Mental Interrogation with Oli Walkers of Smokescreen

Who? Oli Walkers, drummer of Smokescreen.

Myspace: www.myspace.com/smokescreenuk

How long have you been playing together? I’ve been in the band for six years at the end of September, however they were together for a year before I joined.

How did you meet? We met at school. I don’t know how but I remember talking to Sam first, probably because he was in my year and we had mutual friends. And I knew Kiddy (ex guitarist) from playing football with him before and again having mutual friends. I honestly cant’ remember how I met Tom properly (sorry Tom!) but my first memory of him was playing at a school gig and he was soloing like a motherf**ker on his knees at the front of the stage. Then he threw his pic into the crowd.

What kind of gear do you use? I use Pearl Export drums, Remo Emperor heads, Zildjian and Istanbul cymbals, Tama Iron Cobra double bass pedal and Pro Mark 2B sticks; real men’s sticks haha!

Is there an album that inspired you to join a band? Probably something like Slipknot’s self titled. I grew up on the nu-metal scene (and proud of it!) I remember seeing them on TV and thinking "holy s**t these guys are amazing!" I’d never heard anything like it. I wanted to make as much noise as these guys. Joey Jordison was a massive influence and still is to me. Then when I eventually did join Smokescreen, they introduced me to heavier stuff which they played like Pantera, Metallica, Slayer, Rage Against the Machine etc etc.

What was the last album you bought? Testament – "The Formation of Damnation" (MI: good choice!). It’s a hell of a good album! I got home about six o’clock tonight, and haven’t stopped listening to it. I’m on my sixth listen through already, it’s that f**king good!! Will probably take me a while to change to something else. All these old thrash bands who are still making albums today are sounding so good, especially with the production techniques used, it makes it sound so much heavy than they did in the 80s when the whole scene came out. Exodus’ "Atrocity Exhibition" is next on my list!

What do you think of downloading music? I used to be dead against it and would never download anything and would give anyone a stern look if they said they downloaded an album. Recently I’ve changed my mind because that and file sharing is very useful, you’ve got to move with the times. Myspace especially has done a hell of a lot for the industry as a whole. I don’t technically download music even now, I just ‘borrow’ some files off someone, but it’s all good, it means I can check them out, give them a listen through and decide if I like them and then I will buy the album in most cases and go see them when they next tour.

Who would you say was your personal biggest influence? My mum. Overcoming cancer and always being there for me and passing on little nuggets of priceless information on life. She has worked in the industry as well in her time and has worked with some pretty amazing people and has some stories to tell. And my dad of course for always supporting me and anything I do.

If you could trade places with another musician for a day, who would it be and why? It sounds a bit cliché but probably Lars Ulrich. Just to see what it’d be like sat behind the drum kit behind a stadium full of people rocking the f**k out to some of the greatest metal songs ever written. And to see what he does with all that money!!

If you weren’t playing in a band, what do you think you’d be doing instead? Working in the industry. Music is my life and I want to be surrounded by it in anything and everything I do.

Where do you think the best metal is coming from at the moment? I reckon the Bay Area in San Francisco. I mentioned it before but Exodus and Testament have released some amazing albums lately. Machine Head as well with "The Blackening" last year, one of the best metal albums for a long time, possibly the "Master of Puppets" of our generation. However England is producing some good sounding s**t too, Speed Theory, Panic Cell… us? Haha!

If you could only eat one kind of food, would it be savoury or sweet? Sweet! Any day! I have such a sweet tooth it’s unreal. I probably wont have any teeth left in a few years.

What’s your favourite movie? City of God. Or 300. Or Blood Diamond. Or Ace Ventura: Pet Detective. Or Kiss Kiss Bang Bang. It’s too hard! Next question!

What was the last live show you went to (not including your own)? Was a local thing in Brighton called Comm:unity for my housemate’s birthday. There was this awesome ska/experimental band called Bad Science who were so so good! They really impressed me, I might actually go see them again next week.

