Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Hatebreed frontman Jamey Jasta was the guest on Full Metal Jackie’s radio show this past weekend. Jasta spoke about the band’s upcoming album ‘The Divinity of Purpose,’ as well as his thoughts on how the metal scene has changed since the beginning of his music career with Hatebreed and much more. Read Full Metal Jackie’s interview with Jamey Jasta below: Jamey, you’re very much a student and fan of the evolution of Metal. What have you noticed that you like about the direction metal has taken since the last two Hatebreed albums were released in 2009 and how did that come into play while making this new album? I just like that there’s been more unity kind of how it was back when we started. I think it’s really important that metal and hardcore and punk should be inclusionary and it shouldn’t exclude people – it doesn’t matter, your religion, your race, how much money your parent make or how much money you make at your job. It really should be about bringing people together and that’s how it was when we started. We toured in 1998 with Entombed and in 1999 we toured with Motorhead and Dropkick Murphy’s and in 2000 we toured with Sepultura and bands like Soulfly and Danzig. We always try to bring different music scenes together. I think through the last five or six years as the Myspace fans exploded and as the internet and YouTube got really big I think it’s been more exclusionary. Certain bands only stick together and certain fans only want to see certain types of bands – especially the kind of more scenester bands. They all stick together and stay together and that’s fine but the fans in the last two, three years – since we’ve done the world tour with Machine Head and since we did a lot of Metal festivals in Europe and different festivals in the states like Mayhem Fest, which was a really nice eclectic bill – I think it started to change back to how it was in the late ‘90s where we would play with Six Feet Under or we would play with Anthrax, we’d play with Cannibal Corpse which we brought that back in 2009. We had us and Cannibal Corpse and Unearth on the same bill but now we’re taking out Shadows Fall and Dying Fetus again. We hadn’t taken out Shadows Fall since ’03 or ’04 we took out Dying Fetus in ’09 with Chimara and that was great. I just really want to promote unity and make sure that just because there’s some haters on the Internet that only want to see death metal bands with death metal bands or punk bands with punk bands, we shouldn’t listen to them, they’re trying tor divide us and we don’t want that. We want unity and abundance is key, we want the shows to be bigger and better. Hatebreed’s lineup has been extremely stable over the last four years, what have Chris [Beattie], Matt [Byrne], Wayne [Lozinak] and Frank [Novinec] brought to ‘The Divinty of Purpose’ that makes it classic Hatebreed? I just think having the good studio environment and having the good environment on the road has made it easier for everybody to be creative and just do better. When you feel better you do better, and luckily we’ve been on an upswing. And there’s been a resurgence with the band and we have been able to do a little bit less touring and have a little less of a grinding schedule which I think has made everybody happy and more focused on the creative process and on the performance. When Wayne came in and did this record and when he did the last record, too, it was a very good working environment and he picked up all the material very quickly and his performances were spot on. He works great with Zeuss and Josh [Wilbur] and all the great ideas Chris brought the table in the pre-production process and all my riffs that I brought to the table he picked up on very quickly. The same thing goes for Matt and Frank, just touring everybody gets along great and it’s just been a really good working environment. At the end of the day a lot of fans might not understand that it is a job, it is our career, touring, recording, being a fulltime musician and just like a regular job it can be a little bit of a grind. We’ve tried to keep it from becoming that and the last couple years has been really good for that, just being a good work environment and having fun. Jamey, what can you tell us about the song ‘Dead Man