Suffocation Is Recording Their New Album Right Now


suffocation-studio

Get excited Suffocation fans! The legendary death metal band just entered Full Force Studio in Long Island, New York to begin recording their eighth studio album. Continue reading


Randy Blythe: I Want Nothing More Than For Mike IX Williams To Get Better


randy-mike-eyehategod

Ever since the news broke out that Mike IX Williams of EYEHATEGOD was in need of a liver transplant, the metal world quickly came together to support the front man. Just by word of mouth, they’ve already raised over $48,000 on his YouCaring page, and it’s going to go a long way to helping out the Williams family. Continue reading


Audio: Candiria Premieres A New Song And Announces An Intimate Tour


Candiria

The mighty Candiria announced a new record was coming our way back in 2015 when they signed a new deal with Metal Blade Records, and now we finally know when it’s coming us. Continue reading


Metallica To Stream Upcoming Concert Live On Pandora


 

metallica mn show stream on pandora ghostcultmag

Pandora, the premiere music source for music lovers, along with Metallica, announced it will livestream Metallica’s headlining performance at Minneapolis’ new U.S. Bank Stadium on Saturday, August 20. The band’s performance will be the first rock concert at the new home of the Minnesota Vikings and tickets sold out in less than ten minutes. The livestream will begin at 10 p.m. EST on Saturday, Aug. 20 at this link here. Individual songs from the concert will also spin on Pandora.

 


Drummer Lars Ulrich commented : “We love being invited to the opening party of new buildings, so when the opportunity to break in the new U.S. Bank Stadium in Minneapolis presented itself, we of course jumped at the chance,”Thanks to our friends at Pandora, if you can’t make it to Minneapolis, you’ll still be able to partake in the festivities.”

 

Tim Westergren, founder and CEO of Pandora also commented: “Metallica is one of the most successful and influential rock bands in the world. Partnering with them to expand the audience for their live show is a great honor. It’s also another illustration of the power of our platform to connect artists and fans. This is a seminal moment for live music and as a Minneapolis native myself, it’s exciting to be part of the opening of the city’s beautiful new stadium.”

 

Metallica, who has nearly 2 billion spins on Pandora, also curated an exclusive mix-tape in celebration of the show and livestream. The mix-tape features songs handpicked by all of the members of the band and features an eclectic mix of all-time favorites and recent discoveries from across the spectrum of music.

 

 

 

Lars Ulrich of Metallica, by Victoria Anderson

Lars Ulrich of Metallica, by Victoria Anderson

 

 

Metallica online

Metallica on Twitter

Metallica on Facebook

Metallica on Instagram

Metallica on YouTube

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Tool’s Adam Jones Excited About New Music, New Album In 2016


Tool dressed as Led Zeppelin at Monster Mash: photo credit Rynne Stump

Tool dressed as Led Zeppelin at Monster Mash: photo credit Rynne Stump

In an interview with Rolling Stone, Tool guitarist Adam Jones freely discussed progress on the much speculated about new album from the enigmatic band , and their upcoming US tour with Primus.

band. A few excerpts from Jones:

 

On touring:

“The way we’ve always done our live thing is to put as much money as we can afford into the production and make it as exciting as possible,] “Our whole outlook on putting out a CD or making a T-shirt or a poster or doing something live is, ‘What would you want if you went, and did you get your money’s worth or did you get more than your money’s worth?’ I don’t want to make any promises, but we try to make it a really great visual experience. To me, it’s always been the visuals are first, and seeing the band is secondary. That’s what we would want if we saw a concert.”

 

On the new album:

 

“My philosophy has always been, ‘It’s not good when it’s done, it’s done when it’s good,'” Jones says.

 

On tour partners Primus:


We’ve done a lot of one-offs together. We’re always talking about how we should do a tour together. We’re big fans.


Yeah. I got on the plane to go home, and I’m sitting next to some guy and he goes hi, and I go hi, and he goes, “Adam, it’s Larry [LaLonde] from Primus.” And I’m like, “Oh, my God. I didn’t even recognize you.” The last time I saw him, he had his hair dyed and it was shorter. We started talking and I said, “We’ve got to play together; we’ve got to tour together.” And he’s like, “Absolutely.” I got back and our manager had already talked to their manager about possibly touring together. The stars were aligned.

tool-primus-2016-tour-dates-tickets-promo-500x337

And changing up the set-list for the new tour, dusting off old songs


Yeah. Usually, Maynard picks set lists because he’s the one who’s gotta sing and get through it. Sometimes his voice is a little sensitive so he picks a certain kind of set list and sometimes his voice is right-on. I like playing different songs. I don’t want to keep playing the same songs over and over again.

 

On the new track played at Monster Mash Music Festival on Halloween, Descending:
Yeah, it’s a working title. We have a song that’s probably about 13 or 14 minutes long, so what we’ve done with it is … I don’t want to call it a “best of,” but it’s a shortened, different approach to it. It is a new song. It’s like a vague movie trailer to the real movie [laughs]. Sometimes we do jamming between songs or some kind of segues, and it’s usually involved in some kind of new material. But that one’s just a little taste of things to come.

