Music News and New Music For May 30th, 2014

So of course, when running your own blog it can be tough to keep up with the s**tload of stuff that comes across our ears over a weekend!  Some good, some bad, some not even worth mentioning.  I guess that's how I use AFGM in general.  These articles that I go through everyday from various sites (Blabbermouth, CBC, National Post, AV Club, Exclaim, Music News, Rolling Stone, etc.) and sort of "filter" some of the nonsense news such as the latest fashion design, who's got beef with who and who ISN'T doing music...still.

These articles brought forth are for a few different reasons:

1. It is relevant music information that pertains to you as a reader, no matter the level of intent or the genre.

2. They are relevant to the music I would be currently listening to or a genre I have put some attention and focus on.

3. I am rather patriotic about my Canadian music, so that always comes as a first for me.  I enjoy music from all parts of the world respectively, but I still have to promote local if I can.  Canadian music rocks!

4. Because it's humorous and we can always use a good laugh.  Rarely will it be at someone's expense...but then again I am just the guy talking about it.  They're the ones causing the comments.

So in closing, I trust you all will not read EVERY single article posted here.  But I hope you find something of use here and keep the conversation going by forwarding it onto someone else.  Click on each article heading for redirection to the full article.  Cheers!

Therapeutic benefits of music being used to treat Alzheimer’s, addiction, and depression:

"Music therapy became a clinical profession in the 1940s, after doctors and nurses noticed that war veterans suffering emotional and physical trauma responded well to musicians who gave volunteer performances in hospitals. Nevertheless, the profession spent decades on the fringes of medical science, until the early 1990s when advances in neuro-imaging technologies confirmed that musical activities had profound effects on the brain.

Since then, researchers at the frontiers of music therapy have developed strong evidence that musical interventions can reduce chronic pain, help stroke patients regain speech, increase social engagement in children with autism and help patients with acquired brain injury or Parkinson’s disease improve their gait."


Sonic Boom to Merge Stores into New Toronto Location:

"We wanted be an early contributor to all the exciting changes happening on Spadina and jumped at this opportunity when we found the space.  It's as if it was made for a record store. Sonic Boom is going to be better than ever." -Jeffrey Barber


Apple Buys Beats for $3 Billion, Tapping Tastemakers to Regain Music Mojo:

"We think these guys have a very rare talent.  We love the subscription service that they built—we think it's the first subscription service that really got it right." -Tim Cook


Go camping and see great music at the same time:

"Fresh air, clear skies, miles away from the concrete jungle – is there a better way to see a music show?"

Hillside, River And Sky Music Festival, Wolfe Island Music Festival, Ottawa Bluesfest, Mudtown Music & Arts Festival, and more!


Twitter’s Trending 140 and Emerging Artists rate music minute by minute:

“Are record companies going to start handing out plaques based on you spent seven minutes on the chart on May 27?  No, but I don’t think that was our goal. For record companies, we want them to use this as promotion, and for fans we want this to be a game as well as a discovery engine. For artists, we want them to be able to spark real conversations with their fans...

Everybody’s trying to find new music. The Beatles’ Abbey Road might be the greatest album ever made, or Michael Jackson’s Thriller or Guns N’ Roses’ Appetite for Destruction, but you don’t want to listen to just that for the rest of your life. So we’re all trying to find what our next favourite song is going to be.

We want something people can engage with more frequently." -John Amato


Red Bull Thre3style Opens 2014 Applications for Reformatted DJ Competition:

"The annual DJ contest has been reformatted for a new and exciting 2014 edition. Where the comp once boasted eight qualifying rounds, it has since been compacted to two: one in the east (July 11 in Toronto) and one in the west (July 20 in Calgary). The competition will get fierce as DJs have just 15 minutes to spin an original mix that will be judged on originality, creativity and crowd engagement. 

The eight DJs in each regional qualifier will be shaved down to three for the nationals in Vancouver on July 26, where the winner will be chosen to represent Canada at August's world finals in Baku, Azerbaijan."


SLASH To Release 'World On Fire' Album In September:

"All I can tell you is that it's a really fucking great record. I'm very proud of it, but I don't want to get into, 'Oh, dude, it's epic,' or 'It's the heaviest thing ever.' It's very rock and roll, and, as always, it's very diverse in feel, and I'm just super, super proud of everything that we collectively put into making the thing. It's just going to be a bitchin' record.

The band has become so synergetic. I showed the music to the guys, and what they wrote flowed immediately. I was really amazed at how, from the second we started pre-production up 'till now, the record just flowed. It's rare that it happens like that." -Slash


Wolves At The Gate Release “Awaken” Acoustic Video:



Their new album “VxV” on will be out on June 10th through Solid State Records.


OLE Announces Worldwide Music Publishing Deal For RUSH Catalog:

"With the changing times in the music business, the responsibilities of a publisher have become much more complex. This deal will allow me to devote my time and energy to managing the live touring and recording aspects of RUSH's ongoing career." -Ray Danniels


'Dubstep,' 'Auto-Tune' Added to Merriam-Webster Dictionary:

"You know that word that really should be in the dictionary? Until it actually makes it in, here's where it goes. Welcome to our collection of user-submitted words."


Cairo cafes - A century of music and coffee:

"By the late 19th century and the arrival of lots of immigrants from the Levant to Egypt, and the opening of several cafes and theatres, music and performances slipped into the public area and flourished in numerous cafes, tiatros (theatres) and pubs." -Esmat El-Nemr


GODSMACK's SULLY ERNA Says Forthcoming '1000 Horsepower' Album:

This one just became a little bit more raw, a little bit more open.  The writing was a little freer. The production is really kind of raw and in your face, and the songs, man — I'm really, really excited about these songs. And I have to tell you honestly, I wasn't that excited about writing this record at first." -Erna


R.E.M.'s Mike Mills: Band Has 'Lot of Stuff in the Vaults':

"We have a lot of stuff in the vaults, a fair amount of stuff that's never been released.  We all want to do something with this stuff. We know we've got some really good things hanging around." -Mills


2014 Billboard Music Awards Spur 1.6 Million Song Download Sales:

"The 2014 Billboard Music Awards (BBMAs) spark major sales action, as the May 18 ABC broadcast's performances spurred 1.58 million song downloads in the week ending May 25 (according to Nielsen SoundScan).

The 20 songs performed during the show that were also available for purchase combined to sell 1.58 million."


