Metal Blade Records It has been more than five years since the last King Diamond studio album, and now the legendary vocalist has announced he has signed a new three-album deal with Metal Blade Records. “This is gonna be awesome! Another perfect piece of the puzzle. We have the full backup of Metal Blade, and there’s an understanding between us that goes much, much deeper than before,” says King Diamond. “Our new business setup will noticeably benefit the fans in so many ways. You must have already noticed some of all the cool new stuff that is happening. Now we can’t wait to get out there and start touring again!” After having a triple bypass in 2010, King is fully recovered, feeling better than ever and ready to get back to making music. The band made a triumphant return to the stage this year at the Hellfest festival in France and the Sweden Rock festival. In addition to King, the lineup includes Andy La Rocque (guitar/keyboards), Mike Wead (guitar), Hal Patino (bass) and Matt Thompson (drums). If you’re looking for a Christmas gift for that King Diamond fan in your life, the band recently unveiled a line of holiday merchandise . You can sport a ‘No Presents for Christmas’ hoodie, or buy some King Diamond Christmas ornaments to decorate the tree. Watch King Diamond – ‘No Presents For Christmas’ Live Video
Ethan Miller, Getty Images As reported yesterday (Dec. 3), Lamb of God frontman Randy Blythe has been indicted on manslaughter charges in the Czech Republic by the State’s Attorney Office in Prague and, as a result, will likely stand trial in the near future. Following the news of Blythe’s indictment, Lamb of God’s manager offered a lengthy statement . Many musicians are also speaking out, one of them being Disturbed frontman David Draiman who took to the band’s official Facebook to speak his mind about this situation. Draiman states: “MY BROTHERS AND SISTERS MY BLOOD, OUR FRIEND RANDY BLYTHE OF LAMB OF GOD HAS NOW OFFICIALLY BEEN INDICTED ON CHARGES OF MANSLAUGHTER. THIS IS A TRAVESTY OF JUSTICE. HE IS BEING A MAN AND STANDING UP TO THESE CHARGES. SHOW YOUR SUPPORT BY ON THEIR FACEBOOK PAGE AND TWITTER PAGES, RAISE AWARENESS AMONGST YOUR FRIENDS, AND TAKE THE TIME TO DONATE TO HIS DEFENSE FUND ON BOTH PAGES. YOU CAN ALSO HELP BY WRITING YOUR LOCAL ELECTED OFFICIALS AND PRESSURING THE U.S. DEPT OF FOREIGN AFFAIRS/STATE DEPARTMENT TO GET PERSONALLY INVOLVED. WE STAND BEHIND RANDY, HOPE ALL OF YOU WILL AS WELL. AS ALWAYS, MUCH RESPECT. -DAVID P.S. BEEN USING CAPS FOR YEARS, NOT CHANGING. BIGGER PROBLEMS IN LIFE. BUILD A BRIDGE AND GET OVER IT.” Blythe was arrest was arrested in June of this year in regard to an alleged incident where a man died a few weeks after an apparent stage fall at a Lamb of God concert in the Czech Republic in 2010. The vocalist spent five weeks in a Czech prison before being released in early August. If Blythe is convicted of manslaughter, he could face 5-10 years in prison. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/lamb-of-god-randy-blythe-indicted-manslaughter-charges-czech-republic/” title=”Next: More on Randy Blythe’s Indictment” align=”center”]
New Ocean Media Former Guns N’ Roses drummer Steven Adler is branching out with his own band, appropriately named Adler , and the band’s debut full-length, ‘Back From the Dead,’ carries a straight-ahead rock sound that proves Mr. A means business. Now, Adler is opening up about the message behind the album, and he says he hopes it gives him a fresh start in the music business. “Every musician, their goal in life is to play music that people love and I’ve accomplished my goal,” he told goJimmygo . “I was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame and left that chapter of my life and those people in the past. Good and bad, I’ve loved and am thankful for that chapter. I’m thankful that I survived that chapter and am able to have a second chapter. I want to start afresh and become relevant again.” Adler says recording the album was a blast, especially when it came to getting guitar great Slash involved. “It was wonderful,” Adler said. “Just to have him be proud enough and believe in me enough again after all of the things that have happened. “I have to prove myself every second of every day and it got to where I’ve proved myself enough for Slash to be happy and want to be a part of this record. It feels great that we have such a history together. I really care about what he thinks and feels about me.” Things are looking up for Steven Adler, as evidenced by Loudwire’s stellar review of his band’s ‘Back From the Dead’ album. Click below to check it out: [button href=”http://loudwire.com/adler-back-from-the-dead-album-review/” title=”Adler, ‘Back From the Dead’ – Album Review” align=”center”]
