September 2015
Stitched Up Heart Releases New Song and Video for “Finally Free”
Stitched Up Heart have released a new song and video for "Finally Free" off their upcoming debut album, to be released via Another Century Records come next year. Check out the new tune and video for it right HERE.
Every Hour Kills' Sacha Talks Self-Titled Release and the Band's Birth
Inspired by an anonymous literary quote "Every hour wounds, but the last one kills.", Every Hour Kills is a power house ensemble featuring ex-Divinity guitarist Sacha Laskow, bassist Brent Stutsky (ex-Breach of Trust, ex-Death Valley Dolls), drummer Rob Shawcross (ex- Out Of Your Mouth, ex-Autobody, ex-Kobra and The Lotus) along with vocalist Jerrod Maxwell-Lyster (Walk As Chaos, ex-Out of Your Mouth, ex-Autobody, ex-the R.A.C.E.).EHK’s birth had just then begun, leading them to write and record for their Self-Titled EP, along with playing shows, touring and so much more! Guitarist/programmer Sacha Laskow discusses these matters.
1. Please tell us about the history of your band and its members.
Sacha: We met at a raucous sex swingers party in the seedy part of town. Once we finished up with the edible oils and butt stuff we got to talking and discovered we all had a common love in synthy groovy Metal. Thus EHK was born. We've all been in bands before but nothing quite tingled our pringles like this one!
2. Every Hour Kills why is that?
Sacha: It's pretentiously based of an anonymous literary quote "Every hour wounds, but the last one kills.". I read it in a book, because I read, like a smart person.
3. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?
Sacha: Calgary, Alberta Canada. It's OK, we don't have the population here in Canada to support a huge scene like Europe or the US even, yet somehow we churn out some amazing bands and have some fun nonetheless. There are a bunch of good bands locally here: Exit Strategy, Caveat, The Archon Prophecy, Shark Infested Daughters, Illuminated Minerva and Nok Novum to name a few.
4. How would you describe your style?
Sacha: Modern Melodic Metal with a twist of lime. Also, #djentstep.
5. What's your take on your Self-Titled EP, what can we expect?
Sacha: Describing music with words is like dancing about architecture they say, so I'd advise people to give a listen to our free streams on YouTube, SoundCloud or BandCamp and come to their own conclusions.
6. How did you guys choose who you wanted to do collaborations with on this new EP?
Sacha: I contacted people who's work I respected and enjoyed to see if they are were interested, and almost across the board, they were!
7. Do you have a favorite track off the EP?
Sacha: That's like asking who my favorite child is! If I had children which I don't. I'm really happy with how everything turned out, they all have their own character and each one had to be a 'single' quality to end up on the EP.
8. What plans do you have for the future as a band?Sacha: The usual stuff: writing more, recording more, playing more shows, weird animal porn etc.
9. Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
Sacha: All the usual places! Here's a few:
https://everyhourkills.bandcamp.com
www.youtube.com/everyhourkills
www.facebook.com/everyhourkills
soundcloud.com/alansachalaskow
www.everyhourkills.com
10. What is it you’d like a listener to remember the most when hearing your music for the first time?
Sacha: I want them to make sure they didn't leave the oven on at home.
RINGS OF SATURN Announces North American Fall Tour
Rings Of Saturn will be hitting the road across North America by joining After The Burial, Toothgrinder, and The Faceless.
TOUR DATES:
10/22/2015 La Movida - Salinas, CA w/ The Soothing Sound Of Flight
10/23/2015 San Manuel Amphitheater Festival Grounds - San Bernardino, CA @ Knotfest w/ Sepultura, The Faceless, As Blood Runs Black, Motorbreath
11/05/2015 SOMA - San Diego, CA
11/06/2015 Joe's Grotto - Phoenix, AZ
11/07/2015 Mesa Music Hall - El Paso, TX
11/08/2015 Jake's Backroom - Lubbock, TX
11/10/2015 Dirty Dog Bar - Austin, TX
11/11/2015 Trees - Dallas, TX
11/12/2015 Jack's Patio Bar - San Antonio, TX
11/13/2015 Scout Bar - Houston, TX
11/14/2015 The Syndicate Lounge - Birmingham, AL
11/15/2015 Local 662 - Saint Petersburg, FL
11/17/2015 Greene Street Club - Greensboro, NC
11/18/2015 Soundstage - Baltimore, MD
11/19/2015 Marlin Room @ Webster Hall - New York, NY
11/20/2015 Voltage Lounge - Philadelphia, PA
11/21/2015 Tha Palladium - Worcester, MA
11/22/2015 The California Brew Haus - West Rochester, NY w/ Guardian
11/23/2015 Virgin Mobile Mod Club - Toronto, ON
11/24/2015 The Pike Room @ The Crofoot - Pontiac, MI
11/25/2015 Agora Ballroom - Cleveland, OH
11/27/2015 The Abbey - Chicago, IL
11/28/2015 Skyway Theatre - Minneapolis, MN w/ Reflections, Texas In July
11/29/2015 Vaudeville Mews - Des Moines, IA
12/01/2015 Marquis Theater - Denver, CO
12/02/2015 In The Venue - Salt Lake City, UT
12/05/2015 El Corazon - Seattle, WA
12/06/2015 Hawthorne Theatre - Portland, OR
12/08/2015 DNA Lounge - San Francisco, CA
12/09/2015 The Whiskey - West Hollywood, CA
12/11/2015 Chain Reaction - Anaheim, CA
Lalaloopsy - Band Together
Lalaloopsy has buttoned out since its start up in 2010,
expanding into various lines with its toy division, having numerous toys of
course, and other expansions including a TV show and DVD movies including one
that takes the musical approach, as the other releases have done but this one
goes for it full force! This is Lalaloopsy Band Together, where all of your
favorite Lalaloopsy characters come together, as Jewel Sparkles discovers that
Keys Sharps 'N' Flats has the dream of becoming a pop star, she takes matters
into her own hands, to have auditions for other people to try out, to see who
would fit into a band, this is where two other characters Strings Pick 'N'
Strung and Sticks Boom Crash come in, as the new character trio form to create
their own garage band known only as The Buttonnettes! The trio begins
practicing right away, while Jewel sets off to get the band underway for a
touring trek, where the band is set to tour all over Lalaloopsyland, playing
their tunes for all to hear.
Other matters come into the mix as Spot Splatter Splash and
Dot Starlight have their own adventures with the joys of music, Spot making art
pieces that are musical masterpieces while Dot discovers an all new galaxy that
takes music outa this world and into outside space! The film is filled with
laughs, music of course, including a lot of catchy and upbeat tunes that will
have you nodding your head if not humming to the beats. Some of the catchier
tunes would have to be "Sparkle And Shine", "On A Roll",
and "If You Believed In You", all of these are again catchy, having
the music jump out at you, while still staying true to the Lalaloopsy style
like in other DVD movie releases. These tune selections are just more rock
based with pop elements in-between that keeps the music flowing if you will.