Led Zeppelin's 'Stairway to Heaven' Targeted for Plagiarism:

“The clarity seems to be a present-day clarity, not at the time of infringement. I can’t explain it. It is fairly blatant, and note for note.  It would just be nice if the Led Zeppelin guys gave Randy a little nod. That would be lovely.” -Mark Andes


More Dates Added To Prong’s Fall North American Tour With Overkill:

09/10 West Hollywood, CA – The Viper Room
09/11 Las Vegas, NV – LVCS
09/12 Anaheim, CA – City National Grove Of Anaheim
09/13 Tempe, AZ – Club Red / Red Owl
09/14 Albuquerque, NM – Launch pad
09/15 Oklahoma City, OK – The Chameleon Room (feat. Overkill)
09/16 San Antonio, TX – Backstage Live
09/17 Houston, TX – Scout Bar
09/18 Dallas, TX – Trees (feat. Overkill)
09/19 Merriam, KS – Aftershock
09/20 Milwaukee, WI – Rave (feat. Overkill)
09/21 Joliet, IL – Mojoes (feat. Overkill)
09/22 Cleveland, OH – Agora Theatre & Ballroom (feat. Overkill)
09/23 Toronto, ON – The Opera House (feat. Overkill)
09/24 Quebec City, QC – Imperial de Quebec (feat. Overkill)
09/25 Philadelphia, PA – Trocadero Theatre (feat. Overkill)
09/26 Hartford, CT – Webster Theater (feat. Overkill)
09/27 Sayreville, NJ – Starland Ballroom (feat. Overkill)
09/28 Worcester, MA – Palladium
09/29 Albany, NY – Bogies
09/30 New York, NY – Gramercy Theatre
10/01 Springfield, VA – Empire
10/02 Pittsburgh, PA – Smiling Moose
10/03 Westland, MI – The Token Lounge
10/04 Kokomo, IN – Centerstage Bar & Grill
10/05 Louisville, KY – Diamond Pub & Billiards
10/07 Denver, CO – Bluebird Theater
10/09 Seattle, WA – El Corazon
10/10 Vancouver, BC – Rickshaw Theatre
10/11 Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theatre
10/12 Boise, ID – The Shredder
10/13 San Francisco, CA – Thee Parkside


Rare Velvet Underground Record Sold for $25k Headed Back to Auction:

"I watched the auction first just because it was so rare, I was curious to see how high the sale would go.  I bought it for $25,200, which, in my mind, was extremely undervalued for what the record was. I’m a big Velvet Underground fan, but to be honest, I’ve never been a big fan of this album. But the significance of the record for music is unmistakable. It’s obviously a piece of musical history, but I wouldn’t have purchased it then if I didn’t see its potential as a financial investment." -Anonymous Seller


How to Turn a Raspberry Pi Into a Private Streaming Music Service:

"If you're sick of dealing with carrying around a massive library of music on your smartphone and you don't want to pay for a service like Google Music, the Raspberry Pi can work as a music server. With a little work, you can make all your MP3s available to you regardless of where you are. Here's how to set it up."


Threat Signal Streaming New Song “Nostalgia”:




Skyharbor Hoping To Crowdfund Their Sophomore Album:

“Five months ago, we posted out here that we had some huge ambitions for our new album, but were hesitant to do something like this to achieve the required goals. However, the response from you guys was such an overwhelmingly positive one to go ahead and do it – so here it is – a Pledge campaign for our second album!

Our plan is to enlist the help of legendary Australian producer Forrester Savell for the mixing of this album, and the brilliant animator Jess Cope of Owl House Studios for a beautiful animated music video for a very special piece off the album. With your help, we will be able to realise these dreams and take this new album to an altogether new level from what we could ever hope to achieve by ourselves.

Beyond just raising funds, if we meet our targets we can show the world at large that we can stand on our own feet with the support of this incredible army of fans that we have on board with us, and that together we can create magic and achieve things that would have been deemed impossible a few years ago.

Every Pledge entitles you to get a download of a brand new song in 3 weeks from now before anyone else, a copy of the album when it’s finished, along with some very special and cool rewards – have a look.

With huge love, respect, and gratitude to each and every one of you that helps us on our journey.

Dan, Keshav, Devesh, Krishna and Anup“


Baroness Release “Sea Lungs” Live Video:



This was filmed by Jimmy Hubbard at the group's August 24th (2013) performance at The Casbah in San Diego, CA.


Metal doesn't soundtrack alienation – it's the music of prosperity:

"What we found is that that the number of heavy metal bands in a given country is associated with its wealth and affluence.  At the country-level, the number of heavy metal bands per capita is positively associated with economic output per capita (.71); level of creativity (.71) and entrepreneurship (.66); share of adults that hold college degrees (.68); as well as overall levels of human development (.79), well-being, and satisfaction with life (.60) …

Strange as it may seem, heavy metal springs not from the poisoned slag of alienation and despair but the loamy soil of post-industrial prosperity." -Richard Florida


QUEEN's BRIAN MAY Reveals Title For New Compilation Featuring Unreleased FREDDIE MERCURY Material:

We found a few more tracks with Freddie singing and all of us playing, and they are quite beautiful. So people will be hearing this work towards the end of the year. We are gonna put out an album which probably is called 'Queen Forever'. And it's a compilation, but it will have this new material which nobody in the world has ever heard. I think people will really enjoy it." -May


Bison (aka Bison BC) Announce ‘Canadian Desolation Tour’:

06/05 Nelson, BC – Kootenay Co-op Radio
06/06 Calgary, AB – Calgary Metal Fest
06/07 Equity, AB – Vantopia II
06/09 Regina, SK – The Exchange
06/10 Winnipeg, MB – The Windsor Hotel
06/12 London, ON – Call The Office
06/14 Toronto, ON – The Bovine
06/14 Hamilton, ON – The Casbah
06/16 Montreal, QC – Cabaret Playhouse
06/17 Ottawa, ON – Cafe Dekcuf
06/18 Kingston, ON – The Mansion
06/19 Halifax, NS – Michael’s Bar & Grill
06/20 Charlottetown, PEI – Fishbones
06/21 Saint Johns, NB – Pub Down Under
06/25 Winnipeg, MB – Frame Gallery
06/26 Saskatoon, SK – Rock Bottom
06/27 Edmonton, AB – Brixx


Amazon Prime Music Streaming Service Pegged For Summer Launch:

"The company will expand its Prime membership offerings by adding a stockpile of old and newish music for subscribers to stream on demand. The Prime music service, which is scheduled to launch this June or July, will not include recent releases but instead restrict its catalog to songs and albums that are 6 months old and older, five music industry sources familiar with the company’s plans confirmed to BuzzFeed."


The Safety Fire Release “Glass Crush” Video:



"Glass Crush" is taken from TSF's latest album "Mouth of Swords", which was released on September 2nd, 2013.


Nick Hipa Condemns Tim Lambesis For His Behavior, Labels Abandonment Claims As “Absolute Slander”:

“Last Friday I sat in a courtroom to support a friend. For the better part of a decade our professional and personal lives were woven in a relationship akin to family. As if family, the intention of my attendance was to publicly acknowledge the deep care and compassion I hold for this individual.

