Video: Soulfly Archangel, Fall Tour With Soilwork, Decapitated Nears


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Soulfly has released the video for the title track for their new album, Archangel, released last month from Nuclear Blast. You can watch the Robert Sexton (The Devil Wears Prada, Death Angel) directed video at this link or below:

 

 

Soulfly - Archangel - Artwork

 

 

 

Speaking earlier this summer to Steve Tovey of Ghost Cult, Max Cavalera reflected on why this album is so fulfilling to him:

“We went in with a very clear head and wanted to make a very different record, and from the beginning we wanted to shake things up. As much as I like Savages (Nuclear Blast), I wanted to do something quite different from that. My own tastes in music has changed through the years and there’s now more extreme metal in Soulfly than before and from the beginning of the writing of the riffs, from the influences that got into the making of Archangel, to the producer we used, it was all new and different.

I’m very pleased, it’s the right album to make – it’s the perfect tenth album.”

 

Soulfly’s “We Sold Our Souls To Metal” 2015 Tour With Soilwork, Decapitated, Shattered Sun
Sep 30: Fonda Theater – Los Angeles, CA
Oct 01: Regency Ballroom – San Francisco, CA
Oct 02: Hawthorne Theater – Portland, OR
Oct 03: Studio Seven – Seattle, WA
Oct 04: Rickshaw Theatre – Vancouver, BC
Oct 06: Level Nightclub – Kelowna, BC
Oct 07: Starlite Room – Edmonton, AB
Oct 08: O’Brian’s Event Centre – Saskatoon, SK
Oct 09: Park Theatre – Winnipeg, MB
Oct 10: Amsterdam – Minneapolis, MN
Oct 11: Mojoes – Joliet, IL
Oct 12: Val Air Ballroom – Des Moines, IA
Oct 13: Agora Theater – Cleveland, OH
Oct 14: Opera House – Toronto, ON
Oct 15: Corona Theater – Montreal, QC
Oct 18: Northland Performing Arts Center – Columbus, OH
Oct 19: Crofoot Ballroom – Pontiac, MI
Oct 20: Gramercy Theater – New York, NY
Oct 21: Ottobar – Baltimore, MD
Oct 22: The International – Knoxville, TN
Oct 23: Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
Oct 24: Culture Room – Ft Lauderdale, FL
Oct 25: State Theater – St Petersburg, FL
Oct 27: Scout Bar – Houston, TX
Oct 28: Empire Control Room – Austin, TX
Oct 29: Gas Monkey – Dallas, TX
Oct 30: Sunshine Theater – Albuquerque, NM

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Soilwork on Facebook
Soilwork on Twitter
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Decapitated on Facebook
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Decapitated on YouTube
Shattered Sun on Facebook
Shattered Sun on Twitter
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Interview: Shattered Sun – How It All Began


shattered sun 4

Alice, Texas is hardly the hotbed of music when it comes to finding the next big thing. Even finding any musical acts can be somewhat like finding a needle in a haystack, but for the members of Shattered Sun, they beat the odds and found themselves opportunities that their peers have yet to reach.

They have released their debut album Hope Within Hatred earlier this year (via Victory Records) and have toured with Testament and Exodus and on the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Fest’s second stage. But prior to all of this happening, how they were discovered became quite the story.

Marcos Leal of Shattered Sun. Photo Credit: Kevin Estrada.

Marcos Leal of Shattered Sun. Photo Credit: Kevin Estrada.

The original incarnation of the band began in 2005 but solidified a modified lineup a year later and the seeds were planted towards building the foundation of what is now Shattered Sun.

Basically we’ve been doing stuff since we were kids,” explained frontman Marcos Leal. “Bands…you know how it goes with switching members and all of that stuff.

In 2010, me and our guitarist Daniel [Trejo] sat down and said ‘we want to make this our lives and we want to do this the right way, so let’s go find some members that want it as bad as we do.’ We found the right lineup and we immediately went into the studio and recorded our ep Confessions. We just rolled from there.

shattered sun (2 of 5)

Being in a small town, they pushed themselves to get their name out across their home state of Texas. They immediately began to book shows around the state and got their name out everywhere they could physically get themselves a show. The plan worked and built a steady following.

What you have to do is you kind of have to make a name for yourself in those bigger cities. That’s exactly what we did. Once we finished putting out our ep Confessions together, we got out there and hit all of the major markets – San Antonio, Austin, Dallas…all of those places and slowly making a name for ourselves in those places and building a fan base,” said Leal.

They drew inspiration from bands from Texas such as Pantera and Drowning Pool to carry the flag across the music scene and keeping the musical spirit alive.

It’s been great. Those bands are influences and we want to be the next band to represent Texas. We want to be that Pantera status. They’re obviously huge but we intend to set the bar too for our state.

Henry Garza of Shattered Sun

Henry Garza of Shattered Sun

He talked about the areas of Texas that responded to Shattered Sun immediately after they began playing out. They traded shows with local bands in each area, which helped them building bonds to help spreading the word.

