Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com Avenged Sevenfold are huge video game fans, so it was a no-brainer for the band when they were approached to do something special for the newly-released ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops II’ game. Not only did they contribute the song ‘ Carry On ‘ to the soundtrack, the band — in their animated form — turn up at the end to perform the track with ‘Black Ops” two main characters. Singer M. Shadows told USA Today , “They said they wanted the song to be uplifting and they wanted it to add some levity to the game.” He adds, “[The game has] a very dark ending. They want you to have a certain feeling inside and they really wanted to have a feeling to uplift people at the end of the game and make you laugh.” The levity comes from the fact that the game’s longtime adversaries, Raul Menendez and Sgt. Frank Woods, manage to put aside their differences to join the band during the performance. Shadows explains, “‘Carry On’ was more like these guys coming together at the end and being buddies after they have pretty much killed each others’ families. I’m proud of it and I think it’s fun and it’s actually just really cool to be in a ‘Call of Duty’ game.” Of ‘Carry On,’ the vocalist says, “It was all about making a song that was up-tempo, something that had some cool little chord changes and key changes in there that gives the song a little bit of a life and we made it so the characters can rock out.” Shadows, an avid gamer, admits that having ‘Call of Duty: Black Ops II’ out is a bit of a distraction, but he’s fully committed to wrapping up the band’s next studio album . He explains, “I write about eight hours a day, five days a week and then play games the rest of the night and hang out with my son. Fans don’t need to be worried that I am just playing ‘Call of Duty’ [all the time].” [button href=”http://loudwire.com/avenged-sevenfold-m-shadows-squashes-rumor-the-rev-cameo-call-of-duty-black-ops-2/” title=”Next: M. Shadows Discusses The Rev ‘Call of Duty’ Cameo Rumor” align=”center”]
Virginia Tech Metallica are one of the most stringent bands when it comes to usage of their trademark, which makes the new Virginia Tech ‘Enter Sandman’ shirts something truly special. The group gave the school permission to print the shirts with the idea that the money raised would go to the Morgan Harrington Scholarship Fund. Harrington was a Virginia Tech student who went missing after attending a Metallica concert at John Paul Jones Arena in October 2009. After several months of searching, her body was found on an Albemarle County farm in January 2010. Her killer still remains at large. The group initially put up a significant reward when Harrington went missing and even though her body was discovered, the band have continued their involvement in the search for her killer. Earlier this year, singer James Hetfield filmed a new PSA describing the murder and showing a sketch of the suspect in question while seeking any new information. NBC’s WVIR-TV reports that so far, sales of the shirt have raised $17,000 and Virginia Tech officials say they hope to make the shirt available to the public at the beginning of every football season. The shirts are currently available for order in both long-sleeve and short-sleeve via the Virginia Tech bookstore. To learn more about the Morgan Harrington Scholarship Fund, click here . [button href=”http://loudwire.com/best-metallica-songs/” title=”Next: 10 Best Metallica Songs” align=”center”]
Reprise Mastodon are coming off one of their more well-received albums with ‘The Hunter’ and they’re in the mood to keep things rolling. Singer-guitarist Brent Hinds reveals that writing is currently underway on their follow-up and there’s potential that they’ll begin recording just after the start of 2013. Hinds tells MTV Hive , “We’ve never put out an album a year. That would be unlike us, so maybe we could tour for another year on ‘The Hunter.’ It’s very possible.” Mastodon is wrapping up a South American tour with the possibility that Hinds will follow with some West End Motel shows in support of their ‘Only Time Can Tell’ disc. Once that is done, Hinds says there’s a chance that a January Mastodon recording session could follow. As for the Mastodon stuff he’s been working on of late, he explains, “A lot of the stuff I’m writing is in open G-minor. I’m playing a lot of slide guitar and just getting really Jimmy Page -y on the place and getting really eerie and Radiohead ish and very spooky sounding.” Hinds says he has three songs worth of material, but he adds, “It could be one gigantic one. I haven’t made up my mind yet.” Regardless of how far along he is, he’s confident that the rest of his bandmates are also working toward the common goal of a new record. He concludes, “Those dudes are always working. There’s never really a shortage of music with Mastodon because all of us are working on something musically. I’m in good company. Just because they might [see me] stand in the middle of the stage or something, people might think this is the leader. He must conduct everything, but we’re all the leaders. We spread the weight around.” [button href=”http://loudwire.com/best-mastodon-songs/” title=”Next: Top 10 Mastodon Songs” align=”center”]
Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com In early November, the Wyandotte Marching Chiefs got the call that most marching bands would kill for — they were invited to back up Kid Rock during the halftime performance of the Detroit Lions annual Thanksgiving Day game. But then the financial reality of the situation began to set in, with the school scurrying to land a fleet of buses to transport those taking part and incurring a $2,400 bill in the process. After reading an article that included the school’s transportation bill for the event, Kid Rock decided to take action. According to the Wyandotte Patch , the musician sent a letter to the school thanking them for their participation in the show and included a $2,500 check to offset the expenses. The letter stated: I read the article in the Wyandotte Patch on the extra expenses you incurred getting back and forth to Ford Field to practice for the Thanksgiving Day half time show. I hope this covers your expenses. Thank you … you guys did a fantastic job!!!! Roosevelt