Western Australia’s Progressive Metal practitioners VOYAGER have unveiled a brand new fan-driven video for their track “Seize The Day,” one of the most charging anthems on their acclaimed full-length, The Meaning Of I, released in November 2011 via New Jersey-based Sensory Records.
Using a collection of smartphone recordings from fans on March 2nd in their hometown of Perth, Western Australia and from fans from across the globe, VOYAGER have put together the best footage submitted by these fans, to create this unique piece of music video creativity. Check out the awesome video and an informative statement about the creation of the video by director Ben BerkhoutAT THIS LOCATION.
Following the release of The Meaning Of I, VOYAGER have been touring heavily in support of the brilliant album. In addition to previous national touring across Australia with Children of Bodom, a short US tour with labelmates Creation’s End including Progpower USA Festival, a full North American tour with Rhapsody of Fire and more, VOYAGER now confirm a new set of dates across their home country again this November.
__________________________________________
VOYAGER The MEANING OF I Tour:
11/01/2012 Hamilton Station Hotel – Newcastle
11/02/2012 Sandringham Hotel – Sydney @ Steel Assasins Festival
11/03/2012 The Patch – Wollongong @ Perpetual Tides Festival
11/04/2012 Lucky Australian Tavern – West Sydney @ Westfest
ORANGE GOBLIN – will embark on their longest touring schedule ever in 2013 as they continue to promote the critically acclaimed A Eulogy For The Damned offering, released in February 2012 on Candlelight Records and hotly tipped to be a contender for the album of the year!
The touring schedule will kick off with a 15-date UK tour at the end of January and start of February (dates to be announced soon). The band will then head to Australia for their first time ever to join the Soundwave Festival2013 alongside Metallica, Slayer, Anthrax, Blink 182, Kyuss Lives!, Ghost, Stone Sour and many, many more.
__________________________________________
The full dates for Soundwave 2013 are as follows:
2/23/2013 Rna Showgrounds – Brisbane, AUS
2/24/2013 Olympic Park – Sydney, AUS
3/01/2013 Flemington Racecourse – Melbourne, AUS
3/02/2013 Bonython Park – Adelaide, AUS
3/04/2013 Claremont Showground – Perth AUS
There will also be club shows in both Australia and New Zealand to coincide with the band’s appearances at Soundwave. From there, ORANGE GOBLIN will embark on a full tour of the US and Canada, taking in the SXSWFestival in Texas. This will also be the first time ever that ORANGE GOBLIN have appeared in Canada! Full dates for all to be announced shortly.
The band will then spend the Summer extensively touring Europe and appearing at as many of the summer European Festivals as they can squeeze in before heading back to North America and possibly more new territories they’ve yet to play.
Please keep checking the bands websites for further updates. In 2013… ORANGE GOBLIN look set to shake the world!
Critical Praise for A Eulogy For The Damned:
“OG simply don’t put a foot wrong from start to finish. Near total perfection! 9/10” — Metal Hammer UK
“A respectfully powerful slice of heavy fuckin’ rock! 4/5” – Terrorizer
“Long-haired limeys, maximum riffage and turbo doom. Biker rock. From England. And it’s pretty awesome.” – Decibel
“Overall, their first record for Candlelight is pretty damn fantastic. Rockin’, riff-tastic and possibly the best record from start to finish that they’ve released yet.” – Popdose
“Album of the Month!” — Sweden Rock Magazine
“A truly amazing piece of work? This is absolutely the case! 4/5” – Molten Magazine
“With a sound that splits the difference between Sabbath and Motörhead, ORANGE GOBLIN serves up a potent dose of ’70s-style metal on A Eulogy For The Damned. Gloomy doom and punk power have seldom sounded so good together.” – Metal Underground
“Apart from the anxiously-awaited end of the world, I can’t imagine a scenario in which 2012 finishes and ORANGE GOBLIN’s A Eulogy for the Damned isn’t among the high points. Highly recommended for beginners and converts alike.” – The Obelisk
“I highly encourage you stop what you are doing and run right out and purchase it. 9.8/10” – Pure Grain Audio
“On a scale of 5 stars, I’ll give it 6 because it’s just that damned good!” – The Ripple Effect
FEAR FACTORY – By now, every loyal Fear Factory fan has (hopefully) purchased and listened to TheIndustrialist (at least) 500 times by now. Maybe more. Released back on June 2nd, via Candlelight Records, The Industrialist is a concept album that has what may be interpreted as a complex storyline, due in part to its philosophical thoughts that the lyrics provoke. I’ve (once again) been thoroughly entertained by the legendary Industrial Metal sound of Fear Factory on their eighth studio album. The concept has been equally fun for me as well, albeit a bit scary though!