Kevin Winter, Getty Images / DNA Fashion Designs We punk rockers and metalheads are defensive when we spot a poser. The hard-fought careers of underground bands such as Municipal Waste , Suicidal Tendencies , Cro-Mags and Corrosion of Conformity are worth more than just a jacket, especially when that jacket is worn by R&B singer Chris Brown. The online metal community took aim at Brown after he was photographed wearing a leather jacket adorned with the logos of underground legends, and if you had any doubts about Brown’s sincerity underneath the fashion statement, the man who created the jacket, Noel Austin, has come out to say, “That guy doesn’t f—in’ know who Cro-Mags are.” Noel Austin of DNA Fashion Designs recently spoke with Metal Insider about Chris Brown and how the designer felt about seeing him wearing one of his jackets. “I was about s–t myself when I saw Chris Brown with my jacket that said ‘Cro-Mags’ on it,” Austin tells Metal Insider. “That guy doesn’t f—in’ know who Cro-Mags are. I didn’t sell it to him! Do you really think Chris Brown goes online and buys his own clothes? He doesn’t even write his own music.” Austin continues, “I’m 40 years old, an old punk rocker, a single parent, and with not much of an education. I’d always made everyone’s costumes onstage and made my own clothes, and I had a couple people offer to buy jackets off my back. At first, I was like, “f— you, you’re not punk rock, I’m not selling you my jacket.’ But when I almost lost my place to live, the next time someone offered to buy my jacket, I sold it to them, and a light bulb went off over my head and I realized I could stay home and take care of my family and do what I love doing. An opportunity came along, I jumped on it, and the next thing I know, celebrities are buying my s–t!” “The clothes I make are a direct reflection of my life,” adds Austin. “All the bands you see on the clothes, I grew up listening to them, and I still listen to them, or I’ve gotten turned on to them by other people … The beauty of what I do is I go to these shows, I buy the patches and support the bands, and I put these patches on the clothes and sell them on a worldwide level. And it promotes these bands.” Check out Noel Austin’s official website for DNA Fashion Designs , which proudly states, “Noel Austin’s creation WILL change you. This is more than fashion, more than image, it’s a lifestyle.” [button href=”http://www.zimbio.com/pictures/tfTvYMl7KLM/Chris+Brown+Steps+Out+Flashy+Jacket/1JhsKqP7_aQ” title=”See Pictures of Chris Brown Sporting the Metal Jacket” align=”center”]
Liz Ramanand, Loudwire It’s been one hell of a year for Jesse Leach , who reunited with Killswitch Engage at the beginning of 2012. The band’s first performance back together occurred at the New England Metal and Hardcore Festival, and they were also part of this year’s Trespass America Festival over the summer with Five Finger Death Punch, Trivium and more. Leach, who was the band’s original singer, came back into the lineup after longtime vocalist Howard Jones left the band in late 2011. He and the rest of Killswitch have just finished up recording their first album together in 10 years. They are also celebrating the tenth anniversary of the band’s debut disc, ‘Alive or Just Breathing’ by performing it in its entirety during a headlining trek that features support from Shadows Fall and Acaro. When we recently spoke with Jesse Leach, he expressed his excitement about the upcoming album, the tour and more. I was at the first show at the New England Hardcore and Metal Festival earlier this year – how has your experience of rejoining the band been from that show to now? It’s been amazing and so much fun. It’s hard to put into words, my life’s just completely changed. I’ve had so much fun with these guys and we just finished recording our record that I’m super proud of. It’s been great. What has been the funniest thing a fan has said to you since coming back into the fold? You know probably some of the criticisms that people give me, I think it’s hilarious – to me – about how I don’t sing the same as Howard [Jones]. It’s not necessarily funny to most people but it is for me because we’re such different singers. I think it’s hilarious that people constantly want to compare us — it’s funny in a different kind of way. Fans have definitely been really sweet but occasionally you get the people that don’t care and they say what they want to say. As far as “Ha Ha” funny, [guitarist] Adam [Dutkiewicz] is the one that gets all the funny ones. To play ‘Alive or Just Breathing’ in full after 10 years, what does this mean to you? It’s surreal, it’s strange. I have a lot of love for that record but I had to do a lot of listening to it again – we’re playing it from start to finish. I look back on who I was 10 years ago as a singer and a person and I’ve changed so much. It’s just amazing for the fan to pay tribute to those fans who still care about that record, it’s just astonishing to me and it was definitely a career defining record. It’s and honor is basically how I feel, it’s an honor to perform this record. Again, I’m a different person but those lyrics still ring true for the most part for me. It just feels good to be able to do this for the fans and for us it’s just a fan thing to do in between since the [new] record isn’t out yet, so we wanted to hit the road and have some fun and give the fans something special because it’s been ten years. Looking back on it now, what did recording that album teach