What do you have lined up next? I was supposed to be going to see Skindred on Friday but we’re playing a showcase gig to Monster Energy drink instead in Newbury which was set up by our management, so I can’t. Skindred are one of my favourite bands and they are amazing live, please noone tell me how good they were because I’m gutted I’m missing it! Then Bruce Springsteen on Saturday in London (no hate mail please), then 36 Crazyfists, Iron Maiden, Reading Festival and Clutch through the summer.

Band wise, this show case gig on Friday, then more writing and more touring throughout the next few months to get out some new s**t. I’m looking forward to Dragun Festival in July, gonna be a day full of metal with a bunch of cool a*s bands to rock out with. Plus a burlesque act a couple of slots before us which I can’t wait for! Check out our Myspace page for links for tickets for that one. (MI: Yeah get yourselves along people!)

And finally...

Why should people check out your band? People should check us out because we’re helping flying the flag for British metal which people don’t seem to care as much about (MI: excuse me?!). And also cos we love the good times and to share some brews, so come down to one of our gigs and share one with us!

Judas Priest / Cavalera Conspiracy Australian Tour!

One of the world's definitive heavy metal bands Judas Priest, who have sold more than 35 million albums worldwide, will bring their mammoth Priest Feast 2008 tour to Australian fans in September.

The Priest Feast tour will showcase their hugely impressive legacy as well as new tracks from their forthcoming album Nostradamus, which will be released by Sony BMG on 14 June, 2008.

The new album is a metal opera based on the life and predictions of Nostradamus. Long in the works, Nostradamus takes epic storytelling to a whole new level, as it recounts the life of this mysterious, world known 16th Century French prophet.

Judas Priest will be joined by special international guests Cavalera Conspiracy, Sepultura's Max & Igor reunited and Australia's own Daysend.

Wednesday 10 September - Brisbane Entertainment Centre
Friday 12 September - Acer Arena, Sydney
Saturday 13 September - Hisense Arena, Melbourne
Sunday 14 September - Adelaide Entertainment Centre

Lacuna Coil News

After leaving fans in the dark for almost 6 days about their planned Australian tour for June, Lacuna Coil have finally said something, although I have a feeling it's not what most fans wanted to hear.
Here is their statement, taken from their official myspace page:

Hello to all of our Australian friends!
Please accept our most sincere apologies for taking so long to give you an official statement regarding our planned tour of Australia this June.

Due to matters completely beyond our control, the tour has unfortunately been cancelled.

However, we are thrilled to announce that we will be coming back to Australia this coming February to perform at the SOUNDWAVE 2009 FESTIVAL!

We love Australia, and can't wait to rock with all of our amazing friends down under again!!!!!!

Andrea, Maki, Maus, Pizza, Cristina and Criz.
LACUNA COIL

From the comments posted by fans regarding the news, most were unhappy that Lacuna Coil aren't returning for a headline show, but are still grateful the band is returning. hopefully they'll schedule some headlining side-shows.

During the wait on news of the tour, the band also released news on a few other band projects coming up. One being the first 'official' Lacuna Coil DVD, which will be released later this year. As the band says; "It will include promotional videos, spectacularly remixed pro-shot festival appearances, behind-the-scenes travel documentaries and home videos - and a few other fan-friendly surprises!".
Fans are being urged to keep checking the band website for more details and surprises.

Lacuna Coil vocalist, Cristina Scabbia, has also confirmed that she will be performing with Apocalyptica at this years Download Festival. Cristina expresses her excitement well, as always. She says on the matter, "I've been invited by my friends Apocalyptica to join them during their set at Download, on the song "SOS (Anything for love)" and GOD I SO can't wait!".

Christina and Apocalyptica are also going to be performing the song at the Metal Hammer Golden Gods Awards at Indigo O2 on 16th June.

www.lacunacoil.it

And the winner is...

The contest was very tight at the top! With only 14 votes difference, SubVerSi0N were our over all winners, Murder The Frail, came in a close second!

Well done guys! And thanks to everyone for voting!

We shall be doing this again next year, but it's gonna be done in a much similar way (because it was a freaking nightmare to set up).

