DIVINE HERESY Guitarist Says His Band Has Made 'A Great Metal Record'
Written by realspase
Monday, 24 September 2007
Chad Bowar of About Heavy Metal recently conducted an interview with DIVINE HERESY guitarist Dino Cazares (ex-FEAR FACTORY). A few excerpts from the chat follow:
About Heavy Metal: What kind of response has "Bleed The Fifth" been getting so far?
Dino Cazares: "The majority of the response is very positive. But we are between a rock and a hard place with my FEAR FACTORY past. It's either too much FEAR FACTORY or not enough FEAR FACTORY for those fans. But I think we'll get past that and people will realize that this is a great metal record."
About Heavy Metal: How did DIVINE HERESY come together?
Dino Cazares: "The biggest challenge in putting this together was finding the time, really. I had plenty of other projects going at the time. I met Tim Yeung [drums] around 2003 and we kept in touch. We finally met up in 2005 and started writing songs. Tommy [Cummings] came aboard in 2006. Tim and I had recorded songs and sent them over to Tommy for his vocal audition. We heard passion and anger in his voice, which was something we wanted. It was also very aggressive. We flew him out to L.A. and went straight to the studio and started recording with him. That's how it came together."
About Heavy Metal: You recently brought aboard Joe Payne as your new bassist.
Dino Cazares: "On the record Tony Campos from STATIC-X did three songs. I had met Joe Payne in 2005 when he was touring with NILE. I saw him play live. Three months ago he called me. I told him to come on down, he had the spot. I already knew he was a kick-ass bass player and a good guy. Tim also knew him really well. He came highly recommended. We did have bass auditions for a lot of people, but we were picky. Joe is both a bass and guitar player, and he is able to play the bass like a guitar, which I really like, which is another reason we picked him."
About Heavy Metal: Is he a permanent member, or just a touring member of the band?
Dino Cazares: "We feel good about it. We're going to see what it's like on the road. We have two big tours coming up. As of now, he's pretty close to it."
About Heavy Metal: How did you decide on Century Media as your U.S. label?
Dino Cazares: "We decided to go to Century Media based on how they were on the creative side. Previously on Roadrunner they wanted me to do a lot of radio and commercial type stuff. Century Media gave me creative freedom to do whatever I wanted. I am still on Roadrunner in Europe."
About Heavy Metal: I understand the video shoot at the Salton Sea in California was a bit rough for "Failed Creation" because of the location.
Dino Cazares: "It was pretty nasty. It was about 116 degrees with rotted, dead fish everywhere. The water there is really polluted and thousands and thousands of fish die every year. Birds flock there and think they can feed on these fish, but when they do they end up dying too. It's a perfect place to shoot a video. (laughs) The combination of the smells and the heat made me throw up. I had to throw my clothes away after the shoot. We'd be jamming and someone would have to throw up
opeth news
Written by trymeonhardass!
Monday, 24 September 2007
heres whats up with those metal masters from Sweden!
A memorable evening for any Opeth fan took place on September 8 and 9 at the notorious Anchor bar in central Stockholm. Martin Mendez, Axe and Fredrik Åkesson played a (secret) full-on heavy metal cover set fronted by Mats Levén (Krux, ex Yngwie Malmsteen, ex Therion). The setlist (in no order): Fast as a shark (Accept), Disturbing the priest (Black Sabbath), Mob rules (Sabbath), Hole in the sky (Sabbath), Welcome home (King Diamond), Sanitarium (Metallica) Painkiller (Judas Priest) & Victim of changes (Judas Priest).
2007-09-08
As previously reported Opeth's live album "The Roundhouse Tapes" will be released in Europe on the 22nd of October and in North America on the 20th of November. Release dates for ROW coming soon.
2007-09-06
Calling all die hard Opeth fans! The Roadrunner Records E-Team is looking for new, hardworking members to promote Opeth and other Roadrunner Records artists online on your favorite networking, video, music, and other web sites. Do you think you have what it takes to be a part of the E-Team? Send an email explaining why you should be on it to . Please make sure to mention your level of experience online including HTML, graphic design, video sites, etc.
IN BATTLE album review
Written by c
Monday, 24 September 2007
IN BATTLE Kingdom of Fear (Candlelight)
01. Kingdom of Fear 02. Multitude 03. Wandering One 04. Follow the Allfather 05. Tyr 06. Dead Shall See 07. Curse 08. I Kamp 09. Terrorkings 10. Path of Power 11. Raven Calls
"Now you will kneel before us all", spews the vitriol from the mouth of sadistic growler Odhinn Sandin on "The Multitude" from "Kingdom of Fear", the fourth album from Sweden's IN BATTLE. I could not think of a more apt lyric to describe the attitude on display here. This is about as in your face as it gets, the 11 molten death metal tracks delivered as though the band fully intends to destroy anyone in its path.
