Warrel Dane

Nevermore vocalist Warrel Dane has teamed up with ex-Soilwork guitarist Peter Wichers, Matt Wickland, formally of Himsa, Nevermore bassist Jim Sheppard and Soilwork drummer Dirk Verbeuren to create what is Warrel Dane's debut solo album. The album, which is titled Praises to The War Machine, is to be released through Century Media Records in Europe on April 29, and in North America (and presumably the rest of the world) on May 13.

It is compiled of 12 tracks, including a cover of a song by The Sisters of Mercy, and a Paul Simon cover aswell as one song featuring the one and only Jeff Loomis of Nevermore and another featuring James Murphy, who is known for his work with Death, Obituary and Testament, amongst others.

Here's the track listing:
01. When We Pray
02. Messenger (featuring Jeff Loomis)
03. Obey
04. Lucretia My Reflection (The Sisters of Mercy cover)
05. Let You Down
06. August
07. Your Chosen Misery
08. The Day The Rats Went to War (featuring James Murphy)
09. Brother
10. Patterns (Paul Simion cover)
11. This Old Man
12. Equilibrium

I must admit, I didn't find out about this today, and being a fan of Nevermore and Warrel Dane's vocals, I am rather interested in hearing how this goes and the type of music it has produced.. But, of coarse, it's yet another album to wait for, so hopefully it'll be one worth the wait. The Warrel Dane Myspace is void of any songs or previews it seems (only having Nevermore songs up to tease us), but hopefully it'll give us some insight into how the album will sound sometime in the future. Otherwise, this is a release I may just pick up and either love it, or hate it.

Graspop Metal Meeting 2008

Time to dust off the leathers, denim, studs and maybe even some hairsray. This years Graspop Metal Meeting sees the coming together of some of Metals greatest Genre defining bands along with some of the better up and comers. The small Town of Dessel in Belgium will be host to the most eclectic group of bands its tiny boundaries have ever seen.

At the top of the ranks you see Iron Maiden, Judas Priest, Whitesnake and Def Leppard sharing the stage with the likes of Cavalera Conspiracy, 36 Crazyfists, In Flames and Opeth. It seems every branch of the Metal tree has someone hanging from the end.

Hosted between the 27th and 29th of June. It is definately a party most people will want to be a part of. From the bands released so far I can see it is going to be more entertaining than Gene and the lads at Donington ;)

Here are a list of the bands bringing Metal to small town Dessel:

Iron Maiden
Judas Priest
Whitesnake
Cavalera Conspiracy
Ministry
Sonata Arctica
In Flames
Apocalyptica
Bullet for my Valentine
Opeth
My Dying Bride
Avenged Sevenfold
Saxon
Testament
Morbid Angel
At the Gates
Madball
Yngwie Malmsteen
Obituary
Forbidden
Volbeat
Korpiklaani
Nile
Soilwork
Dying Fetus
Rotting Christ
Behemoth
Hollenthon
Deathstars
36 Crazyfists
Sabaton
Alchemist
Converge
Comeback Kid

Cavalera Conspiracy - Inflikted

Cavalera Conspiracy - Inflikted

(Due for release March 2008 )

If someone put this on and told me I wasn't listening to the Cavalera brothers (Max & Igor) I would have said it was a great imitation. After their split and withdrawl of brotherly love, I doubt anyone would have expected this to ever happen.

So what does it sound like?


If you need to ask that then I will assume you haven't heard Max or Igor play anything in the past 12 years.

If you take the good bits of Soulfly (yes there where a few, so don't start) and add a little bit more of a democratic vote on how it should be played, then throw in some good old Chaos AD style drumming, then you might get close. It can be hard to pick out just where the Soulfly flys off and the Conspiracy begins in places. Not that this is a bad thing. The bad thing is the fact that there are clearly twice as many tracks on this than should have been.

As a plus point this album is not a case of Max saying to his younger brother, "see I can do it without you". This is more of a "this is what Soulfly would have sounded like if you came on board" (again only in places). Making it sound less like a group of musicians trying too hard (i.e. Soulfly). Honestly though, It is weak in places, mostly the latter half of the album. Don't get me wrong, It is a solid album, for what it is and I do think that it would (maybe) stand up on its own if both Soulfly and Sepultura never exsisted, but it's hard to look at it that way. I know the Cavalera brothers could do better......

