Heavy Metal News
Iron Maiden drummer Nicko McBrain is traveling way back in time to reunite with his former bandmates from the Pat Travers Band. The legendary Maiden drummer is set to play “four or five songs” with the hard rock / blues veterans, and it’s all for charity. Continue Reading
This week has been a chaotic one for Stone Temple Pilots . Founding member and vocalist Scott Weiland was officially fired from the group, much to his surprise, leaving the DeLeo brothers and drummer Eric Kretz without a singer. However, in a new interview with TMZ, Weiland is insisting that he is still a member of Stone Temple Pilots, and that his firing was a publicity stunt to bring attention to the act. Continue Reading
Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Mark Tremonti is currently winding down the latest North American tour leg for his self-titled band, and Alter Bridge are about to become his primary focus. The guitarist tells Billboard that after meeting briefly earlier this year, the band is ready to resume work on a new disc and has the beginnings of the effort in place. He explained, “[We have] about five songs outlined [for the new album] … All of them are kind of real high-energy, just real fun rock/metal. We want to not be predictable. We want to make it a little surprising and we’re having fun with it.” At present, Alter Bridge are planning to regroup in late April and hope to begin recording their new album in earnest this summer, with a tour tentatively slated for September. As for the Tremonti band and their plans, the guitarist admits that he might line up some shows during breaks in Alter Bridge’s schedule, just as frontman Myles Kennedy is planning to do with Slash . “It’s always good when you’re recording a record to go take a break and come back,” says the guitarist. “That way you can make sure it’s still exciting and fresh to you.” The rocker says he’s also thinking about a second album from Tremonti, but admits that it will take a back seat to his other bands for the immediate future. “We’re going to just keep pushing the limits of what we can do,” says Tremonti. “We’ll try to be as heavy and progressive as we can without losing the vocal melodies and the reasons why most people listen to music. I don’t want to be just self-indulgent, but we want to have a lot of fun with it, too.” And as for his other band, Creed , Tremonti simply states, “It’s Alter Bridge’s year.” [button href=”http://loudwire.com/tremonti-wish-you-well-video/” title=”Next: Watch Tremonti’s ‘Wish You Well’ Video” align=”center”]
Da Capo Press Those looking to get more insight into one of metal’s most popular bands — Pantera — should have plenty of opportunities over the next couple of years. Frontman Phil Anselmo is currently working on his memoir , but first fans will be able to look behind the curtain with bassist Rex Brown ‘s autobiography, ‘Official Truth, 101 Proof: The Inside Story of Pantera,’ which arrives next month. The bassist penned the 320-page book primarily about his time with Pantera from his own honest perspective as he viewed it. The page-turner arrives in stores March 12 through Da Capo Press , and a book trailer has surfaced online. In it, Brown states, “Barely a day passes that I don’t think about Pantera. I dream about Pantera, I have nightmares about Pantera and it’s always there and I imagine it always will be. It’s inevitable.” He goes on to add that he frequently thinks of the band’s common bond and how it came to an end all too soon. He states, “As one we lived and breathed every second of the wild ride that changed our lives in so many ways and came to a sickening, pre-mature end one night in Columbus in 2004,” referring to the tragic slaying of Dimebag Darrell onstage in December of that year. In addition to Pantera, Brown played bass with his Pantera bandmates Vinnie Paul and Dimebag Darrell with country outlaw David Allan Coe in the one-off project Rebel Meets Rebel. He followed that with a lengthy stint in Down , fronted by Pantera’s Phil Anselmo, before eventually parting ways with the band and becoming a member of Kill Devil Hill in 2010. Watch Rex Brown’s ‘Official Truth, 101 Proof’ Book Trailer [button href=”http://loudwire.com/down-perform-with-former-bassist-rex-brown-in-dallas/” title=”Next: Down Play With Former Bassist Rex Brown in Dallas” align=”center”]