High School’s music director, Mark D’Angelo, told the paper he was surprised by Rock’s response. “In the weeks prior to our performance, I was sharing with the students some of the amazing things that I had learned about how Kid Rock … gives back to his community and to Detroit,” said D’Angelo. “The students and I never thought that we would be included in that list until we received this letter today.” He added, “As I read the letter to each of my classes, there was a lot of excitement and amazement that once again, Kid Rock was thinking about us. I hope we get an opportunity someday to have a longer conversation and we can show him just how much all of this has meant to every member of our band community. Kid Rock, you’ve got a lot of new fans in Wyandotte, Michigan!” In addition to Kid Rock’s check, the band received an additional $720 in donations from community members. The extra money will offset band-related expenses in the future. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/kid-rock-2013-rebel-soul-u-s-tour-dates-openers-buckcherry-hellbound-glory/” title=”Next: Kid Rock Announces 2013 Tour” align=”center”]
Metallica.com – Metallica have taken control of their own recording career by regaining the rights to their masters and launching their own record label. [ Loudwire ] – Hollywood Undead have announced the track listing and unveiled the album artwork for their ‘Notes From the Underground’ album. [ Loudwire ] – Soundgarden ‘s Kim Thayil reveals he once attempted a supergroup with Nirvana ‘s Krist Novoselic . [ Loudwire ] – Machine Head ‘s Phil Demmel discusses the band’s writing schedule for their next release. [ Loudwire ] – Duff McKagan challenges a Bon Jovi lyric, asking the musical question if they really “rocked” them all. [ Loudwire ] – Lars Ulrich is one of the more demonstrative drummers going. Check out some of the best live photos of the Metallica skinbeater. [ Ultimate Metallica ] – Muse have canceled three of their European dates after singer Matt Bellamy broke two bones in his foot. [ Diffuser.fm ] – Tomahawk have unveiled their ‘Stone Letter’ video and announced their first batch of 2013 tour dates. [ Rock Music Report ] – Congrats to Roger Waters ! The former Pink Floyd member, bolstered by ‘The Wall’ tour, is 2012′s highest paid musician. [ Ultimate Classic Rock ] – It’s Billy Idol ‘s 57th birthday today. Celebrate with a whiplash smile while rocking out to the Top 10 Billy Idol Songs. [ Ultimate Classic Rock ]
Roadrunner Swedish progressive metal masters Opeth have the technical abilities to play almost any metal song ever written. During a tour stop in Germany, the band recently performed two legendary tracks, one of which is perhaps the world’s easiest metal song to play, mostly because it’s only two-seconds long. Opeth frontman Mikael Akerfeldt began to introduce the cover that group had planned on playing, ‘Solitude’ by Black Sabbath , but started to speak about how they had also covered Napalm Death ‘s ‘You Suffer’ in the past. After some cheers from the audience, Opeth performed ‘You Suffer’ in its two-second entirety for the exhilarated audience. Akerfeldt then went on to introduce ‘Solitude,’ a song that Opeth had played in the past. “Opeth, back in the day, in the early ’90s, we used to play this song. Back then I was really into making good-sounding rehearsal tapes, basically not proper studio demos, but you just have a tape recorder in the rehearsal room and record your band practice. And they had to be perfect, there couldn’t be any noise prior to the song or after the song, it had to be like a proper recording. I was very anal about that kind of thing.” He continues, “This song, we recorded and the drummer at the time had a cymbal on the drumstick, and it sounded perfect but in the end, he dropped the cymbal, [makes crashing noise] so I had to do it again. So don’t drop the f—ing cymbal.” Both Sabbath and Opeth fans are sure to appreciate this cover, as it’s masterfully pulled off by Akerfeldt and the boys. Opeth Perform Napalm Death’s ‘You Suffer’ and Black Sabbath’s ‘Solitude’ Live
Gareth Cattermole, Getty Images Machine Head fans worldwide we certainly happy to hear that frontman Robb Flynn made it through his emergency hernia surgery with just a bad-ass scar, allowing Flynn to get back on the road for their current tour with Dethklok, All That Remains and The Black Dahlia Murder. Adding to the list of good news, Machine Head are planning to start writing their next album once the tour comes to an end. Guitarist Phil Demmel was recently interviewed by thenervousbreakdown.com , where he shared some details about the follow-up to Machine Head’s 2011 album, ‘Unto the Locust.’ “After this tour, we want to get in and start writing,” begins Demmel. “We’ve got a couple of things for next year, but for the most part we want to get in and hopefully start recording before the end of the year next year. Have we thought about directions or any of that? It hasn’t really been agreed upon yet. I think we’re just going to write like we have been.” He adds, “Our formula has been to just come up with something and see what happens. Nothing contrived, you know? That’s how [current hit] ‘Darkness Within’ happened, and that’s how a lot of the stuff on the last album happened, so we’ll just see how we progress. Robb took classical lessons before the last record, so I think it’s just going to be an amalgamation of everything we’ve learned so far. We keep evolving, and it’s not going to be ‘Blackening II’ and it’s not going to be ‘Unto the Locust II.’ I think it’s going to be our strongest record.” Demmel also shared his personal songwriting tricks. “I have a little recorder and I mouth riffs into it. Sitting around watching football and just noodling and recording little harmonies come up, and having them come together with these guys is an amazing process. When you write from the heart, it’s pure and it’s genuine and that’s how we’re going to do it. I won’t be in the band if that’s not going to be the case.” Check out the remaining dates for Machine Head’s current tour and click the button below to see the band on our 10 Best Metal Songs of 2012 list. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/best-metal-songs-of-2012/” title=”See the 10 Best Metal Songs of 2012″ align=”center”]