Metaholic Music Forum

Make sure you get yourselves on over to our brand new forum! Discuss your favourite metal bands with fellow metalheads, promote your bands, and join in with discussions on Metaholic Music related stuff!

http://metaholicmusic.forumandco.com is the link you need! So get on over and introduce yourselves!

Metaholic Band Contest - The Finalists

Voting has ended! Now to announce who will be representing what country in the Metaholic Band Contest!

USA:

Snakes Alivewww.myspace.com/snakesalivemusic

Sweden:

Cipher System
www.myspace.com/ciphersystem

UK:

SubVerSi0N
www.myspace.com/subversi0nofficial

Switzerland:

Zatokrev
www.myspace.com/zatokrev

Italy:

3rd RoOm
www.myspace.com/enterinmyroom

Canada:

WDNFRA
www.myspace.com/wdnfra

New Zealand:

Jakobwww.myspace.com/jakobmusic

Israel:

THEY:SWARM
www.myspace.com/theyswarm

Denmark:

VOLBEATwww.myspace.com/volbeat

Australia:

BLATHERSKITE
www.myspace.com/blatherskite

Germany:

VENTOX
www.myspace.com/ventoxmetal

Austria:

HOLLENTHONwww.myspace.com/hollenthonofficial

France:

PASTORS OF MUPPETS
www.myspace.com/pastorsofmuppets

Finland:

Moonsorrow
www.myspace.com/moonsorrowofficial

Greece:

Rotting Christ
www.myspace.com/rottingchristabyss

Portugal:

CRYSTAL DRAGON
www.myspace.com/crystaldragonpm

Brazil:

SACRIFFICE
www.myspace.com/sacriffice

Spain:

Doppler
www.myspace.com/dopplermetal

Slovenia:

Siddharta
www.myspace.com/siddharta

Ireland:

Capulus
www.myspace.com/capulus

South Africa:

SANGUINARIUS
www.myspace.com/sanguinariusblackmetal

Panama:

MURDER THE FRAIL
www.myspace.com/murderthefrail

Netherlands:

Saviour
www.myspace.com/saviournl

Bulgaria:

Past Redemption
www.myspace.com/predemption

Malta:

ClubMurder
www.myspace.com/clubmurdermusic

Japan:

13th Samsara
www.myspace.com/13thsamsara

Jamaica:

VORTEX
www.myspace.com/vortex380

Albania:

Eugent Bushpepa
www.myspace.com/ejohnsonlewis

Norway:

In Lingua Mortua

www.myspace.com/inlinguamortua

Be'lakor signs a record deal!

Official press release:

We are very proud to announce that Be'lakor has joined the Descent Productions roster.

A dark melodic metal band from Melbourne, Be'lakor has quickly come to be regarded as one of Australia's leading metal acts. In the year that has followed the independent release of their debut, The Frail Tide, the band's international reputation has grown rapidly. Reviewers in the metal press have universally praised the album, commenting on Be'lakor's masterful song writing and a remarkable feel for distinctive melodies and mood. Drawing influences from ancient mythology and the perpetual struggle between destruction and life, Be'lakor creates songs that take the listener on a compelling journey.

From the band: "We are thrilled to be signing with Descent Productions. The bands already on the roster are excellent, and we feel that as a label, Descent offers us great support and the freedom to continue making the music that we're so passionate about. This partnership will certainly bear fruit for our listeners into the future, so stay tuned."

In September 2008, The Frail Tide will be re-pressed and released in a special edition digipack format through Descent Productions. Be'lakor's as-yet untitled follow-up to this album will be released through Descent Productions in early 2009.

http://www.myspace.com/belakor
http://www.descent-productions.com
http://www.myspace.com/descentprod

Mental Interrogation with Erick A. Green of Inbryo

Who: Erick A. Green, drummer and manager of Inbryo.

Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/inbryo

How long have you been playing together? Well, the line up you see right now which is Ivan (guitars), Erick (drums-vocals), Johnny (vocals), Efren (bass), Geovanni (guitars) has been together for just about 4 years.