Stone notes: When I refer to “machine” in the following lines, it is referenced towards the Industrialist and automaton(characters) that are the focal points of this impressive and chilling album: The Industrialist.
Man creates machine. Machine becomes a “free-thinker” by developing memories and emotions. Machine senses a “longing for existence” through said inherited memories and emotions. Machine rebels against its creator; which is man. The longtime controversial topic of man versus machine is once again realized and materialized through song, courtesy of the dynamic Industrial Metal super-duo of Burton C. Bell (vocalist, lyricist, producer) and DinoCazares (multi-instrumentalist, producer).
I find The Industrialist to perhaps be a warning of what could one day become. Mankind may not have automatons walking around and tending to our every single need at this moment in 2012; yet computers do have an automaton quality about them. Granted, computers can only perform tasks that they are programmed to do and mankind still controls the technological wheel that drives every application we depend on.
(Left) Burton C. Bell, (Right) Dino Cazares
As I write this post on my MacBook Pro, I realize this computer will only do what I “tell it to do” by the click of a mouse or strike of a key. However, the science fiction side of my brain does make me ponder: could there one day be a computer application that will inherit true human emotions and memories? I’m not talking about archival memories, nor synthetic emotions here… I’m questioning the scary thought of a computer app becoming a free thinking entity!
The more I ponder this sci-fi aspect of computer technology, the more difficult it becomes (for me) to comprehend. A topic like this may very well be grouped in with those sensitive subjects such as politics, religion and (gasp) sex. Are we (mankind) supposed to question our rapid ascent of technology? When the topic of Armageddon is raised, the usual suspects of nuclear war, UFO’s, climate change, spontaneous natural disasters, the burning out of our sun, disease, famine and meteor showers are discussed. What about man-made machines like robotics or computers being the culprit(s) of a terrifying Armageddon?
As I read and listen to the lyrics of The Industrialist, it does take me back to the iconic box office franchise known as The Terminatorand 2004’s I, Robot. This Fear Factory album has also reminded me of the song Metal Gods, from the 1980 Judas Priest album classic: British Steel. One stirring lyrical line from Metal Gods sums it up best, when delving into the sic-fi aspect of machine versus man: “From techno seeds we first planted, Evolved a mind of its own”.
Metal Queen DORO PESCH will be returning to North America in 2013 to rock the masses in support of her twelfth solo album, Raise Your Fist! The tour is set to commence on February 1st in Tampa, Florida with support provided by Sweden’s Sister Sin. Exclusive pre-sale tickets can be purchased at EnterTheVault.com through October 5; afterwards, tickets will be available through all normal ticketing outlets.
CommentsDOROof the long-awaited trek: “I’m so excited to tour North America again! I can’t wait to see all the great fans again and play the new songs off Raise Your Fist and of course all the songs the fans love. It’ll be a set list with the best tunes, hard and fast and lots of anthems and surprises. We’ll have some very special guests at our New York City and Los Angeles shows too and killer support from Sister Sin! I can’t wait to see you guys and wish you all the very best. Until then, raise your fist in the air and all we are will rule the ruins! I love you fuer immer! See you soon.”