Metal Blade As I Lay Dying ‘s ‘No Lungs to Breathe’ single speaks to surviving amidst isolated and adverse conditions, so it makes sense that the lyric video for the song is shot against the backdrop of the stars in outer space, with a mythical winged creature holding the key to it all. Guitarist Nick Hipa created the video, which just debuted via the band’s website. In addition, Hipa’s got some wicked guitar licks rocking the song to the core. The hard-hitting and speedy rocker talks about overcoming the odds, with frontman Tim Lambesis screaming, “ With no lungs to breathe / I had almost lost everything ” in the song’s chorus. ‘No Lungs to Breathe’ arrives just as the band are heading out on the road in support of their ‘ Awakened ‘ album. The group is co-headlining the tour with The Devil Wears Prada , with support from For Today , the Color Morale and the Chariot on select dates. To see the remaining stops, click here . The new single follows ‘ A Greater Foundation ,’ which impacted last fall. The momentum from the single and their ‘Awakened’ album led to fans voting As I Lay Dying the 2012 Metal Band of the Year in the 2012 Loudwire Music Awards. Watch As I Lay Dying’s ‘No Lungs to Breathe’ Lyric Video [button href=”http://loudwire.com/as-i-lay-dying-tim-lambesis-touring-humanitarianism-side-project-more/” title=”Next: As I Lay Dying’s Tim Lambesis Discusses Touring + Humanitarianism” align=”center”]
Kevin Winter, Getty Images Stone Temple Pilots announced that they officially fired singer Scott Weiland yesterday (Feb. 27), which met with a follow-up statement from the frontman in which he revealed that he was surprised by the announcement. “Surprised” is definitely the key word, as Weiland spoke with Rolling Stone earlier this week about the rumors and his future with Stone Temple Pilots and he did not let on that there was trouble on the horizon. In the interview, which took place only a few days ago, Weiland stated, “STP has not broken up. I haven’t quit. I haven’t been fired. We’re talking about when we want to tour next. My personal feeling is that we just need some new blood in the band. It’ll give it new energy, so that we’re not just playing the same greatest hits set we’ve been playing ever since we got back together after I left Velvet Revolver . I’d like to make a new record so it breathes new life into it.” As for hearing that Slash had been the one to make public talk of his firing from STP, the vocalist added, “Slash doesn’t know anything about STP. Those guys wanted to get together to talk about touring, but I don’t think touring right now is the best thing. STP has a legacy, and to protect that is very, very important to me. But to go and do the kind of offers that we were getting would be diminishing the brand, and I don’t want to do that. There are offers right now. There are offers that I passed up on. There’s offers that those guys didn’t want as well. There were some hurt egos, but that’s the way it is. Things are like a family. No one’s ever fired anybody in STP.” Weiland called Stone Temple Pilots “a partnership” and added that it was not uncommon for he or the other members to go off and do their other projects. He concluded, “I’ve always supported them. But no one’s been fired and I haven’t quit, so that’s all hearsay.” Shortly after the interview was conducted, the news of Weiland’s firing became public and he stated that he was unsure of how he could be terminated from the group he founded and fronted and co-wrote some of their biggest hits. He added, “That’s something for the lawyers to figure out.” At present, Weiland is set to head out on tour playing music from STP’s ‘Purple’ and ‘Core’ albums. He adds that he and his solo band cohorts are “halfway finished” with a new disc. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/scott-weiland-working-on-new-material-planning-tour/” title=”Next: Scott Weiland Working on Solo Album” align=”center”]
Epitaph Bring Me the Horizon fans will get the band’s ‘Sempiternal’ album sooner than expected, as the UK group has pushed forward the release date while offering entire stream of the album a full month before it drops. The full effort can be heard below for a limited time. The band mentioned ‘ overwhelming and phenomenal demand ‘ as the official reason given for the disc’s new release date, but there are also reports that the album leaked to the Internet. The ‘ Sempiternal ‘ album will now arrive in stores on April 2, as opposed to the initial April 30 street date. In addition to ‘Shadow Moses,’ the album features such songs as the blistering ‘Empire (Let Them Sing),’ the moody and atmospherically intense ‘And the Snakes Start to Sing’ and the kiss-off track ‘Antivist,’ which the band recently “ dedicated ” to former guitarist Jona Weinhofen . If you like what you hear, you can pre-order copies of the ‘Sempiternal’ album at this location . Bring Me the Horizon will venture to the U.S. this summer to take part in the Vans Warped Tour . Listen to Bring Me the Horizon’s ‘Sempiternal’ Album (Each Track Leads to the Next One) Bring Me the Horizon, ‘Sempiternal’ Track Listing: 1. ‘Can You Feel My Heart’ 2. ‘The House of Wolves’ 3. ‘Empire (Let Them Sing)’ 4. ‘Sleepwalking’ 5. ‘Go to Hell, For Heaven’ 6. ‘Shadow Moses’ 7. ‘And the Snakes Start to Sing’ 8. ”Seen It All Before’ 9. ‘Antivist’ 10. ‘Crooked Young’ 11. ‘Hospital for Souls’ [button href=”http://loudwire.com/bring-me-the-horizon-video-shadow-moses/” title=”Next: Watch Bring Me the Horizon’s ‘Shadow Moses’ Video” align=”center”]