerpted by Blabbermouth ). “People should pity the guy. I wasn’t there when Dimebag [Darrell] was murdered, but he sure as f— was. That’s his flesh and blood, murdered right in front of him. It’s a shame that Vince never reached out to [bassist] Rex [Brown] and I. I think the healing process would have been beneficial to him, instead of his knee-jerk reaction to fear and his therapy through tit bars and whiskey.” The vocalist added that while he will admit his role through a fair share of mistakes that led to the downfall of Pantera, he wasn’t alone. “One guy can’t break up a band,” says Anselmo. “You have to understand, it goes all four ways when a band breaks up. Yes, I made mistakes. Yes, there was a lack of communication on both sides and some of it is my fault — a lot of it is my fault.” Anselmo also insists that he would have repaired his relationship with Dimebag had the guitar legend not been slain. “We would have made amends. I would like to think he would be proud of me for pulling myself out of the muck, the abyss,” says the frontman. “I just choose to remember the positive things. He was almost like the perfect counterpoint to me. We may have clashed to a certain extent, but we would always find a happy medium. It was a vital relationship that I miss greatiy.” [button href=”http://loudwire.com/vinnie-paul-on-pantera-reunion-it-aint-gonna-happen/” title=”Next: Vinnie Paul Says Pantera Reunion ‘Ain’t Gonna Happen'” align=”center”]
Nuclear Blast Records Meshuggah were back at full strength Friday night (Feb. 15) in New York, even if frontman Jens Kidman was still a bit under the weather. The vocalist has been suffering from the flu and recently had to miss a couple of the band’s shows , but he triumphantly returned for the New York performance. Though Meshuggah’s voice was conspicuously absent over the past week, the band was not. The group got through their scheduled performances placing a cardboard cutout of Kidman on the stage and requesting that the audience members provide the singing for the evening while the band delivered their usual pummeling passion during the sets. Following his return to the stage Friday night, Kidman took to Facebook and posted the following message: New York! Thanks to all of you for the amazing support tonight. It has truly been some rough days for me, but I refuse to let you guys down. You rule and you never disappoint!! Hats off, /Jens Meshuggah’s Marten Hagstrom admitted that playing without Kidman was a unique experience. Speaking to the Village Voice , he explained, “The way it sounds is not that different … but it’s more the way you feel walking up onstage, not seeing the entire band, because we’ve never done this before. You’re used to being that five-piece unit, walking up and doing this together. But there’s no use in complaining about it. The only thing we can do is try to make the most out of it. We’ve travelled over here now. A lot of places we play on this tour we haven’t really played for a long time, so canceling is not an option.” It’s expected that Kidman will be able to continue with the band after returning to the stage Friday. The group’s remaining dates on the trek can be seen here . [button href=”http://loudwire.com/decibel-magazine-tour-2013-must-see-metal-concerts/” title=”Next: Check Out Other 2013 Must-See Metal Concerts” align=”center”]
Nuclear Blast Records Testament took the stage at Huntington, New York’s Paramount Theatre Friday night (Feb. 15) with the primary goal of filming and recording the experience for an upcoming DVD and live album. In all, the band clocked in a 90-minute-plus performance and a set list from the show has now surfaced. As expected, there was a mix of older favorites and songs from the band’s latest album. The show began with ‘Rise Up,’ which serves as the lead off track from their most recent disc, ‘Dark Roots of Earth.’ ‘Native Blood,’ ‘True American Hate,’ and the ‘Dark Roots of Earth’ title track also made the night’s set list during the body of the show. The performance also featured a pair of encores, with the band rocking out ‘The Formation of Damnation’ during their first return and ‘Over the Wall’ and ‘Disciples of the Watch’ to close out the night. The still untitled live disc would be the band’s first concert release since 2009′s ‘Live at Eindhoven ’87.’ They also released their ‘Live in London’ DVD back in 2005 and ‘Seen Between the Lines’ on VHS in 1991. Though the entire show was recorded and the set list is offered below, things such as which songs make the cut and running order have not been decided. Singer Chuck Billy recently stated prior to the Huntington show, “We haven’t shot a live DVD or CD since our ‘Live in London’ release and we’ve had two killer albums since then. We thought it would be cool to put out a live DVD/CD focusing on the last three records (‘The Gathering,’ ‘The Formation of Damnation’ and ‘Dark Roots of Earth’) mixed in with a good amount of classics too. Last time we recorded anything live in America was for Live at the Fillmore on the West Coast. This time we thought we’d give the East Coast a chance to show the world how crazy and loud they can be. We’re going to be playing an extra-long 17 – 18 song set, which will be our lengthiest set of the tour. Let’s see all you thrashers stirring it up out there and singing along! See ya!” The band is currently on tour with Overkill , Flotsam and Jestam and 4ARM. The remaining dates of the trek can be seen here . Testament — Huntington, N.Y., Feb. 15, 2013 Set List: ‘Rise Up’ ‘More Than Meets the Eye’ ‘Burnt Offerings’ ‘Native Blood’ ‘True American Hate’ ‘Dark Roots of Earth’ ‘Into the Pit’ ‘Practice What You Preach’ ‘Riding the Snake’ ‘Eyes of Wrath’ ‘Trial By Fire’ ‘The Haunting’ ‘The New Order’ ‘D.N.R. (Do Not Resuscitate)’ ’3 Days in Darkness’ Encore 1: ‘The Formation of Damnation’ Encore 2: ‘Over the Wall’ ‘Disciples of the Watch’ [button href=”http://loudwire.com/testament-chuck-billy-touring-creating-music/” title=”Next: Chuck Billy Shares His Thoughts on Touring + Creating Music” align=”center”]