Archive for March 9, 2012

NILE – New Album Title Announced and 2012 Asian & U.S. Tour Dates

Posted in Death Metal, Extreme Metal, Heavy Metal, heavy metal news, metal music, Music, rock music, rock music news with tags , , , , , , , on March 9, 2012 by Metal Odyssey

NILE – The reigning kings of technical, historically themed brutality, NILE, are proud to announce they are touring Asia this April/May. This marks the band’s first time in these markets and the guys are extremely excited to be playing for their Asian Metal brothers. “The whole idea of spreading NILE’s music into this part of the world has been a long time coming” commented the band. “We are extremely pleased to go to there and are looking forward to an amazing cultural exchange and experience”.

* NILE are currently in the studio wrapping up the mix of their latest effort At The Gate of Sethu with producer Neil Kernon. The album is tentatively scheduled to be released the 2nd quarter of 2012.

NILE / ASIA INVASION 2012:

April 26 Diablo Open Air Singapore , Singapore
April 28 Hammersonic Jakarta International Metal Festival, Lapangan D, Jakarta INDONESIA
May 2 A.U.A. Auditorium, Bangkok, Thailand. (w/ HATE ETERNAL)
May 5 Summer Blaze Metal Festival, New Delhi INDIA
May 6 Nile live in Bangalore, E-Zone Club, Bangalore India

Prior to that NILE will be the main support to Detroit, Michigan’s Melodic Death Metal outfit THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER. Additional support on this package is to come from SKELETONWITCH and HOUR OF PENANCE. Those dates will kick off on March 24 in Grand Rapids, Michigan at The Intersection and wrap on April 20 in Worcester, Massachusetts at the New England Metal & Hardcore Festival.

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The dates are as follows:

Mar. 22 – Pittsburgh, PA – Altar Bar** NILE only
Mar. 23 – Cleveland, OH – Peabody’s** NILE only

THE BLACK DAHLIA MURDER, NILE, SKELETONWITCH, HOUR OF PENANCE
Mar. 24 – Grand Rapids, MI – The Intersection
Mar. 25 – Milwaukee, WI – Eagles Club
Mar. 26 – Minneapolis, MN – Station 4
Mar. 27 – Chicago, IL – Bottom Lounge
Mar. 28 – Lawrence, KS – Granada ** NILE only
Mar. 29 – Denver, CO – Marquis Theatre
Mar. 30 – Salt Lake City, UT – The Complex
Apr. 02 – Seattle, WA – El Corazon
Apr. 03 – Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theater
Apr. 04 – San Francisco, CA – Slims
Apr. 05 – West Hollywood, CA – House of Blues
Apr. 06 – Phoenix, AZ – Nile Theater
Apr. 07 – Albuquerque, NM – Sunshine Theater
Apr. 09 – Dallas, TX – Prophet Bar
Apr. 10 – San Antonio, TX – White Rabbit
Apr. 11 – Houston, TX – Warehouse Live
Apr. 13 – Atlanta, GA – Masquerade
Apr. 15 – Detroit, MI – Blondies ** NILE only
Apr. 17 – Baltimore, MD – Rams Head Live
Apr. 18 – Philadelphia, PA – Theater of the Living Arts
Apr. 19 – New York, NY – Irving Plaza
Apr. 20 – Worcester, MA – New England Metal & Hardcore Fest at The Palladium

NILE have made the video clip for the song “Permitting the Noble Dead to Descend to the Underworld” available for streaming at the following location http://goo.gl/UYGi . The track come off the bands the latest release Those Whom the Gods Detest and was directed by Juan “Punchy” Gonzalez.

NILE’s latest state-of-the-Death-Metal-art release Those Whom the Gods Detest, was produced and mixed by Neil Kernon (NEVERMORE, CANNIBAL CORPSE, QUEENSRYCHE). Along with a stellar drum recording job by Erik Rutan (CANNIBAL CORPSE, VITAL REMAINS, GOATWHORE), Those Whom the Gods Detest features the bands strongest production and perhaps their best material to date!

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(Source: Nuclear Blast News)

* For more info on NILE, click on the link below:

NILE – Catacombs – Official Site

LONG LIVE NILE.

Stone.

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KATANA – New Album ‘Storms Of War’ Coming Soon On Listenable Records

Posted in Heavy Metal, heavy metal albums, heavy metal news, metal music, Music, rock music, rock music news, traditional heavy metal with tags , , , , , on March 9, 2012 by Metal Odyssey

KATANA – Guitarist/songwriter Tobias Carlsson has issued an update about KATANA’s new album Storms of War to be released in May on Listenable records.