Immediately right off the bat, Corpus [Christi] is a major market. It’s an hour away from our home town. Our producer is from Corpus Christi too. He was tied into that metal scene. We just basically got with all of the big bands in the local scene there and started opening for them and slowly got a following.

Prior to the recording of their 2012 self released EP Confessions, they caught the attention of Testament frontman Chuck Billy, who at the time just started their management company called Breaking Bands. He explained how he found out about the band.

Joseph Guajardo of Shattered Sun. Photo Credit: Kevin Estrada.

Joseph Guajardo of Shattered Sun. Photo Credit: Kevin Estrada.

It had to be after we had spoken. I think within a month I might have flown out there. Me and Maria [Ferraro] flew out to Texas. We’ve only heard a few songs so we wanted to hear the full record and hear it in the studio. I wanted to sit down with all of the guys and see where they were at. Within a month from starting communication we were out there and at that point we got back and said ‘ok…let’s do this. I think Johnny Z flew out a few weeks later and that solidified it,” said Billy.

As our management company, we all have to be on board for the band and everybody has to have a unanimous vote if we’re going to work for something. So Johnny finally went out there and that was it. We were doing it so right away we got other guys to examine the mixes they had and improve on it.

Spineshank guitarist Mike Sarkisyan originally was instrumental in helping to get the band’s attention to Breaking Bands as well. They met him while touring together and learning the ropes of touring nationally. Following this tour, he also worked with Shattered Sun on pre-production on their EP.

When we had put out Confessions, we did the local band and touring but we wanted something else. We’re a very hungry band so we figured out ‘ok you’ve got to buy onto these tours’ so we got some money together, we knew somebody that knew somebody who could get us on that tour. So we paid a pretty big chunk of money and went out and toured with them. We gained a relationship,” said Leal.

When we saw them, the first few nights that we played with them they’re such a complete band. They’re veterans so they know how to do everything right. Their stage show, how they mix the brutality with the melodic. We saw them the first few nights and they were amazing.

We had talked to Mike and said we wanted to channel some of what they have into what we have. We’re kind of…I won’t say a similar style because they’re not. They have a lot of elements we’ve infused. So we brought him down to Texas, he helped arrange some of our songs and that’s how it’s worked out,” he added.

shattered sun (1 of 5)

Leal admits that Sarkisyan’s influence did rub off on the band to incorporate melodic parts into their already aggressive metal sound, and helping to diversify them.

We were always a band that wanted to stick 80 riffs in songs. We thought that was cool. When we saw them, we were like their choruses and their pre choruses, they connect. We wanted that too so he showed us how to arrange our music a little bit better.

During the recording of their EP, Billy visited the band and gave his input on the songs, as to praising their strengths and how to enhance certain parts on their songs. His veteran knowledge became a huge part in bettering them.

Only thing was I was suggesting in some of the mixes things I would have liked to hear, improve on the mixes, and what I thought was missing [in the mixes], but at that point I don’t think they were done. I think they were still getting it all together. [Marcos] was still singing some vocal tracks…just right up to when it was time to get rolling…we need a single…we need to get some songs out there on AOL. We’re going to announce that we’re managing you. We want to have something when we do that. You’ve gotta have something ready to roll.”

Billy had nothing but praise for the guys when it came to the performance on the EP.

They worked hard on it. Robert [Beltran] did a great job producing and mixing it. We thought we could use this record to go out, get a record deal pretty much and use this and not spend your whole budget to record a whole record. We took care of Robert and take care of some stuff to get new gear to get the ball rolling.

shattered sun album cover 2015

Original Megaforce Records co-founders Jon and Marsha Zazula are part of their management team, and their experience rubbed off on the band immediately.

He told us not to hang our heads when things happen. He tells us the things Metallica went through back in the day. He has actually compared our career and our path to when they first got started too. It’s definitely a great honor,” said Leal.

Lastly, being that the members of Shattered Sun are from Texas, one of their biggest pastimes is barbecuing. They shared their passion for it and possibly winning over people, not only musically but through their stomachs.

We’re big time barbecuers. It was cool because when Chuck and Maria came down, we got to throw a big barbecue for them. We did the same exact barbecue when Johnny and Marsha came down. It was awesome. It kind of let them know about our heritage and where we come from,” said Leal.

When we go on tour, we’re going to take a barbecue pit,” said Trejo.

We figured that’s a good way to get in with the bands. We’ve barbecued in rain, the cold and all of the elements,” added Leal.

