MUNICIPAL WASTE frontman TONY FORESTA loves tearing up stages around the world with his bandmates, but apparently the singer has another passion which you may not know about – art.
In the video below, watch as FORESTA takes you around his apartment in Virginia, showing you his favorite pieces of art that he’s bought and collected over the years.
NYC experimental doom metal band BLOODY PANDA have completed work on their new album, entitled Summon. The record will be released on August 11, 2009 via Profound Lore Records.
Recorded at New York’s Excello Recordings and Secret Weapon Studios with engineer Jason Marcucci (Flaming Lips, The White Stripes) and the band’s Josh Rothenberger, Summon is the follow up to the band’s debut Pheromone.
Summon will be issued as a two-disc, CD/DVD release; the DVD bringing to life an abstract visual interpretation of the 20-plus minute BLOODY PANDA track “Miserere”. Filmed in various Brooklyn locales and coupled with footage captured in Jatiluhur Dam, Indonesia, this optic translation is a very dark and mysterious offering that features world-renowned Butoh dancer Yuko Kaseki. “Miserere” was shot and edited by BLOODY PANDA’s Bryan Camphire, Blake McDowell and Josh Rothenberger, all of whom are also New York City based filmmakers.
“Summon spans two years of work — not just songwriting and recording, but also collaborations with different percussionists, studios, guest musicians, dancers and video artists,” comments BLOODY PANDA guitarist Rothenberger. “The final piece of the puzzle was Profound Lore, a label that has the attention of not only the metal world, but of the experimental art community as well; making it a good home for this release; the most important relic we’ve given birth to thus far.”
The track listing for BLOODY PANDA’s SUMMON is as follows:
1.) Gold
2.) Pusher
3.) Saccades I
4.) Saccades II
5.) Miserere
6.) Grey
7.) Hashira
An excerpt from the new BLOODY PANDA track “Miserere” can be digested HERE, while the premiere of the new song “Pusher” can be heard at THIS LOCATION.
BLOODY PANDA will launch a month-long North American tour on July 21 in Bethlehem, PA. The 27 city trek will run through August 21 at the Union Pool in Brooklyn. A full listing of upcoming BLOODY PANDA tour dates follows this message.
BLOODY PANDA features Yoshiko Ohara (lead vocals), Josh Rothenberger (guitar), Bryan Camphire (bass, vocals), Blake McDowell (keyboards, organs, vocals), Richard Schwarz – drums, percussion and Gerry Mak (Tuvan Throatsinging, overtonal chant).
BURNT BY THE SUN have posted a second advance track, “Inner Station”, from their new full length album Heart Of Darkness. “Inner Station” can be heard now via the band’s MySpace page: MySpace.com/ BurntByTheSun along with “F-Unit.”
The brand new track is also available now as an exclusive advance download via the Relapse Records Contamination 2009 ITunes digital album.
BURNT BY THE SUN have posted a series of four in-studio videos shot during the Heart Of Darkness recording sessions online now at this location.
The web episodes were produced by Ronen Kauffman of IssueOriented.com. Heart Of Darkness, the follow-up to 2003’s The Perfect Is The Enemy Of The Good, was recorded at Trax East Recording Studios with producer Eric Rachel (HATEBREED, THE RED CHORD, THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, A LIFE ONCE LOST). Heart Of Darkness is set for an August 18th North American release date, August 24th internationally.
Earache recording artists MUNICIPAL WASTE have posted a brand new track, titled “Wrong Answer”, on the band’s MySpace page at http://www.myspace.com/municipalwaste.
The track comes off MUNICIPAL WASTE’s upcoming new album, Massive Aggression, which is set to be the most ferocious and most focused album of the band’s career. The album once again features artwork by ANDREI BOUZIKOV, who created the cover for the band’s 2007 album, The Art of Partying.
Massive Aggression is due to be released by Earache Records on August 24th in Europe and August 25th in the USA. The album will be released in a variety of formats, including a special edition fan box with the album on CD, a MUNICIPAL WASTE logo sweatband, a Massive Aggression patch and three pin badges. The album will also be available on limited edition vinyl in black, white, clear, red, green (only 100 of each colour made) and ultra-limited edition purple (sold out).
Pre-order your copy of Massive Aggression now in the USA HERE.