I watched as she searched for the strength to behold her transgressor for the first time in over a year since learning of his plot to have her murdered. I listened to her describe the love she once possessed for this man whom she adored, trusted, and depended on as her husband. I followed along as she detailed his abandonment of her and her children; a betrayal he failed to own but opted to blame on a lost sense of morality. This excuse became further excused by a defense that drug abuse had clouded his judgement.

She attempted to rebuild a life with three young children apart from a man who viewed them as disposable. The strength and resilience of these children—whom she saved from abandonment, poverty, and certain early death—were being further challenged by this domestic unravelling. Her desire was to give them love and stability, his response was to have her executed.

I observed his defense acknowledge the crime but defend it once again with the argument that steroids created mental instability. I followed as the prosecution reminded the court of an intricately calculated series of actions occurring over the course of many weeks. A scheme which involved using her children to secure gate codes for a would be assassin, and his plans for their further exploitation as an alibi; a plot indicative of careful premeditation over momentary mindlessness.

Read the rest here.


Every Time I Die Debut “Thirst” Video, Confirm New Album Details:

“From Parts Unknown” will be released in stores on July 1st through Epitaph Records.

1 – The Great Secret
2 – Pelican Of The Desert
3 – Decayin’ With The Boys
4 – Overstayer
5 – If There Is Room To Move, Things Move
6 – Moor
7 – Exometrium
8 – Thirst
9 – Old Light
10 – All Structures Are Unstable
11 – El Dorado
12 – Idiot




Gwar Hint At Possible Lineup For Future Live Shows:

“From the depths of the GWAR temple, beneath the frozen wasteland of Antarctica, mutant penguins swim towards America with news of GWAR‘s triumphant return to the stage as the headliner at this year’s GWAR B-Q. The 5th annual gathering of meat, metal and mayhem will take place on Saturday, August 16th at Hadad’s Lake (www.hadadslake.com) in Richmond, VA. Scientists work around the clock to translate the high-pitched chatter of the mutant penguin hoard as they approach landfall.

Conflicting reports indicate that GWAR‘s performance will be lead by none other than, original recipe Beefcake the Mighty aka Mike Bishop or quite possibly it was misinterpreted as the Colonel’s original chicken recipe. Who knows? Be there to find out for yourself as this historic metal event unfolds.

Other random Facebook posts and tweets confirm that original Scumdog members will descend on the GWAR B-Q to bear witness to a Viking funeral for Oderus Urungus, whose form will burn upon the SS Boat as he makes his journey back to Valhalla and beyond. This public memorial will be held from 4pm-7pm on Friday, August 15th at Hadad’s Lake (www.hadadslake.com) in Richmond, VA. and is open to even the lowliest of bohabs…”


Born Of Osiris Guitarist Streaming Debut EP From His DIMIR Project:




15 Canadian Music Festivals You Must See Before You Die:

Music induistry expert Eric Alper goes through a long list of festivals that you should make an attempt to see once in your life before it's too late!  Check out some of the shows such as World Pride 2014, Luminato, Hillside Festival, Osheaga, and many more!


Ill Nino Singer: “The New Album Will Absolutely Surprise A Lot Of People”:

“The new album will absolutely surprise a lot of people. I don’t think we’re the kind of band that releases the same album over and over. We always attempt to challenge ourselves musically in order to grow as artists and friends. The new album will have its surprises and all I will say is that it is very catchy and very groove-oriented. The lyrics I feel are by far the best lyrics I’ve ever written, and I really do give the guys in the band so much credit for writing such amazing songs for this new album. I hope that all of our fans will go out and pick up a copy on July 22nd.” -Machado


Sorry, Music Fans: The Aether Cone Speaker Can’t Read Your Mind:

"Then you choose a starter song to match your musical mood. You can do this by searching within Aether’s iOS app, choosing a music streaming service (Rdio and Stitcher were the only compatible ones at publication time), or selecting anything from your iTunes library. You can also tap the center button of the speaker and say the name of the song you want to hear out loud, and the Cone will select the tune from Rdio’s database (available for $10 a month).

This is where the magic allegedly happens. When you press the button, its border illuminates with a glowing LED light. If you say “Play ‘Last Night’ by the Strokes,” the light will start snaking around it in a circle as it retrieves your request. Within a couple of seconds it will play a song — hopefully, the one you asked for. 

And this is where the Cone is not so magical. The speaker’s voice recognition does well with short band names like “The Kinks” or tracks with relatively simple titles like “ ‘Heartbreaker’ by the Walkmen.” But longer, vowel-heavy phrases sometimes mess it up. When I tried to call up Lorde’s “Royals,” the Cone gave me A$AP Ferg’s “Lord” and “Lord Knows” by Drake, among a few others. And if you don’t subscribe to Rdio, you’re out of luck."


Sevendust Perform “Angel’s Son” & “Trust” Acoustically At ‘Guitar Center’:

iOS 8 changes we'd like to see: FaceTime, Maps, Messages, Music:

"Despite myriad third-party alternatives, many of us keep coming back to the built-in Music app for listening to our own tunes. Part of this is because many third-party music apps have problems with iTunes Match—or don’t let us access cloud-hosted music at all. Another is that we like being able to listen to iTunes Radio. Whatever the reason, we use the Music app daily, so we’d really like it to become a bit more polished."


AMON AMARTH And SABATON To Join Forces For North American Tour In The Fall:

Sep. 25 - Riverside, CA @ Riverside Municipal Auditorium
Sep. 26 - Santa Cruz, CA @ The Catalyst
Sep. 27 - Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades
Sep. 29 - Portland, OR @ Wonder Ballroom
Sep. 30 - Seattle, WA @ El Corazon
Oct. 01 - Vancouver, BC @ Commodore Ballroom
Oct. 03 - Edmonton, AB @ Union Hall
Oct. 04 - Calgary, AB @ Flames Central
Oct. 05 - Saskatoon, SK @ Louis' Pub
Oct. 06 - Winnipeg, MB @ The Garrick
Oct. 07 - Thunder Bay, ON @ Crocks
Oct. 10 - Toronto, ON @ The Sound Academy
Oct. 11 - Montreal, QC @ Metropolis
Oct. 12 - Quebec City, QC @ Imperial
Oct. 14 - Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
Oct. 15 - Hartford, CT @ Webster Theatre
Oct. 17 - Albany, NY @ Upstate Concert Hall
Oct. 18 - New York, NY @ Best Buy Theater (no SKELETONWITCH)
Oct. 19 - Columbus, OH @ Newport Music Hall
Oct. 21 - Chattanooga, TN @ Track 29
Oct. 22 - Knoxville, TN @ Bijou Theater
Oct. 24 - Charlotte, NC @ The Fillmore
Oct. 25 - Jacksonville, FL @ Freebird
Oct. 26 - Birmingham, AL @ Iron City
Oct. 27 - New Orleans, LA @ The Civic
Oct. 29 - St. Louis, MO @ The Pageant
Oct. 30 - Joliet, IL @ Mojoes
Oct. 31 - Detroit, MI @ Royal Oak
Nov. 01 - Milwaukee, WI @ The Rave
Nov. 02 - Des Moines, IA @ Wooly's
Nov. 04 - Lincoln, NE @ Bourbon Street
Nov. 05 - Oklahoma City, OK @ Diamond Ballroom
Nov. 07 - Austin, TX @ Fun Fun Fun Fest
Nov. 08 - El Paso, TX @ Tricky Falls
Nov. 09 - Tucson, AZ @ Club XS