By Rei Nishimoto


Audio: Soulfly Release Archangel Title Track, Album Release This Friday


Soulfly - Archangel - Artwork

 

Soulfly have released the title track to their new album Archangel, which releases this Friday from Nuclear Blast. You can hear the track at this link or below:

 

‘Archangel’ is available as an instant grat track, along with previous singles ‘We Sold Our Souls To Metal’ and ‘Sodomites’ when you pre-order the album digitally at this link. https://youtu.be/xq_qnN9SQcg

 

Archangel Track listing

Archangel track list:
1. We Sold Our Souls To Metal
2. Archangel
3. Sodomites (feat. Todd Jones of NAILS)
4. Ishtar Rising
5. Live Life Hard! (feat. Matt Young of KING PARROT)
6. Shamash
7. Bethlehem’s Blood
8. Titans
9. Deceiver
10. Mother Of Dragons (feat. Richie Cavalera of INCITE, Igor Cavalera of LODY KONG, Anahid M.O.P.)
BONUS TRACKS FOR CD/DVD SPECIAL EDITION:
11. You Suffer (NAPALM DEATH cover)
12. Acosador Nocturno
13. Soulfly X

Bonus DVD: Live At Hellfest 2014 (SPECIAL EDITION ONLY)
1. Cannibal Holocaust
2. Refuse/Resist
3. Bloodshed
4. Back To The Primitive
5. Seek ‘N’ Strike
6. Tribe
7. Rise Of The Fallen
8. Revengeance
9. Roots Bloody Roots
10. Jumpdafuckup/Eye For An Eye

 

soulfly soilwork decapitated shattered sun tour

 

Soulfly’s “We Sold Our Souls to Metal” 2015 Tour with Soilwork, Decapitated, Shattered Sun
Sep 30: Fonda Theater – Los Angeles, CA
Oct 01: Regency Ballroom – San Francisco, CA
Oct 02: Hawthorne Theater – Portland, OR
Oct 03: Studio Seven – Seattle, WA
Oct 04: Rickshaw Theatre – Vancouver, BC
Oct 06: Level Nightclub – Kelowna, BC
Oct 07: Starlite Room – Edmonton, AB
Oct 08: O’Brian’s Event Centre – Saskatoon, SK
Oct 09: Park Theatre – Winnipeg, MB
Oct 10: Amsterdam – Minneapolis, MN
Oct 11: Mojoes – Joliet, IL
Oct 12: Val Air Ballroom – Des Moines, IA
Oct 13: Agora Theater – Cleveland, OH
Oct 14: Opera House – Toronto, ON
Oct 15: Corona Theater – Montreal, QC
Oct 18: Northland Performing Arts Center – Columbus, OH
Oct 19: Crofoot Ballroom – Pontiac, MI
Oct 20: Gramercy Theater – New York, NY
Oct 21: Ottobar – Baltimore, MD
Oct 22: The International – Knoxville, TN
Oct 23: Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
Oct 24: Culture Room – Ft Lauderdale, FL
Oct 25: State Theater – St Petersburg, FL
Oct 27: Scout Bar – Houston, TX
Oct 28: Empire Control Room – Austin, TX
Oct 29: Gas Monkey – Dallas, TX
Oct 30: Sunshine Theater – Albuquerque, NM

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Texas Sized Heart- Rob Garza of Shattered Sun


Shattered Sun. Photo Credit: Kevin Estrada

Shattered Sun. Photo Credit: Kevin Estrada

The past year for South Texas metallers Shattered Sun has been anything but dull. Being one of the hardest working bands has landed them onto the Rockstar Mayhem Energy Drink Festival’s side stage this past summer. They have been out touring behind their debut album Hope Within Hatred (out now via Victory Records).

Shattered Sun. Photo Credit: Kevin Estrada

Shattered Sun. Photo Credit: Kevin Estrada

They had just completed their first “real” tour supporting Testament and Exodus across North America, and unlike their previous DIY style tours supporting club sized acts, they learned quickly the wrong and right ways of surviving on the road.

“The last one we were with (Testament/Exodus) – that was a real get up and go,” explained drummer Rob Garza. “We were still learning and now we’re way more focused and way more on time. We’re trying not to get on anyone’s bad side especially we don’t mess up too much,” he said, about the quick learning curve.

Testament frontman Chuck Billy is no stranger to the Shattered Sun camp, as he is one of their co-managers from Breaking Bands LLC and has been mentoring the guys over the past year.

[We’re] basically learning how to do things the right way. When we first got on the Testament and Exodus tour with them this past April, we were all fan boys over Testament and Exodus, but then Chuck’s biggest role in the band is as a mentor. He could just say ‘just relax…we’re all here as a team. We’re all family on this tour and every tour you’re gonna be on. These are your peers,’ “ he said.

“We’ve got him to calm us down the fan boys in us. Also outdoing each show – we had a decent show yesterday. Today we did better so basically we keep on pushing so we put on a better show every day.”

Joseph Guajardo of Shattered Sun. Photo Credit: Kevin Estrada.

Joseph Guajardo of Shattered Sun. Photo Credit: Kevin Estrada.

Already from the Mayhem Fest they have gone from performing in from a largely older crowd to a younger demographic that leans towards the newer style of bands featured on the Victory Records side stage.