MUNICIPAL WASTE will be spreading the aggression through Europe this Summer at the following shows:
26 Jun 2009 – Gothenburg, Sweden – Gothenburg Metaltown Festival
16 Jul 2009 – Svojsice, Czech Republic – Obscene Festival
17 Jul 2009 – Hamburg, Germany – Hafenklang
18 Jul 2009 – Lottum, Netherlands – Weistock Festival
19 Jul 2009 – Frankfurt, Germany – Nachtleben
20 Jul 2009 – Munich, Germany – Feierwerk
21 Jul 2009 – Kranj, Slovenia – Izbruhov Kulturni Bazen
23 Jul 2009 – Pinarella Di Cervia, Italy – Rockplanet Club
24 Jul 2009 – Genzano di Roma, Italy – Palarockness Club
25 Jul 2009 – Lorca, Spain – Lorca Fest
26 Jul 2009 – Barcelona, Spain – Apollo
12 Aug 2009 – Oslo, Norway – Oya Festival
14 Aug 2009 – Derby, UK – Bloodstock Festival
28 Aug 2009 – Leeds, UK – Leeds Festival
29 Aug 2009 – Reading, UK – Reading Festival
30 Aug 2009 – Eindhoven, Netherlands – Dynamo Outdoor Festival
31 Aug 2009 – Bielefeld, Germany – AJZ
02 Sep 2009 – Athens, Greece – An Club
03 Sep 2009 – Cologne, Germany – Werkstatt
04 Sep 2009 – Antwerp, Belgium – Trix
05 Sep 2009 – Bischofswerda, Germany – East Club
06 Sep 2009 – Brno, Czech Republic – Faval
08 Sep 2009 – Vienna, Austria – Chelsea
09 Sep 2009 – Budapest, Hungary – Durer Kert
10 Sep 2009 – Belgrade, Serbia – Living Room
11 Sep 2009 – Zupanja, Croatia – MKC
12 Sep 2009 – Helsinki, Finland – Tavastia
14 Sep 2009 – Zurich, Switzerland – Dynamo
19 Sep 2009 – Lisbon, Portugal – Incrivel Almadense
Black Sabbath gave birth to heavy metal on February 13, 1970, the day the British band’s self-titled debut was unleashed onto the world.
There, I said it. And to fully appreciate the power of the crew’s (or partial crew’s) new release, The Devil You Know (Rhino), it’s important to revisit some Sabbath history.
Featuring the godlike original lineup of guitarist Tony Iommi, bassist Geezer Butler, drummer Bill Ward and vocalist/self-proclaimed Prince of Darkness Ozzy Osbourne, Black Sabbath established the standard of heavy music with that epic first album, and refined it over their 40 plus year career—a career that hasn’t been without its upheaval.
The first, and most potentially catastrophic event, was the unfortunate and turbulent departure of Ozzy in 1979 due to unprofessional attitudes (read: his legendary drug and alcohol–fueled antics). While Ozzy quickly (and to many, surprisingly) gained newfound success with his solo band (featuring ex-Quiet Riot guitar wizard Randy Rhoads), Tony, Bill and Geezer were still left without a singer.
Ozzy’s replacement came in the form of up-and-coming heavy metal god Ronald James Padavona (who later adopted his now well-known moniker, Dio), formerly of Elf and Ritchie Blackmore’s Rainbow, and the band released Heaven and Hell in April of 1980.
With Dio onboard, Black Sabbath not only came back with a vengeance, but they reshaped the way heavy metal was played, once again, and revolutionized what is now known as doom metal. Heaven and Hell spewed many timeless hits and fan favorites, such as the title track, “Neon Knights,” “Die Young,” “Children of the Sea” and “Lady Evil.”
Butler, Appice, Dio, Iommi
Mob Rules followed just one year later, though Bill Ward was replaced with legendary skinsman Vinny Appice. Even with this “minor setback,” Iommi’s heavier-than-fuck riffs and Butler’s hard-hitting bass delivered the goods (as evident in the album’s classic title track and “The Sign of the Southern Cross”).
Following the release of the band’s next live album, Live Evil, in 1982 Dio called it quits and went on to secure his legacy with his solo band. Tony and Co., on the other hand, kept carrying Sabbath’s fire admirably, albeit coming up a bit short of their previous efforts.
It was also during this time period that Tony became the only original Sabbath member in cast of revolving rock heavyweights, most notably vocalists Glenn Hughes and Ian Gillan (both formerly of Deep Purple), drummer Eric Singer (formerly of Alice Cooper’s band and current Kiss/Avantasia drummer), and bassists Cozy Powell (who has played with Yngwie J. Malmsteen, Michael Schenker and Rainbow) and Bob Daisley (Rainbow, Yngwie and, interestingly enough, both Ozzy and Dio’s bands).
In 1992, the Mob Rules lineup reunited to release Dehumanizer, a return to form of sorts. The rest of the Nineties were spent with the classic lineup of Iommi, Butler, Ward and Ozzy headlining shows and spearheading the annual Ozzfest tour, which produced 1998’s Reunion live album/DVD.
Then in early 2007, the Mob Rules lineup announced they would play some shows under the name Heaven and Hell (thanks to the legal sanction preventing the use of the name Black Sabbath sans Ozzy courtesy of Sharon Osbourne). Bill Ward was originally asked to join but he declined the offer, citing a lack of interest in playing in a band without Ozzy. The reunion was so successful that what started out as a few select shows soon grew into a series of full-blown world tours.
