Facebook: Adam Gontier While singer Adam Gontier shocked his fans by announcing his departure from Three Days Grace yesterday (Jan. 9), he’s not retiring from the stage entirely. The vocalist will play his first show since leaving the band next Thursday (Jan. 17) as part of the special acoustic ‘Rock for Recovery’ benefit for victims of Hurricane Sandy at New York’s Gramercy Theatre. Gontier will share the bill with such acts as Art of Dying , Hurt , Smile Empty Soul , Edisun, Before the Curtain and Slipknot DJ Sid Wilson . Proceeds from the show will benefit the Mercury One Foundation. Gontier confirmed his participation in the event via his Facebook page, and even offered the opportunity for fans to win a pair of free tickets by simply sharing his Facebook post . Tickets for the ‘Rock for Recovery’ benefit may be purchased here . The singer’s newly solo status came as a surprise to many, but it was revealed that the decision to step away from the band was made just prior to Christmas. With Three Days Grace already committed to a co-headlining tour with Shinedown , the band moved quickly to recruit My Darkest Days ‘ Matt Walst to fill-in for the departed Gontier. The vocalist said of his exit that even though a “health issue” was cited with the announcement of his departure that he had not fallen prey to his drug or addiction past and that his sobriety remains intact. He added, “After twenty years of being part of an ever evolving band, I have been inspired by life, to move on and to continue to evolve on my own terms.” See his full letter by clicking below: [button href=”http://loudwire.com/singer-adam-gontier-explains-departure-from-three-days-grace/” title=”Next: Read Adam Gontier’s Letter of Resignation From Three Days Grace” align=”center”]
Justin Sullivan, Getty Images After spending the last day teasing some of the people who would be joining him at the Sundance Film Festival , Dave Grohl has revealed all of the guests that will make up his Sound City Players lineup for the special show. As previously reported, Grohl will be playing a show in Park City Utah Jan. 18 to coincide with the premiere of his new ‘Sound City’ documentary , which is based on the legendary Hollywood recording studio. The singer already teased a photo with him performing alongside Queens of the Stone Age ‘s Alain Johannes and Foo Fighters ‘ Taylor Hawkins . Plus, Slipknot and Stone Sour frontman Corey Taylor had confirmed his participation in a Salt Lake City newspaper. Now Grohl has revealed the full lineup in a new tweet . It includes many of the ‘Sound City’ soundtrack contributors, including his Foo Fighters bandmates Rami Jaffe, Nate Mendel, Chris Shiflett and Pat Smear along with his onetime Nirvana partner Krist Novoselic . In addition, Grohl’s Queens of the Stone Age pals Johannes and Chris Goss are taking part. The rest of the lineup includes a number of familiar names. Rage Against the Machine drummer Brad Wilk, John Fogerty , Stevie Nicks , Cheap Trick ‘s Rick Nielsen , Rick Springfield, Fear’s Lee Ving and violinist Jessy Greene will also join in on the fun. Tickets for the show go on sale today at 5:00PM PT/8:00PM ET at www.parkcitylive.net . [button href=”http://loudwire.com/dave-grohl-sound-city-documentary-sundance-premiere/” title=”Next: Watch the ‘Sound City’ Trailer” align=”center”]
Liz Ramanand, Loudwire The New England Metal & Hardcore Festival celebrates its 15 year of anniversary with a massive lineup for the 2013 installment, including headliners Anthrax , Opeth and Hatebreed . The three-day festival will be held once again at The Palladium in Worcester, Mass., on April 19, 20 and 21, not to mention a pre-party on April 18. The festival’s founder, Scott Lee, of MassConcerts, states, “I am excited with how far we have come and am ecstatic for this to be on our 15th year! It has been a long, interesting journey. We always try to make it a memorable event and we really hope you all enjoy the festival this year.” Other bands confirmed for this year’s festival include Suicidal Tendencies , Shadows Fall , Municipal Waste , Katatonia , the Contortionist and much more. See the current lineup below. Stay tuned for many more acts to be announced in the coming weeks! New England Metal & Hardcore Festival XV Lineup: Anthrax Hatebreed Opeth Suicidal Tendencies After The Burial Alpha & Omega Antagonist AD Ark of the Covenant Black Breath Born of Osiris The Contortionist Dead by Wednesday Death Before Dishonor Ensiferum Erra Exodus Expire Fit for an Autopsy Heidevolk Hellsot Holy Grail I Declare War Incendiary Katatonia Legion The Mongoloids Mother of Mercy Municipal Waste No Mercy Power Trip Rude Awakening Saving Grace Shadows Fall Suburban Scum Those Who Fear Trap Them Trollfest Twitching Tongues Tyr Within the Ruins Xibalba ?