"Inflikted" - 4:31
Its starts off with some off whiney little guitar effect, which doesnt immediately sit well with the ears. Then a chugging riff kicks in and Igor starts to pound away. Soon this song has become catchy, if not a little repetitive. Major downside is the use, in places, of the whiney effect from the intro. Lyrics are Max through and through. At the 3 minute mark, in the middle of a solo, you get a lovely little "Nobody move, nobody gets hurt" chant, followed by more solo another chant and then a slight break down into a freefall fret massage.

"Sanctuary" - 3:23
Starts off with a guitar slide in the key of Motley Crue and then smashes that idea away with a biotech is godzilla type ensemble of drums and guitars. A complete hark back to Max's old school vocals circa CHAOS AD. The musicianship isnt anything to be overly excited about. There is a widdle here and there, but when it hits the 2:30 mark, the song takes the shape of a different song. With a blast of some drums and then a head first dive into the pit, this song will have you moving either to the bar or into the mash of sweaty bodies that is set to ensue when this is unleashed live.

"Terrorize" - 3:37
A song with another weird effect played as an intro. More spat out lyrics backed with some classic Seps style guitar from Rizzo. Not the best song onthe album by far. Rather non descript until you are nearing the end when it launches into a thrash inspired riff with a rather friendly f**k death, lets kill(?) chant. It then goes back downhill from here.

"Dark Ark" - 4:54
Starts off with some tribal drums and a robotic sounding Max talking. Soons kicks into a generic bit of Soulfly-esque nonsense of a mini guitar solo. Although, tbh, this sounds quite like the last song on some places. It does showcase a bit more of Rizzo's fretwork, but nothing spectacular. Its mostly chugging guitars and Max screaming.

"Ultra-Violent" - 3:47
With a name like this you would expect a pounding skin tearing song to get the pit going. Unfortunately you'd be quite wrong. Another chugger of a song. Some poor lyrics and some boring musicianship makes for a s**t song. You have to wait until you get half way through and you are given some more Rizzo fretwork and then a sped up version of what came before it.

"Hex" - 2:37
Starts off really promising. "Old skool" thrash Seps style. Pounding drums and shredding that makes my wrists hurt just listening to it. Unfortunately again this song gets a bid repetitive.

"The Doom Of All Fires" - 2:12
It reminds me of another song I know. Sadly it's "Hex", the previous track. Again this seems to go nowhere until we get near the end. Wailing solo and some speed added to make the song follow suit with a good few of the tracks on here. Chugging riffs, solo, speed up, fade. Snooze!

"Bloodbrawl" - 5:41
Hmm. What can I say. More of the same. We get a solo in the middle again, but this time there is a twist. We get a little acoustic interlude to ease us gently out of the monotony of the last 3 tracks (which IMO, sounded like one). I am also sure there is a digeridoo at the end of this....my ears may have been taking the piss though.

"Nevertrust" - 2:22
As you may imagine, this song contains the lyric, NEVER TRUST. Infact, every line has those two words at the start. There are some good points though. Rizzo is on form again for a little while, until Max feels the need to list more things we should not trust. Ends with Rizzo doing what he does best.

"Hearts Of Darkness" - 4:29
Starts all chuggy and quite like it may offer something else. Unfortunately for the listen, his hopes are shattered by this point and you will realise that this should have been a 5 song EP...at a push.

"Must Kill" - 4:50
Maybe a good closer. Not too similar to the past few tracks, but it has the similar feeling that it is going nowhere. A good track, but it is being spoiled by the weight of having just listened to the rest of the album.

At most this album is a Seps/Soulfly fanboy must have. At worst, this is an example of what a 12 year gap in recording could have done to Sepultura. It is a shame, as I was so excited about this album as it opened so well....well better than it finished at any rate.




Members:
Max Cavalera - rhythm guitar & vocals
Marc Rizzo - lead guitar
Joe Duplantier - bass
Igor Cavalera - drums

official website: http://www.cavaleraconspiracy.com/
myspace: http://www.myspace.com/cavaleraconspiracy
RRUK artist page: http://www.roadrunnerrecords.co.uk/artist/Cavalera+Conspiracy
(where you can hear one of the better tracks off of the album)

Soilwork Parts Ways With Guitarist Ola Frenning

This statement comes from their Myspace blog:

"Swedish metallers Soilwork, who recently completed the Lamb of God, Killswitch Engage U.S. tour in support of their new album Sworn to a Great Divide, have decided to part ways with guitarist Ola Frenning.

It was felt that Ola resisted the demands of the road and found it difficult to come to terms with the amount of touring scheduled.

Sworn To A Great Divide is Soilwork's fastest seller and the live demand for the band is growing. They intend to play everywhere and fulfill the album's potential.