Breathing’? I’m just so happy that you’re premiering this song because it’s become one of my favorite tracks from the album. It’s definitely one of the more metallic songs and it’s just hard and heavy but it almost sounds like a new band to us. This was one of the songs that I guess created the bidding war and the stir in the industry when we were unsigned and it really helped us get our deal. A lot of people enjoyed the direction we were going in. The song is loosely based on how as a society we’ve become over medicated and we’re always trying to treat the symptom and not ever come up with a cure. The song says, “I don’t want to be another dead man breathing,” the lyrics are open to everybody’s interpretation but for me it goes a little deeper, from having faced certain addictions in my life. I hope everybody enjoys it, check it out. What’s the single most defining element of Hatebreed that absolutely had to be on ‘The Divinity of Purpose’? The lyrics just had to have a real impact, I think I didn’t focus enough on the lyrics on the last album, that I didn’t have a recurring theme throughout the whole album and I just needed to go back and spark a new thought within myself and hopefully within the listener. This is a band that all over the world, thousands and thousands of people have our lyrics tattooed on them. Although we had some bright moments on the last record like ‘In Ashes They Shall Reap’ and maybe a song like ‘Become the Fuse’ on this record, I wanted every song to have at least a big line or a big lyric that someone could really relate to. And because the title is ‘The Divinity of Purpose’ I really feel like that sparks a new thought within the listener. Maybe it would make someone say, “What is my purpose in life?,” and for me my purpose in life changed, for many years it was my daughter, for my teenage years it was music and now as an adult it has gone back to being music. 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. As long as it’s inspiring which I feel it is then I feel like it’s a little bit more than moshing and headbanging and whatever else. If someone just likes the riffs and the tunes that’s great too, I feel like we really brought that back even harder than ever so that’s also a very defining part of the whole record. Hatebreed really put Conneticut and Southern New England on the metal map. When were you first aware that every step you took with Hatebreed was also a step toward making the regional metal scene bigger? I think I most realized it when I started hosting ‘Headbangers Ball’ and we started doing shows with some of the new wave of American metal bands. To me, Hatebreed was already a very big band, we had already crossed over and done big tours with Slayer and had gained this worldwide notoriety with ‘Perserverance.’ I always thought, “Oh I should have a backup plan” because music at that time was – downloading was huge and I didn’t know if music was definitely going to be my career and I thought “Maybe I’ll go into TV.” When I started hosting ‘Headbangers’ and I started to see this huge ground swell with the music I remember it was Stillborn Fest of ’03 and Killswitch Engage supported us and the whole place was signing along and I was like, “Man these guys are going to be huge,” and then it really started to bubble up with Shadows Fall and Unearth. The rest of the country started to react with Lamb of God and Chimara and on the West Coast with bands like Bleeding Through, Atreyu and Avenged Sevenfold and bands we were giving a lot of airplay on ‘Headbangers.’ It really started making me think, “We really got to take this seriously” and that music can be this huge thing, bigger than we all expected it to be and that’s why we followed up quickly with ‘The Rise of Brutality” and we had this big resurgence in 2006 with ‘Supremacy’ and getting the Ozzfest main stage and since then. The fans have been so supportive of us and a lot of bands from New England and it’s a great thing to see because we always felt like it was going to be a big thing but I didn’t thing we knew it was going to be this big. Full Metal Jackie will welcome former Metallica bassist Jason Newsted to her program this coming weekend. She can be heard on radio stations around the country — for a full list of stations, go to fullmetaljackieradio.com .