Wearhaus’ Arc headphones aim to bring music back to its social origins:

"Arc headphones use Bluetooth technology to sync multiple users’ listening experiences, meaning one can easily share a song with a nearby friend, or broadcast their playlist to every other Arc user in the area. Wearhaus co-founders (and Berkeley dropouts) Nelson Zhang and Richie Zeng were originally inspired by the so-called “silent disco” fad that’s cropped up at music festivals within the past decade or so. The idea involves a crowd of people all tuned into the same song(s) via headphones and manually synced-up portable music players – everybody’s dancing their asses off in time together, without the shared soundtrack dominating the room."

Amberian Dawn - Magic Forest

Napalm Records and their distinctive logo at the starting of every music video has been keeping me interested and intrigued for some time now.  Discovering bands on their label such as Gloryhammer, Russkaja, and The Unguided has been exciting.  They seem to have a good roster filled with female fronted metal bands, along with operatic style vocal with heavy synthesizers.

Either way, it's good music and very hopeful that Napalm will continue to enlist quality bands such as the one I just checked out today.  Finland's Amberian Dawn have been on the scene since 2006 and have produced 5 albums in that time frame.  Now readying their sixth LP, Amerian Dawn released both an album preview and a brand new music video for the track "Magic Forest".



Great CGIs and great video production.  But more important, it's great sounding music for those epic nights where I (personally) would be sitting around my living room table, watching some epic medieval TV show like Game of Thrones and attempting to play some RISK!  C'mon, you all know deep down inside this peaked your interest.  I was even lame enough last time to take photos of us playing it.

Anyways, back to the music. Amberian Dawn's new album, "Magic Forest", will be released on July 8th, 2014.  It's of interest to know that this will be the first album from Amberian Dawn and their new vocalist Päivi "Capri" Virkkunen.  A great choice for a replacement is I do say so myself.  It seems as thought the band has been extremely happy with their choice when she joined the roster back in 2012.

"Finding Capri and getting her to join AD is like a big dream coming true to me. Capri shares the same taste in music as I and that's why is obvious that our new partnership is like 'match made in heaven'. She really makes my compositions to shine like never before and I'm so impressed about her every way. I'm as excited as back then, when I found our original singer Heidi." -Tuomas Seppälä

1. Cherish My Memory
2. Dance Of Life
3. Magic Forest
4. Agonizing Night
5. Warning
6. Son Of Rainbow
7. I'm Still Here
8. Memorial
9. Endless Silence
10. Green-Eyed

"Magic Forest is AD's first studio album with singer Capri. With her I've been able to fulfill some of my early dreams with musical styles and this new style is really big, fresh and naturally flowing. The new sound is more keyboard driven and the vocal lines have some strong 1980's influences.



But since this is AMBERIAN DAWN, there's, of course, also some fast songs included and some really serious guitar and keyboard shredding too. Mr. Jens Johansson of STRATOVARIUS once again contributed some really awesome playing in form of one keyboard solo. Thank you, Jens, you've been supporting us so many years now. This is also first time on AMBERIAN DAWN's history when we had an actual production team put together." -Tuomas Seppälä

Music Releases For May 27th, 2014

I found myself on a bit of a bias this week as there were tons of heavy albums being released.  While there are some top notch metal acts dropping albums this week, I decided to go through another look at the releases and see if there was anything else that caught my attention.  Good thing I did.  Not only was legendary Neil Young releasing his new "A Letter Home" album, but also found some other great artists such as Spanish Gold, 7 Seconds, and Tedashii.  Needless to say these guys will be on my playlist for the day today.  I have enough confidence in the other releases that they can wait till a more appropriate time (aka Friday) to start kicking up the jams.

(Neil Young - A Letter Home)

In these moments, and in skips and crackles and wobbles over the entire album, we’re reminded that this recording approach is—even at its most true and convincing—still a conceit, and that conceit has its limitations. That those limitations yield some great performances makes A Letter Home a solid entry in Young’s huge catalog, but also one of his more successful experiments. It’s a scuffed-up, messy ode to purity. It’s the kind of contradiction we might expect from artists like Neil Young and co-producer Jack White, though it still surprises. -Pop Matters

(Spanish Gold - South of Nowhere)

This is the most ambitious and promising record of the six, pooling the significant experiences of each member and channeling it into an immediately alluring sound that mixes Latin influences with muscular rock ’n’ roll and deep, infectious grooves. In a way, “South of Nowhere” epitomizes everything that has always been special about Austin music, in that it infuses deep-rooted traditional forms with a determination to create something fresh and new. -Statesman

(Tedashii - Below Paradise)

For casual listeners who want only trap beats and catchy hooks, Below Paradise is bound to disappoint with its serious nature and soul-bearing transparency. But for those who have/are experiencing heartbreak or loss (which is just about everyone) or just enjoy high-quality hip hop, there’s a lot to be enjoyed on what is probably Tedashii’s best album to date. Thematically similar to Stephen Curtis Chapman’s Beauty Will Rise, Below Paradise is an encouraging album from beginning to end. It might not be what some fans wanted to hear, but it was what Tedashii needed to create. -Indie Vision Music

(7 Seconds - Leave A Light On)

With this release 7 Seconds adds another chapter to a storied career that spans four decades. Nothing about “Leave A Light On” says to me that the band has any indication of slowing down anytime soon. Personally, it’s one of the best 7 Seconds albums of a half dozen releases. It just has everything that you could want in a 7 Seconds album, period. I tried to be critical of this release, but damn it…it just wasn’t happening. For punk fans new and old alike…make this album a priority listen. -Read Junk

The teenager in me is coming out though as I see a new release from Powerman 5000, and Bam Margera's Fuckface Unstoppable.  I'll keep my opinions reserved regarding the quality of material FFU but it's Bam nonetheless which makes it interesting.  Anyone who watched Jackass, CKY, or Viva La Bam would understand to at least sample it.