Metal Blade When it comes to extreme metal, very few bands evoke fanatical buzz like Polish blackened death metal ambassadors Behemoth . After conquering North America last year, finally returning to our continent for the first time after frontman Nergal ‘s 2010 cancer diagnosis, Behemoth bassist Orion has let slip that the band will return once again for the 2013 Mayhem Festival. Last year’s Mayhem Festival lineup was unprecedented, featuring Slipknot , Slayer , Motorhead , Anthrax and many more. With Ozzfest only materializing as a one-off event occasionally, Mayhem Fest has arguably become the must-see tour for metalheads and the must-play tour for bands worldwide. Although it hasn’t been confirmed, Behemoth bassist Orion recently told Metal Storm that fans can expect the act to play Mayhem in 2013. “I don’t think it is confirmed yet, but we are coming back to the States this summer to play on the Rockstar Mayhem Festival,” says the Behemoth bassist. “This will be the very first thing we will do before the new record comes out. After that we plan on doing some other festivals, but they are not confirmed yet neither. We have done quite a few European festivals [in 2012] and I am not sure if it would be the best thing to do before the album comes out.” As for the health of Behemoth frontman Nergal, Orion offered a joyous update on the leukemia survivor’s current condition. “He doesn’t have any special needs now,” begins Orion, “he is just the same person he used to be before. He is actually doing better than ever as far as I can tell. I would have to say we don’t have to do anything to accommodate to the situation at all. Everything just seems to be going up for us and the entire situation is moving forwards and we just follow it.” Check out the full interview with Orion at MetalStorm.net . [button href=”http://loudwire.com/behemoth-nergal-meets-bone-marrow-donor-who-saved-life/” title=”Behemoth’s Nergal Meets Bone Marrow Donor Who Saved His Life” align=”center”]
Samir Hussein / Dimitrios Kambouris, Getty Images Pearl Jam singer Eddie Vedder and Rage Against the Machine / Nightwatchman guitarist Tom Morello are both scheduled to perform at the 2013 MusiCares benefit gala. The show will be held on Feb. 8 in Los Angeles to honor Bruce Springsteen, who has been named the 2013 MusiCares Person of the Year. The event is held during Grammy Week, and along with Eddie Vedder and Tom Morello, the show will feature Elton John, Patti Smith, Neil Young and many more. The 2013 MusiCares Person of the Year tribute show will be hosted by Comedy Central television personality Jon Stewart. In its 23rd year, the MusiCares Person of the Year gala has celebrated musical icons such as Paul McCartney , Bono and Paul Simon, among others, in the past. According to the official Grammy’s website , “The 2013 MusiCares Person of the Year gala, which will celebrate Springsteen’s exceptional artistic achievements and philanthropic work, will begin with a cocktail reception and silent auction … that will offer an exclusive and unparalleled selection of luxury items, VIP experiences and one-of-a-kind celebrity memorabilia for bidding guests.” The MusiCares event will be held at the Los Angeles Convention Center two days before the 55th annual Grammy Awards, which features Anthrax , Halestorm , Iron Maiden , Lamb of God , Marilyn Manson and Megadeth as nominees in the Best Hard Rock / Metal Performance category. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/best-pearl-jam-songs/” title=”Next: 10 Best Pearl Jam Songs” align=”center”]
