Apr. 11, 2011

Metal Blade Records has announced the signing of comedian and fellow metalhead Jim Florentine. Florentine is a stand-up comedian, actor, writer, voice artist, and performer, who is currently co-hosting VH1 Classic's hit heavy metal talk show series "That Metal Show" alongside Eddie Trunk and now Metal Blade labelmate Don Jamieson. Florentine is best known for his work on Comedy Central's show "Crank Yankers" where he performed the voice of Special Ed, a mentally challenged teenager, and Bobby Fletcher, a despicable, alcoholic slob who is the older cousin of Ed. Florentine recently opened up the "American Carnage" tour for ANTHRAX, MEGADETH, and SLAYER in arenas across the country. Comments Florentine: "Performing in front of 13,000 SLAYER fans every night was insane! It was like emceeing a rape!" Metal Blade Records CEO Brian Slagel adds: "I have always been a big fan of comedy and Jim is a great comedian. He is also a metalhead and friend so I am so excited to welcome him to the Metal Blade family!" 

Read more here –>blabbermouth.net

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BY Dave Hoekstra Feb 6, 2011

Ian Fraser “Lemmy” Kilmister grew up on a farm in North Wales wanting to breed horses. Instead, he became the fierce bridle of the heavy metal movement. Lemmy is the 65-year-old founding member of Motorhead, the world’s fastest metal band. Motorhead is to headbangers what Dick Butkus was to football. “I was going to breed stallions when I was 13,” Lemmy said in a conversation from his Los Angeles apartment. “But I heard rock ’n’ roll and it was over. Rock ’n’ roll became my new farm. Little Richard and Jerry Lee Lewis started it. Without them, none of us would be here.” Motorhead has the devil’s moxie of Jerry Lee, the speed of Jimi Hendrix and the dark ethic of Hank Williams. Lemmy was a roadie for Hendrix, for whom he used to score acid. Lemmy has claimed to have slept with more than 1,000 women by the age of 63. He lives in a rent-controlled apartment off the Sunset Strip. He pays $1,000 a month. The apartment is packed with collectibles such as Lemmy action figures and Nazi paraphernalia. All of this is in the excellent documentary “Lemmy” (tag line: 49% motherf**ker, 51% son of a bitch”), which debuts Thursday night at the Music Box Theatre, 3733 N. Southport. The sound should be loud, but if that’s not your bag, the documentary also airs at 10:30 p.m. Friday as part of the VH1 Rock Doc series. 

Read more here –>suntimes.com

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Nov. 8, 2010

Lick Library has the best guitar tuition in the business to help you play guitar licks like your heroes — Zakk Wylde, Eddie Van Halen, "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, Steve Vai, Yngwie Malmsteen, Alex Laiho and many more. For that reason they got together with top tutor and shredder Andy James to bring you "Learn 50 Killer Metal Guitar Licks Vol. 2" (RRP £19.99), a guitar-tuition DVD. Have you ever heard one of your guitar heroes play something your thought was really awesome and wondered how to get the same sound yourself? More importantly, have you always wanted to learn how to incorporate those incredible licks into your own music? Then "Learn 50 Metal Killer Guitar Licks Vol. 2" is exactly what you are looking for to take your shredding to the next level with a whole new collection of metal licks and techniques. These include minor pentatonic positions, two-string sequences, speed-building licks, alternate- and economy-picking licks, tapping, legato licks and much more. There is also a metal guitar jam tack as well included on this guitar lesson DVD. 

Read more here –>blabbermouth.net

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Nov. 8, 2010

Dutch/Norwegian goth metal band IMPERIA — which is fronted by Norwegian singer Helena Iren Michaelsen (the original vocalist of the Holland-based band SAHARA DUST, which later changed its name to EPICA) — has entered Spacelab studio in Germany to begin recording its new album for a February 25, 2011 release via Massacre Records. IMPERIA's sophomore album, "Queen of Light", was released in March 2007 via Massacre Records. The follow-up to 2004's "The Ancient Dance of Qetesh" contains 13 tracks and was described in a a press release as "heavier and more varied" than its predecessor. "There are fast and powerful metal songs, slow ballads, heavy songs as well as a lot of serious guitar leads and oriental keyboards. It is a diverse album with crystal clear sound!" 

Read more here –>blabbermouth.net

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by Amy Sciarretto Nov 1st 2010

Helloween guitarist Michael Wekaith, a founding member of the band, is proud of the band's latest album, '7 Sinners.' That's not surprising information, since bands usually are proud of their latest efforts. But the guitarist did say that this album — their 13th — is one of the fastest and heaviest of the German band's lengthy career. That's a large statement for a band with a legacy like Helloween to make, but the material has the chops to back it up. "'Walls of Jericho' may be more extreme, but it doesn't sound as good. And that record may have been fast, but we have faster parts on this one," Weikath told Noisecreep, comparing the new platter to one of the band's essential catalog pieces. "It is a matter of drum technique, and with Dani [Loble], it is a different thing. It's pretty intense and the sound is good." Wonder what the members of Helloween are sprinkling on their Wheaties this deep in their career to keep them focused on forward progress and retaining heft? "As I have said on other occasions — and I know [bassist] Markus [Grosskopf] is with me — I don't know what else to do," Weikath said. "If you are a painter or writer, there is always someone who is better than you in a field. I am confident and I know the deal and what to do with those things. "I think that I could easily have a mental breakdown if i had to do something else for real! I think we better stick to what we know. An office is impossible for me. You get used to it. We've been around 26 years now. What else can we do?!" 