Raise Your Fist is due out in the U.S. and Canada on November 6via Nuclear Blast Records and features guest appearances by Motörhead’s Lemmy Kilmister as well as Ozzy/Firewind guitarist Gus G. Elaborated DORO of the release:
“Most important to me are the power hymns ‘Raise Your Fist In The Air’ and ‘Victory.’ Both songs have been played live on our last tour and also made last year’s Wacken Open Air shake! For the diehard fans of German songs like ‘Für Immer’ [‘Forever’], there are two songs in the same vein: the sensitive and quite dark ‘Human Rights’ and the very emotional ‘Engel’ [‘Angel’]. There are also a lot of fast songs like ‘Little Headbanger’ and various fist-pumping ones featuring amazing guests like Gus G on ‘Last Man Standing’ which fans are sure to dig live. We also have a song that honors the late Ronnie James Dio called ‘Hero’ and another highlight called ‘It Still Hurts’ featuring Lemmy. The cover artwork has once again been created by British artist GeoffreyGillespie who is a close friend and companion since he made it into the Guinness Book of World Records for his Triumph And Agony cover as the biggest album cover in the world. Since then, he’s done ten covers for us!”
_________________________________________________
DORO – North America Headlining Tour 2013:
2/01/2013 Brass Mug – Tampa, FL
2/02/2013 The Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
2/03/2013 Empire – West Springfield, VA
2/04/2013 B.B. Kings Blues Club – New York, NY
2/05/2013 Soundstage – Baltimore, MD
2/07/2013 Mod Club – Toronto, ON
2/08/2013 Montage Music Hall – Rochester, NY
2/09/2013 Al Rosa Villa – Columbus, OH
2/10/2013 Peabody’s – Cleveland, OH
2/12/2013 Blondie’s – Detroit, MI
2/13/2013 Mojoe’s – Joliet, IL
2/14/2013 Station 4 – St. Paul, MN
2/15/2013 Spicoli’s Grill and the Reverb – Waterloo, IA
2/17/2013 Moe’s – Englewood, CO
2/19/2013 El Corazon – Seattle, WA
2/20/2013 Hawthorne Theatre – Portland, OR
2/21/2013 Thee Parkside – San Francisco, CA
2/22/2013 House of Blues – West Hollywood, CA
2/23/2013 Rocky Point Cantina – Tempe, AZ
In related news, DORO spent two weeks in Ireland and Switzerland for on-location shoots for the Swiss film “Anuk: The Path of the Warrior,” earlier this month where she returns to play the role of Meha for a second time.
DORO’s 17th studio album Raise Your Fist will be released in North America this November 6th. This album also contains the four songs that have already been released this past August on the EP Raise Your Fist In The Air.
DORO’s Raise Your Fist album was recorded and written in the U.S., Germany, and Scandinavia. “Most important to me are the power hymns ‘Raise Your Fist In The Air’ and ‘Victory,’” DORO has stated. “Both songs have been played live on our last tour and also made last year’s Wacken Open Air shake!”
Musical guests on Raise Your Fist include Motörhead’s Lemmy Kilmister and Ozzy/Firewind guitarist Gus G. Album artwork has once again been created by British artist and longtime collaborator Geoffrey Gillespie.
__________________________________________
Take a look and listen to Raise Your Fist In The Air below! Crank it up loud and Hail The Queen Of Heavy Metal!
RAISE YOUR FIST – Track List:
Raise Your Fist In The Air
Coldhearted Lover
Rock Till Death
It Still Hurts – featuring Lemmy Kilmister
Take No Prisoner
Grab The Bull (Last Man Standing) – featuring Gus G.
Stone Says: There’s never been a better time to be a DORO fan! A new EP this past August, a new full-length album this fall! Plus, if you live in Europe, you can catch DORO and her band live this November and December!