It's a rather enjoyable DVD that will bring smiles from
beginning to end. It sure did this during my viewing of it. Not only does this
movie have a rocking attitude with catchy upbeat tunes, but some added additions
of including the Lalaloopsy Super Silly Party shorts, that takes Jewel
Sparkles, Peanut Big Top, Mittens Fluff 'N' Stuff and Crumbs Sugar Cookie to
work together to design and release some super silly party dresses that are
filled with such giddy funny times, it's easy to fall for all of the fun and
entertainment, these shorts embrace, while they may be that just shorts, they
are still highly funny and entertaining, catching all of the Lalaloopsy fun!
Lalaloopsy's Band Together release, is fun for all, music
fan or not, because it captures the essence of music and how it gets started to
where it ends up, showing the formula of what makes music so great!
Black Tide's Gabriel Chases the Shadows
Heavy metalheads Black Tide have been a band for the past 10 years, played a ton of shows, gone on countless tours, now they have signed onto a new label and have their third album under their belts, with so much more ahead of them, there is no turning back now.... The main man Gabriel Garcia, lead vocalist, lead guitarist/bassist discusses their time together and latest release "Chasing Shadows".
1. Let's talk a little about the history of the band. When did you originally form and is this the original line-up?
Gabriel: Well, I started playing guitar when I was around eight years old and started forming groups here in Miami with my older brother. This particular group came together in 2004 and from there we hit it hard just played as many shows here in Miami as possible.
2. Do you remember how the idea of forming the band first came up?
Gabriel: The idea of forming this band came about when I started listening to bands like Metallica, Iron Maiden, GnR, etc. I was truly inspired to make metal music for a living.
3. How long after you formed was it until you played your first live show?
Gabriel: We played our first show after coming together as a band maybe two weeks into it. We always stayed active playing battle of the bands or local shows here in Miami.
4. What are your memories of the performance?
Gabriel: I remember winning our first battle of the bands at our local high school Felix Varela high and it was just a tremendous experience. That feeling of being rewarded for something you love to do is amazing & that was one of the first times we had felt that early on.
5. You guys were once called Radio then decided to switch out that name and instead use Black Tide, so where does the name come from and does it mean what it says, Black Tide, it sounds like a ocean reference.
Gabriel: The name black Tide came about because we were all skateboarders when we started as teenagers and so the surfers have their blue tide, the ocean & we had our black Tide, the asphalt.6. Would you mind explaining as to what happened with your relationship with Interscope Records?
Gabriel: We had a two album deal with Interscope records & towards the end of 2011 we kind of fell apart as a band, as a group the friendships were no longer there. We all started our own little side projects and lost sight of the black tide dream but now we are back and stronger than ever!
7. How did you and Pavement Entertainment come together? Are you pleased with what they have been doing for you thus far?
Gabriel: Pavement Entertainment came into the picture about a year ago & they have been amazing so far. They have nothing but faith in the band and in our vision. We really couldn't be more excited about this coming album cycle for "chasing shadows". Our whole team is incredible. Our management Rebellion Noise (escape the fate | architects) is such a key part for this journey as well. I'm feeling very excited about this go around with Black Tide!
8. What is it about this album that people should know and why should they buy it?
Gabriel: I think the reason people should be excited about this album is the fact that we're bringing back that old-school guitar solo sound of early Megadeth records & the music that really inspired us metal guitar players to pick up our instrument.
9. Tell us about your experience in the studio recording the new record?
Gabriel: Recording this album "chasing shadows" was a long and tedious process but nonetheless it was an amazing experience to be back in the studio making metal music. We recorded over at Live House Studios here in Miami, Fl with producer Mariano Aponte & we poured our blood, sweat and tears into this thing!
10. What was the recording process like compared to your past releases?
Gabriel: The recording process for this was definitely a little different than our last recordings merely based on the fact is that we hadn't played together in so long so we all kind of felt like boxers in training as far as practicing our instruments and honing our skills to make the best album possible.
11. How important do you rate the lyrical side of your albums?
Gabriel: I think the lyrical content is my favorite part of any album and so I really focused on the lyrical side of this record so much and made sure that it told stories of our history & the ups and downs that we've been through as a band but at the same time I made sure that these words could relate to anyone out there going through a number of things. All about interpretation!
12. How do you feel the band has evolved musically and personally since your formation?Gabriel: I think that we have evolved so much as people over the last couple years in the sense that we are so much more mature now, we know exactly what we want to say with our music and we know exactly what made us fall in love with making metal records & so I think that we've kind of finally found the perfect balance of what we want our sound to be and what we can execute every night on stage.
Kittie Releases Trailer for Upcoming Documentary and Tell All Book Details
Kittie had launched an IndieGoGo campaign last year to help fund this 20 year anniversary documentary DVD release, with more funds to do with, that they went on to write a tell-all book detailing more input on the band themselves. Check out the trailer HERE and further details regarding the documentary and book HERE.
DivahaR See's the Shadoes that are Within Us, Beyond Us, and Above Us
Armenian black metallers DIVAHAR may have been around for a short while, but have already done so much! They have gone on to release their debut album "Divarise", which has led them to playing shows with further plans on more shows and even more music! The band got together to discuss their history, what inspires them to create their art, and how they plan to keep on going.
1. Introduce yourself, tell me what you do in DivahaR, and how long the band has been together.
Greetings to NataliezWorld.com and its subscribers. Well, four members of DivahaR are together since 2010 – Dev (vocals), Urubani (guitars), Skadi (guitars) and Freya (bass). Belus (keyboards) welcomed to band in 2014.
2. Tell us the brief history of your band.
By the end of 2009 Urubani and Dev had already written DivahaR’s first songs with a strong decision to make a band. In 2010 Skadi and Freya joined to them. And it took over 4 years to find our last member Belus. Throughout 5-6 years we have had many concerts behind, released our album “Divarise” and 2 music videos on songs from it.
3. Where is the band based out of and what is your music scene like there? Are there any local bands you could recommend?We live in Armenia and DivahaR was formed here too. Metal audience is quite small in Armenia. All the metalheads and musicians are forced to face that sad reality in our country but anyway it’s not an obstacle for us and other bands to stop listening and creating metal music. Here we have a lot of great metal bands which deserve to be known. They are Vostan Hayots, Ayas, Avarayr, Aramazd, Highland, Nosferatu, etc.
4. What type of band are you?
DivahaR’s musical genre is symphonic black metal.
5. Why did you want to name the band DivahaR? What does it symbolize and represent for the band?
Actually, the native roots of the Armenian word “Divahar” originate from the stems of Indo-European languages. DIVINE comes to be the root of the word. The Armenian word DAEMON (DEV, DIVA) with identical root reflects the same idea as the Indo-European DIVINE, so Diva-har is related to as “gifted”, “enlightened” or “possessed by divinity”.
