Kevin Winter, Getty Images The world of metal seems to constantly house some strange stories. Although the real stories are often more inconceivable than the fake ones, wrestler Hulk Hogan has finally given a statement about the rumor that he was once asked by drummer Lars Ulrich to become Metallica ‘s bassist. Early last year, Hogan claimed that he was at one point a serious candidate to play bass for the iconic band. “I used to be a session musician before I was a wrestler,” Hogan states. “I played bass guitar. I was big pals with Lars Ulrich and he asked me if I wanted to play bass with Metallica in their early days but it didn’t work out.” Soon after, during an appearance on the Howard Stern Show, Ulrich claimed to have no recollection of asking Hulk to join the band. “That one, when that showed up two or three months ago, I was scratching my head over that one,” states the drummer. “I don’t know Hulk Hogan, I don’t know enough about him… I’m not a huge wrestling [fan]… I certainly have no recollection of doing anything with quote Hulk Hogan endquote.” Almost a year after Hogan’s initial statement, the wrestling legend cleared the air during an interview with Kerrang! : That has rumor has been turned and twisted and thrown in so many different directions — that I auditioned and that I lied and that I never auditioned and they weren’t interested. The truth is I played music for many years before I ever got into wrestling, and when I heard Metallica was looking for a bass player, I would have quit wrestling like that [snaps fingers] to get into Metallica. When I heard they were looking for a bass player, I got my tapes together from the old band, got a couple of tapes together that Simon Cowell produced with me — Green Jelly, and I did an old Gary Glitter song, ‘Leader Of The Gang’, with Simon, back in the day, before he got his break with all the wrestling music and became a huge monster. But I got all that stuff together to send it to Metallica and never heard a word. So they never responded to me. They either thought I was a joke or they thought it was a joke, and it wasn’t me, or I was no good, but I never heard back from them … I tried — but I never did audition for Metallica. I wish I would have. But the bass player they got was so good. My God! Case closed? Check out video of Hulk Hogan talking about Metallica in the new interview with Kerrang! in the clip below: Hulk Hogan Talks to Kerrang! [button href=”http://loudwire.com/top-wrestling-entrance-themes/” title=”Top 10 Wrestling Entrance Themes” align=”center”]
Razor & Tie Hatebreed fans don’t have to wait until Jan. 29 to hear the band’s new album ‘The Divinity of Purpose,’ as the Connecticut rockers are streaming the disc in full on their official site. ‘The Divinity of Purpose’ is Hatebreed’s sixth studio album and their first with new label Razor & Tie Records. In our exclusive interview with frontman Jamey Jasta, he talked about working with their new label: “It feels good that we have a good team of people behind us and we’re looking forward to getting this record out and touring in support of it – that’s all you want, you want people that like the band, people that care about the band. We’ve been lucky with pretty much every label has had those people and now we’re continuing with that.” In a separate interview with Full Metal Jackie, Jasta talks about the meaning and impact of the powerful lyrics on the new record by stating, “I hope this record is like a compass where it could point someone in a new direction, whether it’s a direction of thought or an actual action – I don’t know, that’s up to the listener.” In support of the new record Hatebreed will embark on a tour with Shadows Fall and The Contortionist, for a full list of dates, go here . They are also set to play this year’s New England Metal and Hardcore Festival along with Anthrax, Opeth and Suicidal Tendencies. For more info on that event, go here . [button href=”http://hatebreed.com/” title=”Click to Listen to Hatebreed’s New Album ‘The Divinity of Purpose'” align=”center”]
Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com The new year is bringing a new Black Sabbath album, their first original disc with Ozzy Osbourne since 1978′s ‘Never Say Die!’ Though the group was unable to work out their contract dispute with drummer Bill Ward , they’re forging ahead with the new music and their first extended touring since regrouping. Bassist Geezer Butler addressed the upcoming disc as well as the band’s drummer situation in a video interview with 96.7 KCAL Rocks . According to Butler, the ‘ 13 ‘ disc has a familiar feel. He explains, “It’s sort of got the feel of the first three albums — back to the basic rawness. And the lyrics are very … they’re just about life … life and death and doom and everything else. You get Prozac with every album.” The bassist revealed that even though the members are very familiar with each other, this was a different recording process as all of the members were completely sober. “It’s been more professional in that way,” says Butler. “We’ve stuck to a schedule every day. We’d go in at one o’clock and finish at six, just to keep everything fresh. Five hours a day — that’s it.” As for the decision to invite Rage Against the Machine ‘s Brad Wilk to play drums on the effort, Butler credits that call to producer Rick Rubin. “He didn’t want a typical heavy metal drummer on the album,” says Butler. “It’s not really a heavy metal album. It’s more of a rock … heavy rock. And Rick Rubin suggested Brad cause he’s more in the vein of Bill Ward. So we jammed with him and he sounded great with the stuff, so we went with that … It’s sort of back to the way we used to be in the ’70s. That’s his feel — sort of a jazzy, bluesy feel to him, and that’s the way the music is now. It was great working with him.” Though the band employed Wilk in the studio and Tommy Clufetos when touring last year, Butler revealed that they hadn’t decided on a touring drummer for this year’s dates. Black Sabbath’s ’13′ album is expected in June. For more on Butler’s discussion on the current health updates of Ozzy Osbourne and Tony Iommi , watch the video interview below. Watch Black Sabbath Bassist Geezer Butler Discuss the Band’s Next Album [button href=”http://loudwire.com/ozzy-osbourne-suffers-injuries-house-fire/” title=”Next: Ozzy Osbourne Suffers Injuries in House Fire” align=”center”]
Relapse Baroness had an incredibly successful year in 2012 with not only the release of the masterful ‘Yellow & Green’ double album, but also as a touring act with Meshuggah and Decapitated . Despite what was possibly the greatest year of their career musically, a horrifying bus accident has curbed the band since August 2012. However, frontman John Baizley and guitarist Pete Adams have slowly been picking themselves back up, as evidenced in this exclusive video of the duo performing ‘Foolsong’ live. Baizley told us that a bus crash isn’t the sort of thing at will stop Baroness during his first ever interview since the accident. Fans of the band never doubted Baizley’s words for a second, and last weekend (Jan. 19 – 20), the Baroness frontman joined Converge onstage in Philadelphia to perform ‘Coral Blue’ with the band, only to open for Neurosis the very next day as a stripped-down version of Baroness alongside guitarist Pete Adams. This performance of ‘Foolsong’ isn’t only sonically beautiful, but acts as one of the most inspirational chapters in modern rock. After months of rehab, uncertainty and almost unimaginable torment, John Baizley and Pete Adams turned this performance into a declaration of their own perseverance. Sit back and enjoy this unique and impassioned version of ‘Foolsong’ by John Baizley and Pete Adams, exclusively here on Loudwire. Baroness’ John Baizley and Pete Adams Perform ‘Foolsong’ [button href=”http://loudwire.com/baroness-john-baizley-bus-crash-isnt-going-to-stop-us/” title=”Next: Read Our 3-Part Interview with John Baizley” align=”center”]
Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Killswitch Engage vocalist Jesse Leach has joined forces with Chicago non-profit organization ‘Hope for the Day’ and Alternative Press magazine to release their latest video segment of ‘Music Saved My Life.’ In the video, Leach goes in-depth about the positive emotional impact that music had on his life, especially during the darkest of times. Jesse Leach, who rejoined Killswitch Engage in 2012 after a decade away from the band, opens up about struggling with depression, anxiety and losing friends to suicide. He also speaks about exactly how music saved his life along with the band which cemented his dedication to his greatest passion. “I got involved with music at around 14 or 15 years old. I first heard the band Minor Threat and the visceral anger, emotion and just the sheer catharsis of the music is really what drove me and it’s something I can relate to, being a young, angry kid and sort of feeling like I didn’t belong in my high school.” Leach continues, “Punk rock and hardcore was really the music that first spoke to me, and made me want to have a voice and express myself. That music was definitely an outlet for my emotions, especially when you’re that young and still learning how to cope.” Hope for the Day is a movement dedicated to educate youth through music and the arts. It hopes to use these crafts as a defense mechanism against suicide by allowing youths to flourish through creative expression. Check out the full ‘Music Saved My Life’ video featuring Jesse Leach in the player below. Killswitch Engage’s Jesse Leach Shares How Music Saved His Life
