Sevendust via Facebook. Sevendust fans, rejoice! The hard rock act has announced they will release their ninth studio album, ‘Black Out the Sun,’ on their own 7Bros. Records label (through Warner Music Group’s Independent Label Group) on March 26, 2013. The album’s debut single, ‘Decay,’ will reach active rock airwaves and retail outlets Jan. 22, 2013. ‘Black Out the Sun’ was self-produced by the band — Lajon Witherspoon (vocals), Morgan Rose (drums and vocals), Clint Lowery (guitar/vocals), Vince Hornsby (bass and vocals) and John Connolly (guitar and vocals) — at The Architekt Studios in Butler, N.J., with the assistance of mixer and engineer Mike Ferretti. As for the sound of the new album, it’s going to be heavy. In Loudwire’s recent interview with drummer Morgan Rose , he chatted about the upcoming disc by dishing, “I know I’m gonna scream like a banshee on the next record, I don’t know how many more we got left in us – from now on it’s gotta be treated like it’s the last one in my book. I know it’s gonna be real heavy.” Sevendust are also set to tour in support of ‘Black Out the Sun,’ which is the follow-up to 2010’s ‘Cold Day Memory,’ and have announced a headlining U.S. tour with Lacuna Coil set for February of 2013. For a complete list of tour dates, click below: [button href=”http://loudwire.com/lacuna-coil-sevendust-early-2013-u-s-tour/” title=”Lacuna Coil + Sevendust 2013 U.S. Tour Dates ” align=”center”]
Epic A day in advance of its Nov. 27 release, the single-disc 20th anniversary edition of Rage Against the Machine ‘s self-titled debut album is streaming at AOL Music . ‘Rage Against the Machine – XX’ includes three live tracks. There are also other editions of ‘XX’ available. The massive 20th Anniversary Edition Deluxe Box Set includes two CDs, two DVDs, one 12? 180gm vinyl LP, one 40-page booklet and a two-sided poster. The 20th Anniversary Special Edition has two CDs and a bonus DVD featuring six tracks in an oversized softpack. Additionally, a 12? 180gm vinyl edition that has a picture disc and a facsimile reproduction of the original LP has been remastered and will be available, sans bonus tracks. With band members doing interviews to promote the release, the big question has been if there will be any new Rage Against the Machine material. The answer, at least in the short term, is no. Guitarist Tom Morello says some band members just are not ready to start working on a new album. “When bands make albums, it’s because everybody wants to, and that’s not the case with Rage Against the Machine at the moment,” Morello explained recently. “Everyone in the band gets along very well, we consider each other friends and comrades in arms, but people sometimes don’t feel ready to do it. I don’t have one minute of one day that’s not filled with music, or politics, or family. If at some point Rage were to get it together to work more, I would be open to that, but that’s not on the table right now.” [button href=”http://music.aol.com/new-releases-full-cds/#/2″ title=”Listen to ‘Rage Against the Machine – XX’ Here” align=”center”]
Puscifer Entertainment Rock and metal music’s greatest workaholic, Maynard James Keenan , has announced the upcoming release of new Puscifer material. Keenan is famous for his work with Tool and A Perfect Circle , but Puscifer is another beast entirely, mixing electronic elements with bizarre imagery and gorgeous songwriting. Puscifer’s next release, ‘Donkey Punch the Night,’ is set to drop on Feb. 19 and will consist of eight tracks. The EP will showcase the talents of Keenan, singer-songwriter Carina Round , Mat Mitchell, Josh Eustis and A Perfect Circle musicians Matt McJunkins and drummer Jeff Friedl; the same solid lineup featured throughout the band’s 2011 album, ‘Conditions of My Parole.’ Out of the eight tracks featured on the record, there will be two original songs: ‘Breathe’ and ‘Dear Brother.’ ‘Donkey Punch the Night will also house various remixes, along with covers of Queen’s ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ and Accept’s ‘Balls to the Wall.’ Keenan spoke about the inclusion of the two covers on the band’s forthcoming EP. “While continuing our tradition of releasing a few new songs at a time,” explained Keenan. “I also had an itch that needed scratching, and that itch was ‘Balls to the Wall.’ Which was followed by an even harder to reach itch known as ‘Bohemian Rhapsody.’ And scratch them we did.” Check out the full track listing for Puscifer’s ‘Doney Punch the Night’ EP below. Puscifer, ‘Donkey Punch the Night’ Track Listing: 1. ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ – “O.G. Mix” 2. ‘Breathe’ 3. ‘Dear Brother’ 4. ‘Balls To The Wall’ – “PIllow Fight Mix” 5. ‘Breathe’ – “Drumcell rework” 6. ‘Dear Brother’ – “Denton rework” (Big Black Delta) 7. ‘Balls To The Wall’ – “Silent Servant El Guapo Mix” 8. ‘Bohemian Rhapsody’ – “Sonoio rework”
