Self-Release/Independent 2014 Much tanks to Against PR for sending unsigned German thrashers Shredhammer my way. Formed in January of 2013, first under the name of Demolition Pulverizer before switching to their current (awesome) moniker with the arrival of lead vocalist Arnold Friedrich (Thrashtanica) in April of the same year, this Cologne-based five-piece draws their sound from the past all while giving it a nifty little modern twist. With fantastic nineties-style thrash leads from Jim Shred and Bob Hammer (Paragon Belial), heavy bass riffs from The Hellman (Ars Goetia, Drang, ex-Betrayer, ex-Deep Rise, ex-Vrieskou) and the insane drumming of Marlon Drescher (Malus, ex-Odium Immortalis, ex-Poisoned Gift, ex-Somnium Mortuum, ex-Mørkriket) the band cranks out old-school metal (Sacred Reich, Possessed, Exodus, Kreator, old Sepultura, mid-period C.O.C., Metallica and Slayer) with just enough groove (Pantera) to get your juices flowing! If there’s any downside to be found from this 4-track demo it’s the short-length. But seeing as this just the first stab from this German bunch that’s a minor gripe. Shredhammer are well worth your attention especially if old-school thrash/groove is the kind of thing that rings your bell!? https://www.facebook.com/Shredhammer
Dirt Track Records 2014 Included free with the March 2014 issue of Metal Hammer, “Movement” (which may have initially been released back in 2013) looks to be the latest from Exeter-based “alternative metal” band Idiom. I say “looks” because there are no other references to other recordings on the group’s Facebook page. Online, and indeed on iTunes, the album “We Can’t All Be Superheroes” (from November of 2010) is shown, but beyond that it’s anybody’s guess as to what else this band has done since first forming back in 2005. As for the second phrase in quotation there (“alternative metal”) that’s their description and not mine. For this lot (and this is none too surprising given Metal Hammer’s containing obsession with the better left dead genre!) is prime-time nu metal with just the faint hint of metalcore. Said to be influenced by the likes of Faith No More, Korn and Deftones the band comes across as more of the later and not more of the former. Descriptions have been made to the likes of Rage Against The Machine and System Of A Down and both tags are more then a bit fair. Admittedly this English metal band has a solid front-man in Matt Sharland and his companions (guitarist Kris Gibbs, bassist Grant Knight and drummer Dan Harrison) are none-too-shabby. The problem is music like this has been played to death and really it should remain DEAD and BURIED! There is nothing worse they hearing bands like this that have the HEAVY part down, but then are extremely limited because they refuse to allow their guitarist to let loose. That’s always been a issue for me when it comes to both nu metal and metalcore (the lack of solos) as you end up with (essentially) nothing more then a HEAVY rhythm guitarist! That said the band does have potential. You can sense that. But why restrain yourself? Why settle for being a second rate nu metal/metalcore band when you could easily take your influences (which would also seem to be the likes of Papa Roach, Korn, Ill Niño, P.O.D., DevilDriver and even Pantera) and with a few twists and turns of the dial turn them upside down and inside out creating something truly wicked and fresh? If that were to happen, and this band suddenly developed the urge to thrash their heads straight off(!), then I would ENTHUSIASTICALLY endorse this English act. For now though I just feel like shrugging my shoulders and saying “Eh”….
Gojira drummer Mario Duplantier might be located all the way in the back of the stage when his band is performing, but for me, he is the star of the show. When seeing Gojira on their recent tour, I couldn't take my eyes off of him. He. does. not. fuck. up. He is constantly headbanging, … The post GOJIRA's Mario Duplantier Likes To Draw On His Drumheads appeared first on Metal Injection .
Green Day are starting to get back on track after their fall of 2012 and early 2013 were derailed by frontman Billie Joe Armstrong ‘s stint in rehab. Armstrong’s troubles came to a head as their heavy promotional schedule took them to Las Vegas for a show last fall in which the frontman went on a guitar-smashing rant onstage. With the band preparing their return to touring , bassist Mike Dirnt addressed the past issues and their current state with Rolling Stone .
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”]
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”]