So the usual conclusion of a Tuesday rant folks.  Show some love and pick up a physical copy of the album(s) at your local record store or online retailer.  If digital is more your thing, then be sure to grab it from an authorized legal source.  Either way you do it, make sure the band sees the profit for their hard earned work.  Cheers!

(Powerman 5000 - Builders of the Future)

At the very least they seem more vital; on Builders of the Future Powerman 5000 are more energized than they've seemed in quite a long time. Frontman and founder Spider One hasn't seemed this enthusiastic for years and on tracks like opening number "Invade, Destroy, Repeat" and "Live It Up Before You're Dead" he's channeling the likes of Rob Zombie vocally, which is not a bad place to draw inspiration from. Nor is it a surprising inspiration; he's Zombie's younger brother. But while little brother is following in older brother's footsteps, it isn't just mindless aping. There's no doubt that they tread similar paths with their filmic influences and musical styles, but Spider varies up his sound a bit and this time around at least, it results in an LP that sounds like more than just a Rob Zombie tribute band. -411 Mania

(Bury Tomorrow - Runes)

Metalcore isn’t a genre known for frequently releasing ground-breaking albums, and in a way Runes is as typical as the genre comes. It’s a juggernaut of a record from start to finish; an adrenaline fuelled behemoth which rarely lets up, and although it may not see any new ground broken in terms of its label it does mark a progression for the English five piece, who’ve upped their game on their third full-length. Runes is a faster, heavier record that shows Bury Tomorrow push their own sound onto bigger and better things.  The record’s only major flaw is its repeated formula, but this aside Runes is exactly how the genre should sound. It’s angry and charged, yet also melodic and technical, and it’s a step up from The Union Of Crowns that sees the band cover already trampled ground but do so in emphatic fashion. -Craig Reviews Music


(Marty Friedman - Inferno)

The album features some of the heaviest, most progressive music of his career. The mostly instrumental tracks on “Inferno” all have a ferocity to them, as if Friedman is constantly feeling the need to prove himself.

While the album has some nods to the good old days (including a collaboration with former Cacophony partner Jason Becker), “Inferno” is an album very much in tune with the current heavy scene; Friedman’s guitar growls with a modern edge and the drums blaze through relentlessly. Guest vocals by Danko Jones, Revocation’s David Davidson and Children Of Bodom’s Alexi Laiho spice things up. -Japan Times

(Crowbar - Symmetry In Black)

The depths of Kirk Windstein’s moody lyrics aren’t the only pleasure of this band. Can Tommy Buckley hit hard on them drums? You betcha’. The whole band is a beast that moves slowly and decisively.

If you’ve heard Crowbar before you know the drill. If not then consider yourself forewarned to hear some of the most miserable ill-begotten heavy metal loaded with the coolest riffs you’ve ever heard in your life. It should be noted that not since 1995 have Crowbar released an album that metal-archives.com rated below 85%. Even Morgoth can’t handle that. -New Noise Magazine

(Sabaton - Heroes)

If I may draw a parallel between closely related stylistic acts and how things should be done and not be done in the music business today: with all the re-hashing, re-recording and money bilking that goes on in the mighty Manowar camp of late, it seems that the Swedes just slipped behind the lines Joey Demaio’s ripe pulsating ego and rendered him irrelevant. “The Ballad of Bull” is the newly improved “Heart of Steel.” So, while Manowar meanders around like a bunch of old crabs, Joakim and the boys will step in and do it ten times faster, ten times better, and with twice as much conviction. Come to think of it – there isn’t much the half-clad can do when they point arrows, swords and spears at a Polish 7TP 37mm anti-tank gun. “Heroes” is yet another in a near perfect arsenal of albums. With Sabaton, you have three options: you love them, hate them or ignore them. If you are a fan, then your "Heroes" have arrived. -Metal Underground

(Fuckface Unstoppable - FFU)

All in all, FuckFace Unstoppable are a clearly a cohesive unit, they play well together live, they've written and recorded some good songs together and have a lot of potential as a band. If they can focus less on covers and live content next time round, they could very well turn out a quality hard rock album. Right now, Bam is in that awkward place where people still know him for stunts and crazy antics and, while that may very well be a big part of his career, if he’s to pursue music, people need to look past his days as a JACKASS and allow him the chance to express himself through his band. -Gav The Gothic Chav

DVD/Blu-Ray:

(The Black Dahlia Murder - Fool 'Em All!)

It’s a great showcase for the newbies in Black Dahlia Murder, with the awesome Ryan Knight in full shredding flight, and drummer Alan Cassidy whom is a more than worthy replacement for their awesome former skinsman Shannon Lucas.

The highest compliment that can paid to Fool ‘Em All is that it isn’t prerequisite to be a Black Dahlia Murder fan to enjoy this DVD. It harkens back to the classic Pantera home videos, and the band and crew are easily likeable dudes, who simply want to party on and play top notch death metal. -About.com

Random Music Quotes: Welch

(*now I'm not much of a religious person myself and don't necessarily believe in prayers and whatnot, but I do agree that people deserve second chances to mend their wounds*)

“It was the year 2000. I was in a hotel room with a couple of band members, a few friends and some of the crew members from KoRn. We had an 8-ball or two of cocaine poured out on some tables. Everyone’s face was greasy and the late night coke conversations were in full effect — dramatic discussions about negative things in life, blown way out of proportion.

At the time, I was going through a nasty divorce. A few months prior, my wife had asked her new boyfriend and his friends to move into our home, and I was obviously full of anger, rage, sadness, bitterness and revenge. Honestly, I wished they were dead.

Everything in me did. I mean, I was a “big rock star.” Who were they to do this to me? The problem with everything that I was feeling inside was, I didn’t have it in me to hurt anyone, I had never been a very violent person. I had to drink and snort my way into being brave enough to even consider taking revengeful actions against my wife and the dude that I perceived was ruining my life at the time.

There was another factor that made me hesitant as well … fear. My wife’s boyfriend and his friends were a part of some form of white pride crowd. It’s no secret that those kinds of people are very well known for violence, with no regard for consequences. I feared if I acted out on the revenge that I was feeling, I could put me, my daughter and some of my close friends in serious danger.

But man … I had a plethora of emotions inside that I didn’t know how to deal with. All I could do to try and deal with all the hate and pain I was feeling was constant abuse of alcohol and cocaine to numb me, which led me to the conversations that night snorting coke in that hotel room.

One of our road crew that was in the hotel room with me that night had been involved in gangs in the past and at one point was very high up in the chain of command. Eyes bulging out of my sockets, high as a kite, I asked him, “What would it take to have my wife and her new boyfriend hurt really bad… or worse?”