Mary Ouellette, SheWillShootYou.com / Kevin Winter, Getty Images Dave Grohl may have successfully upstaged his own ‘Sound City’ documentary screening at Sundance when he followed it up with a concert for the ages. The live spectacle featured his Sound City Players and included 17 different guest musicians playing over three hours of music at the Park City, Utah event on Jan. 18. While Grohl’s Foo Fighter bandmates were a major part of the evening acting as the backbone for his band, the stage was a revolving door of special guests from Slipknot’s Corey Taylor to Cheap Trick’s Rick Nielson and Grohl’s former Nirvana bandmate Krist Novoselic . For the classic music lovers in the crowd Stevie Nicks and John Fogerty also joined Grohl onstage, making the evening one to remember. Fan filmed footage from the event is starting to surface and one of the highlights is Corey Taylor’s performance of the new song ‘From Can To Can’t.’ ‘From Can To Can’t’ was penned specifically for the ‘Sound City’ movie soundtrack dubbed ‘Sound City – Real To Reel,’ due out on March 12. Joining Taylor on the official recording for this tune were Rick Nielsen and former Kyuss bassist Scott Reeder with Grohl handling drum duties. Watch video of the live performance of ‘From Can To Can’t’ here . Although recreating a concert of that magnitude may be hard to reproduce, Grohl and his Sound City Players are going to try it one more time when the documentary makes it’s Los Angeles, Calif. premiere on Jan. 31. [button href=”http://loudwire.com/dave-grohl-admiration-sound-city-collaborators-corey-taylor-paul-mccartney/” title=”Dave Grohl Shares Admiration for ‘Sound City’ Collaborators Corey Taylor” align=”center”]
Swedish metal band Sister Sin recently revealed their new high octane video for ‘Hearts of Cold,’ the second single from their October 2012 release ‘Now and Forever.’ Directed by Eric Richter, the video plays out a story similar to the true crime that inspired the song, revolving around the gruesome tale of Juha Veikko Valjakkala and Marita Routalammi. Valjakkala and Routalammi are the Finnish couple who allegedly entered Sweden and killed a family of three after a fight over a bike. The two ruthless outlaws would go on to reportedly inspire the 1994 film ‘Natural Born Killers.’ In the exclusive clip seen below, frontwoman Liv Jagrell talks about the meaning behind the video, calling the crime one that truly impacted the band’s home country of Sweden. “For us in Sweden, we don’t have these kind of things so often,” recalls Jagrell. “Sweden was very frozen by this.” Jagrell went on to say that after being incarcerated, Valjakkala’s evil continued, explaining, “This guy, they put him in prison and I think he escaped like five times.” The video puts a new spin on the song and Jagrell gets to put her acting skills to the test throughout the video, playing the female role in the infamous duo, check it out above. Jagrell and Sister Sin are gearing up for a North American tour run that kicks off in February with some dates with Doro before initiating their own headlining run. Check out the dates below. Watch the Exclusive Behind the Meaning of Sister Sin’s ‘Hearts of Cold’ Video [button href=”http://loudwire.com/sister-sin-now-and-forever-album-review/” title=”Sister Sin, ‘Now and Forever’ – Album Review” align=”center”] Sister Sin Tour Dates: With Doro: 2/1- Tampa, Fla. – Brass Mug 2/2- Atlanta, Ga. – The Masquerade 2/3- West Springfield, Va. – Empire 2/4- New York, N.Y. – BB Kings 2/5- Baltimore, Md. – Soundstage 2/7- Toronto, Ontario – Mod Club 2/8- Rochester, N.Y. – Montage Music Hall 2/9- Columbus, Ohio – Ace Of Cups 2/10- Cleveland, Ohio – Peabody’s 2/12-Westland, Minn. – Token Lounge 2/13- Joliet, Ill. – Mojoes 2/14- St. Paul, Minn. – Station 4 2/15- Waterloo, Iowa – Spicoli’s Grill and the Reverb 2/17- Englewood, Colo. – Moe’s 2/19- Seattle, Wash. – El Corazon 2/20- Portland, Ore. – Hawthorne Theatre 2/21- San Francisco, Calif. -Thee Parkside 2/22- West Hollywood, Calif. – House Of Blues 2/23- Tempe, Ariz. – Rocky Point Cantina Headlining Tour Dates: 2/24-Las Vegas, Nev. – LVCS 2/26- Austin, Texas – Dirty Dog Bar 2/27- Fort Worth, Texas – Tomcats West 2/28- Oklahoma City, Okla. – The Chameleon Room 3/1- St. Louis, Mo. – Fubar 3/2- Little Rock, Ark. – Downtown Music Hall 3/3- Atlanta, Ga. – The Masquerade 3/5- Spartanburg, S.C. – Ground Zero 3/7- Baltimore, Md. – Paparizza 3/8- Pittsburgh, Pa. – Smiling Moose 3/9- Trenton, N.J. – Championships