“It was once again recorded, mixed and mastered at Sonic Train Studios by King Diamond guitarist Andy La Rocque. We were very focused and determined right from the beginning to create a sound that no one had heard on an album since the 80s. To accomplish this, we and Andy listened a lot to albums produced by Martin Birch when mixing and setting the sound. Mostly Rainbow, Heaven and Hell by Black Sabbath, Killers by Iron Maiden and Assault Attack by MSG. It became almost our motto in the studio to ask “How would Martin have done it?” whenever we had doubts about something. The songs are mostly completely new, mixed in with some very old ideas and stuff that weren’t finished in time for the last recording. ”

“The band has been around for nearly ten years now, and for the first album we had that long to write the material. This time, most of the songs were written and rehearsed over a period of a couple of months. This has been a challenge, but a positive one that has forced our song writing to its best, and beyond.We have broken new ground with this album and played around with things that we have never done before, thus widening the range of what we are capable of musically. But at the same time, we feel that we have come a long way in defining a unique style and sound for KATANA. I would say the album is as diverse as the first one musically, yet more uniform.”

” The Japanese influences are there, especially in the epic song about the great Mongolian emperor Kubilai Khan who twice tried to invade Japan, and failed miserably both times. It is a grand story of Japanese history and mythology. But we are not limited by the Japanese influences and there are songs on this album that explore both other mythological subjects as well as themes taken from popular culture and everyday life.”

Tobias confirmed that musically, a fan of early 80s Heavy Metal will feel at home in this album as much as the previous one, and the influences are still very much early Saxon, early Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Rainbow, Grim Reaper, Manowar and so on. But more than anything, this album represents 100% KATANA.

STORMS OF WAR ARE DRAWING SOON!!

KATANA 

Patrik Essén – Guitars

Tobias Karlsson – Guitars

Johan Bernspång – Vocals

Susanna Salminen – Bass

Anders Persson – Drums

2011 was a busy year for Sweden-based Traditional Heavy Metallers KATANA. Since the release of their debut album “Heads Will Roll” last spring, KATANA not only found time to tour with both the likes of Where Angels Suffer, featuring Chris Holmes and Stet Howland (ex-W.A.S.P.) and American metal legends Lizzy Borden. They also entered the studio to record their second album, entitled Storms of War.

Hailing from Gothenburg, Sweden, KATANA has been around for several years and has already made a great name for themselves in the underground Metal scene of Sweden and Europe. In 2010, the band won the prestigious Wacken Metal Battle which earned them a slot at the Wacken Open Air, as well as the Sweden Rock Festival. Their debut album has been critically acclaimed all over the world, and Malcolm Dome of Classic Rock Magazine wrote: “This quintet will make a significant mark. This debut is only the beginning of what should be a thrilling march”.

With the new album, Storms of War, produced by King Diamond guitarist Andy La Rocque, KATANA means to prove beyond the shadow of a doubt that Classic Heavy Metal in the veins of early Iron Maiden, Judas Priest and Saxon is here to stay!

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(Source: ClawHammer PR)

* For more info on KATANA, click on the links below:

KATANA – Official facebook

KATANA – myspace music

LONG LIVE KATANA.

Stone.

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ZZ TOP – ‘A Tribute From Friends’ Cover Song Album: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly

Posted in classic rock, classic rock albums, cover songs, Hard Rock, hard rock albums, rock albums, rock music, rock music news with tags , , , , , , on March 9, 2012 by Metal Odyssey

ZZ TOP – Legends. Rock ‘N Roll Hall Of Famers. Mammoth Influence on all genres of Rock. Now then, when a cover song album of ZZ Top songs is released, these “covers” better be damn good. I can’t stand it when a band or musician just messes around with a Rock classic and “thinks” their famous name alone will give them a pass. Not here folks. I will present to you: The Good, The Bad & The Ugly when it comes to these ZZ Top cover songs I’ve been listening to on: A Tribute From Friends. Plus, I won’t be swayed by the fact that these are “friends” of ZZ TOP. Sometimes “friends” can ruin a classic song without even trying.

Let’s get right to it, shall we?

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THE BAD:

The opening track is Sharp Dressed Man performed by The M.O.B. Who’s The M.O.B.? Mick Fleetwood, Steven Tyler and John McVie. At first, I found this song fun. Then, it irritated the living hell out of me. All I kept picturing was The M.O.B. performing this song at a senior citizen Summer picnic or some Sunday afternoon church fair, with all in attendance going crazy for it. When a cover song sounds “old” and trudging… that’s what happens to my imagination.

Somehow Wolfmother had Cheap Sunglasses thrown in their lap to cover. Not good. I dig the first two studio albums from Wolfmother, only I don’t grasp this cover of Cheap Sunglasses. Annoying. I’ll have to admit, this is the first time I’ve ever been not keen to Andrew Stockdale’s vocals. Another problem is, this cover song sounds way too much like… Wolfmother. A disinterested Wolfmother at that.

