Bittersweet day for us at hardDriveRadio. Our longtime associate producer is moving to FL! Zak will continue his fine work on the weekend edition of hardDrive remotely. But around the hardDriveRadio studios, Zak and his kind and gentle ways will be missed!
Our friends Skillet have just released their music video for “Feel Invincible” from their soon to be released album, Unleashed. (Find the album Aug 05.) The Pulse Of Radio says although Skillet originally came out of the Christian rock circuit, frontman John Cooper told us this song and others don’t always have a religious message: “When you’re, you know, religious, sometimes people expect you for every song you write to be hyper-religious, or to have some like world-changing message, and they’re like, ‘No, you’ve got to write something that’s gonna like save the planet.’ And sometimes you just wanna rock, you know. Sometimes you just want to write something that says, ‘I feel invincible.’ (laughs) It doesn’t have to always be so overthought.“
Unleashed is Skillet’s ninth studio effort and first since 2013’s Rise. The band has one platinum and one gold record award to its credit. Their Top 10 rock hits include “Monster,” “Awake And Alive” and “Sick Of It.”
Skillet recently sketched out the details of a fall headlining U.S. tour that will kick off on Sep 22nd in Clive, IA. The bill will feature Thousand Foot Krutch on the first half, while Sick Puppies will finish the second half of the tour. Devour The Day will be playing the entire trek. And listen for John Cooper of Skillet as the hardDrive XL Featured Artist of the Week next week!
Help! I’ve fallen and I can’t get up!
OH NO!!!!!!! The Pulse Of Radio reporting this morning that during Slipknot‘s show on last night (Jun 29th) in Atlanta, frontman Corey Taylor took what was described by fans as a “hard fall” at the end of the set. One fan wrote that he “couldn’t walk when they picked him up,” while another said that the singer “had to be supported out.” A third fan told Blabbermouth, “As I was leaving, EMTs were rushing backstage . . . (Taylor) was shaking and looked to not be in a good way as they pulled him off.” Taylor took to Twitter a short time later to reassure fans that he was not seriously injured and that the band’s tour will continue as scheduled. He posted this message on his Twitter last night after it happened: “ATL: haha don’t worry, I’m okay! I THINK that fall was one for the ages haha! DAMN it hurt- but DAMN what a crowd! See you again soon! #CMFT” We hope he is ok.
Every girl’s crazy ’bout a sharped-dressed man!
Stylish! Metallica is featured in a new advertising campaign for the Italian luxury menswear house Brioni. According to Business Of Fashion, the campaign was shot in black-and-white and features two portraits of the four members of the band — one in black tuxedoes, one in white tuxedoes. The company’s logo is done in Gothic lettering, perhaps as a nod toward the heavy metal musicians in the ads.
Metallica said in a statement, “We are beyond thrilled to have been invited to be the face of Italian luxury menswear powerhouse Brioni as they kick off their first creative campaign under the direction of newly appointed creative director, über-cool style star Justin O’Shea.”
The photos, which the band says were inspired by pictures taken of Queen around the time of their single “Bohemian Rhapsody,” were shot last month in San Francisco.
The band adds that they are “sporting Bespoke Brioni suits and tuxedos as well as sunglasses from their new eyewear collection.” The campaign will be distributed on social media channels and will appear initially on billboards and kiosks in Paris and in the New York Times. Wider print distribution and billboards in New York, Los Angeles and Moscow will follow in the autumn.
Metallica recently completed recording its new album at its headquarters in San Rafael, California and has now begun mixing the new disc, which is expected out before the end of the year. Drummer Lars Ulrich told Citizens Of Humanity magazine about the musical direction of Metallica’s long-awaited 10th album, “It definitely sounds like Metallica. It’s probably a little less frenetic than the last record . . . It’s probably a bit more of a diverse record than the last one.”
In other Metallica news, Blabbermouth reports according to the NBC-affiliated television station KVOA, a fraudulent Facebook page recently popped up stating Metallica would appear at Joe’s Crab Shack in Tucson, AZ on Aug 07 and 09. The page also claimed tickets were being sold at all Los Betos Restaurant locations in town and five golden tickets would be hidden in carne asada burritos. The lucky winners would receive VIP tickets and a chance to hang out with band members.
Andrea Grey, whose family owns seven Los Betos Restaurants, told KVOA they are not connected to any promotion involving Metallica, but employees have reported being flooded with calls at their restaurants.
“They were telling us they were getting a lot of random calls talking about tickets and winning concert tickets that we were supposedly selling or raffling off,” said Grey. “I don’t know which one.”
Joe’s Crab Shack in Tucson closed its doors earlier in the month, with some employees claiming they found out about the closing from an emergency conference call. You can not make this stuff up, I tell ya! LOL
Chad Smith: Pigeon Whisperer (photo credit: Chad’s Twitter)
And finally today, Chad Smith of Red Hot Chili Peppers gets bored on the road, I guess. While in London, he spent the afternoon drumming with some street performers. But I don’t think he expected this kind of crowd! =)
Say Happy Birthday today to Philip Anselmo, who turns 48 and Dan Jacobs of Atreyu, who is 34 today!