Rock News

DROWNING POOL: 'Feel Like I Do' Performance Clip Featuring New Singer

A live studio performance of the song "Feel Like I Do" from Texas heavy rockers DROWNING POOL can be seen below (courtesy of Revolver magazine). The video showcases the band's new lead singer, Jasen Moreno. 

According to The Pulse Of Radio, DROWNING POOL guitarist C.J. Pierceadmitted in a new interview with Billboard that he went through a "little bout of depression" after the band's last singer, Ryan McCombs, left the group in 2011. Pierce called McCombs' departure after six years "frustrating . . . like 'Here we go again,'" but added, "Now I look back, and things happen for a reason. It led us on this path and now we've got our favorite musician we've ever worked with, hands down. So we had to go through all the rest of it to get to this point."

DROWNING POOL's new singer — their third since the death of original frontman Dave Williams in 2002 — is fellow Dallas resident Jasen Moreno, and Pierce told The Pulse Of Radio a little about him. "Super great guy to work with, man," he said. "He's been by far the most respectful guy we've worked with since, you know, Dave's passing, and it's been nothing but awesome. We've written more songs with him in this past year than I think we've ever written in our whole career. He's a singer/songwriter as well. It's just fun to work with somebody else who's as passionate about it as you are, you know what I mean?"

Pierce told Billboard the band has known Moreno since the late '90s, saying, "He's been that guy on the scene; he was always great but never got his shot."

Moreno makes his debut with the group on its fifth studio album,"Resilience", which is due out on April 9. The first single is "Saturday Night".

Pierce said the record "has the staple DROWNING POOL sound . . . It's definitely more of a heavy record than we've done before, though."

DROWNING POOL is currently on the road with FLYLEAF, who are also introducing a new singer named Kristen May. The tour stops in Grand Rapids, Michigan on Friday (March 8).
 

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH 'About 65% Done' Recording New Album

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH recently entered Las Vegas' The Hideout Recording Studio to begin recording its fourth album for a summer release. Helming the sessions once again is The Hideout's owner, Kevin Churko, the Canadian musician, sound engineer, songwriter and record producer, who has also previously worked with OZZY OSBOURNEand IN THIS MOMENT, among other acts.

Speaking to Media Mikes, FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH guitarist Jason Hook (pictured below) stated about the progress of the recording sessions for the band's new CD: "We are about 65% done. We are shooting for a deadline that is at the end of April, early May. We are working hard every day on this thing. I am at the phase now where I am laying down solos here at my home studio. Generally, the first portion of the recording process I am writing and working on rhythm stuff. It's not 'till the last quarter that I switch over to doing the other stuff."

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's third album, "American Capitalist", was certified gold last year for sales of 500,000 copies. Not only is it the band's third album, but it is the third consecutive release from the group to reach the gold mark, with previous efforts "The Way Of The Fist" and"War Is The Answer" also selling more than half a million copies each."American Capitalist" debuted at No. 3 on the Billboard album chart when it came out in October 2011.

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH's most recent tour was last summer's Trespass America trek, also featuring KILLSWITCH ENGAGE, POP EVILand others. 

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH is scheduled to make a number of festival appearances this summer, including on a yet-to-be-announced "big tour" (rumored to be Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival) in the U.S.





Video: SCOTT WEILAND Challenges Audience Member To Fight

Scott Weiland challenged an audience member to fight him during the former STONE TEMPLE PILOTS and VELVET REVOLVER singer's solo concert in New York City this past Saturday night (March 9).

The rocker — who is touring with his solo band, THE WILDABOUTS — confronted a heckling fan at Irving Plaza, telling the man in the crowd: "So you're fucking pulling that fucking, like, gun shit off on me? Then come up and meet me one on one, man. You play a tough guy from an audience behind a barricade. I'd love to. Yeah, that guy, trust me."

He continued: "I just don't get it. Guys like you fucking waste your money." Then he added to the security staff: "Actually, let him stay here and just get all fucking riled up. He won’t be able to sleep tonight."

Video footage of the incident can be found at this location.

Weiland's 20-city run of dates feature him performing songs from the first two STONE TEMPLE PILOTS albums, 1992's "Core" and 1994's "Purple".

THE WILDABOUTS consist of multi-instrumentalist Doug Grean, bassistTommy Black, drummer Dan Thompson and guitarist Jeremy Brown.





METALLICA's 'Through The Never' Is Almost Like A Concert Movie Meets 'The Wall', Says Actor

Actor Dane DeHaan, who stars in METALLICA's much-anticipated 3D movie, "Metallica Through The Never", has described the film as "a concert movie meets 'The Wall' meets METALLICA" and says that it is "unlike anything that [he has] ever seen before."

"Metallica Through The Never" will be the first new release via Picturehouse, the full-service independent film marketing and distribution company started in 2005, which is reopening its doors with founder Bob Berney at the helm. The film, written and directed byNimród Antal ("Kontroll", "Predators"), stars members of the iconic rock band and DeHaan ("Chronicle", "The Amazing Spider-Man 2").DeHaan plays a young band crew member who is sent out on an urgent mission while the band is playing a rousing live set in front of a sold-out crowd and unexpectedly finds his world turned completely upside down.