The guys and myself were talking about that yesterday. Even the bands that were on tour – no disrespect to Testament and Exodus – they’re more of our age group. You go with the Testament and Exodus and it’s strictly that thrasher crowd. There’s nothing wrong with that. On this one, you have that all around, different genres of music collectively. It’s a different feel. We like it. We’re digging it.

While the band’s sound comes from the heavier side of metal and their band name is a modified version of an Unearth tune, Garza spoke about their range of influences that helped shape their overall sound.

“When we first started jamming, our guitarist Daniel [Trejo] named our band after an Unearth song ‘Shattered By The Sun.’ So he was really into Unearth and still is to this day. We all are,” he said.

We try to stick with melodic metal and keep it thrashy, and we’re all fans of other genres as well. One of my favorite drummers and bands of all time is the Foo Fighters’ Dave Grohl and Taylor Hawkins. I try to incorporate as much groove into our thrash beats. It’s a combination of a lot of stuff. It’s like ‘I was listening to this today. I want to try to see how this would sound on this song.’

On this album, we tried to cover all grounds because where we’re from, everyone in our area is real biased. We’re not heavy enough for the hardcore kids or we’re not soft enough for the older crowd. We just wanted to make a CD and just bring as much of everything in. We get known as bands that plays a lot of different kinds of music. We just try to throw it into one thing so we try to cover everyone’s demographic on that one.

Henry Garza of Shattered Sun

Henry Garza of Shattered Sun

Being on the road, Garza and the Shattered Sun members have experienced many different things but also being from a small Texas town, they also found new and unusual things.

I believe it was on the last tour, we were in South Carolina and they were selling roasted peanuts. It looked weird, just there in a jar staying warm. Just small things like that that freak us out. But we Google what it is and say ‘uh ok…let’s try it out.’

What I wanted to do when we were in Canada, I wanted to go to McDonalds and see if they had the Royale With Cheese. I didn’t get a chance to do that. I’m trying to cram a bunch of different things into my demographic right now.

Plus the rare time off of the road has given them time to enhance their road home known as their van. While they have accepted the fact that they will be calling it home for the next year, they have slowly made moderations to it.

This time we’ve actually built a bunk in our van. ‘OK what can we do differently?’ We’ll probably try to put another bunk in there, a shoe rack, because right now everybody’s shoes are thrown all over the place. We even have our inverter so we routed our power strips so we can charge our phones in the back. We’re learning tour by tour.

soulfly soilwork decapitated shattered sun tour

All of the touring experience has now landed them an upcoming North American tour supporting metal heavyweights Soulfly, Soilwork and Decapitated. Garza himself is excited about the upcoming tour but has his eyes on meeting another drumming idol.

I’m actually really pumped because one of my favorite drummers is Dirk Verbeuren from Soilwork. On our last tour, we had Gene Hoglan and Tom Hunting, and on this tour we’ve got Paul Bostaph and Vinnie Paul, and the next tour I’m going to have Dirk Verbeuren. To be on the same tours as these great drummers is amazing. I’m looking forward to picking that guy’s brain. Getting to tour with Soulfly – those guys are legendary. We all grew up listening to them.

Learning from past mistakes, Garza admits he is trying his hardest not to have a Wayne and Garth’s ‘I’m Not Worthy’ moment on this upcoming tour.

Deep down we have, but then it’s like be cool. On the outside, we’ve got to play it cool. On the inside, I’m crying a little bit.

He admits there is one stop on the upcoming tour he has his eye on.

I’m just waiting until we get to Milwaukee so I can say ‘it’s pronounced Mil-WAKEY’, from Alice Cooper on Wayne’s World Part 1.

By Rei Nishimoto


Metal In Their Blood- Vogg of Decapitated


Decapitated. Photo Credit: Hillarie Jason Photography

Decapitated. Photo Credit: Hillarie Jason Photography

Polish extreme metallers Decapitated were hailed as one of the rising stars to enlighten the world about what was brewing within their country’s metal scene. They released their sixth album Blood Mantra in September 2014, and continue to showcase their powerful brand of technical death metal to the world.

Founding member and guitarist Waclaw “Vogg” Kieltyka talked about creating Blood Mantra and the process he goes into crafting what goes onto each recording. Reaching album number six is a milestone for them, but he insists that thought process does not factor into the writing process.

The main thing when I create a song, I don’t think about this type of stress, like someone is waiting for it and the tension. I think we have loyal fans and they know every new Decapitated album is different from what we did before. This one is different – different production, different atmosphere, different groove and it’s heavy as hell. I wrote it on seven string guitar only this time. We have a couple of songs which is the first time we played something like that. It’s kind of an experimental sound based on one riff and it takes almost six or seven minutes.

It’s not that hard to compose the music. Even if you have a contract with a huge label, there are some expectations. When we release it and people start to comment on it, there will always be many good comments and opinions, and I’m ready to hear some bad comments too. It’s normal and nothing new to me. So I don’t really care about it.

