Ethan Miller, Getty Images For a band like Rise Against , the creative process is always ongoing, but frontman Tim McIlrath says that it may actually be a little while before we hear from them again. The singer tells Rolling Stone that the group wants to “recharge” a bit before starting in on a new record. “We always have new ideas floating around, we always have new songs and new ideas,” says McIlrath. “[But] we’re kind of focusing on recharging our batteries right now. We’ve been a band for 12 years. We’ve been hitting it hard and looking at this band like a marathon, not a sprint. We realize we need to invest time in our music and our songs, as well as invest time into ourselves, our lives, so I think for the next few months, that’s what we’ll be doing.” McIlrath says getting away from the touring life for a while and getting back to normal surroundings will give them a better perspective when it comes time to write again. The vocalist also stated that while they are known for hard-hitting anthemic rock songs, he’s anxious to explore a softer side. That was partly inspired by their cover of Bob Dylan ‘s ‘The Ballad of Hollis Brown’ for the Amnesty International ‘Chimes of Freedom’ compilation. He explains, “It was something we hadn’t done before and I think we all walked away from the studio experience saying, ‘When we come back here, we need to tap into some of the things that we tapped into in this Bob Dylan cover. We took our foot off the gas a little bit, allowed the guitar tones to come out a little more, played things more deliberate instead of as fast as a speeding train, and we realized this could still be heavy.” For more from the interview with Tim McIlrath, visit RollingStone.com . [button href=”http://loudwire.com/rise-against-savior-top-21st-century-hard-rock-songs/” title=”Next: Rise Against – Top 21st Century Hard Rock Songs” align=”center”]
There’s nothing like a little Death Angel music when you’re trying to set a sinister mood and that’s exactly what the creators behind the latest Carl’s Jr. advertisement were looking for in promoting their Jalapeno Turkey Burger. The hard-riffing Death Angel’s song ‘The Ultra-Violence’ provides the soundtrack to the 30-second spot, which centers on a man taking a solid chomp on the restaurant chain’s latest sandwich. The star of the spot eyes the burger over slowly before defiantly going in for the first bite as a cymbal crash coincides with the sound of him crunching through the sandwich. He pulls out one of the jalapenos, staring it down before cockily flicking it in his mouth only to have the heat from the jalapeno better him in the end. As he sweats upon his brow and tries to cool his tongue, a shot of the sandwich appears with the text reading, “Lean, But Mean.” The spot ends with the announcer teasing the sandwich, “The Jalapeno Turkey Burger, with pepper jack cheese and spicy Santa Fe sauce … new at Carl’s Jr,” over some major guitar riffage from the band. ‘The Ultra-Violence’ song itself clocks in as a 10-minute-plus instrumental. It’s featured on the band’s 1987 debut, also titled ‘The Ultra-Violence.’ Death Angel spent much of 2012 on tour with Anthrax and Testament and expect to release their highly anticipated ‘A Thrashumentary’ DVD early this year. The group is also eyeing some spring recording time to start work on their next album. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/death-angel-mark-osegueda-talks-nonstop-touring-a-thrashumentary-dvd-more/” title=”Next: Death Angel’s Mark Osegueda Discusses ‘A Thrashumentary’ DVD” align=”center”]
SoundgardenWorld.com We’ve got an awesome prize to offer Soundgarden fans nationwide. To celebrate the release of the band’s 2012 album, ‘King Animal,’ and the legendary grunge act’s upcoming tour, we’re going to give one lucky winner a full-on prize pack to see Soundgarden live in Seattle. This Soundgarden prize pack includes round-trip airfare for two from the winner’s city to Seattle, Wash. (Feb. 7 – 9), two nights at a nearby hotel, a meet-and-greet with the members of Soundgarden, $500 in spending cash and, of course, two tickets to Soundgarden’s Feb. 8 concert at the Paramount Theatre. This once-in-a-lifetime prize pack is one you won’t want to miss out on and it’s 100 percent free to enter. For a chance to win our Soundgarden contest, just click the button below and sign up! This contest will end on Jan. 12, so enter now! [button href=”http://loudwire.com/vip/contest/featured-contests/see-soundgarden-live-in-seattle/” title=”Enter the Soundgarden in Seattle Contest Here” align=”center”]
