Archive for the ‘Links’ Category
* Taproot has pushed back the release date for their new album, Plead The Fifth, from April 13 to May 11. I get the sense that their label (Victory Records) is really pushing them to get this record released ASAFP so they can’t be happy about having to push it back another month.
* Guitar Hero heroes DragonForce have confirmed that lead singer ZP Theart has left the band “due to insurmountable differences of musical opinion.” The remaining members have started writing a fifth album while they search for a new singer. Think you’ve got the soaring vocals to front this band? Well you’re in luck since they are holding an open audition for anyone who wants to enter. Here’s the deets.
* Speaking of auditioning for bands, Smashing Pumpkins (aka Billy Corgan) is holding an open audition process to find a new bassist and a new keyboardist who can play prog-rock styles. The band’s previous bassist, Ginger Pooley, left to be with her husband and new baby. You’ve only got until March 31, so if you think you’ve got the skills and the patience to deal with Corgan’s crazy personality check out this site.
* The Sword are about halfway through recording their third album. Singer J.D. Cronise said that the band’s sound on this new record will lean more towards Guns N’ Roses and Thin Lizzy than their prior Black Sabbath style sound. He also adds that the group’s traditional swords-and-sorcery lyrical themes will be taking a backseat to new science fiction concepts.
* Canadian heavy metallers BISON b.c. have debuted their new song “Stressed Elephant” (so metal!) over at ExploreMusic. I hadn’t really heard much of this group before this song, but I must say I am now VERY intrigued to listen to their new album, Dark Ages, which is set to be released on April 13.
* March Is Metal Month. So head over to Amazon to get your free 2010 sampler featuring bands like Fear Factory, Five Finger Death Punch, and Lacuna Coil. Did I mention it’s absolutely free?
-Sam
Gizmodo has an excellent article regarding the ongoing battle with record labels and their survival.
Normally, I’d give a summary on the articles I read and then shoot off my opinions. For this one, I’m not doing so as Gizmodo has written such a wonderful piece. Go ahead, click the link above and read the article. I’m giving you permission to leave Suds. Just come back to comment on the article, mmkay?
With the 82nd Annual Academy Awards taking place tomorrow night, it’s time for a movie/music mash-up, courtesy of Rolling Stone.
Judging by the approximately $700 bazillion that Avatar has raked in at the box office it’s safe to assume that every living creature has seen this movie.
And even if you’ve been trapped under a chunk of unobtainium and haven’t gotten out to see it yet, you probably know that it features blue cat-like people.
So RS has answered the question everyone had after seeing the movie: What would some famous musicians look like as Na’vi aliens? (You all asked yourself that, right?)
So here’s Britney and the Beatles. See the entire gallery at RS.com.
Yeah, so Billy Corgan’s promise of releasing a new Smashing Pumpkins song every two weeks turned out to be pure B.S. Who couldn’t see that coming? But you can’t get too mad at the guy since he is giving away three or four albums’ worth of material for free.
And the next song up in his ongoing Teargarden by Kaleidyscope is called “A Stitch In Time.” It’s the third song of the 44 track album released so far. Is it just me, or is this starting to feel like Stephen Colbert’s “Better Know A District” segment?
Anyways, the band will be releasing the songs in groups of four as limited edition EPs. The first EP, titled Volume 1/Songs For A Sailor will be released on April 20th. The track list is:
- A Song for a Son
- Widow Wake My Mind
- A Stitch In Time
- Astral Planes
The first three tracks have already been released for free with the fourth expected in the near future.
The newest song, “A Stitch In Time,” is the weakest of the bunch. It’s got a real psychedelic vibe going on, but it’s listless and boring. It seems like it’s going to build up to something, but that something never comes and the song is over without anything really happening.
You can download all three of the released songs for free at the band’s website.
-Sam
Time to strap on your “Rocket Skates”
Deftones are giving away their new song “Rocket Skates” as a free download. (Note: I was experiencing some difficulty trying to download the track from their site earlier, but I’m sure they’ll get it fixed.) The song is off their upcoming album, Diamond Eyes, which will be released on May 18.
And I must say, they sound good. Real good. This song is better than anything on Saturday Night Wrist. Is the song repetitive? Sure. But when you’re just locking into a dynamite sludgy Stephen Carpenter guitar riff, it’s fine to repeat yourself.