Of course I think about those things, but I still feel the freedom of when I compose the new riffs. I know I can play wherever I want. That’s the freedom of art. We’re not a pop band selling 20 to 25 million CDs or something like that. We’re an extreme metal band. We can play wherever we want. We have the freedom of creativity. It’s a cool feeling. Even if you know there are a lot of people who want to hear a new Decapitated album. I don’t feel too much stress about it. I just play what I love to play and I trust myself that it will be good.

Decapitated-3821

Keeping a consistent lineup had been an issue within Decapitated, especially since their tragic accident in 2007 that took the life of drummer and his brother Witold “Vitek” Kieltyka and severly injured vocalist Adrian “Covan” Kowanek, has their situation a bit strained at times. Vogg believes he has found the right personnel to continue the band and keeping it moving forward.

Hell yes! I have to say that this lineup with Michał [Łysejko] on drums, Paweł [Pasek] on bass (and Rafał “Rasta” Piotrowski on vocals) – those guys have been in the band for almost two years. This is the best lineup we’ve had since 2010 since we’ve rebuilt the band after the accident.

I have such a good time with those two members. We really can play together. We can talk and understand [each other] in almost every way. We have such a great time together. We just go on tour and sit on a bus, sit on a plane, and go and play. We love to do it. I hope this lineup survives at least for the next couple of years. It’s the best thing to have the same lineup if it’s possible,” he said.

Photo Credit: Hillarie Jason

Photo Credit: Hillarie Jason

Even though it has been some time since the tragic accident that took the life of his brother, Vogg admits those factors did influence prior albums and even him accepting the loss.

Those things that happened in the past come back sometimes. Of course it was the worst day in my life. It was the worst part of my life – the accident and the next couple of years. Right now I feel much better because everybody knows time makes you better.

For sure some things like that are happening to you, it will leave some scars into your head and into your heart. For sure it will influence your music and whatever you’re doing in life. It changes you as a human being, and your views of the world, life and how you interact with other people.

When I create music, I try not to think about those things. But for sure those things did change me and probably the music’s end, to create music with who I am. It touched a little bit of our creativity, as far as the atmosphere into the music and the riffs we play right now. Maybe that’s why the last record (2011’s Carnival Is Forever) was more aggressive and more fast. In the same way it was a reflection in the mood.

It’s hard to say how much those things influence you when you create something. But for sure it did influence. How exactly – I don’t know. I can just say I appreciate life now after what happened. It’s a big loss with Vittek passed away and Covan is sitting in his condition. We cannot do so much about that. We’re trying to do the best things within the band and keep the memory of Vittek and push things in the right direction by playing the best heavy metal music we can.

Photo Credit: Hillarie Jason

Photo Credit: Hillarie Jason

With the release of Blood Mantra, Vogg issued a challenge to himself to create the heaviest yet the best written record he could create, and longtime fans got to the latest chapter of Decapitated.

For sure this record took lots of time and energy to put into the creative process. I’m the main composer of every song and every instrument. This time I took this challenge to compose every note on the album, starting from drums, bass, guitar and vocal lines too. That’s because of the line up changes I was forced to create drums and everything,” said Vogg.

soulfly soilwork decapitated shattered sun tour

Already touring with such bands as Lamb of God, Meshuggah, and GWAR, and now an upcoming North American tour supporting Soulfly, Soilwork and Shattered Sun, they are ready to bring Polish technical death metal to new audiences and many who may have never experienced this style of music before.

This album is kind of a new chapter, I think for the band. We are more mature as a band. We’ve taken more experience from tours with bands we were touring with over the past three years, on the Carnival Is Forever album. We’ve played with bands like Meshuggah, Children of Bodom, and Lamb of God. We’ve seen so many places on so many stages together with these experienced bands. Those musicians have been doing this for a long time.

Watching those guys all of the time makes you start thinking about those things. Talking with them and listening to what they’re trying to tell us, we learn so much from those guys. We put all of those experiences into our new songs. I think it’s the new step for Decapitated. It’s the new direction. The songs are different. This album is really surprising. You don’t know what to expect from each song coming up.

This album starts with dark riffs and then going into the blackest death metal atmosphere and really aggressive. Then the second side is a classic death metal sound, together with a grindcore atmosphere. Then we go into some more groovy parts on the next three songs. Then we come back to the fast riffs. It’s a lot of different things going on on this album. It’s possibly the best live album. The songs actually kick ass live. It’s the experience taken from those tours. We are better at making those songs good live than something we did before. We’ve been thinking about it to create stuff that we can take on the stage and play and sound great everywhere in the venue.

We are a metal band. We want to bring the heaviest riffs into the venue. The most beautiful thing about playing in a metal band is playing shows. That’s what we love the most. Not recording the records. Not sitting at home and creating new riffs. Not sitting in the bus. Not reading the news on the internet. The best thing is to go onto the stage. That’s the biggest motivation being in a metal band. To go on a stage, to go on tour, to be on stage, play music and deliver some great sounds that people can enjoy.