Accuse me of being a DORO loyalist, yet I consider the title track Raise Your Fist In The Air a classic Heavy Metal anthem already! Metal as my witness, that song gives me the Metal chills. Whoa!
2012 can easily be called: The Year Of DORO. Metal be thy name.
THE ORDER – Attention all fans of 80’s Hard Rock, Arena Rock, Classic Rock and early MTV era Heavy Metal: The Order have recorded an album that ushers in the loud, proud, colorful and ultra pumped-up energy that our beloved 80’s Heavy Music had to offer and it’s titled 1986. There’s no doubt in my Metal mind that 1986 was a magnificent year for Hard Rock and Heavy Metal. Now there’s no doubt that this 1986 album is a priority recommendation of mine and one of the very best Hard Rock meets Heavy Metal albums I’ve listened to in 2012… or in the last few years for that matter.
Everything about these 10 songs on 1986 is huge! Huge guitars, huge vocals, huge drums, huge bass. Just a rainstorm of good-times lyrics surrounded by 80’s old school Hard and Heavy Rock ‘N Roll thunder! With 1986, The Order have taken the old adage of what once was old is new again and have written it across the sky. 1986 is the fourth album from these Swiss Hard Rockers and they’ve proven their seasoned musicianship is truly something to behold.
Gianni Pontillo on vocals should make the legendary (and fellow countryman) Marc Storace (of Krokus fame) very, very, very proud. Damn proud. To say it’s a Metal treat to take in the vocals of Gianni on this album is a gross understatement. Bruno Spring dials-in on every tiny guitar nuance that is golden about that arena-era of sound, glitz and glam! The solos, leads and all-encompassing melodic blanket of sound that Bruno plays throughout 1986 is 100% contagious to my Metal lovin’ and Hard Rockin’ senses. Holy Heavy Rockin’ shit.
Take a listen, no, take several listens to the opening track The Power Of Lovebelow! This song is only 1 of 10 that kicks supreme Heavy Rockin’ ass like there’s no tomorrow!
If you can make it through the first four songs on 1986 without getting the psyche-you-out police breaking down the front door, then you’re in for an amazing sonic experience of Hard and Heavy Rock ‘N’ Roll! Just when I thought I’ve listened to it all, this is an album that has lifted me up, spun me around and kicked me straight in the ass with an old school Timberland boot; a boot full of Hard Rockin’ shock and Heavy Metallin’ awe. Holy Heavy Rockin shit, again.
The Order even recorded a ballad that kicks mammoth Metal ass. Under The Rain is the ballad and it’s a diamond-status moment for Gianni on vocals. Now, don’t take my Metal word for it. Take my F’n Metal word for it. The Order are a band you absolutely must know about and their 1986 album is one you absolutely must own. Metal be thy name.
1986 was released on July 27th, 2012, via Massacre Records.
ILLDISPOSED are going to release their highly acclaimed new album “Sense The Darkness” on September 21st via Massacre Records.
The album, which will also be available as limited digipak with two bonus tracks, was produced and mixed by TueMadsen. Mircea Gabriel Eftemie is responsible for the artwork.
Amazon.de is going to offer the album as MP3 download for 5€ only starting September 21st until September 23rd!
Don’t miss it and add the following link to your bookmarks: http://www.amazon.de/dp/B008YNU8GG
Sense The Darkness will feature the following tracks:
Finnish forerunners of melancholic dark metal, AMORPHIS, have posted their first studio report detailing the making or their as-of-yet-untitled 11th album, here: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fLdUj7wm2PM.
The follow-up to 2011’s highly successful masterpiece The Beginning Of Times (Finnish charts: #1, German charts: #16) is being produced and mixed by no less than HYPOCRISY and PAIN mastermind Peter Tägtgren (CHILDREN OF BODOM, IMMORTAL, DIMMU BORGIR).