Frank Micelotta, Getty Images With uncertainty surrounding System of a Down ‘s future recording plans, fans of the band are anxiously awaiting the next offering from Scars on Broadway . Fronted by System singer-guitarist Daron Malakian , Scars on Broadway released one solitary self-titled album in 2008, but according to Malakian, a new Scars effort will likely drop in early 2013. System of a Down drummer John Dolmayan was once a part of Scars on Broadway, having announced his exit from the band in August of this year. Along with his statement of departure, Dolmayan encouraged fans by hyping the upcoming album from the project, “You will definitely hear some Scars on Broadway within the next four or five months … And it’s a good album, by the way.” Although Scars on Broadway consists of a full lineup, Malakian has just revealed that he’s recording the new album completely by himself, playing all instruments, including drums. “It was just this secret, personal thing I wanted to do for myself,” says Malakian. “I didn’t want there to be any hype behind it.” “I could have just recorded music and put it out under my own name,” Malakian tells Revolver magazine. “But I actually want to tour these songs and get behind them. And I was ready to do another Scars On Broadway record. I’ve just been going with the flow, and the flow’s taken me here.” The frontman also discusses how he differentiates possible System material from possible Scars material. “It’s a little tough. Because there are some things that would work for either band. But right now System is just playing live. To get that band back together in the studio means getting four different guys back together, and I don’t know when that will happen. But, let’s just say I do have some ‘rainy day’ songs just in case.” Scars on Broadway are currently in the midst of a North American tour with Deftones . [button href=”http://loudwire.com/system-of-a-down-daron-malakian-dishes-on-politics-and-religion/” title=”Next: Daron Malakian on Politics + Religion” align=”center”]
Reprise The guiding principle of Deftones albums is the push and pull between singer Chino Moreno and guitarist Stephen Carpenter. That’s an age-old rock ‘n’ roll construct — the tension between singer and guitar player — and Moreno and Carpenter being at consistent sonic odds is what makes Deftones music so dynamic. They employ this technique on their new album ‘Koi No Yokan.’ It’s recommended that you listen to all Deftones albums, especially this one, in the dark, with the volume turned up, to fully absorb the layers of sound without distraction or interruption. There is so much more going on under the surface of those quiet-loud bursts and the exchange of energy between Moreno’s croon and Carpenter’s heavy artillery demands a deeper listen. ‘Koi No Yokan’ is erected on the aforementioned foundation, with Carpenter pounding out gritty, bottom-heavy, resonant riffery, while Moreno adds a bit of an androgynous touch, thanks to his clean vocals, which have always been indicative of his PJ Harvey worship. Moreno screams like a banshee, at times, but it’s his clean, pretty vocals which are way more interesting to Deftones fans. They are almost like an instrument unto themselves. ‘Koi No Yokan’ is a bloodied record that bares its claws. ‘Swerve City’ opens the disc, and is the get-it-out-of-the-way song in that it makes the point that the Sacramento, Calif., band is here to rock and retain its heaviness. The lush ‘Romantic Dreams’ has a whimsical bend, with Moreno cooing “I wish this night would never end” over a Meshuggah-influenced gust of Carpenter riffage. That’s the case for much of his techy guitar tone, which anchors the album and makes it feel constructed of iron ore. The dynamics aren’t just at play because Moreno and Carpenter face off musically. DJ Frank Delgado is also working overtime to spin those extra sonic flourishes into the mix, like the sound bites buried under that gnarly riff in ‘Romantic Dreams.’ ‘Leathers’ has a ghostly, cinematic quality to the first few seconds, before it erupts into a torrent of screams and wails. ‘Poltergeist’ kicks off with handclaps and a engine-revving riff that could cause a 50-car pile up. ‘Entombed’ is the prettiest song on the record, with sweeping vocals and a shimmery tone. But that doesn’t mean it’s soft. It’s just swells with beats that sound like a thumping heart and there’s an electrical, Delgado-designed current that buzzes through the fade out. ‘Graphic Nature’ is melancholic, with chunky riffery, while the undulating single ‘Tempest’ has a melody line similar to that of ‘Change (In the House of Flies),’ which is the band’s biggest radio hit. It doesn’t sound like ‘Change,’ but it is from the same melodic family. ‘Gauze’ could cause an involuntary ejection from your seat, since it comes on with a full blast of noise. ‘Rosemary’ is a sweeping exercise in quiet-loud, Deftonesian dynamics and contrasts. It starts the final moments of the album correctly. It sends volts of electrical charges rushing through your veins. ‘Koi No Yokan’ is 11 tracks, so it doesn’t wear out its welcome or leave you wanting more, either. It’s a satisfying length and since the songs have such a thunderous guitar bottom end, it would tire you out if it went on for too long, so the band and producer cut things off at the right time. Much of the underlying flourish, provided by Delgado, has a film score quality to it and could be cut up, dissected, re-arranged and used in noirish thrillers. No, we don’t mean slasher or horror flicks, either. While ‘Koi No Yokan’ might not match ‘White Pony,’ which is the transitional and pinnacle album for the band that came out over 12 years ago, it has a similar spirit to that album and the self-titled release that followed it. In fact, if ‘Koi No Yokan’ had come out after 2003′s ‘Deftones,’ it would not interrupt the catalog’s flow. Overall, if the Smashing Pumpkins were heavier, ballsier and angrier, they’d make albums that sound like this, since Deftones do have an alt-metal vibe. Moreno’s lyrics are often from-the-journal-page and stream of thought, making them entirely open-ended and capable of attracting the disaffected. The album’s title is a Japanese term for the moment you know you will fall in love with someone, and the disc itself delivers more of what the band’s fans have come to love. Deftones already made that creative left turn a decade ago, and it served them well, so they serve it up again.