How did you meet? Well the majority of the band knew each other from high school, except for me, we found each other over the internet when they were searching for a new drummer, they contact me via e-mail, then we decide to meet at a mall in Arlington, TX, right after that we went to the practice space and the connection was instant, we know what we wanted on music, writing etc.. I knew this was the band I was looking for and they knew I was the drummer they had been looking for too, I will never forget that.

What kind of gear do you use? Well let’s see:
Johnny : Shure mics.

Geovanni : SCHECTER Guitars, Crate amps and cabs, Ernie ball strings, Shure wireless set, Krogh tuners BBE Sonic maximizer.

Ivan : ESP & LTD guitars, Mesa Amps and Cabs, Digitech, Boss, D Dario strings, Shure & Behringer wireless set, Krogh tuners BBE Sonic maximizer.

Efren : Ibanez, Yamaha & ESP Bass guitars, Peavey Amps, SWR cabs, Sennheiser wireless set, Krogh tuners BBE Sonic maximizer.

Erick : DW pacific Drums, Iron cobra Pedals & Hit Hat, Zildjian Z Custom Cymbals, Gibraltar hardware, Pearl Rack, Vic Firth Sticks, Shure wireless head set microphone.

Is there an album that inspired you to join a band? Actually there are a couple but I can say the most impacting was the black album from Metallica (MI: their self titled album)..

What was the last album you bought? “Sworn To A Great Divide” from Soilwork.

What do you think of downloading music? I don’t think it's that much of an issue it's free promotion for bands, yeah it hurts a little bit on your sales, but hey you are not paying for distrubution and promotions when someone downloads your music and show it you their friends for free you know. Besides I know there are a lot of people like me out there that, yeah we know that we can download the music, but you don’t get the album cover, the artwork, a good quality CD.

Who would you say was your personal biggest influence? Joey Jordison, drummer from Slipknot, Chris Alder, drummer from Lamb Of God, Andy "Andols" Herrick, drummer from Chimaira. I can say this are my major influences and inspirations on my drumming.


If you could trade places with another musician for a day, who would it be and why? Joey Jordison, because he is my number one inspiration as a drummer, the band Slipknot is my major inspiration as a musician and because I know a couple of their songs on drums by heart.

If you weren’t playing in a band, what do you think you’d be doing instead? Something relate to music, art, drawing comics, I think something to that stent, besides my ordinary boring job!

Where do you think the best metal is coming from at the moment? Always will come from Sweden no doubt about that the have a mystic magic for metal over there, I mean look, Soilwork, In Flames, Meshuggah, etc… Do I need to say more? (MI: I think we get the picture)

If you could only eat one kind of food, would it be savory or sweet? Sweet always, because there is not such a thing as too sweet.

What’s your favorite movie? Transformers, tops every movie ever made!

What was the last live show you went to (not including your own)? The Family Values Tour here in Dallas, TX. I actually had the chance to go backstage because of a friend, I actually had the chance to meet the guys from Trivium, Fieldy from Korn, and got to check out the crowd from the stage when Atreyu were playing and when Flyleaf were playing too, it's cool to see over 5 000 people screaming in front of you, bad a*s experience!

What do you have lined up next? Well we are working on the writing of the new CD which is going to be call, “Distorted Liberties” and I think we are going to start self producing the CD in about 2 or 3 weeks. We are expecting to have the CD ready for the fall! As far as shows, we've got one coming up next week in Kilgore, TX at the Side Pocket Lounge, this is a fan fair where we get to distrubute, promote and play a show for all audiences. The show has been announced on MTV, VH1 & SPIKE TV, so if you are local please come and check it out! We will be playing Saturday May 24, 2008 and we are going on stage around 6pm, but the show starts earlier than that…. So be there!! (MI: Yeah make sure you get yourselves along!)

And finally...

Why should people check out your band? We are the most devastating hardcore metal of our region! An entire new breed of metal, a band with an innovative style that sets them apart from the average.

Combine five different backgrounds, five different live styles, five different minds, influenced by a wide variety of music styles. Johnny Franklin on vocals, Efren Mendoza on bass, Erick Green on drums, Geovanni Munoz and Ivan Soto on guitars and you get Inbyro! A new band that’s crossing over any traditional Texas metal music, fast, powerful, brutal, dynamic, violent thrash riffs, unique percussion, pummeling bass playing and an impressive on-stage performance that creates a blend that is hard to miss!