6. Who are your musical and non-musical influences?
Bands like Emperor, Slayer, Mayhem, Burzum, Limbonic art, etc., played the most important role for the creation of DivahaR. Moreover, our motherland and nature become a great source of inspiration for us.
7. What are your songs about? (What specific themes do they cover?)
Our poetical, spiritual and philosophical lyrics are about the feral fight we live in, about the ways to truth and our searching for the right paths of life, about the eternal struggle that each of us has inside.
8. Do you write your own songs? (Discuss the songwriting process in detail.)
In fact we don’t have a "single" songwriter for the band who writes music, lyrics, arranges all the instruments and directs the actions of the other band members. Many bands act alike and work as a one-man project. On the contrary, all our musicians are involved in songwriting process as a united team. When one of us writes a song, the rest of the band discusses its music and lyrics in detail. It turns out that every song of DivahaR undergoes a number of opinions and changes.
9. In October 2014 DivahaR released its debut album ‘’Divarise’’, tell us about it.Before its release many of our fans had already known the lyrics of some of our songs. Actually, "Divarise’" isn’t our newborn album. We had written these songs earlier and it took us a pretty long time to release the album due to many obstacles that metal music in our country can face.
10. What are your dreams and goals?
It mainly depends on our perception of “goals”. As we are involved in music and it’s pure art, we have the same dream as every musician… It’s feedback – a reflection of our art in others’ souls. That’s the most important reason for us to create and to go on.
11. What should labels/zines/promoters know about your band? Why should they be interested in it?
A metal band from a country many people never heard about but still having lots of fans all over the world. We think there is something special. And the number of our listeners is increasing with time.
12. Where can we listen to your band and where can we buy your stuff?
We have YouTube channel where you can find all our songs and music videos:
https://www.youtube.com/user/Divaharband
Here you can order our physical CD ‘’DIVARISE’’:
http://www.sleaszyrider.com/html/catalogue.htm
And here are the links to download our songs from iTunes:
https://itunes.apple.com/us/artist/divahar/id926511262
from Amazon.com:
http://www.amazon.com/Divarise-Divahar/dp/B00O9O8IOS/ref=sr_1_1?s=dmusic&ie=UTF8&qid=1412940177&sr=1-1&keywords=Divahar
13. What plans do you have for the near future as a band?
Over a month ago we released our music video “Shadows” available at
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J-owlsQKa_E. Now DivahaR is getting ready for its upcoming concerts.
The music itself and the words behind it. The feelings that the listener will experience through DivahaR’s music.
15. Any final words of wisdom?
Thank you very much for your attention and your time. We would like metal music to be more self-improvement feature for metal audience. With best regards, Freya, Urubani, Skadi, Belus, Dev.
URBANGARDE Announces New Album Showa 90 at Utsu Fes Concert
Japanese trauma techno-pop band URBANGARDE announced their new album Showa 90 at their concert showcase event on September 5.
URBANGARDE hosted UTSU Fes ("Depression Fes") with performances by PASSPO☆, NO GOD, and 15 other bands in the 2-day festival at Tsutaya O-East in Shibuya. Showa 90 will be released from Kadokawa Media Factory on December 9, which will be the band's 7th full-length album and their 4th after their major debut.
The album's title connects to a mysterious message yet to be revealed by URBANGARDE, since Japan's Showa era ended with year 64 in 1989. Known for their pointed social commentary, the title and imagery (a decayed version of Japan's National Diet Building) of Showa 90 hints at a possible vision of alternate reality. More details about Showa 90 will be announced soon.
URBANGARDE also announced their fall 2015 Japan tour titled "URBANGARDE National Tour 2015 Showa 90th year" along with an upcoming Christmas Special Hall Live at Shibuya Owada Sakura Hall in Tokyo on 12/22, and Shinsaibashi BIGCAT in Osaka on 12/17.
URBANGARDE made their USA debut last June at A-Kon 2015 in Dallas, Texas.
Hisako Ozawa Talks All About her Musical Aspects
Performing musician Hisako Ozawa has plans to travel the world, performing her own music as well as music for the other projects, bands, and anything else that may be coming her way! She took the time to talk of those projects and plans.
1. Introduce yourself, tell me how long have you been a musician and how did you become the musician you are today?
Hisako: I have been a musician for about 6 years now. At the beginning, I played for the Japanese alternative rock band “Mind Tuner”. We played shows at popular venues all around Tokyo while simultaneously working as an event coordinator for a live music talent agency. Two years later, I started to feel that I needed to further my musical knowledge and advance in my musical career. In 2011, I left Japan to attend the world renowned Musicians Institute in Hollywood. Studying at MI, I learned music theory and a great deal about other styles of music aside from rock. MI made me a more capable and humble musician. After Graduating from MI, I found work as a guitar player in bands and play over 100 gigs a year.
2. How would you categorize the style of the music that you play?
Hisako: My favorite style is rock but I also play and love various styles of music. I play metal, country, pop and also funk and R&B.
3. Can you share with us one or two of your favorite moments as a musician?
Hisako: I love playing shows. Every show I play is a different experience. When I play with a rock band, my favorite moment is when I forget about everything and Im playing with all the energy I have. When I play with a party band, It brings me joy to see people having a good time and dancing to the music.
4. How would you define a "performing musician"?
Hisako: To me, being a performing musician is like being an actor or an actress. Different style of music every night. Different audience. You have to be adaptable to every style of music.
5. Can you tell us about your thoughts on your local music scene? Are there any new and upcoming artists/bands that you are into?
Hisako: The Alabama Shakes. When I listened to their new album “Sound & Color” a few month ago, it blew my mind. I found myself saying to myself “I don’t know what’s going on here but it is clearly amazing and catchy”.
6. Your involved in several different bands, Side Effect, Paradise Kitty, and South Bay Country, why be involved in so many bands with so many different styles?
Hisako: I love playing music, I have been trying to play out as much as I can. Playing music is my life.
7. Do you have a particular style of music that you prefer over all the others or are you into everything and anything?
Hisako: When I started to play guitar, I was really into rock bands like Tool, Deftones and many Japanese rock bands. Rock music is still my favorite and the music style that I play most comfortably.
8. You say your a performing musician so do you stick only to performing solo and with other acts, have you worked upon your own music of sorts?
Hisako: I have been so busy as a gigging musician but I’m really interested in doing my own music in the future and that is one of my dreams.
9. How many more bands do you think you be a part of in the coming future?
Hisako: I think i can handle one more but I also want to play more shows and tours with the current projects I’m involved with now.