“We had to face the fact that if we want to develop our music and sound we need a producer who has a vision and whom we can accept as an authority,” commented AMORPHIS guitarist and founding member Esa Holopainen. “I know that we’re not the most flexible guys when it comes to letting outsiders into our camp for telling us how to do things. We spent one evening at our management office, talking about the right producer and the recording sessions in general. As usual, the best decisions are not far to seek. We’ve been talking to Peter about him producing AMORPHIS for ages. I think the first time we spoke about this was when we met first at the Nuclear Blast festival tour in 1994, and it was in Helsinki around a year ago when we last speculated about the idea. We’ve been following Peter’s career – he’s developed as a musician and especially as a producer over the years. Plus he’s one of the true survivors from the 90’s death metal scene who is still around just like us, so we share kind of an old school mental level.”
The recordings are currently taking place in the famous premises of Petrax Studio in Hollola (NIGHTWISH, CHILDREN OF BODOM, KORPIKLAANI) and 5K Studios in Helsinki.
Esa explains: “We’ve decided to record in Finland so that Peter can come here to escape to Petrax in the countryside with us, in order to record all the drums plus some additional lines. Later on, we’ll continue in Helsinki at 5K Studios to lay down the rest of the material. The mixing will be done with Peter in the Swedish Abyss Studios. We’ll keep you posted about how the sessions proceed!”
AMORPHIS’ 11th studio album is planned for a March/April 2013 release via Nuclear Blast Records.
ALL THAT REMAINS – A new studio album, A War You Cannot Win, from Massachusetts Metal band All That Remains will see release on November 6th, via Razor & Tie. A War You Cannot Win was produced by AdamDutkiewicz.
__________________________________________
“So we’re gonna release a new disc in the fall and it’s called ‘A War You Can Not Win’. We really busted our asses and tried to do some new stuff (like we always do) and we’re really happy about what came out of it. Some of it is pretty different and is REALLY gonna blow you guys away. Some of it is gonna sound just like what you expect from ATR. And I’m sure all of it is gonna make the internet have a conniption fit! Release is gonna be this fall and we’re already working on a co-headline tour to show some of it off! Get into it,” comments All That Remains front man Phil Labonte.
A War You Can Not Win will be All That Remains’ seventh studio album for Razor & Tie/Prosthetic, the bands label home for over eight years. One of the leading rock/metal bands in music today, ATR has sold more than 890,000 albums and 1,290,000 tracks to date.The band’s last album, For We Are Many, debuted at #10 on the Billboard Top 200 chart in 2010 and sold over 174,000 albums to date.
The band has also had enormous Active Rock Radio success – their last single off the album, “The Waiting One,” went top 5 on the Active Rock Radio chart making ATR’s first ever Top 5 single and also the band’s fifth consecutive hit single at Active Rock.For We Are Many also spawned 2 additional Top 10 tracks, “Hold On,” and “The Last Time” which spent a combined calendar year charting at the format. All That Remains has toured extensively including a headlining runs as well as tours with Asking Alexandria, Buckcherry, Black Label Society, Hollywood Undead, Five Finger Death Punch as well as a few major radio and international festivals.
____________________________
Check out below the Official Lyric Video for Stand Up, a song featured on A War You Cannot Win.
UNHERZ proudly present their brand new video clip for the song “Seite An Seite”!
The song is featured on the band’s latest album Die Wahrheit Liegt Dazwischen, which is available since August 24th.
The album received great reviews and entered the German Media Control Top 20 Newcomer Charts at #19.
Stone Says: Take a look and listen below to Seite An Seite from UNHERZ! Great vocals and grand musicianship sure do go a long way and UNHERZ has delivered!
WARNING: This melodic and heavy rocker of a song may stick to your brain like it has done to mine! Metal be thy name.
Elusive German Doom quartet OBELYSKKH have completed their second full-length, WhiteLightnin’,confirmed for release via the avant-garde-minded riffmongers at Exile On Mainstream Records in North America on October 16th.