Facebook: Halestorm With a new album, massive amounts of touring and a Grammy nomination, 2012 proved to be incredibly successful for Halestorm . Now, 2013 is looking bright for the band, as well. Loudwire recently had the chance to chat with singer Lzzy Hale about the band’s upcoming plans for 2013, and the frontwoman expects the year to be just as big as 2012, if not bigger. “Well, if 2012 is any indication of 2013, I think we’re all going to die of happiness – there’s no end in sight to the touring,” she told us. “We’re just going to keep going and we’re going overseas again. We have a lot of things in the works: we’re definitely recording more videos and going to put out more singles.” She adds, “There’s going to be a lot of traveling, which is awesome, and some opportunities have opened up; we might be going to some other countries that we’ve never been to. It’s going to be awesome.” Hale concludes, “It’s just going to be a lot of fun I can’t wait to see what’s going to happen next. We just continue to do what we love with the people we love.” There’s still time to vote for Lzzy Hale and Halestorm in several categories in the 2012 Loudwire Music Awards, including Rock Goddess of the Year, Rock Song of the Year and more. Start voting here . [button href=”http://loudwire.com/halestorm-lzzy-hale-on-grammy-nomination-personal-victory-for-the-four-of-us/” title=”Next: Lzzy Hale Talks Grammy Nomination” align=”center”]
YouTube Papa Roach are ending 2012 with a little video extravaganza. Earlier this month, fans got the ‘ Where Did the Angels Go ‘ clip and now, getting in just under the 2012 deadline, there’s a new video for ‘Before I Die.’ The promo itself finds a grieving Jacoby Shaddix haunted by visions of lost love, often to his own detriment. Playing it close to the lyrical concept of the song, the video shows Shaddix expressing his heartbreak by chasing his visions into dangerous situations in an attempt to hold onto the past. Earlier this year, Shaddix told Loudwire about ‘Before I Die,’ “I was going through a separation with my wife during the process of making the record. Fast forward to the present and we’re working it out now, but in the process of making this record we were separated. I was at the end of my rope; I was in a lot of pain. This music is where I found my sanctuary, where I could express myself and just take myself out it for a second and not feel the pain and just be creative. During the process of making this song, ‘Before I Die’ I felt like everything was taken from me and I was just left out there raw and broken, it made everything clear to me, what really mattered to me.” ‘Before I Die’ is a key song for Shaddix as the vocalist says it spurred a change in his life. He explains, “At the end of the day it’s the people that I love in my life that are the most important to me and sometimes when you treat the people that you love the most the worst, that’s the wrong path. I had to take a long hard look at myself and realize how I was living my life and make those changes. Just being out there on my own and having those realizations, that’s where the song came from.” ‘Before I Die’ appears on ‘ The Connection ‘ album and likely will be part of the band’s performances when they begin their 2013 North American touring with Stone Sour . Watch Papa Roach’s ‘Before I Die’ Video [button href=”http://loudwire.com/papa-roach-still-swingin-guitar-center-sessions-exclusive-preview/” title=”Next: Watch Papa Roach’s ‘Still Swingin’ from ‘Guitar Sessions'” align=”center”]
Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com The end of the year offers the perfect time to reflect on where you’re at in life, and you’d have to think that Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi has a brighter outlook on things now than he did earlier in 2012. The guitarist confirms as much in a newly posted year-end update. Things appeared to be on the upswing for Iommi in 2011 as Black Sabbath had reunited and the band was preparing to work on their first new album in years, but then Iommi learned early this year that he had lymphoma that needed to be treated in order for his survival. Suddenly his focus for 2012 had changed, but thankfully his initial plans for the year still appear to be in reach as his post-chemotherapy recovery has gone well. In his year-end posting , Iommi states: What a year! Certainly not the one I was expecting. Thanks to you all for your massive help and support, it was very encouraging. I’m still working on the album and managed to play three shows, not bad given the news a year ago. I’m looking forward to next year, seeing what you think of the record and touring as much as we’re able. My best wishes to you all, I hope you have a great Christmas and New Year, most of all, stay positive. The guitarist did come through his treatment, worked closely with his bandmates on completing a new record which is now due in April and managed to make a handful of high profile shows in England and the U.S. despite the setback. As for what lies ahead in 2013, Iommi will get in his first extended touring since the reunion was announced. After his lymphoma battle, the guitarist also decided to go back and update his autobiography. The newly reissued paperback version of ‘Iron Man: My Journey Through Heaven & Hell With Black Sabbath,’ includes a chapter on his treatment and recovery. In addition, he’s also recorded an audio book with one of his former bandmates providing the voice. He explained , “I had a go myself but wasn’t comfortable when I listened back. Normally you just get an actor to voice it but I didn’t want someone who didn’t know me or the music business so I asked my old mate Bev Bevan (former Black Sabbath / MOVE / ELO drummer) as he already has a radio show and lived some of the chapters with me! I’m really pleased how it’s turned out.” [button href=”http://loudwire.com/black-sabbath-tony-iommi-writing-chemotherapy/” title=”Next: Black Sabbath’s Tony Iommi Discusses Writing During Chemotherapy” align=”center”]
The latter portion of 2012 has found the members of Green Day mostly off the grid while singer Billie Joe Armstrong completes his rehab . But the band is taking the first steps in regaining their footing, beginning with a new music video and their first announced dates of 2013. The trio has just delivered perhaps the most lo-fi video ever with their clip for ‘X-Kid.’ The group pulled from musical touchtones of the past in recording their album trilogy and the video for ‘X-Kid’ follows suit. The clip, seen above, features a queued up cassette version of the song, with the “play” button pushed allowing the viewer to watch as the track spools along. Meanwhile, Green Day has been rolling out 2013 dates in anticipation of their return. It looks as though the band will surface again in Europe first before playing other parts of the world. The first date is scheduled for May 24 at Fiera Milano Live in Milan, Italy with shows currently booked through mid-July. When the band return to the road, they’ll have all three albums worth of new material available to them, as ‘ Tre ,’ the final piece in their trilogy, recently arrived in stores. Green Day’s 2013 European Tour 5/24 — Milan, Italy — Fiera Milano Live 5/25 — Trieste, Italy — Piazza Unita’D’Italia 5/27 — Belgrade, Serbia and Montenegro — Kalemegdan Park 5/29 — Vienna, Austria — Krieau Rocks 6/1 — London, England — Emirates Stadium 6/5 — Rome, Italy — Ippodromo Le Capannelle 6/6 — Casalecchio Di Reno Bo, Italy — Unipol Arena 6/8 — Nuremburg, Germany — Rock Im Park 6/9 — Wershofen, Germany — Rock am Ring 6/16 — Holland, Netherlands — Pinkpop Festival 6/18 — Lodz, Poland — Atlas Arena 6/21 — Moscow, Russia — Olympic Arena 6/23 — St. Petersburg, Russia — SKK Arena 6/26 — Helsinki, Finland — Rock the Beach Festival 6/28 — Norrkoping, Sweden — Bravalla Festival 6/30 — Oslo, Norway — Ullevaal Stadium 7/2 — Copenhagen, Denmark — Refshaleoen 7/4 — Werchter, Belgium — Werchter Festival 7/5 — Arras, France — Mainsquare Festival 7/10 — Nimes, France — Festival de Nimes Arena 7/12 — Lisbon, Portugal — Optimus Alive Festival 7/13 — Bilbo, Spain — Bilbo BBK Live Festival [button href=”http://loudwire.com/green-day-stray-heart-video/” title=”Next: Watch Green Day’s ‘Stray Heart’ Video” align=”center”]