What is your favourite metal subgenre? - The Results

The results are in (and yes, they have been for a while now), but we now know what you guys love the most... DEATH METAL! Which received 25% of the votes!

We've also found that no one likes Nu Metal, Progressive Metal or Speed Metal... Surely that can't be right? But you all voted, and that was the verdict.

Metaholic Band Contest - Vote for who you want to represent you!

Hey all,

Yes, the Metaholic Band Contest begins! On the right hand side of this very blog, you can vote for the band you want to represent each country. The results for those will be made clear at 10am GMT, before the big vote! The result will hopefully become clear at the same time as the Eurovision Song Contest (sneaky eh?).

Please make sure you vote, get your friends to vote!

Blatherskite - Where the Wasteland Ends

Blatherskite (Sydney Rock/Metal/Industrial/Prog act) continue their quest for Evolution through Massive Hearing Damage, recording their latest studio album "Where the Wasteland Ends" (preproduction for 2 years) with Sydney's up and coming underground producer and creator of insane guitar sounds, David Hammer (Credits - Furcurve, As Venice Sinks, Between the Devil & the Deep http://www.myspace.com/dhammermusic)…
Tracking runs into overtime (4 weeks and counting), yet mysteriously remains on schedule through some quirk of quantum entanglement for a September 08 release and National tour, keep your eyes and ears out.
http://www.myspace.com/blatherskite for demo tracks.

Cog, Kora, Jakob, Enmore Theatre Sydney, 16 May '08

So again I return to The Enmore Theatre to witness as Australian band Cog. They've finally returned for a full blown Aussie wide tour to celebrate their new album, Sharing Space. This show was to be one of Cog's biggest, which isn't suprising since they have grown immensely in popularity over the past months. After seeing them live countless times before, I knew this was going to be another show to remember.

Jakob, a three piece experimental instrumental band from New Zealand were the first support, and just after touring Europe with Isis, they could not be in any better form. I had already heard heaps of their stuff, some that had been downloaded as their CDs were hard to find in stores, and most of the set I recognised instantly. Unfortunately the crowd was a little thin for them, with only a hundred or so gazing accross the room, but it gradually increased throughout their set. They played a few songs, including Jimmy Hoffa, Oran Mor and Safety In Numbers, three of my favourites. They sounded immaculate, the mix was great and the band were performing in top shape, it sounded just as good, if not better than on record! Such an amazing band to witness.
Sadly I was not suprised to hear such comments as "Why aren't they singing?" and "it would sound better if they had singing", but I guess that not everyone can grasp the idea of there being bands that don't require vocals to get a message across, Jakob being one of those bands. Their music is played in such a way that it practically speaks to you, lets your imagination flow.
Jakob played for a good 30 minutes, although it felt like a lot longer. I guess good music does that to you.

Next up was, Kora, a band from Whakatane, New Zealand. Made up of brothers Laughton Kora, Francis Kora, Stuart Kora, Brad Kora and friend Dan McGruer. They class themselves as a Reggae / Dub / Rock band, and I suppose that'd be correct. I wasn't too sure if I liked them first off, but they were very entertaining, and had a great stage presence. Laughton (vocals) had a great voice for the music, and really got into it all. They were a worthy support for Cog, and are an interesting band for anyone who's looking for something different.