Go download it or listen to it on YouTube.
“Guns, Razors, Knivesss. . . WOO!”
-Sam
Listen to Metallica’s Megaforce demo
Invisible Oranges has gotten their hands on Metallica’s two song demo from 1983, commonly known as the Megaforce demo since it led to a recording deal with Megaforce Records.
This is an interesting artifact of Metallica’s history because it is the only Metallica recording which features both Dave Mustaine and Cliff Burton. It also was the band’s first recording with Burton.
The demo includes the songs “Whiplash” and “No Remorse,” both of which ended up on the band’s debut LP Kill ‘Em All.
As expected, the quality of the demos is pretty sloppy, but it’s an interesting look at a band in its gestation period. It also allows fans to compare the guitar work of Mustaine with that of his eventual replacement Kirk Hammett. And in my opinion, Hammett was the much better choice (the only choice?) for Metallica. He’s the perfect lead guitarist for them, and his solos on those two songs, as compared to Mustaine’s, show why. Mustaine could play fast, sure; but the soloing felt lifeless. Most people hail Mustaine as a technical wizard when it comes to soloing, but I’d rather have a guy like Hammett who can breathe new life into a song through his guitar work.
Of course, these are only demos, so it’s probably not fair to bash Mustaine too hard. Still, count me as part of Team Kirk.
-Sam
Metal Roundup: Tuesday, Feb. 16
Here’s a sampling of some interesting stuff going on in the world of metal:
* Sevendust have chosen the track “Unraveling” to serve as the first single from their new album, Cold Day Memory, which is set to be released on April 20. You can listen to it now on YouTube. It’s decidedly less heavy than “Forever Dead”, the first song they released from the album, and not as good, in my opinion.
* Godsmack is streaming their new single, “Crying Like A Bitch,” over at their MySpace page. There is some speculation that the song was written about Motley Crue’s member Nikki Sixx. It’s well known that Godsmack was very upset with the antics of Motley Crue during last summer’s Crue Fest 2, which Godsmack played on. As for the song itself, I’m not feeling the production values. It sounds a little hollow and it’s not a big change from their last album.
* The Sword have finally gone back into the studio to work on recording their third album. They have chosen Matt Bayles to produce the effort.
* Limp Bizkit’s Wes Borland keeps it real when discussing the prospects for his reunited band’s new album, Gold Cobra: “I think that everyone who hated Limp Bizkit before will continue to hate Limp Bizkit. It’s not like we, all of a sudden, grew up and started making smarter music.” I’m not one of those people who completely writes off Limp Bizkit as a garbage band. I actually liked Three Dollar Bill, Yall$ and The Unquestionable Truth (Part 1). Those albums really let the guys behind Fred Durst shine and there’s no question that Borland, bassist Sam Rivers, and drummer John Otto are talented guys. Borland, especially, can write some serious riffs. He proved what a good musician he is with his side project, Black Light Burns. So I was hoping Limp Bizkit would continue on with the foundation they set before splitting up with The Unquestionable Truth. But Borland has thrown some water on that idea by saying the new music has a “party kind of vibe. It’s a little bit like the old stuff, but with a little bit of maybe a Daft Punk vibe thrown in on some of it.” Needless to say, my hopes are not high for this one.
-Sam
Bonnaroo 2010 lineup announced
Hooray! It’s festival lineup announcement season!
I don’t know about all of you, but every year around this time, I start poring over all the lineups for the coming year’s festivals, hoping that one will have enough bands that pique my interest to make it worth the trip.
Well, this year’s Bonnaroo may be the one that does it.
Bonnaroo’s website has the initial list of artists (with more to be announced).
The band’s I’d like to see out of that list: Kings of Leon, Jay-Z, Tenacious D, Weezer, John Fogerty, Regina Spektor, The Avett Brothers, Rise Against, The Black Keys, Jeff Beck, Dropkick Murphys, She & Him, Against Me!, Kid Cudi, Isis, Baroness, and Diane Birch.
That’s not even a quarter of the lineup, and they still haven’t announced the comedians that will be there yet!
So go check out that list and let us know how you feel about the lineup.
-Sam
Recent Comments