In constant attack mode, the unit tears through song after song of unbridled death metal with slivers of black metal in some of the guitar parts. Drummers Nils Fjellström absolutely destroys his kit with the kind of blast beats and double bass assaults that wreck the nerves and rattle the teeth. At times the group's approach on the album reminds me of the havoc wreaked by the lethal war metal played by bands like Australia's ABOMINATOR and New Zealand's DAWN OF AZAZEL, although the sound of IN BATTLE remains grounded in vintage Swedish death metal. Giving the disc a few extra spins allows one to calm down after the initial body blow and identify the nuances in the songwriting. As relentless as it seems, there are some dynamics at work here, whether the coloration in the drumming or the compositional changeups. Along with the multitude of speed killers, the band slows it down a bit on tracks like "Follow the Allfather" and "The Wandering One", the latter offering one of several blazing guitar solos heard on the disc.
Mostly "Kingdom of Fear" beats the listener senseless and moves on to the next victim. Melody is mostly an afterthought, although there are some memorable moments on a group of songs that are smartly arranged for maximum impact. There is nothing fancy or groundbreaking here, just skillfully performed and violent death metal from a group that plays it like it means it.
- Scott Alisoglu
BEHEMOTH To Tour Australia In December
Written by hg
Monday, 24 September 2007
Polish extreme metallers BEHEMOTH will return to Australia/New Zealand for a headlining tour in December 2007. Confirmed dates are as follows:
Dec. 07 - Subnine, Wellington Dec. 08 - Kings Arms, Auckland Dec. 11 - Amplifier Bar, Perth Dec. 12 - Fowlers Live, Adelaide (Lic /All Ages) Dec. 13 - The Arena, Brisbane Dec. 14 - The Gaelic Theatre, Sydney Dec. 15 - The Corner Hotel, Melbourne
AS previously reported, MetalKult.com has posted a new video interview with BEHEMOTH's Nergal in which the Polish extreme metal guitarist/singer talks about a range of topics including his early years in Poland's metal scene, the occult influences on his new album "The Apostasy" and BEHEMOTH's move from black to technical death metal.
This video was filmed in New York City on August 15, 2007, while BEHEMOTH was in the area to play Ozzfest at the PNC Bank Arts Center in Holmdel, NJ.
Watch fan-filmed video footage of BEHEMOTH performing the song "Demigod" on July 27, 2007 at the Boulder Theater in Boulder, Colorado (courtesy of Chris Erben Productions):
VADER: Limited-Edition EP To To Be Made Available During 'Death By Decibels' Tour
Written by gm
Monday, 24 September 2007
Polish death metallers VADER have posted the following message on their official web site:
"To support the upcoming VADER tour in the U.S., Regain Records will release a special EP featuring two songs from two recent albums recorded for the label: 'The Art of War' and 'Impressions on Blood', three video clips and so-called 'Japanese bonus.'" The EP will be available exclusively during "Death by Decibels Tour 2007" and will contain the following tracks:
Audio:
01. Lead Us 02. The Book 03. Die!!! (Gin psie) 04. Raining Blood
Video:
01. This is the War 02. Helleluyah (God is Dead) 03. Sword of the Witcher
In addition to VADER, the "Death by Decibels Tour 2007" will feature performances by MALEVOLENT CREATION, CATTLE DECAPITATION, ABIGAIL WILLIAMS, LIGHT THIS CITY, and VEIL OF MAYA. The trek kicks off November 17 in Pompton Lakes, New Jersey.
A two-minute trailer for VADER's forthcoming "And Blood Was Shed In Warsaw" DVD can be viewed below. The group's third DVD will be released in October via Metal Mind Productions and will feature footage from the band's February 12, 2007 concert at Stodola Club in Waraw, documenting the final stop of the group's tour in support of their latest album, "Impressions in Blood". The show was filmed with seven cameras and includes a guest appearance by Orion, a member of two other great Polish metal acts: VESANIA and BEHEMOTH.
The DVD is scheduled for release on October 15 in Europe and November 5 in USA (via MVD). It will also include: a fully animated menu, band bio, discography, interview with frontman Peter, the brand new video clip "Sword of the Witcher" (taken from the forthcoming RPG game "The Witcher"), desktop images, photo gallery, weblinks, and Dolby Digital 5.1 Surround Sound. "…And Blood Was Shed In Warsaw" DVD will be also available in a special DVD+CD limited swing case edition! The artwork and layout of the DVD was created by the Brazilian artist Marcelo HVC, who has previously worked with GORGOROTH, LORD BELIAL and NECROPHAGIA