Speaking to Collider.com, Dane, who first gained notice for his impressive performance on the HBO series "In Treatment" in 2010, stated about"Metallica Through The Never": "It's, in a way, like a 3D concert movie but there's also this narrative that ties together all the footage. It's gonna be, first of all, really rock and roll and really 'METALLICA,' for lack of a better word; they don't hold back at all. But during the concert, I basically go on this trip as a roadie for the band and I pretty much literally have to go through hell and back to take it back to them, and all of this is going on during the concert, so it all ties together really kind of beautifully and uniquely. It's unlike anything that I've ever seen before; it's almost like a concert movie meets 'The Wall' meets METALLICA… We filmed it last August."

METALLICA drummer Lars Ulrich revealed in a recent interview withClassic Rock magazine some more details about "Metallica Through The Never", which will combine concert footage with a fictional storyline.Ulrich cited the 1976 LED ZEPPELIN movie "The Song Remains The Same" as a major influence, explaining, "There are four members in LED ZEPPELIN, four members in METALLICA, it's a full-length movie, and there's a lot in this film that does not take place onstage. The major difference is that the stuff that takes place offstage in the METALLICAmovie does not feature any members of METALLICA. It's two separate worlds — a METALLICA show and a story that unfolds in a parallel universe — and at some point they intertwine."

The ZEPPELIN film interspersed concert footage with fantasy sequences starring each member of the group.

The concert sequences for METALLICA's movie were shot last August at two shows in Vancouver, Canada. 

Ulrich told The Pulse Of Radio a while back that making a movie has been one of the most daunting challenges METALLICA has ever taken on. "It's sort of fun, it's intimidating, it's a little overwhelming, to be honest, because it's a whole different league," he said. "You know, when we go down to [the METALLICA headquarters in San Rafael, California] and record and make a record, it's kind of — you know, we can manage the size of that. [laughs] When you're talking about doing, like, a 3D movie that you're gonna, like, play all over the world, that's a little bit of a bigger undertaking, so obviously we're treading a little more carefully."





VOLBEAT: 'Cape Of Our Hero' Video Released

"Cape Of Our Hero", the new video from Danish metal rock 'n' rollersVOLBEAT, can be seen below. The song comes off the band's fifth studio album, "Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies", which will be released in Germany, Austria and Switzerland on April 5, in the rest of Europe on April 8, and in North America on April 9 via Vertigo/Republic Records/Universal Music.

Seamlessly bringing together all of the band's influences and reshaping them into something gleaming and new, "Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies" is a record that's rich with stories and characters woven throughout its lyrics. Some are real — like the noble lady outlaw Pearl Hart, who held up a stagecoach to buy medicine for her dying mother, orLola Montez, the erotic dancer with her infamous "Spider Dance," or "Black Bart," the gentleman highwayman who wrote poems for the people he robbed. Others are entirely fictional. "The Nameless One" is a cautionary tale of dabbling in the dark arts, featuring the mysterious and sinister character of the title. Elsewhere, "Room 24", featuring King Diamond, was inspired by a terrifying experience in a hotel room somewhere in the heart of America. 

"Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies" finds the core trio of Michael Poulsen (vocals/guitar), Anders Kjølholm (bass) and Jon Larsen(drums) joined by former ANTHRAX/THE DAMNED THINGS guitarist Rob Caggiano, who produced the album with longtime VOLBEAT co-producerJacob Hansen. 

"It's a new vibe for VOLBEAT," says Poulsen. "You've got everything — the rockabilly stuff, the melodies, the ultra-heavy stuff, the Western motifs and the big rock songs. It's everything that VOLBEAT are all about, but taken even further." The album title is a phrase that evokes another time, an era when elegant lawbreakers were the rock stars of the day. It tips its fedora to everything from the bad men (and women) of the old west to the old school metal bands who influenced the youngMichael Poulsen to form his first band, DOMINUS, back in the early 90s. 

As with so many classic albums, the seeds of "Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies" were sown on the road in Europe and the U.S. That's where Poulsen began playing around with ideas and riffs, recording them on his mobile phone and directly to an amp. "Melody, lyrics, everything — it's just working non-stop in my head," he shares. When the band eventually returned to Denmark, it was time to go to work. The band leader recalls, "We came back from the U.S. after touring a lot over there, and isolated ourselves in our own homes for six months to finish off the album. That peace was something I needed. Even though it's very inspiring to write on the road, it's more comfortable to write at home." 

It was there that the album truly began to take shape. Poulsen would close the curtains, turn off the light and draw inspiration from the old Western movies he'd watched as a child with his father. Watching the old spaghetti westerns he's watched with his father provided a catalyst for inspiration. He offers, "Sometimes it's just about the right feeling — the scenery, the lines, the dusty look. I have my own soundtrack when I see those kind of pictures." 

