Happy Valentines Day, you lovebirds out there! Got my dozen roses early because I head out to Las Vegas tomorrow for the RadioContraband Convention! Looking forward to seeing my peers, friends and rock stars. And perhaps a winning slot machine for a change!
According to The Pulse Of Radio, Linkin Park has unveiled the cover art for its seventh studio album, although the title and release date of the set still remain under wraps. According to The PRP, the cover art was revealed via a digital puzzle that was sourced through various “ambassadors” of the band across social media.
Reportedly the Linkin Park CD cover. Source: Linkin Park Twitter
The band has also announced that the first single from the upcoming disc is titled “Heavy” and features guest vocals from Kiara Saulters, who is best known for recording stop-motion, hip-hop-inspired electro-R&B under the name Kiiara.
The group also shared another in-studio video for the new album online, along with the lyrics to “Heavy.” The latest clip is the sixth of eight planned videos shot inside the recording studio, and it’s rumored that the arrival of the final clip will coincide with the single release.
In a previous video, singer Chester Bennington said that the band is “trying to make a record that has f**king stellar songs that people wanna listen to all the time.”
Stone Sour singer Corey Taylor has told BBC Radio 1 that the band is “almost done” recording its new album, Hydrograd, saying, “We hit the ground and just started basically finishing a song a day — like, 97 percent done every day. We started in the studio January 7th (and) we have sixteen songs done already. We only have three left. It’s unbelievable. We’ve only really taken time off because we needed to. It was bizarre, dude. We just destroyed it. And it sounds incredible.”
He added, “Everyone is saying the same thing — not only are the songs good but the energy is incredible, because it has that live vibe. This is not beat detected, Auto-Tuned, pitch-corrected — nothing. It is so badass, it’s not even funny.”
Taylor said Stone Sour is “probably going to leak” a “heavier anthem tune” from the album soon, adding, “The heavy stuff is heavy, but not in a typically mediocre, normal heavy way.”
The singer told us a while back that he recalled a time when album releases were “events”: “It used to be albums were something you looked forward to. You counted down those days. And now kids can just hit a button and it’s like, ‘I have it.’ You know, there’s nothing special about it anymore.“
Taylor also told BBC Radio the musical direction of the new disc “is great because it’s got elements of everything. It’s got the heavy energy of the ’80s, there’s punk moments, there’s hard rock moments, all the great amalgam of music. There’s even jazz and hip-hop moments. It’s really, really cool. It’s probably the coolest album I’ve made since the first Slipknot album.”
Hydrograd is due out sometime this summer. The band will hit the road with Korn in support of the new record.
Stone Sour singer Corey Taylor has told BBC Radio 1 that the band is “almost done” recording its new album, Hydrograd, saying, “We hit the ground and just started basically finishing a song a day — like, 97 percent done every day. We started in the studio January 7th (and) we have sixteen songs done already. We only have three left. It’s unbelievable. We’ve only really taken time off because we needed to. It was bizarre, dude. We just destroyed it. And it sounds incredible.”
He added, “Everyone is saying the same thing — not only are the songs good but the energy is incredible, because it has that live vibe. This is not beat detected, Auto-Tuned, pitch-corrected — nothing. It is so badass, it’s not even funny.”
Taylor said Stone Sour is “probably going to leak” a “heavier anthem tune” from the album soon, adding, “The heavy stuff is heavy, but not in a typically mediocre, normal heavy way.”
The singer told us a while back that he recalled a time when album releases were “events”: [“It used to be albums were something you looked forward to. You counted down those days. And now kids can just hit a button and it’s like, ‘I have it.’ You know, there’s nothing special about it anymore.”] SOUNDCUE (:09 OC: . . . about it anymore.)
Taylor also told BBC Radio the musical direction of the new disc “is great because it’s got elements of everything. It’s got the heavy energy of the ’80s, there’s punk moments, there’s hard rock moments, all the great amalgam of music. There’s even jazz and hip-hop moments. It’s really, really cool. It’s probably the coolest album I’ve made since the first Slipknot album.”
Hydrograd is due out sometime this summer. The band will hit the road with Korn in support of the new record.