Hisako: Side Effect: 4 piece pop punk band hailing from hollywood, CA. Our first EP “ Another last goodbye” was released in 2014. I met lead singer Kapri at MI, one day. She saw my play at a performance class and talked to me. She was looking for musicians for her project and I joined. The rest is history!
Paradise Kitty: LA based all female tribute to Guns N’ Roses. They found me through auditions. We played our first show in March 2015. My band members are super cool and great female musicians.
South Bay Country: LA based country cover band. They found through auditions as well. We play at bars, corporate events, private parties 2 to 3 times a week. Our shows are usually with line dance teachers. You can learn line dancing while enjoying quality live music!
11. Where can our readers find these bands on the internet?
Hisako: Side Effect: http://artistecard.com/wearesideeffect
Paradise Kitty: https://www.facebook.com/ParadiseKittyBand
South Bay Country: http://www.southbaycountry.com/
12. How has Social Networking (Facebook,Twitter, etc.) impacted you as a musician and these bands you have been involved with?
Hisako: We can provide our information easier and faster. The other cool thing about social networking is our fans talk about us online and it creates a buzz.
13. What are the plans that you have in the future as for your own work and the plans for the bands your involved with?
Hisako: I want to go tour with these bands. Traveling around the world with music is my biggest dream.
14. Anything else you’d like to say or promote?
Hisako: I have my own website and YouTube channel. Please check them out!
http://www.hisakoozawa.com/
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCDxgKmj03rZSItVCdSsYpBA
Black Label Society Announces New Tour
Black Label Society will be going out on a winter tour for the end of 2015. Support will be coming from Huntress and The Shrine. Check out the list of dates below.
TOUR DATES:
Dec-26 Phoenix, AZ Marquee Theater
Dec-27 Albuquerque, NM Sunshine Theater
Dec-28 Dallas, TX Gas Monkey Live
Dec-29 Tulsa, OK Brady Theater
Dec-30 Houston, TX Warehouse Live
Dec-31 Marksville, LA Paragon Casino Resort
Invocation Array's Cerys and Kailani Discuss Working as a Duo when Creating Music
Invocation Array is an epic story-driven electronic music duo consisting of extraterrestrial musicians, Cerys and Kailani. After studying Earth from afar and developing an interest, they dived into what would be the most progressive medium in order to assist and learn from the species they’re passionate about. Combining elements of fantasy and technology, reflecting on human endeavors, Invocation Array uses curiosity and fearlessness to discover and present truths, inspiring and evoking progressive action, evolving through communication and diversity. The duo both took some time to talk of their latest release and the plans ahead.
1. Can you give those of us who aren’t familiar with Invocation Array a brief history of the band
and can you please describe your sound for those who have yet to hear your music?
Kaia had The Luna Sequence (TLS), as a solo project, working on instrumentals and remixes. She moved to CA, and put out an ad for a singer. Adrianne had media projects, working on music and acting, moved to NorCal from SoCal, and wanted to collab on a music project. She found Kaia’s ad via her friend pointing her to it. After some discussion, it expanded beyond TLS+vocals into a whole new project. This lead to the creation of Invocation Array and the leading characters, Kailani and Cerys. The idea behind the characters is that the project comes from the minds and voices of two entities that are watching everything unfold on this planet. We’re not just speaking for ourselves, we’re speaking for everyone, and to everyone, trying to connect and reveal.
2. How did you guys come up with your band name?
We wanted to combine different elements from the overall themes. Technology, Magic, Spirituality, Communication, Evolution, and Progress.
3. What bands have influenced your band and its sound?
Kate Bush, Prodigy, Nightwish, Queen, Comaduster, Tori Amos, Jethro Tull, Enigma
4. What lyrical theme do you guys use in your music? What message do you want to send?
We call out the global issues in our present time, what they can lead to, and how to become empowered and find hope.
5. Are you guys signed or unsigned?
Unsigned, everything has been independent so far.
6. If you aren't signed to a label, do you hope to get signed on someday?
If we find one that is a good fit. We have a lot of ideas that are bigger than just the two of us can pull off, but it’s essential that any team is fully behind the creative vision.
7. If you don't hope to get signed on, why do you prefer the DIY approach to releasing and handling all of your music affairs?
If we don’t get signed, we’ll continue to do everything ourselves. We’ve gotten a lot of support from fans, so we know people are interested, even if labels aren’t. As a DIY operation currently, we are better able to maintain or evolve the message, image, expression, and budget. We can also provide a more consistently intimate, social connection with our fans. However, we can also be limited in time and resources by our small budget. That’s why fan support matters even more in our situation we
can deliver more, or more accurately deliver, concepts with their support.
8. Why did you want this band to be a two piece act instead of a full fledged group? Do you prefer
things to be this way instead of that way?
We work together very well and have a very balanced dynamic. We can execute our vision ourselves and don’t want to unnecessarily dilute things. We may bring people on in the short term to fulfill specific roles for a period of time, but we’re happy as a duo, and don’t see that changing.
9. Why did you see there was a point in releasing two versions of your songs for your release "A
Color for Fiction". You released the regular versions of the tracks with the added addition of
instrumental versions as well. How come?
Kaia was previously known for doing instrumental music, so there are people interested in the instrumentals. Some people like them for writing/coding/gaming/other things when vocals may be a distraction. Both K and A also love creating and listening to instrumentals, so it was an easy choice.10. You shot video that was a live in studio performance for the song "Hypogeum". Why was this song picked out and made into the video it has become?
“With Me” was actually the first one. There are a number of reasons why we choose to make live studio versions of songs and in what order. We like to explore different musical styles and vibes, work with what’s currently relevant and inspiring to us, and we like to play with concepts visually this also leads to us performing live on stage eventually. We also have plans for bigger budget videos for some of our other songs, so we wanted to highlight the others with live vids.
11. Which other songs will you be picking out to be made into videos, do you have an idea as to how they will be made, like in the studio style as "Hypogeum" or doing it a whole other way? Would you say that making videos is a process that you enjoy?
We’ll be doing a studio video for “Protocol” next and are in the planning process for a full music video for “Little Dark Star”. We’re also talking about “All Souls Day” (it’s our Halloween song). We do enjoy doing the videos, but it is a lot of work with just 2 people! We are both pretty exhausted at the end of the day.
12. Can you discuss the two songs you released "With Me" and "Hypogeum"? What does each
one mean and why were they picked out to be the standing out tracks?
“With Me” is a song that transfers well to the intimacy of a live performance or first meeting, and it’s one of our favorites. In the creation of it, the vocals were made very fluid and haunting, reaching out to connect to a potential victim, and it’s an unusual piece in the scheme of things, which made us chose it as our first live studio piece to share.
We knew that it wouldn’t be hard to conceptualize it for visual media with whatever budget we had. The song can be seen as romantic or twisted, a longing or a warning, a reality or dream shared. There’s much more to it, but like with most of our songs, we can always get more in-depth into explaining them with a focused piece. “Hypogeum” was chosen because it was a different energy from the previous video/song, and again, another song that we felt we could translate to visual media smoothly.