Now for the headline, and by this time the place was packed and ready to go. The organisers stupidly divided the small venue into 2 floors using a barrier half was (which is where I was) and during the wait for Cog, there seemed to be a lineup of people ready to jump the barrier when security wasn't looking. Good on them I say, I was quite happy in my spot.
Eventually Cog came out to please all fans old and new, and after the first song, shed light onto the crowd that this was their biggest show yet, which when looking around was not suprising. And it's definitely about time Cog got that kind of recognition. They played a bunch of songs from Sharing Space, and The New Normal. Sadly only one song from the Just Visiting era was played, but at least they played one. Some of the tunes played were What If, Sharing Space, Bird Of Feather, Swamp, The Spine and Moshiach, amongst many others.
They played for a good hour and a half with barely any break between songs. The light show was amazing, they had 8 pylons at the back of the stage, each at a different height with colourful LED looking lights on the front of them, and moving lights on the top. In their final song, How Long, the moving lights made a green laser looking light that 'scanned' the crowd. Very nice touch and a great way to end an already amazing evening.
Cog are one of those bands that delivers live, and really put it all into their show. After seeing them a couple of other times, and meeting them a few times I found out they are really down to earth guys who just want spread their message across and entertain at the same time. Get out an see some Cog soon, you won't be disappointed.

http://www.myspace.com/cogrockmusic
http://www.myspace.com/koraroots
http://www.myspace.com/jakobmusic

Aussie Tours reminder

May
Sebastian Bach:
May 17 - Newcastle, Australia @ Panthers
May 20 - Sydney, Australia @ Enmore Theatre
May 22 - Melbourne, Australia @ Palace Theatre
May 23 - Gold Coast, Australia @ Seagulls
May 24 - Brisbane, Australia @ The Arena
May 27 - Perth, Australia @ Burswood Theatre
May 29 - Adelaide, Australia @ The Barton Theatre
May 30 - Canberra, Australia @ Anu

June
Lacuna Coil:
20th - Perth - Metro
22nd - Adelaide - Fowlers
24th - Melbourne - Billboard
26th - Sydney - The Enmore
27th - Brisbane - The Arena

July
Joe Satriani:
8th - Metropolis Fremantle Fremantle, WA
10th - Thebarton Theatre Adelaide, SA
11th - Forum Theatre Melbourne, VIC
14th - Enmore Theatre Sydney, NSW
17th - The Tivoli Brisbane, QLD

September
Opeth:
2nd - Perth, Metro City
4th - Adelaide, Thebarton Theatre (LIC/AA)
5th - Melbourne, Palace Theatre
6th - Sydney, The Big Top (Luna Park) (LIC/AA)
7th - Brisbane, The Arena (LIC/AA)

Testament:
25th - The Arena - Brisbane, Australia
26th - The Hi-Fi - Melbourne Australia
27th - The Metro - Sydney, Australia

October
Meshuggah:
10th - Transmission Auckland All Ages
12th - Arena Brisbane 18+
13th - Roundhouse Sydney All Ages
14th - HQ Adelaide 18+
15th - Palace Theatre (formerly Metro) Melbourne 18+
16th - Capitol Perth 18+


And finally, Mayhem are still expected to tour Australia. With their visas still awaiting approval, the band wasn't going to be able to make it in time, so the tour has been postponed until later this year.


Now out of that list I'll be lucky to get to 2 of those shows . Definitely going to Opeth and hoping to see Meshuggah in action. Quite an attractive list, and people still complain that noone come out here.

Katatonia Live

One of the best bands to emerge from the growing talent of Sweden, Katatonia will be making appearances at a few festivals this summer.

Jun 20 - Hellfest, Clisson, France
Jun 28 - Hunterfest, Szczytno, Poland
Jul 12 - Hegyalja Festival, Tokaj, Hungary
Jul 26 - Kuopiorock, Kuopio, Finland

You'll be crazy to miss these guys live. If you have the chance, go see them!

Testament Australian Tour 2008

Testament are once again reyurning to Australian shores, and just a year after their last run of show here. In 2007 they came in February to remind us of their return. Now they're returing in October yhis year in wake of their new album The Formation of Damnation which was released to the world late April.
Be sure to get out and see this awesome band perform!

Australian Dates '08.
09/25/08 The Arena - Brisbane, Australia
09/26/08 The Hi-Fi - Melbourne Australia
09/27/08 The Metro - Sydney, Australia

Scar Symmetry New Track Streaming!!

This message has been posted on the myspace blog of Scar Symmetry.

Greetings all!