Today the aficionados of thunderous riffage at The Obelisk have gladly premiered a brand new track from OBELYSKKH, and not simply because of the obvious name kinship… but because they were the right doomsters for the job. Deafen all in earshot with the fourth track from White Lightnin’, the six-and-a-half minute homage to their previous album, via “Mount Nysa” RIGHT HERE.
Amidst tours and live performances throughout Germany and abroad since their 2008 inception, White Lightnin’ follows-up OBELYSKKH’s long-time-comin’ debut Mount Nysa, which was released in 2011 via now defunct German label Droehnhaus, nearly four years after the band’s formation. Following the immediately incredible response from the Doom/Sludge scene it received, the band decided against a massive gap until the next album, and over the turn of the year into 2011 set up camp with Billy Anderson (Sleep, Neurosis, Mr. Bungle, Eyehategod, High On Fire, Melvins, etc.) to capture, mix and master their new work.
The more than hour-long White Lightnin’ is a roaring tour de force of catchy, flowing Sludge/Doom with just the right amount of atmospheric properties to counter its skull-shattering low-end assault, drawing from pure filth through psychedelic soundscapes into postrock and back. The output of OBELYSKKH is crushing but it also breathes some kind of repetitive mantra-like ambition, which clears the air here and there and thus declines total negativity. Diehards of Sleep, Ufomammut, Electric Wizard and labelmates Black Shape of Nexus will unquestionably embrace this outfit’s offerings into their record collections.
Broken Bones the new DOKKEN album will be out on Frontiers Records. Available in CD and Deluxe CD/DVD edition including a “Making of the Album” Release date: Europe: September 21st / North America: September 25th
Check out the Broken Bones Official EPK below!
* For more related DOKKEN news, click on the link below!
GRAVE DIGGER – The 16th studio album, Clash Of The Gods, from Germany’s Metal Legends Grave Digger, will be released in the U.S. on September 11th, via Napalm Records. The reviews for Clash Of The Gods have been very positive, across the Metal media landscape. The album cover artwork is, as always with Grave Digger, incredible stuff! Metal be thy name.
PANTERA – What more can be said or written about the legendary PANTERA and their seminal catalog of albums, which hasn’t already been communicated? Metal excellence. Groove Metal pioneers. Total Metal domination during the 90’s. The reverence that PANTERA receives from their fans only grows stronger by the second and there shall never be another band like them. Metal be thy name.
PANTERA – Original Album Series Box Set is a 2011 UK import from Rhino Entertainment and is currently selling for $19.99 (U.S.) on Amazon.com. For those new fans or fans that need to upgrade their collection, this PANTERA box set is an unbelievable bargain!
Home to the finest in classic and Traditional Metal, Shadow Kingdom Records has posted several titles from its extensive catalog on Bandcamp.com. Many items offered in the label’s webstore is now available for streaming and download at the recently launched site. Check out reissues and new material from the likes of MANILLAROAD, PAGAN ALTAR, ALTAR OF OBLIVION and more at Shadow Kingdom Records – Bandcamp.com
____________________________________
Upcoming Shadow Kingdom Records titles:
09/02 – MANILLA ROAD – Invasion
09/11 – PAGAN ALTAR – The Time Lord EP
09/11 – ALTAR OF OBLIVION – Grand Gesture of Defiance
Big Dad Ritch is the lead singer and founding member of Texas Hippie Coalition, aka THC. Red Dirt Metal is what THC plays, with a reverent nod of influence to Country Music’s most famous outlaws to the late Dimebag, with Black Label Society and Lynyrd Skynyrd in between. Texas Hippie Coalition’s Southern Hard Rock ‘N Metal is as American as corn dogs washed down with (plenty of) Shiner Bock beer.
This badass band from Texas aren’t about kowtowing to the mainstream or the man sitting high-up inside some ivory tower. Hell no. This is Texas Hippie Coalition and they aren’t about being a band for the ages, they’re a band for the people, in my forthright opinion. With 2010’s Rollin’, their newly released Peacemaker (Carved Records), coupled with a notable live presence from clubs to festivals, Texas Hippie Coalition have earned a continuously growing fan base that knows real when they hear and see it.