THE UGLY:

So sorry that a Rockaholic and Metalhead like myself had NO clue who Wyclef Jean is until now. Rough Boy sounds so over-covered here entirely. Come on now, a Hip Hop / R&B artist covering a ZZ Top song? That is not an entirely bad idea, as long as this song is on an album of covers from ALL artists of Wyclef Jean’s genre.

This song unfortunately doesn’t fit in with the “Rock” flow for me, on this album. To my ears, Rough Boy was as “commercial” as it could get for ZZ TOP back in 1986 and this cover only magnifies it’s “Pop” personality to an embarrassing level. If Wyclef Jean is a friend of ZZ Top’s, then ZZ TOP should have remembered: “friends don’t let friends cover their songs”.

THE GOOD: 

Nickelback. Yes, Nickelback. This love ’em or hate ’em Hard Rockin’ band knocked it out of the Classic Rock park with their cover of Legs. This song does sound like Nickelback, yet they did not stray from the non-stop Rockin’ groove that this song originally was all about. Nickelback just gave it more heaviness.

Daughtry. Yes, Daughtry. This guy sings Waitin’ For The Bus / Jesus Left Chicago as if he really digs and feels the song thoroughly. I make NO apologies, Chris Daughtry sings this ZZ TOP classic straight from the heart. Hell, that’s how it comes across to me anyways. Plus, Daughtry didn’t screw around with this songs tempo or try to “reinvent the F’n wheel” with it.

Mastodon. These guys gave Just Got Paid their signature stamp of progressiveness without even trying. Turning Just Got Paid into a relevant Hard Rock song that smokes was obviously… the mission of Mastodon.

Filter covers Gimme All Your Lovin‘ with a grand Alternative meets Industrial sound that is admirable. It’s Filter. The legendary Billy F Gibbons lends his vocals and electric guitar to La Grange. Cool. The remaining tracks are fine listens, just watch out for the bad and the ugly. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

* ZZ TOP – A Tribute From Friends was released back on October 11th, 2011, via Show Dog / Universal.

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A Tribute From Friends – Track Listing:

Sharp Dressed Man – The M.O.B. (Steven Tyler, Mick Fleetwood, John McVie)

Gimme All Your Lovin’ – Filter

Tush – Grace Potter & The Nocturnals

Legs – Nickelback

Cheap Sunglasses – Wolfmother

Got Me Under Pressure – Duff McKagan’s Loaded

Beer Drinkers and Hell Raisers – Coheed & Cambria

Just Got Paid – Mastodon

Rough Boy – Wyclef Jean

Waitin’ For The Bus / Jesus Just Left Chicago – Daughtry

La Grange – Jamey Johnson

LONG LIVE ZZ TOP.

LONG LIVE “GOOD” ZZ TOP COVER SONGS.

Stone.

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DIECAST – Announce Spring Tour Dates, Tour Sponsored By MetalUnderground.com

Posted in Heavy Metal, heavy metal news, metal music, metalcore, Music, rock music, rock music news with tags , , , , on March 9, 2012 by Metal Odyssey

Boston Metalcore act DIECAST has announced a string of Tour dates for this Spring. The tour will be sponsored by the Metal authorities over at MetalUnderground.com. The band is currently working on an upcoming full length. Stay tuned for more DIECAST tour dates to surface soon. Be sure to stay tuned to MetalUnderground.com for tour updates: www.metalunderground.com

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DIECAST On Tour Spring 2012:

3/15 – Brooklyn, NY @ The Morgan

3/16 – Trenton, NJ @ Championship

3/17 – Baltimore, MD @ Recher Theater

4/27 – Southbridge, MA @ Mill Street Brews

4/28 – Albany, NY @ Bogies w/ Brick By Brick

4/29 – Long Island, NY @ Broadway Bar

4/30 – Springfield, VA @ Empire (formerly Jaxx)

 5/01 – Fayetteville, NC @ Rock Shop

 5/02 – Savannah, GA @ The Wormhole

 5/03 – Jacksonville, FL @ Brewsters Pit

 5/04 – Cocoa Beach, FL @ 321 Local

 5/05 – St. Petersburg, FL @ The Local

 5/06 – Lake Worth, FL @ Speakeasy Lounge

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(Source: Team All About The Music – Publicity, Management, A&R)
* For more info on DIECAST:
www.facebook.com/DiecastOfficial
DIECAST @ MetalUnderground.com: http://www.metalunderground.com/bands/details.cfm?bandid=135

LONG LIVE DIECAST.

Stone.

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