you that you took with you to record future albums in your career? [Laughs] Recording that record taught me that I had to use my voice properly and be more confident. I think that process, being under the microscope the way that I was for that record with Adam – we both learned a lot from that record. It made me really want to learn my instrument better and have control over it because what I hear in my head was difficult to produce. What I was hearing in my head and what was coming out wasn’t what I wanted it to be – it was just me being critical of myself but then again you should be. It kind of kickstarted me to be like, “alright I got to figure this thing out.” I wanted to become a better singer and become more confident. You guys killed on the Trespass American Festival – and you’re headed on tour with Shadows Fall later this month. No doubt this tour will be a memorable one what are you looking forward to most about this trek? Probably just hanging out, we got Shadows Fall and my buddies in a band called Acaro. It’s pretty much all of the Massachusetts boys getting together – I live in New York now but it’s going to be a reunion of sorts. I’m sure there’s going to be plenty of antics and stuff going on. That and obviously just playing, if all goes well we’ll slide in another new song. Yeah I can’t wait for this new record – I literally finished just two days ago so I’m still buzzed from it. For you guys going from Trespass America and doing the big festival shows to more intimate clubs, do you prefer the smaller venues versus the bigger ones? I like them both but they definitely offer different things. The one thing I’m looking forward to with smaller clubs, especially for this record, is the intimacy of the crowd. There’s not going to be a huge divide where the audience is ten feet away from the stage and we’re ten feet above them. The intimacy is great the emotion comes off better and for this record it’s important. There was a Facebook post on the vocals being done for the new Killswitch Engage album; how was the recording process like for you? For the new record it was great, I came off tour I was filled with energy, ready to go, we knocked out a bunch of stuff. I had joined the band, the record was there, we’re on tour so I really didn’t have time to write. I took the past two months not only recording but writing so I’m there with an idea, being in the other room writing and going to Adam saying, “Here’s my idea I just wrote, what do you think?” So there’s real spontaneity some of the songs that we just finished up. I had maybe five or six solid ideas when I came off tour and the rest had to be developed as we were recording it. It was exciting but at the same time tough because for me I’m digging deep down into my emotions and my psyche trying to come up with stuff that is honest and emotive and relevant, hopefully for the listener. It’s tiring but well worth, anything that’s worth achieving you got to suffer a little bit for it. I think mentally and spiritually and a little bit physically we were suffering but all of that made for an amazing record that I’m really proud of. How has the vibe of working on the new record been with the other members? These guys have welcomed me back with open arms and just very encouraging and digging the stuff that I’m doing and these guys were just like, “Wow we’re really excited, we feel like it’s been a long time since we’ve been this excited about music,” and that just makes me feel amazing. It makes me feel like I’m doing what I’m supposed to be doing. What can you tell me about where you guys are at with the progression of the new album and maybe a possible timeline or when fans can get a single? Yeah it’s funny, I basically said to management and everybody, “I don’t want to know anything, don’t tell me anything” so I couldn’t even tell you when the record is coming out [Laughs] I don’t know if we’re doing a single before the record . As far as what the album is about and how it sounds and feels – it’s everything, it’s emotive, it’s personal, it’s spiritual, it’s political, it’s everything – my view of the world and some of the songs are written through the eyes of someone else like how I living vicariously through somebody trying to be almost like a storyteller. The music is definitely the fastest Killswitch record ever, it’s very heavy but still maintains the signature Killswitch hooky, melodic stuff their too. There’s definitely melody attached but I pulled out some new styles vocally, yelling and screaming and growling and layers and it sounds massive. The newest song ‘No End In Sight’ that you guys play live, how does this song represent what we can expect from the new album? That song is the weakest song on the whole record. [Laughs] That’s my opinion, I actually almost wouldn’t mind if it wasn’t even on the record because I think other stuff is much better but probably since we played it and fans know we’ll put it on but in my opinion that’s definitely the weakest songs. Now that the record is done in retrospect that would not be the song that we would be playing live. When will we see the return