They’re skilled musicians that are loud, proud, hard and heavy as hell with contagious American Southern pride. Texas Hippie Coalition are: bassist John Exall, guitarist Wes Wallace, drummer Timmy Braun and of course, Big Dad Ritch and his earth splitting vocals. Big Dad Ritch took the time recently to answer more than several questions that I tossed his way. As this being my second (appreciative) encounter with Big Dad Ritch, I can honestly say he is as genuine, kind, professional and badass as they come. Metal be thy name. There is and forever will be only one Big Dad Ritch. Here is what he had to say:
Stone: I know I absolutely love your new album Peacemaker. The fans and critics have spoken and this album is a winner! Can you put into words just how rewarding all of this widespread acceptance feels to you?
Big Dad Ritch: Feels like a backyard friends n family Bar-BQ, with all the fixuns n pecan pie.
Stone: What is the secret behind the muscularity that Peacemaker represents musically and lyrically?
Big Dad Ritch: Just being proud of being BADASS. If u were a rodeo stock bull would you want to be the ol’ piece of beef every sod buster rode for a short 8 seconds or the Horned Monster Bull that punished every belt buckle chasing cowboy for a long 2 second ride. Dare to be BADASS.
Stone: Your vocals are so powerful! Are there any steps you swear by in keeping your voice so healthy and strong?
Big Dad Ritch: Never drink or smoke… I’m lyin!
Stone: Yes, Big Dad Ritch, you’ve proven that you can sing a ballad! What’s the story behind the creation of “Think Of Me”?
Big Dad Ritch: I wrote that song on Valentines Day, like most Valentines Days I spent it with the love of my life – music. I think people will say a song like this is dated or that it shows a softer side. Yet, in my opinion, I believe to write a song like this in this day and age only shows that this band has balls, BIG BALLS.
Stone: What came easy and what was difficult about recording Peacemaker?
Big Dad Ritch: Music and words flow thru those that participated on this album, the task seemed so easy at times. Difficult part was deciding what 11 songs of the 14 to put on the album. My stance was like that of Sweden. I held the money while they argued.
Stone: THC will be opening for the legendary Lynyrd Skynyrd on select dates this September. Describe the thrill you are feeling about this and don’t hold back!
Big Dad Ritch: WhooHooo, yipp, yip, yippy, yeehaw!!! Hyeah! Raise Hell! Sorry, got a lil carried away there. See, couple years back I started tellin people THC would open for BLS (Black Label Society) very soon. At the time an untruth. People on fb started connecting dots comments like “I would pay to see that show”. Next thing I know, were on half a dozen BLS shows. So I started fibbin, again fibbin is almost a lie. Tellin everyone we were gonna open for Lynyrd Skynyrd, at the time not true. Yet here we are today talkin about the Skynyrd n THC show. So what I’m trying to tellya is I never lie, and soon we will be touring with Willie Nelson n Judas Priest… I’m lyin. This show with Shooter Jennings on the line up as well is proof there is a Southern Uprising!
Take a look and listen below to the Official Video for Turn It Up!
Stone: I look at the band photos, listen to the songs and watch the video footage of THC and the feeling of brotherhood hits me like a ton of beer kegs! How important is this brotherhood toward your band’s success?
Big Dad Ritch: Texas Hippie Coalition. Texas = Proud of where we come from, which everyone should be. Hippie = that’s the way my mom n dad raised me, TRIBAL. Coalition = Because we are more than just 4 men, we are many, we are chapters nationwide, we are chapters world-wide, we are fans around the globe, we are men that would be kings, we are twisted hippie chicks, we are FAMILY MEMBERS, we are all together under one flag that we wave HIGH n MIGHTY, we are COALITION.