The song is about people and messages hidden underground in a sense, communication flowing inconsistently and without clear source, often altered for power or used as a shield to hide behind. It tells people that true power and happiness is in the revelation of truth, and that fears are often insubstantial, hindering, or crippling. There’s a lot of recording and production work that goes into composing the new instrumental versions and vocals for these live studio versions before we even make a set, figure out costumes, and shoot. Doing the lyrical video for “Perpetual Memory” didn’t require that as much, being that a new musical version wasn’t created, but a lot of work went into getting homemade film captures, visual references, and editing. One by one, we aim to put visuals to all or most of our sound pieces.
13. Do you see yourselves on releasing another double dose of a release with the regular version of songs and the instrumental versions of songs for future releases?
People responded to it positively, so we’ll definitely consider it.
14. Are you in the process of writing any new material for a follow-up release to "A Color for Fiction"?
We are currently in the demo stages of new material. No release date is set yet.
15. What's your take on "A Color for Fiction" as a whole?
Our album song’s have one or more intricate and powerful stories incorporated, all nested within, or reflecting, the themes we focus on. Overall, it could be seen as one big audible journal or speech, though it’s meant to carry as much truth and hope as it does records of the past. It’s meant to be a productive tool kit for our audience as well.
16. Is it important for you to paint visual pictures with the songs?
If a song doesn’t endeavor to inspire a mental visual, it may lose an important tool to expressing relevance to its audience. It’s not required though, and often times, music is made just to inspire an emotion and not a mental visual. One usually comes with the other though, whether or not lyrics are present. What the visual is can be created by the artists or the audience, and we’re open to hearing interpretations beyond our own, and beyond what we originally laid out. However, what we’re able to do visually in a physical manner, with regards to expressing our own initial thoughts within a piece, comes down to our budget. If the audience sees more from what we’re able to present, that’s not
necessarily a bad thing and we always invite them to ask us questions.
17. What would be the cinematic equivalent of "A Color for Fiction"?
We don’t focus on one media piece in particular for the overall album, but you can find nods in our work to aspects of movies, games, music, and books we like. It’s possible there’s a desire for the band or album to create its own unique cinematic equivalent in the future.18. What's your favorite song on the album right now?
Kaia: All Souls Day.
Adrianne: I haven’t decided. I love to sing With Me. All Souls Day is the most fun to do. I’m very attached in a sickly, sad way to Sirens Call. I sometimes cry from my heart while singing Protocol. There’s a scream inside my chest with every song. They’re all important.
19. What are your expectations for the CD?
We plan to keep our media in digital format to make distribution easier to do, receive, and afford. In the future, we might do a small run of CD's or a special media project on disc, but we’d likely offer those at our live performances only.
20. Do you play live as well? Describe your live performance for those who have never seen
you live?
We can, though we haven’t yet with this band. Our live studio music videos are the closest we’ve gotten so far, and those are helping us prepare by letting us experiment with equipment and presentation. We’re planning on adding more visual elements to a live show of course, likely additional musicians and performers, more characterization, as well as more tech. Both of us have a lot of experience performing live with previous projects, so we know what goes into a show.
21. What are your current show/tour plans, if any?
We’re getting an idea of where our fans are located and where they can travel to. We don’t want to go where they aren’t, so planning the tour to be efficient and relevant is important and thus it takes time. As to when we would perform live, that will depend on available funding and getting the info we need in order to make a schedule. Hopefully, it won’t take more than a year to do so. We’re creating more content and music to grow our project and fan base our fans help in our promotion and funding majorly.
22. What does the next year hold for you and your band?
Lots of recording, making videos, and harvesting souls. Baking cupcakes, eating spicy taquitos, and consuming lots of lychee jelly cups.
23. Any final words for our readers?
We have t-shirts and more media content coming up as requested by our fans. We can never say thank you enough. We are incredibly grateful for the support we’ve received and we’ll endeavor to continue entertaining and sharing with our fans.
Abbath Releases New Song
Immortal's former frontman Abbath will be releasing his own solo album come 2016 via Season Of Mist Records. He has gone on to release a new song off it called "Fenrir Hunts". Check it out HERE.
Asking Alexandria Releases Video for "I Won't Give In"
Asking Alexandria have released a new video for their recent single and new song "I Won't Give In" that features their new frontman Denis Shaforostov who is formerly of Make Me Famous. Check it out HERE.
Madame Mayhem Knows of a Monster it's called Life
Manhattan-born singer-songwriter, Madame Mayhem, is a true rocker with an eclectic style in every aspect of life. With her ‘in your face’ attitude, Mayhem is definitely the right word to describe this extreme artist. She in fact took some time to discuss her newest album and future plans.
1. Introduce yourself, tell me what you do as Madame Mayhem?
Madame Mayhem: I’m Madame Mayhem. I am a singer-songwriter, musician, and performer.
2. Tell us about your thoughts on your local music scene?
Madame Mayhem: Rock, Hard Rock and Metal is a great scene! Performers and fans are all dedicated to each other and it really feels like a fun dysfunctional family.
3. What type of artist are you?
Madame Mayhem: A hardworking one. My music is my life, and I think I will always have this intense drive to have my music career be my main focus.
4. Who or what inspired you to become an artist?
Madame Mayhem: I was just born with the inspiration to become an artist. It truly is my passion, and has been since as long as I can remember. I was always singing and dancing around the house. My parents were cool enough to enroll me in vocal lessons, dance classes, acting workshops, and accompanied me on auditions when I was starting out because, I was too young to go on my own. I am so thankful for my family because they never stopped me from pursuing my crazy dreams! And though they are not in the entertainment business themselves, and only want whats best for me, they still continue to be my biggest supporters.
5. Who is exactly Madame Mayhem? Would you say that she is you or just a character you portray?
Madame Mayhem: I am Madame Mayhem. It is not a “character” or an “act”. My parents started calling me Madame Mayhem a few years ago because whether I caused it or not, “mayhem” and chaos , whether good or bad, seems to always follow me. The name just stuck, and I decided to go by the name ever since.
6. What artists or bands have influenced you and your sound?
Madame Mayhem: I think my sound is distinctively my own, being a classically trained singer and having a love for heavy music. My mom used to play grunge music in the car when she got tired of the baby music tapes, and as I got older, my taste in music got heavier and heavier. I also have an eclectic taste in music, and try to keep an open mind for inspiration. No matter what the genre good music is good music.
7. What lyrical theme do you use in your music? What message do you want to send?
Madame Mayhem: Each song on the record tells a different story. I hope that listeners can relate to one or all of the songs on the record, and hopefully it can mean something to them the same way writing them meant so much to me.8. What's your take on "Now You Know" as a whole?
Madame Mayhem: I am really proud of this album. I was able to take creative control, and really express myself, with the help of my incredible co-writers Billy Sheehan and Corey Lowery. It is really an introduction: “Now You Know” who Madame Mayhem is. it’s only just begun and I am not going anywhere.
9. What's the story behind the song and video for "Monster"? Why was it picked out as a single/video? Will we be seeing more videos/singles accompanying it?
Madame Mayhem: I think the song “Monster” is a good first taste of what the album is about. I wrote this song with Corey Lowery during our first writing sessions together. It was important to make the music and the lyrics as raw and as real as possible, while embracing who I am as an artist and as a person. You can check out the video on my official YouTube page Youtube.com/MadameMayhemOfficial . It was so fun to film with the guys at Industrialism films, and I hope everyone has just as much fun watching it! Stay tuned because more IS coming!
10. What's your favorite song on the album right now?
Madame Mayhem: All of them! Each song is unique, which I think is important in a full length album.
11. Is it important for you to paint visual pictures with the songs on this album?
Madame Mayhem: I think it is important to make great, hard hitting music, with quality vocals and instrumentation; Real songs that comes from your soul, so that when people listen to the album, they can paint their own visual pictures and interpret the songs in their own way.
12. What would be the cinematic equivalent of "Now You Know"?
Madame Mayhem: That movie has yet to be written.
13. What are your plans for upcoming shows and touring?
Madame Mayhem: The Madame Mayhem team is currently planning an upcoming tour. In the meantime:
October 16th –(Album release date) In-store signing/acoustic performance @ VINTAGE VINYL in Fords, NJ
October 17th - Headlining performance @ DINGBATZ in Clifton, NJ. Tick link is http://www.dingbatznj.com/pages/events.php
You can keep up with where I will be as more shows are announced by checking out www.MadameMayhem.com and subscribing to the mailing list for updates. You can also track me on Bandsintown.com/MadameMayhem.
14. How has Social Networking (Facebook,Twitter, etc.) impacted you as an artist?Madame Mayhem: I love social media because it lets me connect to my fans, which is very important to me. It also helps me reach people that may not have discovered my music if it wasn’t for social networking. But I don’t like how at times it can seem as if the number of likes, follows, or views overshadow the quality of the music and the talent of an artist.
15. What can the fans expect to see from you in the future?
Madame Mayhem: I am always growing as an artist. I would love fans to see me perform live! The stage has always been where I feel most at home and I love bringing songs to life on stage! I am also always writing new music. I am ready let the mayhem continue… for a long time.
16. Anything else you would like to add or want to say?
Madame Mayhem: My new album “Now You Know” is out in the USA and Canada on October 16th! (10/16/15). You can preorder a copy now on Amazon:
http://www.amazon.com/Now-You-Know-Madame-Mayhem/dp/B0144R8PSS/ref=sr_1_fkmr0_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1442360122&sr=8-2-fkmr0&keywords=%22Madame+Mayhem+Now+You+Know%22
Also keep up with the mayhem;
www.MadameMayhem.com
www.facebook.com/MadameMayhem
www.Twitter.com/MayhemOfficial
www.Instagram.com/MadameMayhem
www.Youtube.com/MadameMayhemOfficial
www.Pinterest.com/MadameMayhem
http://madamemayhem.tumblr.com
Whitechapel Announces Headlining Tour
Tennessee-based metal legion, WHITECHAPEL, will return to the road this November on a near three-week headlining tour with Australia's Psycroptic and new Metal Blade label mates, Culture Killer. The trek will be visiting cities throughout the Midwest and East Coast, including locales the band has yet to level.
Guitarist Alex Wade comments: "We are excited to announce a short, intimate headlining run to finish out the year and the Our Endless War album cycle before we head into the studio in January to record our sixth studio album. Joining us will be our tech death Aussie friends in Pyscroptic, and a young new addition to the Metal Blade family, Culture Killer, who is a devastating new breed of heavy music. We look forward to seeing all of our fans at these shows and can't wait to get out there. Tickets will go on sale at whitechapelband.com on Friday. These venues will pack out fast so be sure to get yours in advance!"
TOUR DATES:
11/02/2015 The Ritz - Warren, MI
11/03/2015 Music Factory - Battle Creek, MI
11/04/2015 Q & Z Expo Center - Ringle, WI
11/05/2015 Vintage Villains - Danville, IL
11/06/2015 Mad Frog - Cincinnati, OH
11/07/2015 Cafe 611 - Frederick, MD
11/08/2015 Crocodile Rock - Allentown, PA
11/09/2015 Brighton Music Hall - Boston, MA
11/11/2015 Masquerade - Atlanta, GA
11/12/2015 State Theater - St Petersburg, FL
11/13/2015 Back Booth - Orlando, FL
11/14/2015 Underbelly - Jacksonville, FL
11/16/2015 Scout Bar - Houston, TX
11/17/2015 Sofie's Saloon - McAllen, TX
11/18/2015 Dirty Dog - Austin, TX
11/19/2015 Tomcats - Ft. Worth, TX
11/20/2015 The Syndicate Lounge - Birmingham, AL
11/21/2015 The End - Nashville, TN
Valleys Announce "The Netflix & Chill Tour" With Revision, Revised
North Carolina metalcore band, Valleys, have announced a co-headline U.S. tour with Revision, Revised called "The Netflix & Chill Tour" sponsored by Digital Tour Bus. The two week long tour will start on October 10th in South Point, Ohio and will proceed covering parts of the east coast ending in Reading, Pennsylvania, October 22nd. Check the dates below for a city near you.
"We are beyond excited to be touring with our friends in Revision, Revised. Come on out to a show and support the underground scene." - Rj Riggle, guitarist for Valleys.
TOUR DATES:
10/9 – South Point, OH @ South Pt. Comm. Center
10/10 – Kittanning, PA @ Club Radioactive
10/11 – Alexandria, VA @ House Show
10/12 – Chesapeake, VA @ RiffHouse Pub
10/13 – Fayetteville, NC @ Drunk Horse Pub
10/14 – Atlanta, GA @ TBA
10/16 – Melbourne, FL @ The Boondocks
10/17 – Charleston, SC @ House Show
10/18 – Greenville, NC @ Players Retreat
10/19 – Greensboro, NC @ Greene St. Club
10/22 – Reading, PA @ Reverb
The Casket Creatures's Take Time to Talk About New Material
Horror punk rockers The Casket Creatures have been doing their own thing for a while. They have been busy as of late, working upon their new album, with further plans to perform some shows, tour, and so much more, that the band got together to discuss those matters!
1. So what can you tell me about this new album?
Ryan: I can tell you that it is going to be heavier, darker and more extreme than anything we’ve put out. It also still has the catchy hooks and is a lot of fun, but it is a whole new monster!
2. What title did you decide to go with it and is there a meaning behind it?
Derek: It is top secret right now!
3. Is this album going to be a concept release?
Ryan: Somewhat of a concept album. There are going to be multiple stories but with a general theme that’s going to tie them together that will be revealed when you hear the album!
4. Where are you in the process of the new album?
Derek: We have completed all the pre-production for the new album! We are just waiting to go into the studio to get it recorded.
5. Who do you plan to have producing the album?
Ryan: We are looking at James Nation, who produced our “She Screams” EP and mixed our “Sex, Blood and Rock N Roll” CD.
6. Where are you recording the album?
Ryan: Looking like the same place we recorded our last EP which is Snake Mountain Studios in north Georgia!
7. Did the band have any definitive goals they were shooting for before the recording process began for this album?
Ryan: We are always looking to reinvent ourselves and make a difference in each album. It still sounds like The Casket Creatures, but it’s an evolution of the band.
Derek: I concur! I think with the last EP we had great songs as a whole so we expanded on the song writing for the new stuff and I think it will show once you hear the new tunes.
8. Are you using any new instrumentation you've never used in the recording process before?
Ryan: There is some piano dwelling on the new stuff here and there, but that is about it.
9. When did you start writing for this album? How was the songwriting process different/similar to previous releases?
Derek: The first song that we wrote for the new CD we did immediately after we released the EP. So the process starts very quickly!
Ryan: Pretty much after one album comes out we start on the next one.
Derek: We usually go with the same process when writing songs which consists of Ryan and I locking ourselves in a room with PBR and Ouija Boards and consulting the dark forces. Then we come out with an album!
Ryan: We do consult with the other members to get their ideas and input so we can make the best songs we can. We aren’t complete assholes!
10. Did you feel any pressure to do this follow-up?
Derek: We actually did because we all feel like “She Screams” is the best thing we’ve put out…ever. We stepped up many levels on that release and I think that’s why it was only 6 songs! So going into the mindset of writing new material we were like “How do we top this?” But now after hearing all the new stuff laid out I think it will surpass that EP.
11. You released the first song off this album, turning it into a video, the song being "The Final Night" can you discuss this song and how it came about?
Ryan: “The Final Night” is the last song to be released off our last EP “She Screams”. That’s a song we feel didn’t get enough love when the EP was released and maybe a lot of people didn’t get to hear it if they don’t have the album. So we wanted to get it out there and do a video for it. It’s our last “hoorah” for “She Screams”.
Derek: Aaron Romero is the guy who put all that together and we can’t thank him enough because it looks like it was a bitch!
12. How do you think the vibe in the studio will go?
Derek: We are going to kill each other.
13. When can we expect the new album to be released?
Ryan: We are hoping for a release towards the end of this year or early next year!
14. Your band's name can be seen in different ways, I've seen it as The Casket Creatures and without "the" and it being Casket Creatures. Which is the right way to call your band? What does the name refer too?
Derek: People do what they do! Whenever I mention the band I always say “The” Casket Creatures.
Ryan: The name was something cool that was thought up and it stuck so we went with it!
15. Can I get a backstory on the band/ band biography?
Ryan: The band started with us wanting to do something horror themed. We started out just doing it on the weekends then it turned into Holy shit this is way more fun than any serious project we were doing, so let’s make our horror project our serious project and The Casket Creatures were formed!16. What bands have influenced your band and its sound?
Ryan: We have a ton of influences all over the place from Alice Cooper, Iron Maiden, Misfits, etc.We try to incorporate all the stuff we are into, into our music but also have our own sound.
Derek: I have always thought we fit in more with the European horror bands (The Other, The Crimson Ghosts, etc) because they are way heavier and I felt we have always had a heavier edge than the U.S. horror punk bands, so we definitely take inspiration and influence from them!
17. What lyrical theme do you guys use in your music? What message do you want to send?
Ryan: We don’t really have a message. We like to get drunk, sing about monsters and watch horror movies! We have a lot of fun doing it so if there is a message it’s just Have fun, drink and watch horror movies!
18. What made you guys decide to form a band?
Ryan: We were are all musicians separately with other projects, we all love horror movies, we love horror punk/rock, so once we met up it was just natural to start a band!
19. What can the fans expect to see from you in the future?
Ryan: Things are changing for sure. There’s a new attitude, new look, new sound, but it’s still us. We are excited for what is to come!
Derek: We are re-vamping our set list, we are going to be adding more theatrics and production to our stage show this fall. I feel like we have always been a strong live band, but we want to make the show more of a show in a way. Lots of cool ideas, don’t miss us this fall!
20. Is that your final answer?
Ryan: Yes.
Derek: No.
Ryan: No.
Derek: Yes.
My Little Pony Joins Integrity Toys To Release the I Heart My Little Pony Fan Dolls
Integrity Toys, Inc., under license from Hasbro, Inc., is thrilled to announce the "heart MY LITTLE PONY" fashion figure collection, a high end collectible series inspired by and made to honor the fans of the MY LITTLE PONY brand.
This special-edition collection that is guaranteed to be "at least 20% cooler" will include several fashion dolls and figures inspired by both male MY LITTLE PONY brand enthusiasts (often known in popular culture as "bronies") and female enthusiasts (often known as "pegasisters").
"The MY LITTLE PONY brand has the most amazing community of fans, based around the positive messaging showcased on the My Little Pony Friendship is Magic animated series" said Alain Tremblay, marketing director of Integrity Toys, Inc. "We cannot wait to showcase and honor their fandom through this unique and trendy series of collectible 12-inch figures, decked out in MY LITTLE PONY branded gear and more". Vaughn Sawyers, head designer for Integrity Toys added, "As MY LITTLE PONY fans are as firmly entrenched themselves in popular culture as the brand itself, and with fans on our own design team, we felt that now was the perfect time for a collection like this."
This is not the first time Integrity Toys has teamed up with Hasbro, Inc. Integrity also has been producing JEM AND THE HOLOGRAMS collectible dolls under license from Hasbro, Inc. for the past few years.The heart MY LITTLE PONY figures, which will be done in 1:6 scale (approximately 12 inches tall) are set to be released approximately in the fourth quarter of 2015 and more details about their pricing and where to purchase them will be available closer to the release date.
In the meantime, Integrity Toys has released two prototype sketches, including one male figure and one female figure, and is taking an email sign-up notification list at its website at www.integritytoys.com/mlp. Interested consumers and media can sign up for this email list to get updates about the line and its upcoming release.
Ghost Announces "Black To The Future" Tour
Ghost's Black To The Future Tour kicks off tonight at The Fillmore in Silver Spring, MD. The band will tour North America through November 1, before embarking on the European leg of their tour. A full list of dates can be found below.
TOUR DATES:
September 22 - The Fillmore - Silver Spring, MD
September 23 - Newport Music Hall - Columbus, OH
September 25 - Stage AE - Pittsburgh, PA
September 27 - Terminal 5 - New York, NY
September 28 - House of Blues - Boston, MA
September 29 - Union Transfer - Philadelphia, PA*
September 30 - Metropolis - Montreal, QC
October 1 - Sound Academy - Toronto, ON
October 2 - The Majestic Theater - Detroit, MI
October 3 - The Riviera - Chicago, IL
October 5 - Liberty Hall - Lawrence, KS
October 6 - The Pageant - St. Louis, MO
October 8 - The Civic Auditorium - New Orleans, LA
October 9 - The Tabernacle - Atlanta, GA
October 10 - Beacham Theatre - Orlando, FL
October 11 - The Ritz - Tampa, FL
October 13 - House of Blues - Dallas, TX
October 14 - Aztec Theater - San Antonio, TX
October 16 - Sunshine Theater - Albuquerque, NM
October 17 - Sumitt Music Hall - Denver, CO
October 19 - Knitting Factory - Boise, ID
October 20 - El Corazon - Seattle, WA
October 21 - Roseland Theatre - Portland, OR
October 23 - Warfield - San Francisco, CA
October 24 - Beach Goth Party - Santa Ana, CA
October 26 - The Mayan Theater - Los Angeles, CA
October 27 - Knitting Factory - Reno, NV
October 28 - The Depot - Salt Lake City, UT
October 30 - Northside Park Theater - San Diego, CA
October 31 - House of Blues - Las Vegas, NV
November 1 - Monster Mash Music Fest- Phoenix, AZ
*Rescheduled
HAVOK Announces New Bassist and New Tour
Denver, Colorado thrash maniacs HAVOK have announced the addition of bassist Nick Schendzielos (Job For A Cowboy, Cephalic Carnage) after parting ways with Mike Leon. Leon, who spent two years with HAVOK and appeared on the band's 2013 release.
Unnatural Selection, will be joining metal icons SOULFLY on their upcoming North American tour. HAVOK vocalist/guitarist David Sanchez comments on Mike's departure, "Mike is an amazing musician and rock-solid performer! I would like to thank him for lending his talent to the band for two years. I will always love the music he writes and appreciate his abilities."
The newly indoctrinated Schendzielos will record bass on HAVOK's upcoming fourth studio album and take part in the band's upcoming North American headlining tour. The bassist said this about joining the band, "I'm incredibly excited to be working with Havok. Been friends with the dudes forever, always have a blast with 'em, and now I get to thrash with 'em! I have big shoes to fill...Mike is a really, really solid player, but I think my playing style will mix in really well and fans will dig it. The new music is by far the coolest Havok I've ever heard. Can't wait to release it!"
"Nick's skills are documented, go check it out yourselves. He's a guy that's well respected amongst our peers and loved by his friends and band mates. It was an obvious choice to get him for the record and upcoming tour," said lead guitarist Reece Scruggs of his new bandmate.
With work on the new album, their first on Century Media Records, nearing completion, HAVOK is gearing up for a massive North American headlining tour. The month long trek will see HAVOK performing material off the as-of-yet-untitled album so fans will get an early preview of what promises to be the band's most intense effort to date. HAVOK will be joined by a rotating lineup of support acts, which include BLACK BREATH, WITCHAVEN, PSYCHOSOMATIC, BLACK FAST and EXTINCTION A.D. David Sanchez comments, "This tour is full of neck-wreckers and we're proud to have such heavy bands sharing the road with us. Every band on this tour absolutely kills live. For fans of real metal, this tour is not to be missed."
Atreyu's Dan Talks Touring Again, Setlist Difficulties and the Future
Atreyu tends to be one of those acts that everyone just knows, having been around for quite some time they managed to pull away from the scene to go on a hiatus. Each of its members expanding their musical reach with other projects. Now the time has come to have Atreyu back in the spotlight once more, with new shows, a new album their sixth in fact, entitled "Long Live" with plans on playing shows to pick up the pace all over again. Lead and rhythm guitarist/backing vocalist Dan Jacobs, discusses their current mini tour, with plans on some festival appearances, to possible live material and much more!
1. First of all, who are you, and what do you do in the
band?
Dan: My name is Dan Jacobs, and I play guitar.
2. Why did you want to go and do this mini tour instead of a
full- ledge tour?
Dan: Our past experiences with touring, we kind of well
prior to our hiatus, we were touring a little bit too much, and it burned us
out. So I think this approach since coming back, we wanted to ease our way into
everything, kind of do just little bits and pieces for now. That way, we can
have the people be more energetic and have ourselves not be so burnt out.
3. Since you have so many albums, does it keep getting more
difficult to put together a setlist?
Dan: Yea, yeah, when you first come out with your first
album, you just play with the songs you already have on it. Now it's cramming
every song from all of these albums, sometimes we almost forget to put certain
songs into the set. It's like oh crap we forgot to put one of these songs or
those songs off this album on there, so it does get difficult.
4. When you headline do you change things up and switch
songs from show to show?
Dan: Usually when we do headline, we do stick to the same
setlist, that way we can build up a routine, even when we don't headline, we
always try to have a setlist that flows and have everything nicely put
together.
5. A few of your albums have or will hit the 10 year mark,
will we be seeing an "Atreyu Night" where you will be playing those
said albums in full? What are your thoughts on bands and artists who do that
sort of thing?
Dan: We did that once, about last December where we played
our album "The Curse" in full, on the second night, since the first
night was sold out. We had only played that album in full only on the second
night. It will probably be the only time we will do something like that.
6. You guys have released EPs, albums, even a "Best
Of" compilation, but when will we be seeing a live album or DVD or both?
Have anything like that in the works or would want to work on?
Dan: I don't know. We have been doing a lot of filming
lately of all that we have been doing lately. Hopefully we can use all of what
we have been filming over the past year, into something, but nothing is
official as of yet but anything is possible.
7. Will we ever see or hear an acoustic release from you
guys or is that something you may not want to consider?
Dan: No that's not our jam.
8. You guys were all a part of other projects while Atreyu
was in hiatus mode. Will we ever see those acts and Atreyu come together for a
show or perhaps tour?
Dan: Probably not, no, possibly if it all lined up but we
try to keep everything separate.
9. Besides this tour, what does the next year hold for you
and your band?
Dan: We are doing Knotfest in Mexico, next year we may be
going to Europe and Australia, we aren't sure as of right now, with the timing
and offers coming in, just will be doing some festivals here and there, ya know
just a little this and that.
10. Do you have any last words for fans, family, and friends
out there?
Dan: If you haven't picked up our new album "Long
Live", please do. It's one of the best things we have ever put out, one of
the biggest and most bad ass record, if you're an Atreyu fan, especially of our
earlier stuff, this going to kick ya in the dick, treat it right, lay it down
all gentle like.