Facebook: Suicide Silence The cameras will be rolling when the members of Suicide Silence and their all-star lineup of guest vocalists team up for a memorial concert to salute the band’s late singer, Mitch Lucker . The vocalist died in a motorcycle crash Halloween night and the idea of the show is to not only pay tribute to the singer, but to also raise money for the future education of Lucker’s daughter, Kenadee. The ‘ Ending Is the Beginning: Mitch Lucker Memorial ‘ event will take place tomorrow night (Dec. 21) at the Fox Theater in Pomona, Calif. and a majority of the lineup has been revealed. Hellyeah ‘s Chad Gray , As I Lay Dying ‘s Tim Lambesis and All Shall Perish ‘s Eddie Hermida were the first names revealed for the event. In the weeks since, Asking Alexandria ‘s Danny Worsnop, Whitechapel ‘s Phil Bozeman, Winds of Plague ‘s Johnny Plague, Of Mice & Men ‘s Austin Carlile, Impending Doom ‘s Brook Reeves, After the Burial’s Anthony Notarmaso, Disfiguring the Goddess’ Cameron “Big Chocolate” Argon, former Bury Your Dead musician Myke Terry and ex-Suffokate member Ricky Hoover have also joined the bill. The band did state via their Facebook page that the show will be shot for a future DVD release and that there would be some “big names” that were not revealed in advance of the show. All proceeds from the performance and presumably of the forthcoming DVD would go to the Kenadee Lucker education fund. For more information on how you can donate, click here . [button href=”http://loudwire.com/suicide-silence-donation-page-benefit-daughter-late-singer-mitch-lucker/” title=”Next: Suicide Silence Launch Donation Page for Kenadee Lucker” align=”center”]
Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Killswitch Engage have had an incredible year to say the least, on top of reuniting with original vocalist Jesse Leach , touring nonstop and recording a new record, the band celebrated the 10 year anniversary of their album ‘Alive or Just Breathing’ with a headlining tour. We had the recent pleasure of catching Killswitch Engage along with Shadows Fall and Acaro in Brooklyn, N.Y., at a sold-out show. Acaro kicked off the night with an incredible set, frontman Chris Harrell had complete command of the stage and when he wasn’t getting the mosh pit he wanted, the vocalist jumped into the crowd and started one himself. Guitarist Felipe Roa shredded it up in front of his family, who flew in all the way from Chile just to attend the show. Shadows Fall took the stage next and put on an explosive set – there’s nothing like seeing, and for many fans in front, feeling singer Brian Fair’s lengthy dreads whipping back and forth. Fans moshed around to tracks such as ‘The Light That Blinds,’ ‘Destroyer of Senses’ and ‘Still I Rise.’ The band also performed new tracks ‘Weight of the World’ and ‘Divide and Conquer’ off of their new record ‘Fire From the Sky.’ Killswitch Engage got a warm welcome from their New York fans. They not only performed ‘Alive or Just Breathing’ in full but they kicked off their stellar set with ‘A Bid Farewell’ and ‘Rose for Sharyn.’ Jesse Leach’s vocal abilities are out of this world and his lyric delivery is intense and extremely powerful. The entire band gave their full attention to fans as they worked the stage left and right. Of course, guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz showed off his toned legs by donning his infamous short shorts. He also teased fans and made hilarious faces, not to mention he entertained fans by doing some jumping jacks and push-ups while his guitar was being tuned. Killswitch ended their set with an invigorating performance of ‘My Curse’ and ‘End of Heartache’ which had fans crowd surfing and belting out lyrics word for word. This show was one of the best the Music Hall of Williamsburg has ever been graced with, as these bands rocked Brooklyn so hard, their sound resonated throughout all five boroughs. Photos of Killswitch Engage, Shadows Fall + Acaro Performing in Brooklyn: Killswitch Engage: Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Shadows Fall: Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Acaro: Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Liz Ramanand, Loudwire