Read more here –>noisecreep.com

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by Amy Sciarretto Nov 1st 2010

Despite the dastardly image and blasphemous black metal, England's Cradle of Filth have always fashioned their music and lyrics as theatrical, gothic fairy tales. The band's latest, 'Darkly, Darkly Venus Aversa,' is out Nov. 9. It follows 2008's 'Godpseed on the Devil's Thunder,' which tackled the controversial and disturbing historical figure Gilles De Rais, Joan of Arc's former right-hand man who went mad and killed a lot of children in brutal ways. This time out, the British band explores the lore of Lilith, Adam's first wife. In addition to taking liberties with history, the album tells an original story — but it's still Cradle of Filth's bloodied valentine to Lilith. Vocalist Dani Filth told Noisecreep that "musically, the main difference is this is even faster, more melodic, more elegant." While one can argue that anything sounds more elegant in with a British accent, Cradle mix the profane with the profound on 'Darkly, Darkly Venus Aversa.' Filth further elaborated on the album's lyrical sphere, saying, "Conceptually, it's a companion to the last record, like a sister album. It's about Lilith, the queen of the night, Adam's first wife — who is the woman underneath God. It's epic."

Read more here –>noisecreep.com

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By RYAN NAKASHIMA Nov 1, 2010

Fans of band-simulation games such as "Guitar Hero" and "Rock Band" have few excuses not to seek out legitimate sheet music these days if they hope to graduate to playing real guitars. A growing number of websites may help reverse a decline in sheet music sales last year. Trade magazine Music Trades, which compiles sales data, showed it was the first drop in eight years. The most popular site is Ultimate-Guitar.com, which was founded by a Russian student in 1998. It offers guitar tablatures for popular songs – shorthands for explaining where your fingers go on a fret board, as transcribed by the site's users. The site became a pariah of music publishers, which claimed the site had no permission to post transcriptions to their songwriters' music, even though some were inaccurate. Even inaccurate transcriptions require licenses, an easily misunderstood concept that may have slowed Ultimate Guitar's path to legitimacy, said Jonathan Kehl, who handles licensing and business development for the company. In recent years, the site has obtained numerous licenses from music publishers including Sony/ATV, EMI and Alfred Music Publishing. The site lets visitors, mostly amateurs, submit guitar tabs. These are then ranked and sometimes improved upon by other users. The site is free and shows ads to its more than 10 million visitors per month worldwide. The site, based in San Francisco, shares ad revenue with publishers to ensure that songwriters get paid, although Kehl didn't say how much. 

Read more here –>hosted.ap.org

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Oct. 25, 2010

Voyageur Press has has just released "AC/DC High-Voltage Rock 'N' Roll – The Ultimate Illustrated History", which follows the band from its roots in Sydney, Australia, to its most recent releases and sold-out world tours. No stone is left unturned, from the band's formation and early gigs on the club circuit Down Under, to the 1980 death of singer Bon Scott and ultimately astounding worldwide success. Jam-packed with more than 400 illustrations — from handbills, posters, backstage passes, and vinyl from around the globe, as well as rare candid and performance photography — this massive contribution to the AC/DC library gives fans a all-access visual tour through almost four decades of unadulterated rock mastery. Additionally, sidebars and essays from top rock scribes examine all studio releases, document the band's numerous personnel changes, and delve into the guitar gear of the Young brothers, while musicians past and present comment and reflect on the band's lasting influence. 

Read more here –>blabbermouth.net

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Oct. 25, 2010

Heineken U.K. is bringing Kronenbourg 1664 back to the small screens with the first TV support for the premium lager brand since 2006 with the launch of "Slow the Pace", a new integrated advertising campaign which broke last week. The first execution in the new campaign shows iconic rock band MOTÖRHEAD performing a slowed down version of their classic track "Ace of Spades" (available for free download at this location; free e-mail sign-up required). 30 years to the month since it was first written, the track has been specially re-written by the band for a Kronenbourg 1664 campaign that will encompass TV, press and digital advertising, a short-film documentary and a social media activity. "Slow the Pace" is rooted in the idea that Kronenbourg 1664 is a beer with a lingering complexity that deserves to be savoured slowly. The concept will be brought to life over the next year in a series of executions based on unique musical collaborations with leading artists commissioned to re-write and record a slowed down, chilled out version of one of their most famous fast tracks.

Read more here–>blabbermouth.net
Get free song here –>k1664.co.uk

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