You can hear the influence of the Old West right from the start in "Let's Shake Some Dust", an evocative intro track that features harmonica from acclaimed blues harp player Paul Lamb. You can hear it again in the rampaging "Black Bart", which Poulsen describes as "our country-MOTÖRHEAD song," and in the banjos that pepper the chorus of the hard-as-steel "Doc Holliday", a tribute to the legendary lawman and associate of the Wyatt Earp gang. But "Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies" is no country and western record. If it was a car, it would be a 1973 Stutz Blackhawk with monster truck wheels — vintage and modern, stylish and muscular. 

You can hear echoes of classic '50s rock 'n' roll in the soaring; "Pearl Hart", and the live classic-in-waiting "Lola Montez". The band's metal roots come to the fore via the heavy riffage of "Dead But Rising" and"The Nameless One", while the ghostly "The Lonesome Rider" – which finds Michael duetting with Sarah Blackwood of Canadian band WALK OFF THE EARTH like a modern-day Johnny Cash and June Carter Cash— beats with a rockabilly heart. Elsewhere, they bring some greased-back energy to "My Body", a cover of the hit song by U.S. pop-punk outfitYOUNG THE GIANT, while the brooding album closer "Our Loved Ones" is the nearest thing they've ever written to a ballad. Poulsen offers, "When I was growing up, my dad and mother played a lot of old records — Elvis,Fats Domino, Jerry Lee Lewis and Chuck Berry. I love that stuff — it's a drug somehow. My own record collection growing up was metal. But I listen to a lot of different styles of music. If something moves you, I don't care what it is." 

The track "Room 24" features a massive coup for VOLBEAT with the guest appearance from King Diamond, the legendary front man of Danish metal pioneers MERCYFUL FATE, and one of Poulsen's musical idols.Michael reveals, "I'm a huge fan of MERCYFUL FATE and KING DIAMOND. Having King on the record is a huge privilege. Normally, it's not something he does. He wrote his own lines, and it is half my lyrics and half his. It's a weird, scary story, and he's the perfect person for it." Additional guests include Anders Pedersen on slide guitar, Rod Sinclair on banjo and Jakob Øelund on double bass. 

The album itself was recorded in the legendary PUK Studios in Randers, Denmark, with Jacob Hansen and Rob Caggiano sharing production duties, which brought a new dynamic to proceedings. Poulsen reflects, "I love Jacob Hansen's work. He's part of VOLBEAT, and we worked together on all the albums so far. I started flirting with the idea of bringingRob in as a producer too because he produced ANTHRAX and THE DAMNED THINGS, and I like the sound of what he did there. I thought, 'That could be a really cool combination,' as both are quality guys with really high standards." 

In closing, Poulsen sums it up in sharing, "I chose this way of living because I love playing music and I love touring. We wanted to write, we wanted to be inspired by our idols, we just wanted to rock out. That, for me, is what music is all about."

"Outlaw Gentlemen & Shady Ladies" track listing:

01. Let's Shake Some Dust
02. Pearl Heart
03. The Nameless One
04. Dead But Rising
05. Cape Of Our Hero
06. Room 24 (feat. King Diamond)
07. The Hangman's Body Count
08. My Body (YOUNG THE GIANT cover)
09. Lola Montez
10. Black Bart
11. The Lonesome Rider (feat. Sarah Blackwood)
12. The Sinner Is You
13. Doc Holliday
14. Our Loved Ones

Limited-edition bonus disc

15. Ecotone
16. Lola Montez (harp version)
17. 7 Shots (live Wacken 2012)
18. Evelyn (live Wacken 2012)
19. Evelyn (2010 demo)
 

Source: Blabbermouth.net



Stone Sour’s Josh Rand Promises “Experimental” Tracks on House of Gold and Bones Part 2

 

Device -- the side project of Disturbed frontman David Draiman that includes Filterguitarist Geno Lenardo, Evanescence drummer Will Hunt and Dope guitarist Virus -- has just announced their first batch of North American tour dates in support of their upcoming, self-titled debut album.
That outing kicks off on April 10 at the Soul Kitchen in Mobile, Alabama and will make stop in Ft. Lauderdale, Huntsville, Dallas and New Orleans, among other cities. Gemini Syndrome and Nonpoint will support the band on select dates.
Device’s self-titled debut album will arrive at all the usual outlets on April 9. It features a number of guest appearances, including Avenged Sevenfold frontman M. Shadows,System of a Down singer Serj Tankian, Rage Against the Machine guitarist Tom Morello, Halestorm frontwoman Lzzy Hale, Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler, and former Deep Purple bassist Glenn Hughes.
Here are the tour dates:
4/10 -- Mobile, AL, Soul Kitchen
4/12 -- Ft. Lauderdale, FL, Culture Room
4/13 -- Orlando, FL, Tinker Field
4/16 -- Destin, FL, Club LA
4/17 -- Huntsville, AL, Sammy T's
4/20 -- Tyler, TX, Click's
4/21 -- Lubbock, TX, Lonestar Amphitheatre
4/23 -- Dallas, TX, Trees  
4/25 -- Houston, TX, Scout Bar
4/26 -- Beaumont, TX, The Gig
4/30 -- New Orleans, LA, House of Blues
5/1 -- Little Rock, AR, Juanitas
5/3 -- Atlanta, GA, Centerstage

Source: Abc ePrep