Mary Ouellette, shewillshootyou.com / Kevin Winter, Getty Images The departure of Anthrax lead guitarist Rob Caggiano came as a shock to the metal world, as the thrash legends had just begun to truly celebrate their comeback with classic vocalist Joey Belladonna . Having torn through the 2012 Mayhem Festival, headlined an unforgettable tour with Testament + Death Angel , earned a 2013 Grammy nomination and just finished tracking their ‘Anthems’ covers EP, Caggiano suddenly left the band, and guitarist Scott Ian has just offered some insight into Caggiano’s exit. Caggiano formally announced his departure from Anthrax on Jan. 4, revealing his desire to fixate his creativity upon producing. “The fact that Anthrax is at the top of their game right now and totally ‘out for blood’ after all these years is a testament to this band’s longevity and conviction!” states Caggiano. “I’m truly honored to have been a part of their brilliant legacy.” Although Caggiano’s exit was sudden, Anthrax assured fans that there were no hard feelings, wishing Caggiano the best with his future projects, which includes producing the new Volbeat album. Despite the brotherly send-off, Anthrax’s statement didn’t reveal any specific details about exactly how the guitarist left. In a new interview with MTV Hive , however, Scott Ian offers an explanation: We didn’t know he was planning on leaving while we were tracking this [‘Anthems’]. He was literally finishing solos in Berlin on the last days of the tour. It wasn’t until after the tour ended and we started having conversations, and just to put it in a nutshell, he just needs to do his own thing at this point in time. We knew he had a record that he was going to be doing possibly. We had already told him, if you need to take a hiatus, that’s fine. The best thing I can say is that he’s on a mission to do his own thing at this point. And I’m certainly not going to stand in his way. As for choosing Caggiano’s temporary replacement, Jon Donais of Shadows Fall, Ian says: It was actually Rob. He had already spoken to Jon and had kind of filled him in about what his plan was. He didn’t want to leave us hanging. As much as it sucks, this whole thing has been friendly. I may think Rob has made a mistake by leaving the band, but at the same time he’s my friend and I back his decision all the way in whatever he needs to do. He feels the same about us. We all know Jon. I’ve actually worked with him before on [comedian] Brian Posehn’s record. We all know he’s a great lead guitar player. And Jon said absolutely he wanted to do it. Anthrax are set to headline the 2013 Metal Alliance Tour , performing their classic album ‘Among the Living’ in full during each stop. The band will also cap off the first date of the 2013 New England Metal and Hardcore Festival . [button href=”http://loudwire.com/volbeat-new-album-produced-by-former-anthrax-guitarist-rob-caggiano/” title=”Volbeat Prep New Album Produced by Rob Caggiano” align=”center”]
YouTube Bring Me the Horizon kicked off the new year in blistering fashion by debuting the new single ‘ Shadow Moses .’ Now, they’ve just unveiled a stirring music video for song. The clip may be a little difficult to watch for those with motion sickness, but the quick-cutting camera trick definitely adds something to the video that makes it unique. The imagery of the band performing against stark backdrops like a snow-covered field or an ocean shore in winter provides striking visuals for the hard-hitting track and the usage of red flares is definitely eye-catching. ‘Shadow Moses’ is the lead single off of Bring Me the Horizon’s forthcoming album, ‘Sempiternal,’ due April 30. Singer Oli Sykes previously stated of the new disc, “I’ve never been so confident about an album. It makes our last record sound like s—. We’re doing stuff we could never dreamed of doing before.” For those wondering about the odd album title which is repeated in the song ‘Shadow Moses’ several times, it means “eternal and unchanging” or “everlasting.” Given that knowledge, the dark and cold imagery in the video makes the clip all the more intense. Watch Bring Me the Horizon’s ‘Shadow Moses’ Video [button href=”http://loudwire.com/bring-me-the-horizon-confirm-departure-guitarist-jona-weinhofen/” title=”Next: Bring Me the Horizon Split With Guitarist Jona Weinhofen” align=”center”]