 

That was more than a segue, though — it was written onto the set list.
Yeah. But sometimes you’ll see it and it will say, “Justin,” and Justin [Chancellor, bass] will do an intro or it will say “Jam” and we don’t have a name for it yet. “Descending” is the newest title of the song. We were calling it “B.G.” or “Bluegrass” or something. It had a funny name. Now it’s “Descending.”

…Yeah, the song’s amazing. It’s one of those things, too, where we’re playing this “movie trailer” version of it and we just want to go into the main part of it. The main part’s the best part, I think, but we just don’t want to give that away yet. We’re just doing a little taste test all the way through and put it together. I’m glad the response has been really good. But again, we don’t want to go too far with it because we’d rather just hear the end piece, and we don’t want people to hear the end piece until it’s done and everyone’s happy with it.

 

On the progress of the new Tool album, expected in 2016
I’ll tell you, it’s wonderful. Things are really flowing and going really well, and I’m just blown away at the stuff that’s coming together. I’m excited and can’t wait for it to be done. It’s something I’ve been missing for a long time [laughs], that beautiful collaboration that we have because we’re all so different and have different tastes. But again, when you are all meeting in the middle and that thing you do that meets in the middle is just beautiful, it’s very rewarding. So yes, I’m very happy.


We probably have 20 potential song ideas now. Of course, 20 won’t be on the record. We’re just jamming. But I’ll tell you, there’s nothing better than having too many good songs then not enough. It’s great. You pick your faves.

 

If Maynard has heard the music yet, often one of the last steps in finishing new music for the band:


Yeah. We have an FTP and a Dropbox and we’re in communication. He’s got other stuff he does, so we keep him in the loop, and he has written lyrics, but he’s still working on that and he’ll commit. The best thing for all of us is when the song is done. I don’t write leads until the song is done. You want to get a vibe. And Maynard can work on lyrics, but until the song’s done and he knows how the end is, he’s still figuring out the flow.

The thing with Tool is you have four critical thinkers who like different stuff, so our process is not an easy one but it’s a very rewarding one. So yes, he is exposed to new music. It’s always been this way and it probably will always be this way and it’s just how people work.

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Stone Temple Pilots Part Ways With Vocalist Chester Bennington


stone temple pilots chester bennington

Stone Temple Pilots have parted ways with vocalist Chester Bennington (also of Linkin Park), and statements from both sides have been issued below.

The last few years have been an amazing experience. I got to create and perform with one of the greatest rock bands of our generation, that had so much influence on me growing up. With the amount of time STP deserves, in addition to being in Linkin Park, and with the needs of my family, one of them always seems to fall short. Going in to this, the four of us… Robert, Eric, Dean and myself knew what we were up against. We decided in due fairness to friends, fans and the legacy of STP that it needs more than time was allowing me. And in all fairness to my bandmates in Linkin Park, as well as to myself and to my family, I’m going to focus solely on Linkin Park so I can contribute 100%. It’s been an amazing experience and a dream come true, and I look forward to the future of both STP and Linkin Park.

– Chester

What an amazing and beautiful few years we’ve all had together. It was our honor to play and see all of you recently on tour. We have thoroughly enjoyed our time together with Chester not only professionally, but even more so on a personal level. Sadly, it was evident that scheduling and time was working against us. Within this, there is a new beginning. There is an abundance of new music written, some of which is already recorded. We have had the fortune of playing with some very talented singers over the last few months and will continue to do so until each of us feels and knows when the right person arrives.

With love,

Robert, Eric & Dean


Tool Frontman Won’t Speculate On New Album Release Date


Maynard James Keenan of Tool, photo credit Jim Louvau

Maynard James Keenan of Tool, photo credit Jim Louvau

Tool Front man Maynard James Keenan gave a rare and wide ranging interview to the Phoenix New Times newspaper in which he offered no release date for a new Tool album, dismissed obsessive fans, and praised one of his other bands, Puscifer as more versatile outlet for his talents.

Excerpts::

On experimentation and Tool versus Puscifer comparisons

“I experiment with all these places I’ve been… I’m experimenting with grapes in Arizona, I mean, come on. Everything’s an experiment. But I feel Puscifer has more breadth . . . We can do animation, film, music, scores.”

 

On the role of comedy in his art:

“It’s weird. It shouldn’t be. I mean, this one’s named dick, this one’s named vagina. That’s the start there, okay?”

“Yeah, it’s there. But people miss it because they’re so focused on the other bullshit.”
“It’s lost. Insufferable people . . . It’s just ridiculous, retards. I’m sorry. Can’t help them. Way too serious. Too much. Lighten up.”

 

On playing Monster Mash Music Festival on Halloween, the only Tool show booked for 2015

 

“No, they (the other members of Tool) had to con me into it.”

 

On the whereabouts of the next Tool album.

“There’s nothing to say. I can’t.”

 

Tool headlines the inaugural Monster Mash Music Fest in Tempe Arizona this Saturday. Get tickets here:

Monster Mash fest Az Tool