We've now posted a new song, called "Morphogenesis".
It comes off our brand-new album "Holographic Universe", which will be
released on the 20th of June!
More news as it happens!
/The Scars

Go forth and sample the new delights http://www.myspace.com/scarsymmetry.

Lord + The Eternal, Sydney Concert Sat. May 24

Illawarra based Metal band LORD have scheduled a show in Sydney for the 24th of May. Bands included in the set will be Victoria's The Eternal (for their only Sydney show), Transcending Mortality and Darker Half. The show will be taking place at The Bald Faced Stagg in Leichhardt. Get there and check out some of Australia's finest metal in action!

Lord's Myspace: http://www.myspace.com/lordaus

Meshuggah Australian Tour October '08

Blue Murder and Triple J's Full Metal Racket, by arrangement with E.G.O present Meshuggah

TICKETS ON SALE 9AM FRIDAY 23rd MAY

Fri 10th Oct Transmission Auckland All Ages
Tix from www.ticketek.co.nz 0800 TICKETEK, Real Groovy 438 Queen St, Auckland 09 302 3940

Sun 12th Oct Arena Brisbane 18+
Tix from www.arenaonline.com.au . all oztix outlets & www.ticketek.com.au 132 849

Mon 13th Oct Roundhouse Sydney All Ages
Tix from www.ticketek.com.au 132489

Tue 14th Oct HQ Adelaide 18+
Tix from www.venuetix.com.au 08 8225 8888

Wed 15th Oct Palace Theatre (formerly Metro) Melbourne 18+
Tix from www.ticketmaster.com.au 136 100 and Missing Link 405 Bourke St 03 9670 8208

Thu 16th Oct Capitol Perth 18+
Tix from the venue 08 9321 7606, 78's 08 9322 6384 www.78records.com.au, Bocs ticketing 08 9484 1133 www.bocsticketing.com.au and all Moshtix outlets www.moshtix.com.au 1300 GET TIX

"One of the ten most important hard and heavy bands", that’s how the prestigious Rolling Stone Magazine describes Swedish sonic extremists MESHUGGAH, and for the first time in their long career they’re confirmed to tour Australia and New Zealand this October!

It is impossible to talk about experimental or avant-garde metal without mentioning this truly groundbreaking act: MESHUGGAH mix ultra-complicated rhythmic patterns with massive riffs and aggressive growls, combining Death Metal, Mathcore, Thrash and Progressive Metal to create their unique style.

"ObZen" is their newest offering and one thing is for sure: expect the unexpected. From a band that has only released classic albums since their debut in 1999 "ObZen" is once again a masterpiece of diversity and surprises.

This will be a must see show. Australia and NZ fans will know that Meshuggah do not often take to the road. When they do it’s a trip, it’s an offering – it’s paradise!

New album ObZen out now through Nuclear Blast"

Post number 100, oh yeah!

Slaughter In The Lewisham is tomorrow!! Heaps of bands will be playing including Heratik, Killrazer, Dred, Daemon Foetal Harvest and Antonomasia. Show goes from 2pm til late, and it's only only $12 to get in.
Support local!!
Details:

Metaholic Band Contest Update

Ok, so you're all wondering what's happening? Well it's proved to be a real task and a half to do! So I'm going to ask for your help!

If you still want to be involved with this, then drop me a line, through our Myspace, saying which country you want to represent. Please note that you need to have some tracks on your page to be entered, people need to be able to hear your music to be able to vote for you. You also need to be on our friends list, and we're currently not accepting any more bands until we have sorted out the contest.

For those in the USA, if you have already been voted out, you will NOT be getting another chance to enter! Sorry, you didn't get enough votes in the rounds, so you won't be put into the final vote offs.

So here are the following acts through to the vote off:

USA

http://www.myspace.com/dogfashiondisco
http://www.myspace.com/aizenmusic
http://www.myspace.com/novembersdoom
http://www.myspace.com/agentsteel
http://www.myspace.com/allthingsdiemusic
http://www.myspace.com/wykkedwytch
http://www.myspace.com/rulethebeast
http://www.myspace.com/sangre

You need to let me know by next Thursday! That's the 15th of May. You can respond on here, or you can send us a message through our Myspace.