Now, maybe this question was inspired by all the coke in my system, I don’t know? But at that moment, I can honestly say I wish I could have hired someone to kill my wife and her boyfriend. In my mind, my wife was worthless and I felt she deserved some major punishment for what she did to our daughter and me. I had already murdered them in my heart.

Looking back on it today, I am so thankful for what came out of that dude’s mouth. As he stared into my eyes with the most dead-serious look I’ve ever been given, he said,

“Head, if you cross that line, you can never go back.”

I had known what this guy had seen and been through. I’d heard all his stories. His face seemed to say it all; Violence wasn’t who I was and I needed to just go my own way and concentrate on my daughter.

I am so thankful that he didn’t pour gasoline on the fire of hate that was burning in me. What if he was selfish and tried to get a butt-load of money out of me and encouraged me to go through with it? What if he encouraged me to murder like the Tim Lambesis situation? What if, in my lowest, weakest moment, all messed up in the head on coke, I got led into agreeing on a down payment for a hit on my wife and her boyfriend? What if the hit man ended up being a felon who needed to give the cops something huge to get himself out of some big trouble he was in?

I would be in a very similar situation as Tim Lambesis.

I’m not much different than Tim. I don’t think any of us are. We are all capable of bad choices under the weight of heavy circumstances. Some can snap in one way and others can snap in other ways. Some people can handle more or less than others, but EVERYONE has a certain breaking point — especially if there’s other substances involved.

When I heard about Tim Lambesis’ arrest, I was really bummed out because I instantly had a flashback of being in that similar dark place with my divorce. I tried to visit Tim right away, but couldn’t work it out. I obviously felt horrible for how completely shocked and scared his wife must have been to hear the news, but my heart went out for Tim a lot because so many people immediately wanted to lynch him.

Not me and my crew.

We believe in second, third, even one hundred chances, if that’s what it takes. I mean, we’ve been given countless chances, so why not Tim? He’s a normal dude who had fallen into the darkest, most confusing, empty place. He needed brothers, not more enemies.

I had a show in Texas about a month before the arrest and hung out with Tim and the As I Lay Dying guys for a few minutes on their bus. I didn’t know them real close, but we had crossed paths out on the road a few times and we all have many mutual friends. As you can see, all of this was EXTREMELY close to home for me. They were all great guys and I couldn’t have imagined in my wildest dreams what lay just around the corner for Tim.

I finally did get to visit Tim a couple months ago at his parents’ home as he was under house arrest. Me and my boy ‘Ryan Ries’ from The Whosoevers brought Tim and his girlfriend some Mexican food and just hung out and talked. Tim was so humble, remorseful and clearheaded about everything. He and his girlfriend actually really encouraged us, as we did them. We also hid a hot pepper in Tim’s burrito like in the movie ‘Dumb & Dumber’ to break the ice, and because it was funny as hell, LOL.

I told Tim that as strange as it may have sounded, I was really excited about his future. I have seen God create overwhelming beauty out of a pile of ashes so many times, and I look forward to seeing all the good that comes out of this horrible situation. Seeing beauty birthed from the most ugly of circumstances is one of my most favorite miracles to witness. It proves there is a God who always loves and never gives up on humans – no matter how far we fall.

Let’s all try and give out positive vibes and prayers towards Tim, Meggan and this entire situation and watch as beauty is formed from all of the ashes.” -Brian "Head" Welch

Pleiona: An Interview With I Legion's Frederic Riverin

The one great thing about starting AFGM was not only the chance to meet and interact with some of my favourite bands, but also gives me the chance to establish new connections and find new music I wouldn't have necessarily been offered on another platform.  With that being said, I always had faith in my home country of Canada to produce top quality music that showcases talented musicians who could easily top charts and create international buzz.

One of those artists that has been creating a name for himself is Frederic Riverin and his project I Legion.  Armed with an idea, a guitar, some recording equipment, and a slew of special guests, this guy has been one of those Canadian artists listed in my rant above.  You can check out AFGM's first interview with him (below):

I Legion: An Interview With Frederic Riverin

My previous interview with him was completely introductory as I knew relatively nothing about the guy but was very interested in his music as well as his associates.  Those associates are (but not limited to) Angel Vivaldi (solo artist), Björn Strid (Soilwork), Ashe O'Hara (TesseracT), Andy James (Guitar Academy), Bill Fore (Mutiny Within), Pascal Jobin (The Agonist), Sebastian Reichl (Deadlock), Jon Howard (Threat Signal), Chris Clancy (Mutiny Within) and more!  There has to be an assumption that if all these artists believed in Frederic's work, then it shouldn't go unnoticed and should be listened to for fans of metal.  

Even as I write this, the format of the album is still uncertain. According to Frederic, it could be divided in 4 EPs (each one released at a different period) so folks might have to get their fix in increments.  I guess that is something we will have to eagerly wait and see.  So like most of my interviews, I threw a couple questions to Frederic for some Q&A and of course his answers are very in depth and informative.  Check out the details surround the next phase of I Legion.

AFGM: It seems you got quite a bit of diversity with regards to the three demo track you sent me for sampling.  It ranges from blast beats to piano melodies, and everything in between!

FR: Yeah I really wanted to explore a lot more with this new release. The first album gave me confidence in my playing and writing skills, so I decided to push the extremes; the soft parts are mellow and softer, and heavy one are faster and heavier. And as I have no one to tell me what to do, I can go in the direction I want to go, and hopefully people will follow me and enjoy it.


AFGM: So who do you have on your roster for this new album?  You always seem to have a great lineup of talented musicians.

FR: I am lucky to have the same lineup of singers to follow me again for the second ride. There's no doubt that the presence of Björn, Jon and Chris helped a lot to be noticed by the fans and the press. Without them, the first record wouldn't be as good. There was no reasons to exclude them from the second record, they are an huge part of I Legion success, and I want them to be involved as long as they want.If there’s a 3rd record in some years, I will knock on their door again.

I wrote about 15 songs this time. 5 songs for each of these 3 singers were a lot of work for them, and as I always get new contacts and have a lot of people in my "I want to work with" list, it was time to bring new style and fresh air to the project. This is why I picked up 3 totally different voices: Ashe from Tesseract, who's a lot more on the prog side of metal, while having a more softer and high pitched voice; Bekki from Domenica, which I follow since a while and she deserve to be known. She has the rawness of Courtney Love and the melodic side of Dido, if I can explain it like that. I wanted a female presence for so long (referring to Alissa almost being a part of the first album, until few weeks prior to the recordings) that I can only rejoice of her addition; which leads me to the last member to be introduced on vocals, Sabine from German death-metal band Deadlock. If angels could sing, I'm pretty sure they would have her voice. I'm totally stocked on this one, and she will blow your mind too.