Columbia Records Trent Reznor fans were recently treated to ‘ Keep It Together ,’ the lead song from the ‘ An Omen ‘ EP from his How to Destroy Angels outfit. Now the full six-song disc has found its way online for fans to check out. Aside from the moody digitalism of ‘Keep It Together,’ the set includes such new standouts as the plucky and somewhat folky ‘Ice Age,’ Reznor’s wife Mariqueen Maandig’s melodically mesmerizing showcase ‘On the Wing,’ and the vintage groove of ‘The Loop’ among others. ‘An Omen’ is serving at the precursor to a full-length disc that will follow. Though a title and release date for the album has not been announced, it is expected within the next year. The new EP drops in stores onTuesday (Nov. 13). Reznor recently revealed that How to Destroy Angels signed to a major label because of what it could offer them going forward, as he views the group reaching a different audience than just those who know him for Nine Inch Nails and needing a way to get new listeners. He explained , “The main reason I do what I do is I want to do something that matters. I want to be able to create art that reaches the maximum amount of people on my terms … That was a key component … Because it came down to us — us being the band now — sitting around and identifying what our goals were. And the top priority wasn’t to make money. It was to try to reach the most amount of people, and try to reach the most amount of people effectively, that doesn’t feel like it’s coming completely from my backyard. Because I don’t want this project, ultimately, to just be dismissed as a ‘side project’ or … (loud sigh) … a ‘patronizing affair with Trent and his wife.’ Sounds terrible, you know?” In other Trent Reznor news, the singer just revealed he’s begun working on Nine Inch Nails music and he’s also set to appear on the ‘ Call of Duty: Black Ops II ‘ soundtrack that arrives later this month. Check out the stream of the ‘An Omen’ EP (via Hype Machine ) below. Listen to How to Destroy Angels ‘An Omen’ EP [button href=”http://loudwire.com/mariqueen-maandig-hottest-rockstar-wives/” title=”Next: Mariqueen Maandig – Hottest Rockstar Wives” align=”center”]
Reprise Deftones ‘ seventh studio album, ‘Koi No Yokan’ is without a doubt one of the most anticipated releases of the year. The veteran act has compiled one of the most celebrated discographies of the past 20 years, and although the album won’t see a release until Nov. 13, the entire ‘Koi No Yokan’ album is now available for streaming in full. Rolling Stone has just posted the entire record, and so far the reaction from fans has been incredibly positive. We’ve been amping up Deftones fans for several weeks, as the songs ‘ Leathers ‘ and ‘ Tempest ‘ were released to tease ‘Koi No Yokan,’ but now fanatics can hear the complete album, which boasts eleven tracks total. After the success of the band’s 2010 full-length, ‘Diamond Eyes,’ Deftones returned to the studio with a greater confidence riding off the creative accomplishments of the album. “Because we got through making that record, it was so well received and we loved it, it was a confidence-builder [for] all of us as a band,” frontman Chino Moreno tells Rolling Stone . “So when we went in to make this record, I think we carried a lot of that over with us. There was no doubt.” Moreno continues, “Diamond Eyes was capturing lightning in a bottle. We had just come together, had a lot of constraints in terms of time, so we’re just banging things out. This time we had a little more chance to experiment and just play.” Without further ado, get the hell over to Rolling Stone and listen to ‘Koi No Yokan’ in full: [button href=”http://www.rollingstone.com/music/news/deftones-unleash-angst-and-tension-in-new-album-koi-no-yokan-premiere-20121108″ title=”Listen to Deftones, ‘Koi No Yokan’ in Full” align=”center”]