Undercover Slut Album Review

Communism Is Facism is a good place to start with many stand out tunes including Darling Darling, NarcOtics/Cosmetics, Ecstasia in Enema, Evil Star Virus, Daddys Little C**t etc.

The lyrics are powerful and controversial with strong overtones of sex and drug abuse. Not for the faint hearted. With maximum obscenity.

Filled with depravity, industrial riffs, hardcore punk vocals and pure metal.

‘O’s vocal talents create an atmosphere and life to lyrics which address controversial topics, this expression also extends into the instruments with the passion of true metalheads and punks. With raw emotion throughout.

For fans of early Manson for the glam element, the industrial edge of Nine Inch Nails, the Sex Pistols raw energy and vocal squealing with heavy overtones of Alice Cooper’s trashy makeup look.

This album deserves 8.5/10

Check out their myspace profile to hear samples of some of the songs from this album
http://www.myspace.com/undercoverslut

Opeth Watershed Tour Australia

Opeth have announced a run of shows on Australian shores for September. With a bunch of sold out shows for their April '06 tour, I'll be expecting no less of this one. Line up early on May 16th to secure your ticket.
Although this time around Peter will be in absence, Fredrik Åkesson will be in his shoes this time around. It should make for a different Opeth experience to last time.
The dates are as follows. Be at one!

SEPTEMBER 2008

Tuesday 2nd - PERTH, METRO CITY.
Tickets available at : www.heatseeker.com.au & mills, star surf, planet & beat

Thursday 4th - ADELAIDE, THEBARTON THEATRE (LIC/AA)
Tickets at : www.venuetix.com.au or ph 8225 8888

Friday 5th - MELBOURNE, PALACE THEATRE
Tickets available at : www.ticketek.com.au or ph 132 849

Saturday 6th - SYDNEY, THE BIG TOP (LIC/AA)
Tickets available a t: www.ticketek.com.au & ph 132 849Big Top Box Office www.bigtopsydney.com.au & ph 1300 BIG TOP or www.custommade.com.au & ph 1300 762 545 http://www.bigtopsydney.com/Opeth_2008.html

Sunday 7th - BRISBANE, THE ARENA (LIC/AA)
Tickets available at : www.ticketek.com.au or 132 849 & www.oztix.com.au

New Nine Inch Nails Album... FOR FREE!

Yes, Mr Reznor has done it again, and given us another free album, called The Slip! And from the first little bit I've heard, it sounds AWESOME!

Want it? Then head over to http://dl.nin.com/theslip/signup

LACUNA COIL announce Australian tour dates!

Article taken form the band's Myspace page:

MILAN, ITALY – Century Media Recording artists LACUNA COIL have announced today that they will return to Australia this June for a run of headlining tour dates.

The band who have spent the past several months writing songs for their forthcoming new album (release date: TBD), will take some time away from their rehearsal room to play a series of headlining dates before hitting the recording studio later this summer.

"AAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAH!" Hell yeah, that's EXACTLY what I yelled when I heard we were going back to AUSTRALIA!!!!!!!" Comments Lacuna Coil frontwoman Cristina Scabbia. "If you know Lacuna Coil you already know how many times we said we had a blast on the Gigantour with Megadeth and that we were just waiting to come back and kick ass again. This time we get to play more material for you, and spend more time hanging out with everyone in that wonderful place. Now it's the right time, and WE ARE COMING BACK! And trust me, it's gonna be FUN! Love you all, rock on!"

These will be the first headlining dates for the band in Australia. Previously Lacuna Coil has only been to Australia once before as a part of the incredible Gigantour tour 2007 alongside Megadeth, Devildriver and Static-X.

AUSTRALIA JUNE 2008
FRIDAY JUNE 20 - PERTH @ METRO
SUNDAY JUNE 22 - ADELAIDE @ FOWLERS
TUESDAY JUNE 24 - MELBOURNE @ BILLBOARD
THURSDAY JUNE 26 - SYDNEY @ THE ENMORE
FRIDAY JUNE 27 - BRISBANE @ THE ARENA