Warner Brothers / Publicity Photo He was one of the more entertaining characters in rock music and now the short life and times of late AC/DC frontman Bon Scott will be featured on the big screen. After spending the last year getting the cast and crew lined up, pre-production has begun on the biopic. According to Bravewords.com , filmmaker J.R. Getches shot the first-ever dramatic portrayal of the musician on Jan. 14, with actor-singer Rob Liotti handling the role of Scott. The director says, “The story of Bon Scott is a classical tragedy. He travelled across the world, made his mark and then died too young. He was a misfit who found his place in rock music and became immortal pursuing his dream. This is a story worth telling.” While Liotti has been cast in the lead role, the remaining actors for the film have not been revealed. However, it is known that Malcolm and Angus Young, Mark Evans, Phil Rudd and Margaret “Silver” Smith are among the roles that have been cast. Liotti reportedly shed 40 pounds in order to prepare to play Scott. At present, High Voltage Productions Pty. are currently seeking an independent production house to help them complete their vision, but they have stated that the film’s trailer will help serve in fundraising and give a visual perpetuity to investors and the public. For more about the film, click here . [button href=”http://loudwire.com/favorite-bon-scott-acdc-song-readers-poll/” title=”Next: Vote for Your Favorite Bon Scott AC/DC Song” align=”center”]
Mercury Records The 1980s were well under way by January 1983 – even mathematical geniuses like us can figure that out – but when it came to defining the look, the sound and the vibe of the ’80s, there’s no arguing Def Leppard ’s third album, ‘Pyromania,’ released 30 years ago today (Jan. 20), played a major role. In a year that would see Quiet Riot’s No. 1 album, ‘Metal Health,’ signal hard rock’s unlikely emergence as one of the decade’s most commercially dominant music genres, Def Leppard’s success would reach epic proportions. Now, Leppard’s talent and drive to succeed notwithstanding, few would dispute the claim that the true architect behind ‘Pyromania’s’ inevitable triumph was producer Robert John ‘Mutt’ Lang, whose studio wizardry had allowed him to deliver hit album after hit album in recent years, most notably AC/DC’s seismic ‘Back in Black.’ In 1981, Lang had taken Def Leppard under his wing by producing their equally stupendous, but significantly rawer ‘High ‘n’ Dry’ album; but he truly pulled out all the stops for ‘Pyromania,’ demanding nothing less than perfection from the band and even taking matters into his own hands when necessary – including a few co-songwriting credits and using a drum machine in place of drummer Rick Allen. Controversial as these decisions might seem today, they worked, and beginning with the February release of ‘Pyromania’s’ first single, ‘Photograph,’ the hard-touring Brits would gradually conquer America. Three additional singles and music videos (‘Rock of Ages,’ ‘Foolin’,’ and ‘Too Late for Love’) assaulted the charts before year’s end; their slick, sonically manicured pop metal anthems combining with Leppard’s photogenic good looks to drive a remarkable 6 million copies of ‘Pyromania’ into American households. The album has since been certified Diamond for 10 million units shipped. More importantly in the grand scheme of all things hard rock, this irresistible audio-visual combination became a blueprint quickly adopted by gaggles of up-and-coming bands (not to mention the savvy music industry executives who signed them), all aspiring to concoct the next ‘Pyromania.’ That’s why, beginning in January 1983, ’80s hard rock would almost always be created in Def Leppard’s image, as heard and seen on ‘Pyromania.’ Watch Def Leppard’s ‘Rock of Ages’ Video