On guitars I can count again on my friend Angel Vivaldi, not only for guitars but also on the creative process. He heard it all since the very beginning and I'm involving him on every stage. I couldn't praise enough this guy for being a talented guitarist and a good friend too. I wouldn't be surprised to see him among the guitar gods like Vai and Satriani in a short time.

I announced Jake Kiley from Strung Out as a new guest late 2013, but depending on when the full album production will be done, he may be a part or not of the project. As we speak today, he can't. In 6 months? Who knows? He wants to do it, but he's deep into Strung Out new album for the moment. It’s the risk of this project. If an artist is called for touring or have something urgent with his own band, he will drop my project and I’m really okay with that. It could happen anytime and I have no control over it.

So this being said, I have the pleasure to welcome once again my buddy Andy James. He’s a rising star in modern guitar world, he has an guitar academy, his own signature guitar, his own column on jamtrackcentral…the list could go on. But mostly, this guy has one of the best technique and sense of melody I’ve ever heard. He can lift a simple song into a war machine with his presence. Just listen what he did on Signs From Above. He totally slayed the song.

Then I introduce new features: my fellow Quebec brother Pascal Jobin, from the Agonist, and Sebastian Reichl, which is the lead guitarist for Deadlock (playing with Sabine). Believe it or not, Pascal was the one I bugged the most to be a part of the project, he was harder to get than any musicians overseas! Jon probably gave me an hand to close the deal with him while touring with The Agonist last year. Maybe he got him drunk and convinced him that it was a good idea to joins us lol. Joking aside, he is awesome. He's like the French John Petrucci for me. His sense of melody and dedication to craft licks impressed me. Had a blast with him last year, had a lot of Jagerbombs and Blueberry beers chugged down. Was an awesome night for sure, for what I can remember.

Sebastian accepted right away, I think he replied to my message the same hour. I love this guy so much, he writes music that I'd wish I could write too. You know when you hear a song and you say to yourself 'damn, I wish I'd write this one!'. Well that’s why I wanted Sebastian on the second album. His vision and sound connect with mine.

Last addition but really one of the best: Nathaniel Rendon on keyboards. I discovered him while listening to an awesome prog-metal album from The Deadstation. He was a guest musician on this one and I told myself that if I needed keyboard parts, he would be the guy. He's really involved too in the writing and there will be a lot of keyboards and piano all over the songs. Nothing too fancy, just to add more depth to the songs.

(Bjorn and Frederic)

AFGM: Can you give us details about the new EP?

FR: The purpose of releasing this is to help the fundraising, which is running since December, and also get label’s attention. Would be awesome to have someone backing up the project, handling the promotion and maybe help us out money-wise. I raised enough money to almost fund all of the upcoming EP, but I’m still paying from my pocket. Now, the funds are at 0$. All has been invested and hopefully the EP sales will kick the funding for the full album.

The EP should be out summer 2014 and will be titled PLEIONA. 4 tracks, 5 different singers. I think it will show what we are capable of, it will totally take people by surprise. All singers will be featured: Bjorn, Jon, Chris, Bekki and Ashe. As we speak, I haven’t heard any of the singers tracks or guitar solos. So I’m as just in the dark as you can be.

For the first time ever, Bjorn and Jon will sing together on the same track. Should be really really interesting. The song clocks about 6 minutes, it’s really epic, melodic and aggressive. It should please any metal fan. To use Bjorn’s words, “it sounds fantastic”. Lot of keyboards, guitar harmonies, hardcore breakdown, blast beats…everything is in there! I’m not quite sure who will perform the solo yet. Maybe Angel or Sebastian. I have yet to confirm this.

Chris’s song is really different. It sounds a bit like these 80’s rock songs. I really like the mood of it, it’s melancholic to the core. We changed the verse lately to fit Chris’s vocals, it’s more melodic than it was at first. But I kept the original verse for the finale of that song. It will make your head bang! Pascal is performing the guitar solo on this one.

Bekki’s song, which is also the title track “Pleiona”, is my biggest achievement yet. All I can say it’s that you will like or hate it. It’s a ballad, really really slow and melancholic, with piano tracks along all my parts. Sound like something that Stone Sour could have come up with. Never had a woman singing over my stuff, so it will be pretty interesting. I’m doing the acoustic soloing and Andy James will showcase his talents in the middle of the song, when the distortion comes in.

Last song, which have been a late decision when I chose to cut the artwork budget to release an extra song. This one will feature Ashe O’Hara. Honestly I had an hard time finding the right song for him. I’m an huge fan of his vocals, but how to fit those with I Legion style? I’d have the same problem if I had to find a song for James Labrie or Bruce Dickinson. I love these guys, but how to incorporate their style with mine? I finally found the right track for Ashe, as soon as the verse kicked in, I knew it was HIS song. His vocals will totally float on this tune man, it will be insane. The song is kind of upbeat with a little punk feel, while the chorus reminds me of In Flames, musically. The bridge section is really strong on that one, people will love it. My friend Angel is performing the solo on that one, by his request. He wanted to play along with Ashe so I granted his wish. It’s because of Angel if I discovered Tesseract so I owed him a thing or two.  haha 

AFGM: Could you take us through the writing process and what it looks like from your perspective?  What emotions were you going through?  What is on your mind when composing?

FR: I started writing early 2013 for a project called Bear River, with Bjorn Strid. We stopped the project last summer for the simple reason that Bjorn couldn’t commit to a full time project and be targeted as the frontman. I totally understand his point, and honestly, he’s so damn busy and involved everywhere. I couldn’t picture him doing 15 songs for Bear River. But obviously, some of the material wrote during that time will be on the next I Legion album.

End of 2013 has been a crazy on the personal side. Going through a separation, a battle for the kid's guard, reconciliation with my parents...events that obviously influenced me while writing these songs. May explain why I went into totally opposite directions musically, with blast beats, breakdowns and piano. I had to get this shit out of myself.

Off-topic, but in rough moments you can count your real friends on your hand. I have real buddies who helped me here, by supporting me and give me a place to stay. But I also found that friends can be on the other side of the world too. Jon and Angel have been there since day 1 to hear me whine or listen to my stories. They have been as supportive as real friends would be.

That being said, I met a lot of new people too, created new friendships, being let down by some girls. This will shine through the songs for sure. A specific woman inspired me enough to give me the album thematic and she's what I can say the central part of the record, in the way she's gave me the tools and the inspiration to transpose the emotions into songs. And this time around I composed the songs without thinking of vocal melodies, which is totally different than the first record. On this new release the artists will put their own stamp on the song. Many of the vocal lines and lyrics on Beyond Darkness were written by me, and I wanted to do differently.

AFGM: What was the most difficult moment when creating this new album?