Which brings us to the present—29 years since the release of Heaven and Hell, Tony Iommi, Geezer Butler, Vinny Appice and Ronnie James Dio have released a brand new, surely soon-to-be classic album, The Devil You Know. And without further ado, here’s a look at the greatest, heaviest and most sinister Black Sabbath record since 1975’s Sabotage. (more…)
Vocalist Ben Falgoust (GOATWHORE, SOILENT GREEN) has joined SUICIDE WAR, the hardcore/metal/thrash hybrid from New Orleans, Louisiana featuring two members of VALUME NOB — Frey Thieler on guitar and Sammy Molina on bass — alongside BLACK LABEL SOCIETY/ex-CROWBAR drummer Craig Nunenmacher. Thieler says, “Craig, Sammy, and I cannot be more happy to have him in the group. Ben has been a longtime friend of everyone in the band, and could not be more excited to be a part of this project.”
Thieler adds, “As of now, we only have two rough tracks of guitar and bass up on the [MySpace page], but within the next day or so we will be posting up two songs with drums, guitar and bass.”
Oakland, CA metal quartet SAVIOURS have entered San Francisco’s Lucky Cat Recording Studios with Producer Phil Manley (of Trans Am / The Fucking Champs) to begin work on the follow up to its sophomore LP Into Abaddon.
Set for an October 13, 2009 release date, the as-yet-untitled SAVIOURS album will feature the lineup of guitarist / vocalist Austin Barber, bassist Cyrus Comiskey drummer Scott Batiste and guitarist Sonny Reinhardt (ex-Watch Them Die), who joined the band in 2008.
When asked for comment, Batiste asserted, “We just got back from ravaging Europe, playing the whole new album every night. With Sonny joining us, the tempos and guitar work have definitely been cranked up a few notches, though the heaviness is still intact. The new jams are road toughened and more killer than we could have imagined.”
In advance of the album’s release, SAVIOURS will issue three new 7” records, all of which will drop on June 23. The vinyl-only EPs will be strictly limited to 500 copies each with artwork branded by Tim Lehi of San Francisco’s BlackHeart Tattoo. Details on the three EPs are as follows:
- SAVIOURS Acid Hand 7” EP (features the new tracks “Acid Hand” b/w “Slave to the Hex”). See the cover art here .
- SAVIOURS Burnin’ Cross 7” EP (features the new track “Burnin’ Cross b/w “Fire in the Sky” [SAXON cover]). See the cover art here .
- SAVIOURS F.G.T. 7” EP (features the new track “F.G.T.” b/w “Running Wild” [JUDAS PRIEST cover]). See the cover art here .
“The demos we did with Scott Ecklein in Oakland this April came out so good that we thought should do something with them,” Batiste continued. “So we tracked a few covers for b-sides and decided to do a limited vinyl 7″ thing so people can check out some of the new songs before fall.”
The new SAVIOURS song “Acid Hand” has been posted online courtesy of ALARM Magazine.
Megadeth have announced Endgame as the title of their twelfth studio album. The album is expected to be released in September through Roadrunner Records. It was recorded at the band’s brand new, self-built studio, Vic’s Garage, located near San Diego and named after the legendary and iconic Vic Rattlehead character.
Endgame is being produced by Andy Sneap and Dave Mustaine. Sneap also manned the boards for 2007’s United Abominations. Some track titles include “Headcrusher,” “1,320,’” “How the Story Ends” and “This Day We Fight!”
Mustaine himself commented on Endgame, saying, “Thematically, I’ve never been known to be a silent bystander in a world that needs our participation. As more is revealed about our former President’s legacy, a little-known yet staggeringly frightening document which was signed into law, named ‘ENDGAME,’ has been uncovered. The album Endgame is the most energetic music offering I have penned in over a decade and is far more believable than knowing someone signed ‘ENDGAME’ -the document- into law. The album is also the perfect ‘ass- kicking’ music to listen to once you are done reading the aforementioned document.
“This new album is my proudest moment since the famous (or infamous) Rust in Peace album. With this album, I am also very excited to be introducing my new lead guitarist Chris Broderick to the world. I have always felt lucky to have had top shredders in that position, but after touring with Chris in support of my last album, I couldn’t wait to get into the studio and see what he could do.”
Megadeth’s lineup consists of Mustaine, Broderick, bassist James LoMenzo and drummer Shawn Drover.
The following announcement was issue from KISS bassist/vocalist Gene Simmons:
“Yep. For all of you who have always wanted to pee on my face!!! Now you can. A&E has put ‘Gene Simmons Family Jewels’ urinal cakes (see above photo) throughout the country, featuring my face on the cakes. They’re in most bathrooms. Now, for those of you who need detail = all you need to do is point your tool into the urinal, hit the ‘cake’ with your flow and don’t be surprised if the urinal cake talks back to you!!!
“And please, leave the urinal cake in the pee hole for others to enjoy.
“Reports have come in that some of you have been stealing ‘em. If so, kindly remember to wash ‘em before you take ‘em home.”
EX DEO, the new Roman themed super group led by Maurizio Iacono (KATAKLYSM), have uploaded their entire debut album, Romulus, on their Myspace page for streaming. “Romulus,” features guest appearances by Karl Sanders (NILE), Nergal (BEHEMOTH), Obsidian C. (KEEP OF KALESSIN) as well as the following recording line-up:
