Irresistible Force

Jane's Addiction have released the debut music video for their upcoming album "The Great Escape Artist" (due in stores October 4 via Capitol Records):

Chickenfoot III

The album is titled III.  The release date is September 27th.  The label is eOne Music.

Super group Chickenfoot is taking the rock world by storm!  Their highly anticipated sophomore album will soon be hitting stores and a massive tour to follow.  For those of you unaware, Chickenfoot consists of:


Sammy Hagar – lead vocals, rhythm guitar
Joe Satriani – lead guitar, keyboards
Michael Anthony – bass guitar, backing vocals
Chad Smith – drums, percussion


Touring members:
Kenny Aronoff - drums, percussion (2011)

 


Due to the Red Hot Chili Peppers touring schedule and tenth album release, drummer Chad Smith has stepped down from Chickenfoot temporarily, replaced by Kenny Aronoff.  Chad had the chance to shed some light on his decision to continue his duties with RHCP:


MusicRadar.com:
"What about Chickenfoot? After you do the Chili Peppers, are you going to do another record?"


Smith:
"Absolutely! We’re having so much fun and it’s gone so well – there’s no reason not to continue with Chickenfoot. That’s something I want to make very clear: Chickenfoot isn’t a one-off thing for any of us. We’re a band. I would imagine during my time with the Peppers that Joe will probably do another solo record, and maybe Sammy and Mike will do something on their own. But as soon as I’m done with the Chili Peppers, I’m diving right back into Chickenfoot. We’re going to outdo this record, too. That’s the plan and I’m sticking to it."


As for new material, Chickenfoot have just released their first music video from the latest release:

('Big Foot')

Birthday for the King of Pop

No blurb required on this note.  A sad but happy birthday goes out to one of the greatest musicians of our era:

I thought a video compilation would be in order to celebrate his birthday:

(Beat It)

(Remember The Time)

(Thriller)

(The Way You Make Me Feel)

(Black or White)

(You Rock My World)

(Smooth Criminal)

(Billie Jean)

Insomnium

Found these guys while stumbling across the world wide web and was impressive enough for me to make a quick note on AFGM.  Hailing from Joensuu, Finland, these guys are wasting no time completing their latest record "One of Sorrow", due out October 18 (North America) via Century Media Records.  Insomnium is also preparing for their headline European Tour.

In the meantime, while waiting for their new album to drop, here is a sample of their older material.  Down with the Sun is taken from their album "Across The Dark".  Cheers!

Monstro

Atlanta has a new psychedelic movement happening with the emerging group Monstro.  Comprised of members from former projects such as Bloodsimple, Still Rain and Danzig,  these guys have been eagerly waiting the release of the debut album scheduled for release September 6, 2011 via Vagrant Records.

Track listing for the albums is as follows:

1. Fantasma

2. Anchors Up!

3. Concertina

4. Stallone

5. Olympia

6. Solar

7. Elizabeth

8. Helios

9. Apollo

10. April

Monstro consists of:

Bevan Davies – drums

Kyle Sanders – bass, vocals

Juan Montoya – guitar

Charlie Suarez – guitar, vocals

(Monstro - Live)

Bassist Kyle Sanders shed some light on the record and the process behind it:

“We didn’t waste a moment (in the studio), and it worked like a band is supposed to work.  The album gets spacey, dreamy, and tripped-out, and then it gets straight-up heavy. I want it to be some kind of escape for people and for them to walk away from it happy and feeling completed in some way.”

The album was produced and followed closely by Alice In Chains' lead vocalist William Duvall (seen below):

Monstro will be on tour this fall, supporting the Kyuss Lives Tour:

09/16 – Toronto, ON @ Sound Academy

09/17 – Kitchener, ON @ Elements

09/18 – Montreal, QC @ Metropolis

09/20 – Boston, MA @ Palladium

09/21 – Philadelphia, PA @ Trocadero

09/23 – New York, NY @ Terminal 5

09/24 – Washington, DC @ 9:30 Club

09/25 – Asheville, NC @ Orange Peel

09/26 – Atlanta, GA @ Masquerade

09/28 – New Orleans, LA @ House of Blues

09/29 – Houston, TX @ Warehouse Live

10/01 – Austin, TX @ Stubb’s

10/02 – Dallas, TX @ Southside Music Hall

10/04 – Denver, CO @ Summit

10/05 – Santa Fe, NM @ Santa Fe Brewing Co. Patio

10/06 – Phoenix, AZ @ Marquee

10/07 – Las Vegas, NV @ House of Blues

10/08 – Pomona, CA @ Fox Theater

For GTA readers, the links for tickets to these shows can be found (linked) below

- Sound Academy
- Guelph Concert Theater

The Devil Wears Prada Announce The 'Dead Throne Tour'

The Devil Wears Prada has promptly announced the 'Dead Throne Tour: North America 2011' (the first North American leg of the band's 2011 - 2012 worldwide tour).  The tour is consisting, so far, 37-dates that kick off November 3rd in Milwaukee, WI and will cross U.S./Canada over 6 weeks. 

"Dead Throne Tour: North America 2011" will feature Whitechapel, Enter Shikari, and For Today on all dates.   Tickets go on sale this Friday morning, September 2. Log onto DeadThrone.com for ticket purchasing information. The "Dead Throne Tour: North America 2011" are as follows:

NOVEMBER

3         The Rave, Milwaukee, WI

6         House of Blues, Chicago, IL

7         Epic, Minneapolis, MN

8         The Garrick, Winnipeg, MB CANADA

10       Edmonton Events Center, Edmonton, AB CANADA

11       MacEwan Ballroom, Calgary, AB CANADA

13       Rickshaw Theatre, Vancouver, BC CANADA

14       Showbox SoDo, Seattle, WA

15       Roseland Theatre, Portland, OR

17       Regency Ballroom, San Francisco, CA

18       The Catalyst, Santa Cruz, CA

19       SOMA, San Diego, CA

20       Club Nokia, Los Angeles, CA

21       Marquee Theatre, Tempe, AZ

23       Saltair, Magna, UT

25       Summit Music Hall, Denver, CO

26       Diamond Ballroom, Oklahoma City, OK

27       House of Blues, Dallas, TX

28       Backstage Live, San Antonio, TX

29       Warehouse Live Ballroom, Houston, TX

30       House of Blues, New Orleans, LA

DECEMBER

2         Ritz Ybor, Tampa, FL

3         Revolution, Ft. Lauderdale, FL

4         House of Blues, Orlando, FL

5         The Masquerade, Atlanta, GA

7         Amos' Southend, Charlotte, NC

8         The National, Richmond, VA

9         The Fillmore, Silver Spring, MD

10       Electric Factory, Philadelphia, PA

11       Starland Ballroom, Sayreville, NJ

13       Best Buy Theatre, New York, NY

14       The Palladium, Worcester, MA

15       Metropolis, Montreal, QC CANADA

16       Kool Haus, Toronto, ONT CANADA

17       Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak, MI

18       Bogart's, Cincinnati, OH

TDWP will be touring in support of their fourth album, a highly-anticipated 'Dead Throne' due in stores September 13, 2011 via Ferret Records and produced by Killswitch Engage's Adam Dutkiewicz.

"We aim to give listeners and fans something they can enjoy, but we'll also always make songs we personally stand behind.  We'd write differently if we were purely trying to sell albums, that's just not how it works for us. No compromises." -Mike Hranica (TDWP, vocals)

("1 Dead Throne")

As an FYI, TDWP was voted Band of the Year (2011) by the readers of Alternative Press, went on to appear on the covers of AltPress, Revolver, Outburn, HM, and AMP.

The Agonist Talk Upcoming Tour and New EP Release

Female-fronted melodic death metallers The Agonist are preparing to hit the road as part of the 'Pandemonium Over North America Tour' featuring Kamelot, Alestorm, and Blackguard . Unfortunately, Lead guitarist Danny Marino will be unable to make the trek.  Pascal "Paco" Jobin will be taking over lead guitar duties and guitarist Justin Deguire (ex-The Catalyst) will be on rhythm guitar.

The Escape EP (featuring two songs from THE AGONIST's upcoming full-length album) is going to be sold exclusively on the tour and online at CM Distro.  At this time, the only way to get a physical copy of this limited-edition EP is to catch the band on the 'Pandemonium Over North America Tour' or to order via CM Distro. The EP will also be available in a digital format after the tour.



The Agonist's new full-length album is penciled in for an early 2012 release via Century Media Records.





"It has the same sort of schizophrenic side that 'Lullabies' has, but it also has some other I guess what you would call classic influences. Like, there's some Pantera influence, there's some Radiohead influence. I mean, there's a lot of influences that we didn't really have before." -Alissa White-Gluz (via MetalConcerts.net)

Avenged Sevenfold Allows Fans To Choose Setlist

Avenged Sevenfold is set to headline the second annual Rockstar Uproar Festival tour, which kicks off on Friday, August 26th in Camden, New Jersey.  The Uproar festival will hit more than 25 cities. (finishing up on October 14 in Mountain View, California)

(M. Shadows, Courtesy of Popwreckoning.com)

"We had all the fans vote for a month straight on what songs they wanted to hear, and we're picking from the top 20 songs and we're mixing it up every night so no one knows what set they're gonna get any given night on the tour, you know, it's causing us a lot of work, meaning we've got to learn the songs, we've got to know them seamlessly, we've got to be able to have all of our production people know the songs as well and be able to make the show look like the songs belong together every night." -M. Shadows (via Pulse of the Radio)

Main stage will feature other major label rockers such as:
- Three Days Grace
- Seether
- Bullet For My Valentine
- Escape The Fate


Second stage lineup includes: 
- Sevendust (Not on Canadian dates), 
- Black Tide
- Art of Dying 
- Hell or High Water

You can find out more details about the tour and information by visiting the Rockstar Uproar website

The Human Abstract Announces New Singer

The Human Abstract have confirmed that lead vocalist Travis Richter has left the group.  No explanation as given in regards to why, but THA spent no time trying to fill the gap for their upcoming North American Tour, supporting Periphery.

THA also announced that lead vocalist Ryan Devlin from Corelia would be taking over vocal responsibilities for the upcoming tour.  Devlin came highly recommended from Periphery members Spenser Sortello (vocals) and Misha 'Bulb' Mansoor (guitars).

 (Corelia - Photo by Jeff Thomas)

In the meantime, I have composed a compilation of music videos THA made while Travis was on the roster.  Cheers and make sure to check them out on the upcoming "Frak The Gods Tour" with Periphery, Textures and The Contortionist. 

(Digital Veil)

(Patterns)

(Faust)

LULU

So rumors have been flying and critiques speculating what is going on in the Metallica camp.  All I can say is, quite the partnership Metallica has right now!

For those of you unaware, "Lou Reed is an American rock musician, songwriter, and photographer. He is best known as guitarist, vocalist, and principal songwriter of The Velvet Underground, and for his successful solo career, which spans several decades and crosses multiple genres." (Wikipedia).

 (Photo by Anton Corbijn)

Earlier this week, Metallica had announced their plans to release a record with the songwriting legend dubbed "LULU".  The album is set to be released October 31st, 2011 (Worldwide) and November 1st, 2011 (North America).  LULU has also begin to design their website, in preparation for this release, found here:

LouReedMetallica.com

  (Photo by Anton Corbijn)

  (Photo by Jeff Yeager)

So far, the only details revealed about the album is three song titles:
- Junior Dad (Track #2)- Mistress Dread (Track #4)- Pumping Blood (Track #5)

More information is being added daily to the website, enticing eager fans to return to the site for updates, as well as links to their Facebook and Twitter accounts.

(Photo by Jeff Yeager)

"A marriage made in heaven," Reed says in his first interview about the project (to Rolling Stone Magazine), in the studio lounge during a break. "I knew it from the first day we played together: 'Oh, man, this is perfection, right in front of me.' "


(Photo by Jeff Yeager)

The idea of this project stemmed from Reed and Metallica first playing together at the 25th Anniversary Rock & Roll Hall of Fame concerts in October, 2009.  The concept originally cam to record older versions of Reed's previous solo work.  But Reed (a week before entering Metallica's studio) convinced the boys to try a whole new project he had been working on.  Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich and lead vocalist James Hetfield remember the dicussion when being shown the material:

"Lars and I listened to the stuff, and it was like, 'Wow, this is very different.' It was scary at first, because the music was so open. But then I thought, 'This could go anywhere.' " - James Hetfield

(Photo by Jeff Yeager)

(Photo by Jeff Yeager)

No tour dates have been planned as of yet, but we all can't wait till the dates start popping up.  Keep your calendars marked for the 1st of November folks, them album will be flying off the shelf!

Tesseract Announces New Singer

It is a sad panda day for us in the metal world.  One band I have been particularly been paying close attention to the last few years is Tesseract.  Born out of the UK progressive scene, these boys have been touring nonstop with other progressive greats such as Devin Townsend Project, Periphery and newly popular Monuments.

(Daniel's last show with Tesseract in Melbourne, Australia)

Sadly, all good things must come to an end.  Daniel Tompkins, former vocalist, has announced his departure from this band to focus efforts in other music projects such as his solo effort Piano.  Daniel did happen to release some insight into his departure from his Facebook notes:

"Firstly I would like to apologise for keeping you all in the dark regarding my departure from TesseracT. Unfortunately it was a necessary silence and the decision when to announce the news was out of my control and more complicated than most people realise. Earlier today however TesseracT and 'Hold Tight! PR' released the news. I made the following statement:

(The full article can be read here)

My relationship with the rest of the guys hasn't changed and we continue to be great friends, which is very important to me and I hope in the future to work with the guys again in some capacity.  

Whilst it may be hard for some people to understand, there are many reasons for my departure. Personal circumstances and family life played a large role in the decision making process but it is no secret that I am a busy and ambitious vocalist and it's safe to say that I will be involved in some exciting music in the near future.  I would like to thank everyone for your continued support for both TesseracT and myself. It's been an emotional ride, travelling the world, making new friends, meeting some absolutely incredible people and playing some unbelievable shows that I will remember forever.

Lastly I'm very excited to hear what Elliot does with TesseracT, I honestly couldn't think of anyone better to do the job and I know he and TesseracT will have a successful future." - Daniel



Since Daniel's departure, Tesseract have quickly filled the vacant position with former Sky Eats Airplane vocalist Elliot Coleman.  A mobile phone video has surfaced with Elliot's first ever performance with Tesseract in Crauford Arms, Milton Keynes, August 20th, 2011.

Tesseract will still be hard at work in the studio nonetheless, following up to their vastly popular album "One", and finishing up their touring in Australia, as well as their upcoming US tour with Animals as Leaders and Between The Buried and Me.

Watching The Throne

A quick post for this.  Now I know a lot of you fellow rockers may not agree or don't even care, but my love of music stretches beyond the shredding guitar and I sometimes turn to the soul of the music.  Major collaborations with music industry heavyweights never go unnoticed.  That is why I focused a small piece of my blog to Jay-Z and Kanye West.  Love em or hate em, these guys set out to dominate this year and they have successfully done that with the release of "Watch The Throne".

Now I can agree, like most rappers, tend to talk about things such as wealth, women and fame.  Now I haven't been through ALL the lyrics in the album, but I'm sure some references are there.  I tend to look past these lyrics (being I am a singer myself) and listen to the beats, melodies and rhythm behind these songs.  The Throne won me over with the low bass tones in their opening track "No Church In The Wild" (feat. Frank Ocean)

All in all, I must say these guys have made a impact on me enough to potentially ruin my reputation as a metal head, but at the end of the day, music is music people.  These guys sold 25,000 copies in the first week (Canada alone) and are going to to be grossing millions of dollars in revenue from their upcoming North American Tour.  Here is a music video for you all you....enjoy. Cheers!

[No Church In The Wild (feat. Frank Ocean)]

Hugh Laurie - Let Them Talk

First and foremost, hope everyone is enjoying their morning.  Over the weekend, I was able to catch up on some of my less than distorted tunes an kick back with some blues/jazz with a cup of coffee.

While scanning through the top selling albums on the internet, I came across quite the interesting concept.  For those of you not aware, Hugh Laurie (actor, House MD) has been gaining quite the reputation not only as an actor, but as a talented musician as well.



He is a very diverse performer, ranging from singing, to sax, guitar, and also piano!  His debut album titled "Let Them Talk" was released on May 9, 2011 via Warner Bros Records.

“There is a musicality to words. They are instruments, in a way. They are notes, and there is a particular way of sounding a note where sometimes, like it or not, in this particular idiom, to sing a sort of defiantly English version is as jagged and musically wrong as playing a wrong note. You’d just be hitting the wrong note by saying ‘chance’ instead of ‘chair-nce’.” - Hugh Laurie (taken from Culture Magazine)



In this album, Laurie gives us a reason why he is featured on songs in his hit show House.  The track that instantly caught my attention was 'Battle of Jericho' (track #5).  The southern twang and the blues really became predominant in this track, which is what Laurie was trying to offer fans of the album.  Even though Laurie's voice could use a little touch up, the other instruments and compositions make up for the lack of vocal range.



Other tracks in the album feature performers such as Dr. John, Irma Thomas and Sir Tom Jones.  Overall, I enjoyed my Sunday morning/afternoon quite nicely with this album and hope that others will check out his work.  Be sure to check out his website (Hugh Laurie Blues.com) dedicated entirely to his music efforts and links to various sites such as Facebook, Twitter, etc...



Laurie also revealed he will be releasing a special edition of his debut album "Let Them Talk".

1. Saint James Infirmary
2. You Don t Know My Mind
3. Six Cold Feet
4. Buddy Bolden s Blues
5. Joshua Fit The Battle Of Jericho
6. After You ve Gone
7. Swanee River
8. The Whale Has Swallowed Me
9. John Henry
10. Police Dog Blues
11. Tipitina
12. Winin Boy Blues
13. They re Red Hot
14. Baby, Please Make A Change
15. Let Them Talk
16. Guess I'm A Fool
17. It Ain't Necessarily So
18. Lowdown, Worried and Blue

The special edition also includes a beautiful bound 44-page booklet with exclusive photos and the CD includes three bonus tracks.  Click here to purchase an online copy.

Music has been present in Hugh Laurie’s career in some form or another since the days of Fry & Laurie, even working its way into House, the American television series that turned him into an international star in the 2000s. Without House, Laurie would never have been granted the opportunity to record an album like 2011’s Let Them Talk, a full-blooded immersion into American blues via New Orleans, shepherded by acclaimed roots producer Joe Henry and featuring such Big Easy heavy-hitters as Allen Toussaint, Dr. John, and Irma Thomas. To his enormous credit, Laurie never sounds like a dilettante among this group; he holds his own, working his way into the marrow of the songs, playing credible piano throughout the record. Which isn’t to say that he quite makes this selection of standards his own, either. There are reworkings and reinterpretations, “Tipitina” in particular being turned on its head, but the problem with Let Them Talk isn’t the guts and blood of the music, or the slightly studious air Henry cultivates. No, the problem is how Laurie’s blues accent inevitably slides into affectations quite familiar from House. He can’t help it, that’s his American accent, but it’s disarming to have a number cooking along and all of a sudden Princeton Plainsboro’s favorite misanthrope has taken the lead. -All Music



So blues is played as jazz, jazz standards are played as blues, bluegrass is played as soul, and so on. 19th century standard Old Folks At Home is even re-invented as a Cajun / boogie-woogie stomp on Swanee River. Only Robert Johnson‘s They’re Red Hot is played wholly straight, a joint-jumping 72-second palate cleanser.


Aside from the impeccable musicianship, Laurie chooses collaborators judiciously, notably the New Orleans legends Dr John and Irma Thomas. The only truly puzzling guest artist is Tom Jones, whose chest-beating bulgy-veined shtick on Baby Please Make A Change runs wholly contrary to the slick, breezy style of the rest of the album. -Music OMH