Vocalist Björn "Speed" Strid says: "It was a very difficult decision to make because Ola has been our friend and bandmate for a very long time."

The decision will not affect any of Soilwork's plans. Guitarist David Andersson will fill in on their upcoming Finnish/Baltic tour as well as the "Scum Of The Earth" U.S. tour with Throwdown. The band will then tour Australia, Japan and Southeast Asia before returning to Europe for festivals and a headlining U.S. tour in the fall.

Ola Frenning comments: "After 10 years, seven albums and several world wide tours, we've realized that we have developed in different directions and have a different set of values, profession wise. The disagreements have reached their peak and it has become an untenable situation. The band's solution is that I part ways with them so that I won't be in the way for the future plans of Soilwork. However, since I'm not gonna be on the road (at least for a while), I will now be able to continue with my songwriting and producing at another level. For further information, visit www.myspace.com/olafrenning. The page will be updated in the near future. Cheers to ya all... And thanks for making these 10 years with the band memorable.""

So is this the end of the mighty Soilwork? I doubt it. It may be the second departure in as many albums, but there are many bands who have constant line up changes that survive. If anything, the departure of Peter Wicher was a more significant shift for the band, since he was pretty much their backbone being the main songwriter.

I personally want to wish Ola the best of luck in the future, and I'm really looking forward to hearing what he does next!

Bloodstock Open Air (BOA) 2008

Bloodstock Open Air Festival (BOA) is now into its 3rd year out in the open, and 7th year as one of the best metal festivals in the UK. The first 4 years were indoor events, but as the festival has gained momentum, it has moved from the darkness into the light of day! The festival takes place on the 15th, 16th and 17th of August at Catton Hall, Derbyshire.

This is the metal festival to go to if you want to hear the more brutal and underground artists playing in the UK (if you want mainstream, get yourself to Download).

The line up has yet to be completed, but from the artists already announced, it looks like it will be one hell of an event! So far, the bands confirmed for BOA 2008 are:

COMMUNIC

EVILE
OPETH
SAINT DEAMON
ELUVEITIE
HELLOWEEN
PRIMAL FEAR
TYR
PRO-JEKT
AT THE GATES
DIMMU BORGIR
MOONSORROW
SWALLOW THE SUN
CLOUDSCAPE
MOB RULES
SOILWORK
KATAKLYSM
OVERKILL

I would kill to get along to this event (and trying my hardest to make sure I can)! I'm most excited about Opeth, Soilwork and Swallow The Sun, and can't wait to see what the full line up looks like!

Personally, I would love to see Bloodbath, Blinded Colony, Paradise Lost, Novembre and Sonic Syndicate playing this year. The last three I'd love on the bill are playing the German festival Summer Breeze in the same week, so I'm keeping my fingers, toes and eyes crossed that they all confirm for BOA too!

For more information, check out their website:

http://www.bloodstock.uk.com

Or their Myspace profile:

http://www.myspace.com/bloodstock

Metalstock Australia 2008!

For its third year now, Australia's only surviving open-air festival devoted purely to metal is on again... only this time it's not on a farm, but inside Sydney's Manning Bar, spanning over two days and being host to 17 bands, including Canada's Kataklysm, and local heroes Psycroptic and F**k I'm Dead.

Metalstock is its name, and it's a name that has found itself to be quite well known throughout the Aussie metal scene with people and bands travelling from all over the country to, basically, f**k s**t up and have a great time whilst seeing some awesome bands. Gradually growing larger (but being a smaller show this yeah due to the venue change), Metalstock is guaranteed to be the place to be this easter long weekend (22nd-23rd March).

Normally, and I make reference to last years set, there'll be 40+ bands, it'd span over 3 whopping days and pretty much just be a giant hangout on a farm in the middle of nowhere around somewhere north of Sydney, with metalheads of all ages camping out and having a kickarse time.
Although that's not the case this year, it should hopefully return to its old ways next year, with word being that it'll be on another outdoor venue, most likely also in the middle of nowhere (fewer noise complaints then :P), and hopefully a larger set with even more awesome extreme metal bands. Not that this year's isn't appealing at all.

Whether or not I'm going all depends on whether I'm able to win some tickets or con someone into buying tickets for me, heh. But I'll most likely be making the trip next year for the outdoor event, as it sounds like way too much fun to pass on.

Visit the Metalstock Myspace for more details, and where to purchase tickets.