ICYMI: Yesterday, Metallica announced the details of the North American leg of its “WorldWired” 2017 tour in support of the band’s new album Hardwired…To Self-Destruct. The quartet’s first North American trek since 2009 kicks off on May 10th in Baltimore, MD and will hit stadiums in 25 cities before winding down in mid-Aug. Support will come mainly from Avenged Sevenfold and Volbeat, with Gojira taking over for the latter group for the last six shows.
Metallica bassist Robert Trujillo told us with the new tour the band feels like it’s proving itself all over again: “It feels like there’s a new beginning, and in a way we’re challenged ’cause we’re winning people over with new music and new production, you know, new show. You know, we’re blessed and we understand that and we work hard to hopefully provide the best concert experience we can.“
Presale tickets will be available to “legacy” fan club members beginning today (Feb 14th) at 9:00 a.m. local time, with tickets available to all Met Club members the same day at 11:00 a.m. local time. General sales start Friday (Feb 17th) at 10:00 a.m. local time.
Each ticket purchased will come with a copy of the new album, available as a physical CD or a digital download. Various VIP packages are up for sale as well.
Metallica has also announced the formation of its All Within My Hands Foundation, which will raise funds through ticket sales to support national, local and Bay Area charities selected by the band members, while continuing to donate to music education programs and local food banks.
Blabbermouth reporting Danny Worsnop, the newly returned frontman for U.K. metalcore pioneers Asking Alexandria, teamed up with YouTube to host an exclusive live stream Monday night (Feb 13) ahead of the release of his debut solo album, The Long Road Home, on Friday, Feb 17. The event featured Danny performing live renditions of songs from The Long Road Home, as well as taking part in a revealing interview with Terry “Beez” Bezer.
The Long Road Home, will be released via the U.K.-based independent label Earache Records. The effort marks a slight musical departure from his previous work with Asking, now forging a deeper and often darker path through the British-born, Nashville-based musician’s mind and displaying a truly stunning singing voice only hinted at in his previous work.
Longtime fans will see a much more personal and reflective side of Danny’s, with brutally honest lyrical themes ranging from loss and heartache to Danny’s past (and often public) struggles with drugs and alcohol. Backed by authentic, blues-soaked outlaw country, the album is also interspersed with a few more upbeat tracks, showing that Danny’s ability to craft catchy melodies which will have listeners singing along in no time is still very much alive and well.
Worsnop comments: “It has been an emotional roller-coaster creating these songs, but the end result has left me humbled, proud, and more excited about a project than I ever have been in my life.
“I’ve done everything in my power to keep this album honest and pure, and it gives me chills every time I hear it. I’m beyond proud of what I’ve made and cannot wait to share it with the world. These songs are a reflection of my soul, and I hope you all enjoy them. See you on the other side!”
The Long Road Home is available to pre-order now on limited-edition signed CD and colored vinyl, along with a range of merch bundles.
Blabbermouth also says Killswitch Engage singer Jesse Leach has resumed work on material for the long-awaited new release from Times Of Grace, his collaboration with KSe guitarist Adam Dutkiewicz. Jesse wrote on Instagram: “Listening to new Times Of Grace demos. This is on some whole other level. This stuff is quite different than the first record! I got a whole lot of writing to do! Adam has been busy… It begins, again.”
Leach told Lithium Magazine last summer that “the cool thing about Times Of Grace is that it’s another outlet for us, and moving forward with that project, it’s gonna be even more different from Killswitch. There’s gonna be no quote-unquote metalcore sound going on. As a matter of fact, I’m planning on not doing much aggressive vocals at all.”
Times Of Grace‘s debut album, The Hymn Of A Broken Man, was released in Jan 2011 via Roadrunner Records. The CD sold around 10,000 copies in the United States in its first week of release to land at position No. 44 on The Billboard 200 chart.
Dutkiewicz and Leach originally worked together on KSe‘s benchmark album, 2002’s Alive Or Just Breathing. That record has become definitive for an entire generation of American metal, with Leach’s voice and uplifting lyrics serving as one of the key elements that propelled the album to “modern classic” status. Leach left KSe shortly after Alive Or Just Breathing‘s release but rejoined the group in early 2012 following the departure of his replacement, Howard Jones.
Have a great day!