During the creative process, when we’re creating new riffs, we’re thinking about that. We are creating the things that after a couple of months, we will take these songs, play these riffs on the stage and we’re going straight in front of the people and they have to enjoy it. We have to have a great time and everything has to sound great. We’re thinking in this way right now.

By Rei Nishimoto


Rockstar Mayhem Festival 2015: Live at San Manuel Amphitheatre, Devore, CA


rockstar mayhem fest 2015

The return of King Diamond on a larger stage became the somewhat saving grace on a somewhat inconsistent Rockstar Mayhem Festival 2015 lineup that otherwise lacked the punch of previous editions.

King Diamond, photo©Kevin Estrada / kevinestrada.com

King Diamond, photo©Kevin Estrada / kevinestrada.com

Following his headlining run last fall, King Diamond brought out featured characters from various points in his career (Grandma from Them and Conspiracy), as well as blowing through longtime favorites such as ‘Sleepless Nights’ and keeping diehard fans on their feet. King himself looked and sounded powerful throughout their hour long set, as he powered through song after song, and immediately won the crowd over.

Slayer, photo©Kevin Estrada / kevinestrada.com

Slayer, photo©Kevin Estrada / kevinestrada.com

After beginning their set with a laser show with a variety of Slayer logos flying above the stage, they broke into ‘Repentless’ (the title song from their forthcoming album in September), as well as their two other previously released yet new songs (‘Implode’ and ‘When The Stillness Comes’). Much of their set list consisted of staple tunes from past set lists, which they powered through and get the eager fans on their feet. Imagery of missiles and word from various songs (the chorus of ‘God Hates Us All’ from ‘Disciple’) flashes throughout their set and amped up the crowd.

Crowd at Mayhem Festival 2015, Devore CA - photo©Kevin Estrada / kevinestrada.com

Crowd at Mayhem Festival 2015, Devore CA – photo©Kevin Estrada / kevinestrada.com

Hellyeah, photo©Kevin Estrada / kevinestrada.com

Hellyeah, photo©Kevin Estrada / kevinestrada.com

The rest of the main stage featured a mixed response to Hellyeah and Devil Wears Prada’s strong set battling set times crossed with side stage headliners Kissing Candice and Feed Her To The Sharks playing at the same time at the top of the lawn area.

Thy Art Is Murder, photo©Kevin Estrada / kevinestrada.com

Thy Art Is Murder, photo©Kevin Estrada / kevinestrada.com

Code Orange, photo©Kevin Estrada / kevinestrada.com

Code Orange, photo©Kevin Estrada / kevinestrada.com

The Victory Records side stage (one stage versus multiple stages on past years) featured a vast array of artists ranging from brief yet powerful sets from Jungle Rot and Thy Art Is Murder, alongside new faces such as Sworn In, Shattered Sun and Code Orange joining into the mix as some of the up and comers within the scene.

Sworn In, photo©Kevin Estrada / kevinestrada.com

Sworn In, photo©Kevin Estrada / kevinestrada.com

Overall, Rockstar Mayhem Festival endured a hiccup year lacking a strong enough headliner and support acts with drawing power. The long run will see how many of these acts will overcome this and be a band to look out for. As for now, time will tell whether this was a good move or not by the organizers of this festival.

 

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WORDS BY REI NISHIMOTO

PHOTOS BY KEVIN ESTRADA PHOTOGRAPHY


Soilwork Release First Single, Lyric Video From The Ride Majestic


soilwork the ride majestic

 

Melodic Death Metal legends Soilwork released the first single from their new album, The Ride Majestic, due out from Nuclear Blast on August 28th. You can hear the title track in the form a lyric video, seen on Nuclear Blast’s YouTube channel at this link or below:

Pre-Orders for the album in all of its various formats (CD, vinyl, t-shit/CD Bundle)- are live now and can be purchased at http://nblast.de/SOILWORKMajesticNB

Soilwork, photo by Hannah Verbeuren

Soilwork, photo by Hannah Verbeuren

Soilwork will spend the summer on a brief tour of Europe music festivals, supported by Hatesphere:

Soilwork tour dates:

Soilwork with Hatesphere:

Jul 25: Nord Open Air – Essen, Germany

Jul 30: Fezen Festival – Szekesfehervar, Hungary

Aug 1: Karlslundsfestivalen – Bollnäs, Sweden

Aug 7: Jurassic Rock Festival- Mikkeli, Finland

Aug 21: Octopode Festival – Geneva, Switzerland

soulfly soilwork decapitated shattered sun tour

 

Soilwork will celebrate their new album on tour in the US this fall, performing with Soulfly, Decapitated and Shattered Sun on the “We Sold Our Souls To Metal” tour:

We Sold Our Souls to Metal” 2015 Tour – Soulfly, Soilwork, Decapitated, Shattered Sun
Sep 30: Fonda Theater – Los Angeles, CA
Oct 01: Regency Ballroom – San Francisco, CA
Oct 02: Hawthorne Theater – Portland, OR
Oct 03: Studio Seven – Seattle, WA
Oct 04: Rickshaw Theatre – Vancouver, BC
Oct 06: Level Nightclub – Kelowna, BC
Oct 07: Starlite Room – Edmonton, AB
Oct 08: O’Brian’s Event Centre – Saskatoon, SK
Oct 09: Park Theatre – Winnipeg, MB
Oct 10: Amsterdam – Minneapolis, MN
Oct 11: Mojoes – Joliet, IL
Oct 12: Val Air Ballroom – Des Moines, IA
Oct 13: Agora Theater – Cleveland, OH
Oct 14: Opera House – Toronto, ON
Oct 15: Corona Theater – Montreal, QC
Oct 18: Northland Performing Arts Center – Columbus, OH
Oct 19: Crofoot Ballroom – Pontiac, MI
Oct 20: Gramercy Theater – New York, NY
Oct 21: Ottobar – Baltimore, MD
Oct 22: The International – Knoxville, TN
Oct 23: Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
Oct 24: Culture Room – Ft Lauderdale, FL
Oct 25: State Theater – St Petersburg, FL
Oct 27: Scout Bar – Houston, TX
Oct 28: Empire Control Room – Austin, TX
Oct 29: Gas Monkey – Dallas, TX
Oct 30: Sunshine Theater – Albuquerque, NM


Soilwork Releases New Music From The Ride Majestic Album


Soilwork, photo by Hannah Verbeuren

Soilwork, photo by Hannah Verbeuren

Soilwork today unveiled a song snippet of the title track for their forthcoming album The Ride Majestic (Nuclear Blast) due out on August 28th. The album will be available in various formats (CD, vinyl, t-shirt/CD bundle). You can watch the snippet on Myspace at this link: https://myspace.com/article:/7/2/soilwork-ride-majestic-verbeuren-interview

Soilwork will spend the summer on a brief tour of Europe music festivals, supported by Hatesphere:

Soilwork tour dates:

Soilwork with Hatesphere:

Jul 25: Nord Open Air – Essen, Germany

Jul 30: Fezen Festival – Szekesfehervar, Hungary

Aug 1: Karlslundsfestivalen – Bollnäs, Sweden

Aug 7: Jurassic Rock Festival- Mikkeli, Finland

Aug 21: Octopode Festival – Geneva, Switzerland

soilwork the ride majestic

Soilwork will celebrate their new album on tour in the US this fall, performing with Soulfly, Decapitated and Shattered Sun on the “We Sold Our Souls To Metal” tour:

We Sold Our Souls to Metal” 2015 Tour – Soulfly, Soilwork, Decapitated, Shattered Sun
Sep 30: Fonda Theater – Los Angeles, CA
Oct 01: Regency Ballroom – San Francisco, CA
Oct 02: Hawthorne Theater – Portland, OR
Oct 03: Studio Seven – Seattle, WA
Oct 04: Rickshaw Theatre – Vancouver, BC
Oct 06: Level Nightclub – Kelowna, BC
Oct 07: Starlite Room – Edmonton, AB
Oct 08: O’Brian’s Event Centre – Saskatoon, SK
Oct 09: Park Theatre – Winnipeg, MB
Oct 10: Amsterdam – Minneapolis, MN
Oct 11: Mojoes – Joliet, IL
Oct 12: Val Air Ballroom – Des Moines, IA
Oct 13: Agora Theater – Cleveland, OH
Oct 14: Opera House – Toronto, ON
Oct 15: Corona Theater – Montreal, QC
Oct 18: Northland Performing Arts Center – Columbus, OH
Oct 19: Crofoot Ballroom – Pontiac, MI
Oct 20: Gramercy Theater – New York, NY
Oct 21: Ottobar – Baltimore, MD
Oct 22: The International – Knoxville, TN
Oct 23: Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
Oct 24: Culture Room – Ft Lauderdale, FL
Oct 25: State Theater – St Petersburg, FL
Oct 27: Scout Bar – Houston, TX
Oct 28: Empire Control Room – Austin, TX
Oct 29: Gas Monkey – Dallas, TX
Oct 30: Sunshine Theater – Albuquerque, NM

 

 

 


Rock N Shock Announces Hatebreed, Soulfly, Sanctuary and Soilwork


rock and shock 2016 first band announcement

The 12th edition of the annual Rock and Shock Festival has announced its first wave of musical acts for 2015, taking the stage at The Worcester Palladium in Worcester MA. Hatebreed will be the headliner, performing a special 20th anniversary, retrospective set. They will be joined by Soulfly, Sanctuary, Soilwork, Decapitated, Shattered Sun, Brick By Brick, Crumbsuckers, Get Scared, Eyes Set To Kill, The Rocking Dead, New Volume, Twiztid, Blaze, Boondox, Prozak, Wolfpac, Scum, Kissing Candice, and more bands tbd. This is added to the acclaimed horror convention portion of the event taking place at the DCU Center next door, headlined by film legend George A. Romero, actor Doug Bradley, American Horror Story actress Naomi Grossman, WWF Wrestling legend Jimmy “Superfly” Snuka and more.