Illdisposed - The Prestige

Illdisposed, death metal band from Denmark, have released a few songs from their upcoming album entitled The Prestige, due out on March 28. Mixed by Fredrik Nordström, the album is to be released through AFM records. The new tracks can be heard on their Myspace page.

The band has a bunch of shows booked to coincide with the release of the new record, including a show at the Queens Of Metal Open Air in Kleinwenkheim, Germany on the 21st of June. Details of all shows can also be found on their Myspace.

After listening to the songs a few times I'll be considering purchasing this record some time after its release. They have a decent sound, which can be found on their previous records, but somehow I'll most likely find myself buying some form of Opeth or Katatonia record in preference.

In Flames: Stop Beating A Dead Horse!

Something’s really started to bother me about one of the most popular metal bands today, and one of my personal favorite bands of all time, In Flames.

As you know, In Flames are set to release their new album ‘A Sense of Purpose’ in April. Just like every In Flames release since 2000’s ‘Clayman’ it’s met with constant whining, bitching and complaining from fans. This has really started to get to me. Every mention of them on any message board turns into an ‘old vs new’ argument. The band had to take down their own official message board when ‘Reroute To Remain’ came out for this very reason. Yes ‘The Jester Race’ is better than the new stuff. We get it. I even agree with you. Can we move on already?

The worst part is I’m sure 99% of these people weren’t even listening to the band in their so called ‘glory days’. Most of these people first heard of In Flames with ‘Come Clarity’, ‘Soundtrack to your Escape’ or ‘Reroute To Remain’ like I did, and then worked their way backwards. I’m sure the old fans that we’re actually around listening to them in their older days just stopped listening to them if they didn’t like the change of direction. It’s been 8 years since their last ‘true’ Melodic Death album ‘Colony’ came out. I think it’s safe to say that they’re not going to be making another one of them. So get over it! Move on! If you don’t like the newer style, don’t listen to it and stop ruining it for me and the many other fans that do. There’s thousands of other bands copying that style for you to listen to. What’s funny, is if they never changed their style, people would complain that they write the same album every year.

I’ll be anxiously awaiting their new album, and seeing them live for the 6^th time this spring with Megadeth. If you didn’t know, you can check out their new song ‘The Mirror’s Truth’ on their myspace page. I’d like to hear people’s opinions of the song, good or bad, for what it is instead of comparing it to ‘The Jester Race’.

Smokescreen Spring Tour 2008

The fantastic Smokescreen are about to head out on their Spring Tour, with several shows around England! These guys are definitely worth checking out, and I'm sure we'll be hearing a lot more of them for a long time to come!

The all important dates you need to jot down in your diaries:

Mar 8 2008 8:00P	SPRING TOUR - The Barfly, Cambridge - w/ Panic Cell + Speedtheory	Cambridge
Mar 14 2008 8:00P	SPRING TOUR - The Football Club, Spalding	Spalding
Mar 19 2008 8:00P	SPRING TOUR - The Mercury Flux, Preston	Preston, Nr. Manchester
Mar 20 2008 8:00P	SPRING TOUR - The Park, Peterborough	Peterborough
Mar 21 2008 8:15P	SPRING TOUR -The Underworld, Camden (LONDON)	London
Mar 23 2008 8:00P	SPRING TOUR - The Vic Inn, Derby	Derby, Midlands
Mar 29 2008 8:00P	SPRING TOUR - Queens Arms, Kings Lynn	Kings Lynn, Norfolk
Apr 5 2008 8:00P	SPRING TOUR - The Avon Centre, Cannock	Cannock, Nr. Birmingham

Make sure you get yourself along!

Melloboat 2008, 8th of March

Now this to me looks like the coolest thing ever! On a boat, with some of the most amazing acts entertaining you over 2 nights!

So who's going to be there? How does this sound?

OPETH
COMUS
KATATONIA
LEAF HOUND
ANEKDOTEN
TRETTIOÅRIGA KRIGET
BO HANSSON with Eric Malmberg & Niklas Korssell
MATS/MORGAN ALL STAR TEAM
THE COLINS OF PARADISE
PROMISE AND THE MONSTER
QOPH
PLANKTON
EMMA NORDENSTAM
CECILIA KLINGSPOR
EMIKA KLASDOTTER
PIU
MARTIN AXENROT and NATHALIE LORICHS

Yeah Opeth and Katatonia being on the same boat for 2 days sound good to me, haha!

For more information, please check out their website:

www.tallinksilja.com/sv/tab1/hobbyTrips/cruiseMelloBoat.htm

Or alternatively, their Myspace page:

http://www.myspace.com/melloboat