FR: Money? This has been a real issue and source of headache. How can you pull off 15 songs, have them mixed and produced when you don't even have enough money to pay your own bills? And honestly I wish I could tell you that writing songs isn't easy, but it isn't my case. I could write a lot more and do a double album. But with no money, just forget it. Hopefully the EP will get more fans into the project.

AFGM: Can you give us a breakdown of your gear and why you decided to use it?

FR: Oh my god, this one will be pretty easy! I'm so ignorant when it comes to gear. I'm not a guitar geek for sure. I want to plug my guitar and play, that's it. For this album to I'm using an Ibanez Prestige RGA220z through a Focusrite Scarlet interface. Then everything is recorded with Reaper software with Revalver emulated guitars. This is only for my home demos of course.

(Woodward Studios in Hamilton, ON)

The album will be mixed and produced by Jon Howard in his studios in Ontario (Woodward Studios) and he will do the magic with my recordings. I send him DI tracks (direct input tracks, which mean dry clean with no effects) and he does his stuff. Last time we talked we used Mesa Triple Rectifier for the rhythms and various amps for the leads tone.

AFGM: Do you feel you might have the necessary resources to put together a small tour or mini-tour?  Has that ever been on your mind for I Legion?

FR: With enough money I guess I could set up a special show with North American artists (Jon, Björn, Pascal, Angel and Bekki) but I really really doubt it will happen. It isn't my priority with this project, even if it would be a dream to perform live on the same stage.

AFGM: How is social media working to the advantage of I Legion?  Do you find yourself benefiting from it or does it seem like a large amount of hassle that how now become a norm?

FR: It can only be useful for a little project like I Legion. People can share the Facebook page and the YouTube videos easily. Even if I had more than of my share of illegal downloads, I still believe that social medias are now the best way to reach out new fans and get the word out.

AFGM: Has there been any thought to expanding your video catalog by means of a lyric/music video or a playthrough?

We are focusing on the EP on the moment, but I would love to do another video. Maybe an acoustic version of a song when one of the singers will come near my town, who knows?

("Beyond Darkness" is taken from I Legion's debut album in 2012)

AFGM: I realize that your influences play a major role in who you are as a musician.  Do your guest musicians feel the same way to their influences or look to you for guidance when creating their pieces for this album?

FR: I give them total freedom for their parts. The songs are already fueled a lot by me, so I want the artist to put their own touch to it. It's up to them to keep their respective band touch aside or not while contributing, but a lot of these songs are totally different from what they usually do, so they have no choice than go out their comfort zone.

As for myself, my influences are pretty clear. I’m aware that I’m really not reinventing the wheel, I’m simply writing music I’m pleased to hear. Honestly I don’t think I’m writing complex and challenging songs at all. Any guitarist will be able to cover these songs easily.

AFGM: So let's talk about some personal heroes and influences.  I have seen a few photos now (via Facebook) where you have been meeting major influences of yours such as John Petrucci and Dream Theater. 

"One of the most amazing night of my life! I wanted to share with you guys, it's so inspiring to see them play and how dedicated they are to their art.  And you know that feeling of meeting your hero is indescribable!"

Can you take me through how you got in the photo op and what you were feeling like during the meet?

FR: I paid for it haha it was a part of the VIP package for their show so I'm like everyone else for this. He don't know who I am, and honestly the meet and greet is really restrictive and you barely have time to talk sadly. It's all set up to be really fast and not really personal. But still, that's awesome to shake his hand! He loved my shirt, so I didn't wear it for nothing ;-)

I'm still like in my teenage years when it comes to musicians. I want to meet them, take pictures, share stories. Nothing will ever change it. Best meeting I had was with Björn and Soilwork for sure. Spent the whole day with them, visiting Quebec City, drinking local beers I brought and watching ABBA dvds in the tour bus. And how often a vocal hero is paying your beer bill with his Swedish credit card? lol Typical metal meeting right? 

AFGM: "I have been waiting for this moment since 2004. Ten years of wait before meeting 2 of my biggest influences."

Could you possibly describe what you were going through when meeting the guys from Unearth?  What did you guys talk about?

FR: We were supposed to hang out before the show but they were really exhausted. We had a quick chat, I shared a beer with Buz, talking about the new Unearth album and a possible guest solo for another I Legion album. But still it's cool to see they know who I am and that they love what I do. We talk sometimes via Facebook so if I ever need to ask them something I know they’re not too far away.

I actually hang out with the guys from Texas In July, who opened for Unearth. I haven't heard from them before and after sharing a meal and a beer, they have been an huge discovery. End up the evening with all their CDs.  :-)

AFGM: So let’s assume there are readers out there looking to contact you for advice/words of wisdom.  What would you tell them when looking to create their own project similar to what you have done with I Legion?

FR: Don't be shy to ask. This is true in every aspects of your life. If you don't try, you'll never know. I asked many musicians and ended turned out in the end (always politely of course) but at least I tried. And I will try again. I hit up Christian Alvestam, Alissa White-Gluz, Marco Sfogli, Porter McKnight, Chris Kells, Oscar Souto and many more.

I'd love to see more collaborative projects like mine, as long as they use different artists. There's so much talent out there!

***

BONUS QUESTION!

So Frederic gave me the opportunity to ask a question geared towards the guests featured on his album.  Musician Nate Rendon was kind enough to share some insight into his collaboration with Frederic.

AFGM: How do you feel about contributing to music you didn't write at first? Will you sneak in some of your own band signature sounds or try to fit yourself to the I Legion sound and groove?

NR: I absolutely love collaborating with other musicians and artists on projects. I do believe that I was brought on to this project because of my personal keyboarding style and my ideas so you will definitely hear some of my own personal style and musical voice on the album. Collaborating is nothing new to me; I'm a full time film and video game composer and those projects are all pretty much a big collaboration from beginning to end and it's not unlike I Legion's project at all. Just like a director or game designer will bring me a close-to-finished product to add music to, Fred will send me songs that are pretty much completely fleshed out as far as the form and basic rhythm parts go. I'll add textural and melodic keyboards where appropriate and we'll go back and fourth a couple of times revising and fleshing out the keyboard ideas until we're both happy with it. So far that process has yielded some amazing results. 

Keyboard parts that I would never come up with on my own. It's the kind of music that can only come about with two or more creative minds coming together. I'm very excited to be working on a project like this since I get to take off my composer hat and get to dust off my producer/keyboardist hat and play some metal (which I'm a huge fan of). I don't get to do as much metal as I would like so I was very excited when Fred called me up and offered me the keyboardist spot on I legion's album. I'm absolutely loving the music so far, so many creative minds are going to be a part of this project and makes me very excited to be a part of this. The music is great and I'm really looking forward to hearing the final mix.

A big thanks goes out to Frederic for reaching out for an awesome follow up interview.  Be sure to follow his Facebook page for updates and also follow him on YouTube for more videos and song samples!