 

 

From Facebook :

SPOILER ALERT! After providing you with a handful of the talented guests that will be appearing at the convention at the DCU Center, we are giving YOU a sneak peak of a portion of our music lineup for the Rock and Shock concert at the Worcester Palladium! Some of the bands that will be performing this year include: Hatebreed (playing their 20th anniversary set), Soulfly, Sanctuary, Soilwork, Decapitated, Shattered Sun, Brick By Brick, Crumbsuckers, Get Scared, Eyes Set To Kill, The Rocking Dead, New Volume, Twiztid, Blaze, Boondox, Prozak, Wolfpac, Scum, Kissing Candice, and many more to be announced!! Stay tuned for more exciting news coming your way!

SPOILER ALERT! After providing you with a handful of the talented guests that will be appearing at the convention at the…

Posted by Rock And Shock on Friday, June 26, 2015

 


Soilwork Announce Upcoming European Headline Tour


Soilwork2013b-300x200

Swedish melodic metallers Soilwork have an upcoming European headliner tour dubbed The Tour Majestic with Hatesphere as support. This tour follows the upcoming US tour with Soulfly, Decapitated and Shattered Sun. They are touring in support of their 2013 double album, The Living Infinite, and new DVD, Live In The Heart Of Helsinki, via Nuclear Blast, in addition to their upcoming new music. Details are set to be announced soon.

Europe – Upcoming Summer Festival dates
Jul 25: Nord Open Air – Essen (DE)
Jul 30: Fezen Festival – Szekesfehervar (HU)
Aug 01: Karlslundsfestivalen – Bollnäs (SE)
Aug 07: Jurassic Rock Festival – Mikkeli (FI)
Aug 21: Octopode Festival – Geneva (SI)

North America – “We Sold Our Souls to Metal” 2015 Tour
Soulfly, Soilwork, Decapitated, Shattered Sun

Sep 30: Fonda Theater – Los Angeles, CA
Oct 01: Regency Ballroom – San Francisco, CA
Oct 02: Hawthorne Theater – Portland, OR
Oct 03: Studio Seven – Seattle, WA
Oct 04: Rickshaw Theatre – Vancouver, BC
Oct 06: Level Nightclub – Kelowna, BC
Oct 07: Starlite Room – Edmonton, AB
Oct 08: O’Brian’s Event Centre – Saskatoon, SK
Oct 09: Park Theatre – Winnipeg, MB
Oct 10: Amsterdam – Minneapolis, MN
Oct 11: Mojoes – Joliet, IL
Oct 12: Val Air Ballroom – Des Moines, IA
Oct 13: Agora Theater – Cleveland, OH
Oct 14: Opera House – Toronto, ON
Oct 15: Corona Theater – Montreal, QC
Oct 18: Northland Performing Arts Center – Columbus, OH
Oct 19: Crofoot Ballroom – Pontiac, MI
Oct 20: Gramercy Theater – New York, NY
Oct 21: Ottobar – Baltimore, MD
Oct 22: The International – Knoxville, TN
Oct 23: Masquerade – Atlanta, GA
Oct 24: Culture Room – Ft Lauderdale, FL
Oct 25: State Theater – St Petersburg, FL
Oct 27: Scout Bar – Houston, TX
Oct 28: Empire Control Room – Austin, TX
Oct 29: Gas Monkey – Dallas, TX
Oct 30: Sunshine Theater – Albuquerque, NM

soulfly soilwork decapitated shattered sun tour

Europe – Upcoming Headline Tour w/ Hatesphere
Nov 27: KB – Malmö (SE)
Nov 28: X-Herford – Herford (DE)
Nov 29: Kufa – Lyss (SI)
Nov 30: Le Port Franc – Sion (SI)
Dec 01: Colony Club – Brescia (IT)
Dec 02: Backstage Halle – Munich (DE)
Dec 03: Schlachthof – Wiesbaden (DE)
Dec 04: Hellraiser – Leipzig (DE)
Dec 05: Winter Basinfire Fest (CZ)
Dec 06: Bi Nuu – Berlin (DE)
Dec 07: Logo – Hamburg (DE)
Dec 08: Luxor – Koln (DE)
Dec 10: 013 – Tillburg (NL)
Dec 11: Biebob – Vooselaar (BE)
Dec 12: Les Trinitaires – Metz (FR)
Dec 13: Les 4 ecluses – Dunkerque (FR)
Dec 14: Trabendo – Paris (FR)
Dec 15: Antipode – Rennes (FR)
Dec 16: Rocher de Palmer – Bordeaux (FR)
Dec 17: Le Chato’do – Blois (FR)
Dec 18: CC John Lennon – Limoges (FR)
Dec 19: CCO – Lyon (FR)

Go get your tickets for our headlining tour though Europe in the fall, together with HateSphere! Ticket links…

Posted by Soilwork on Tuesday, May 26, 2015

soilwork hatesphere euro tour