Stone: Many bands pigeonhole themselves into one “select” genre. With THC, you guys can reach out to many Rock genres with your sound and style. Would I be wrong to call THC “the band for the people”?
Big Dad Ritch: The PEOPLE’S CHAMP, love it. Red Dirt Metal, Southern Fried Rock. It’s all good.
Stone: As THC creates their own hard-earned success, do you ever have time to take it all in?
Big Dad Ritch: Yes I do inhale. What was the question?
Stone: You tour the country and witness many things on the road. Is American pride still alive and well or is there a sense of division among us as a nation?
Big Dad Ritch: There is an immense amount of pride nation wide, but I do believe people are starting to place more faith in their neighbor than in their government. US definitely still applies in my eyes.
Stone: If Big Dad Ritch could sit by the river with a legend of Rock, either past or present, to share some booze, stories and barbecue with, who would it be and why?
Big Dad Ritch: Tuff one, I always aspire to be what I have grown to refer to as “1 man empire”. The likes of Johnny Cash, Waylon or Willie, or modern-day Rob Zombie, Zakk Wylde, or Vinnie Paul. To achieve things in and out of the world of music. Hoping in someway one day to grow up and be an OZZY. Sorry mom. So to pick from all of these would be hard. So I would say this I would pick “Dime Bag” just so I could tell him what he has meant to generations of fans and how much he has influenced me and many others. I would even drink one of those horrible black tooths.
THANK YOU, Big Dad Ritch for this interview! Thank you for creating such memorable Red Dirt Metal with your band! I am so happy for you and the band and wish only the very best for Texas Hippie Coalition both off and on stage.
Until the next time, your brother in Rock ‘N Metal –
Stone \m/\m/
___________________________________________
PEACEMAKER Available NOW! Get it at iTunes (with exclusive track WHISKEY): http://bit.ly/OYvn5O
SAMOTHRACE – Reverence To Stone may only feature two songs, however, it’s the length and overall magnitude of Doom Metal that is of Metal importance here. We’re talking about a massive atmosphere of Doom Metal I feel and hear from Reverence To Stone. Released back on July 31st, via 20 Buck Spin, Reverence To Stone has my nomination for epic Metal album of the year.
When We Emergedclocks in at 14:20 and A Horse Of Our Own plays at a mega memorable 20:29. Nearly 35 minutes of 100% Doom saturation. A massive, massive wall of Doom imbued sound. Both guitar and percussive driven, coupled with the unforgiving exclusion to multiple tracks here, are what encourages Samothrace to delve deep into the cavernous depths of Doom awareness.
Doom Metal fans from coast-to-coast and across continents should take note: Samothrace = A DOOM listening experience. You can’t possibly listen to Reverence To Stone two or three times and draw a conclusion. You must listen to these two epic songs several times before realizing that Samothrace cares that their music (and growls) are telling a story; and most importantly, Samothrace brilliantly piece together the parts of music that are essential to the essence (of the totality) of Doom sound. I’m overjoyed by this Samothrace album. Metal be thy name.
KISS – The newly remastered KISS Destroyer album became { Resurrected } by original and legendary producer Bob Ezrin. Along with Sweet Pain (Original Guitar Solo) as a new Bonus Track, sung by Gene Simmons, this is a KISS masterpiece to own! KISS Destroyer – Resurrected has debuted on the Billboard 200 at #58. What once was old… is new again! The Classic Rock ‘N Roll of KISS is timeless. Metal be thy name.
If you’re a band or musician and would like your music reviewed or be interviewed by Stone, please click the link under the “ALBUM REVIEWS ARCHIVES” section below!
Metal Odyssey's Rock, Hard Rock and Heavy Metal Hall of Fame! These Are The Rock And METAL Legends Wrongfully Ignored By "The Rock And Roll Hall Of Fame"
Metal Odyssey > Heavy Metal Music Blog 
You must be logged in to post a comment.