of your character Salty Rizz? [Laughs] I don’t know! I don’t think that’s going to be a repeat character, I’ve done other characters for videos for fun and I think that’s the one that got the least amount of attention. My approach to promos and stuff – when you’re on tour, it doesn’t matter who you’re working with, what company they want you to do these video update things and when it comes to music I’m a fairly serious guy when I’m onstage. We had to do these and I was just like, “I’ll do them I don’t care, I’ll do something stupid.” There’s more stupidity to come but I don’t know if it will be Salty Rizz or not. Killswitch Engage kick off their ‘Alive or Just Breathing’ tour with a headlining appearance at California MetalFest on Nov. 24. The trek wraps Dec. 29 in Clifton Park, N.Y. Click here for a full list of dates. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/killswitch-engage-members-discuss-new-song-jesse-leachs-return-more/” title=”Next: Watch Our Video Interview With Killswitch Engage” align=”center”]
Mike Lawrie, Getty Images When it comes to love, Scott Weiland is counting on the old adage that the third time’s a charm. The Stone Temple Pilots singer recently announced that he’s now engaged to girlfriend Jamie Wachtel. The couple have been dating for about a year, and the upcoming nuptials will mark Weiland’s third marriage. Weiland gushed to Rolling Stone about his special lady, saying, “She’s the greatest thing that’s happened to me in a long, long time.” He continued to share his feelings about her, explaining, “She is incredibly beautiful in every aspect of the word. Lovely, smart, passionate.” The couple first met on a video shoot for Weiland’s Christmas album released last winter, ‘The Most Wonderful Time of the Year.’ Wachtel was working on set as a photographer and the two hit it off almost instantaneously as Wachtel helped calm Weiland’s nerves during the shoot with a little bit of humor. “I was leaning against this fireplace, and she’s like, ‘You might want to tuck in your belly a little bit,’” Weiland recalled. “It was around the holidays – it was after Thanksgiving, and you know how that tends to be. I was kind of caught off guard, and I started laughing and she started laughing. And I don’t know . . . something magical happened.” Weiland admits that he had pretty much given up on love before meeting Wachtel. “I had fallen in love a couple times in my life and then for a long time, I’ve been very disappointed and to the point where I’ve been resolved to the fact that possibly it would never happen again and almost accepted that it would be OK,” confessed Weiland. “And then I met her.” The two are planning a spring wedding, but before that Weiland has a handful of solo dates in late November, including stops in Pa., N.Y. and N.J. Tickets are available here . Congrats to the happy couple! [button href=”http://loudwire.com/scott-weiland-musician-mug-shots/” title=”Next: Scott Weiland – Musician Mug Shots” align=”center”]
Ron Galella Archive, Wire Image, Getty Images Since the news broke of a new documentary chronicling the life of Nirvana frontman Kurt Cobain , there have been conflicting reports as to whether the legendary musician’s widow Courtney Love will be a part of its creation. Brett Morgen, directior of HBO’s new documentary on the Rolling Stones, ‘Crossfire Hurricane,’ was recruited by Love to oversee the Cobain project, but it seems as if that will be Love’s only contribution to the project. Morgen recently told the New York Post , “Courtney [Love] is the one that brought me into this… We’ve been trying to find the right time to put this film together and the time is now. We are going to do the movie sort of like a third-person autobiography — [as] if Kurt was around and making a film about his life.” This quote led to the assumption that Love would assert creative control over the documentary, but a representative for the Hole frontwoman has asserted otherwise. Morgen has now gone on-record to clear up any misunderstandings concerning Love’s role in the film. “Back in 2007, I had a meeting in L.A. with Courtney Love to discuss my possible involvement in a Kurt Cobain documentary,” he told EW in a statement. “She had seen my film ‘The Kid Stays in the Picture,’ and thought that I had the right vision and passion to bring Kurt’s story to life. Since that time, I have been speaking exclusively with Kurt Cobain’s estate, who have given me their full cooperation in order to make the film.” He continues, “Courtney isn’t currently involved with the project in any capacity. The estate and I will be releasing more information about our plans in the coming weeks. Production on the film will begin in the coming months and we are aiming for a 2014 release.” This news comes shortly after rumors that Courtney Love was planning to create a Nirvana-based musical to Broadway or the big-screen; a claim Love was quick to deny. Stay tuned for more news on the upcoming Kurt Cobain film as news continues to break. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/best-grunge-bands/” title=”Next: 10 Best Grunge Bands” align=”center”]