Ghost Cult scribe Gary Alcock interviewed the swiss-army knife of metal guitarists, Phil Demmel of Vio-Lence, just after the band’s first-ever UK show at Bloodstock Open Air 2022. Phil discusses his past success in the UK with Machine Head, how hot it was at BOA, his current status with Vio-Lence, filling in with Lamb of God, gigs trying to navigate the landscape of being a working musician, the new EP Let The World Burn (Metal Blade), and more!
Roadrunner United was a project organized by iconic hard rock record label Roadrunner Records to celebrate its 25th anniversary, culminating in the U.S. Billboard Top 200, UK Albums, and Australian ARIA Albums-charting original The All Star Sessions. Four “team captains” (Slipknot’s Joey Jordison (RIP), Machine Head’s Robb Flynn, Fear Factory’s Dino Cazares, and Trivium’s Matthew K. Heafy) were chosen to lead 57 artists from 45 past and present Roadrunner bands. On December 15, 2005, a concert celebrating the project, album, and anniversary took place at the Nokia Theater in New York City. That star-studded event featured multiple musicians, both past and present, from Roadrunner bands — as well as musicians that did not originally perform on the All-Star Sessions album. Now that album is getting a release in 2023 on multiple formats. Watch the live performance video of “The End (Live)” featuring Fear Factory’s Dino Cazares, and Trivium’s Matthew K. Heafy – right now!
Catton Park, United kingdom, 14 Aug 2022, Lamb of God performing on the Ronnie James Dio Stage at Bloodstock Open Air Festival Credit: Rich Price/Ghost Cult Magazine
SATURDAY
Considering most people are already feeling like overcooked baked potatoes wrapped in tin foil, the fact that today is meant to be the hottest day of the festival really isn’t the best news. Still, that certainly doesn’t deter a healthy crowd from shaking off the hangovers and getting on with the business at hand, Baest and Lost Society both grabbing the main stage by the scruff of the neck while Sister Shotgun and Mastiff do the same on the Sophie stage.Continue reading
I remember one-time reading Revolver magazine’s review for Through the Ashes of Empires and while it was a very positive piece the writer felt that despite being a great step forward it may have been too little, too late for Machine Head. Hard to believe now, but in those days some perceived Machine Head as being dead in the water following the more mainstream stylings of The Burning Red and the ill-timed Supercharger.
House of Blues, Mandalay Bay Hotel and Casino, Las Vegas, NV 8/18/19
Vio-Lence guitarist Phil Demmel, long an endorsed artist for Jackson Guitars has filmed a “Behind the Riff” playthrough video on their channel. Watch Phil jam his way through the riffs of “Flesh From Bone” – a track off of Vio-Lence’s new EP Let The World Burn (Metal Blade Records). Watch the video and check out Phil’s signature guitars at the link below!
Lamb of God bassist John CampbelJohn Campbelll will be forced to miss the next couple of shows on the band’s “The Metal Tour Of The Year” (review here) in order to “take care of a family matter back home.” He will be temporarily replaced by former Vio-Lence guitarist Phil Demmel, who filled in for Lamb of God guitarist Willie Adler during LOG’s ShipRocked cruise performance earlier in the year! Watch footage of the band performing together!
It’s really good to visit The Chance for a show after two years. It’s a long Metro-North Railroad train ride from the city but it’s always worth it once you’re there.
Bay Area thrashers Vio-Lence might have only been around for eight years but what a magnificent near-decade it was. From their classic hyper-aggressive debut Eternal Nightmare (MCA Records) to the controversial lyrics of ‘Torture Tactics’ and a deliciously questionable vegetable soup and vinegar “vomit bag” plastic record sleeve, the band also launched the career of a certain Robb Flynn who went on to form 1990s game-changers Machine Head, eventually to be followed by guitarist Phil Demmel. With three studio albums under their belts, the band went their separate ways in 1993, only becoming a full-time going concern again in 2019.
James Durbin may have been the “metal guy” during his season on American Idol, but it’s been an uphill battle for him to get any sort of street cred in the actual scene. His subsequent solo albums seemed noncommittal in terms of style and his brief stint singing for Quiet Riot felt more like an odd novelty than a real step forward. It’s hard to tell how the reception towards The Beast Awakens (Frontiers Records srl) will compare but at the very least, it’s a notable turning point on his path to Heavy Metal legitimacy.
James Durbin (ex Quiet Riot) has shared a new video for his current solo single- “Kings Before You” ft. Chris Jericho & Phil Demmel (Vio-Lence, ex-Machine Head) which you can see below. The Beast Awakens will release on February 12, 2021 via Frontiers Music Srl, and pre-orders are live right now. Check it out!Continue reading