Liz Ramanand, Loudwire Machine Head ‘s Robb Flynn has gotten a taste of playing acoustic over the last couple of months and he’s anxious to work in a few more performances. As such, the singer-guitarist has booked four acoustic performances this coming week in California. Flynn recently broke out the acoustic guitar for his collaborative performance of the Black Sabbath classic ‘Die Young’ at the Mitch Lucker Memorial Concert . The vocalist joined members of Suicide Silence in saluting their late vocalist by singing the track. He stated, “I was surprisingly nervous, maybe because it was the first time playing it live, maybe not being able to rely on my usual bravado/attitude/’roar’ was a bit daunting. It was three acoustics and a vocal, naked and all about the passion.” Emboldened by the experience, Flynn agreed to perform acoustically again at the recent Tony La Russa Animal Rescue Foundation benefit . This time he tried out a pair of tracks — the aforementioned ‘Die Young’ and a reworked acoustic version of ‘Darkness Within.” The vocalist stated of the experience, “‘Die Young’ went down good. I sang the end a lot better than at the Mitch [Lucker] benefit, and then came time for the debut of the acoustic version of ‘Darkness [Within],’ just me and an acoustic, no sing-alongs, no band to kick in the heavy — a new version I had never played live. It worked, it totally worked. I nailed most of it, was a little flat in some parts at the very end, but overall it felt good and I was proud of myself for taking up the challenge.” Feeling good about his recent acoustic attempts, the Machine Head leader will now play full acoustic sets for the four newly-announced shows. The set list is expected to include a mixture of cover songs and reworked Machine Head favorites. All the shows are in the southern California vicinity, coinciding with the various Machine Head members’ upcoming appearances at the NAMM convention . Flynn, in particular, will be playing an acoustic performance at Epiphone Booth Friday (Jan. 25) at 4PM PT, and he’ll join Phil Demmel in a signing session at the EMG Booth at 11AM PT Saturday (Jan. 26) Robb Flynn Acoustic Shows: 1/21 — Hollywood, Calif. — On the Rox 1/23 — Riverside, Calif. — Mission Tobacco Lounge 1/24 — San Diego, Calif. — Brick by Brick 1/26 — Fullerton, Calif. — Slidebar Rock-N-Roll Kitchen [button href=”http://loudwire.com/machine-head-robb-flynn-hernia-surgery-new-live-album-2013-plans/” title=”Next: Robb Flynn Discusses Hernia Surgery + 2013 Plans” align=”center”]
Cindy Ord, Getty Images Soundgarden ‘s reunion continues to be a fruitful one, with the band finally offering their first new music in 16 years with the ‘ King Animal ‘ album. And while there are some that may question their motives for getting back together, guitarist Kim Thayil says it was truly a quite organic happening. Thayil told The Phoenix that the band re-opened discussions over the lack of direction where their catalog was concerned, with the group not necessarily having any web presence for the better part of a decade. After getting past the business, the band members then discussed the idea to play and record again. There were some in the media (as well as one of their peers, Billy Corgan ) who argued that their initial return was a “ cash grab ,” which Thayil debates. The guitarist says, “How is it a cash grab? Since when is there money in making records anymore [laughs]? I mean, playing Lollapalooza was a one-day payday, but … and by the way, since when do we need money? We’re not like the Afghan Whigs or Pavement. We had a fairly successful career. Matt Cameron played in Pearl Jam for God’s sake! What the hell does he need to spend another, you know, 20 hours a week dedicated to writing and rehearsing Soundgarden songs and tending to Soundgarden’s business? He’s doing just fine thank you.” Thayil credits Matt Cameron for starting the creative process with tracks he wanted the band to check out that didn’t quite fit Pearl Jam. He adds, “I think for Matt it’s really just a labor of love and it’s a great creative outlet for him. He wanted to see Ben [Shepherd] and I playing again and Chris [Cornell] writing new Soundgarden songs. I don’t think Chris needs the money. It seems like he did pretty well with Audioslave and his solo career.” In related news, Soundgarden has returned to the road to support the ‘King Animal’ album. As part of the trek, fans now have a chance to purchase special meet-and-greet packages to hang out with Chris Cornell at their tour stops. A pair of tickets are being auctioned off for each date with the proceeds going to the Chris and Vicky Cornell Foundation, which was recently launched with the goal of protecting vulnerable children. The organization tackles such issues as homelessness, poverty, neglect and abuse. To get your tickets, meet Chris Cornell and support the foundation, visit the Luminary Lane website here . [button href=”http://loudwire.com/soundgarden-2013-must-see-rock-concerts/” title=”Next: Soundgarden – 2013 Must-See Rock Concerts” align=”center”]