Man, so much news. So good, since there’s nothing else really happening today, is there?
The Pulse Of Radio reporting Korn frontman Jonathan Davis has launched a two-week T-shirt brand campaign in collaboration with Merchful.com to help those that are suffering from bullying or suicidal thoughts. According to Blabbermouth, a portion of the proceeds from sales of the shirt will benefit the non-profit organizations the American Foundation For Suicide Prevention and Stomp Out Bullying.
Davis said in a statement, “As you know, bullying is something a lot of people have to deal with, and many times that type of harassment leads to suicide. Let’s help shine a light on this crap, let’s be weird, let’s be different, but always be yourself. Let’s see how many people we can get behind this movement.”
Back in 2014, Korn released a song called “Hater” off the deluxe edition of its album The Paradigm Shift. The accompanying video featured fan-submitted video clips where they shared personal experiences of being a victim of bullying, abuse or hatred and how that affected them.
Korn’s latest album, The Serenity Of Suffering, debuted at Number Four on the Billboard 200 album chart in November, marking the 13th time that a Korn release has debuted in the Top 10 and tying the group with Led Zeppelin. Korn is next scheduled to play on March 5th and 6th at the House Of Blues in Anaheim, California, after which the band is confirmed for several spring festivals, including Carolina Rebellion, Rock On The Range, Chicago Open Air, Rock Fest Cadott and Rock USA.
News albums out today include AFI‘s AFI/The Blood Album. It’s their 10th studio record and the group wrote more than 60 tunes for the disc before cutting that down to the eventual track list, and we asked singer Davey Havok how AFI ends up deciding on the final songs: “It’s a matter of being drawn toward songs that move us in a sometimes non-specific way. And we like a hook, we like a melody, and so songs that we feel have that resonance and that catchiness, we’re often drawn to.”
The current single is “White Offerings,” and the band also released the new video for “Snow Cats.” The band is launching a tour in support of the new disc tonight in Los Angeles, wrapping up a little over a month later on Feb 21st in San Diego. This will be AFI’s first full tour in several years, following the completion of the tour cycle for 2013’s Burials album.
AFI guitarist Jade Puget was asked by Loudwire if the band was bringing any production out on the road with them. Puget replied, “There is production involved, but we’re not one of those bands that brings a giant production out . . . We’re doing some things on this tour that we haven’t done before with lights and syncing to our songs. We’re doing screens — so they’ll be some stuff our fans haven’t seen before. I’m excited to see it myself.”
Asked by Alternative Press why the disc is called the “Blood Album,” Jade Puget said, “Originally, we wanted just have it self-titled because it’s been 10 records and AFI has never had a self-titled record. But because the album artwork has these three blood drops on the front, we just started calling it the ‘Blood Album.’ So people started thinking it was the actual title, and because we didn’t want to confuse anyone, we made it official.”
Also out today is the debut album from As Lions, Selfish Age. The band is fronted by Austin Dickinson, the son of legendary Iron Maiden frontman Bruce Dickinson.
According to their bio, when As Lions came together in 2015, singer Austin Dickinson recalls, “we had a mission statement to each other and to the music. And that was to create the biggest, baddest hard rock we could, and on an almost cinematic scale.” Hardly the most modest of goals, but one the London-based five-piece go a long way toward realizing on their debut EP, Aftermath. The effort’s 4 dynamic tracks are a study in contrasts, mixing thick, grinding riffs and rhythms with majestically sweeping strings, stately piano tinklings and a hefty dose of atmospheric electronics, all of it shot through with Dickinson’s soaring vocals and introspective lyrics. The result is music that runs a gamut of emotions, capable of sounding beautiful and hopeful one second and angry and aggressive the next. Or, as Dickinson puts it, “sonically and in terms of expression, the idea is to have these little peaks and valleys in the songs. That ambition, as far as sound and feel and emotion, is what binds the five of us together as musicians.”
Hi, we’re As Lions!
Those five musicians—Austin Dickinson, guitarist and keyboardist Conor O’Keefe, guitarist Will Homer, bassist Stefan Whiting and drummer Dave Fee—first revealed that grand ambition in 2015, playing sold-out shows in their native England, where they garnered plenty of positive press and a growing and devoted fan base. That lead to a U.S. record deal and a trip to New Jersey to record with, Dickinson says, “an absolute hero of ours,” award-winning producer David Bendeth (Of Mice & Men, Paramore, Bring Me The Horizon). From there, the band headed to Las Vegas and worked with Kane Churko (Five Finger Death Punch, Disturbed, In This Moment). “That was an amazing experience,” the singer says. “Not only is Kane hyper talented, he’s also a young guy—our own age. So we were all on the same wavelength.
“In general, the sessions were just great,” Dickinson continues. “Every day was an adventure into exploring the possibilities that lay in front of us. And I think you can hear it in the songs. There was a shit-ton of fun that went into them, and I hope that shines through.”
As much as there was an upbeat vibe permeating the recording sessions, when it came to his lyrics, Dickinson found himself drawn to more serious matters. There’s the title track, the epic and evocative “Aftermath,” in which Dickinson asks: “What have we created / what have we become?” as guitars churn and crash around him. “It’s one of our biggest-sounding songs, and it has some of my favorite riffs in it,” Dickinson says of the track. “Conceptually it’s about trying to navigate your way out of disaster, be it personal, collective, or in the case of the video, a war zone,” he continues. “I think it’s relatable and applicable to a lot of situations, which is why I wanted to write about it. The song means a ton to us, and we really hope our fans enjoy it as much as we did making it.”
When As Lions hit the stage, Dickinson commented, “performing live for me has always been like a weird form of therapy. You’re stepping outside of the thing you carry around all day—it’s like taking a bag off your back and chucking it down. I want to be able to do that for everyone that’s watching us as well. I want the fans to feel like they’re on that stage living these songs and having a great time. Because we’re having a great time. The way we perform, we just go nuts—absolutely fucking mental!” And the band recently wrapped up their tour with Five Finger Death Punch and Shinedown, and Austin also helped out on 5FDP vocals when singer Ivan Moody had to leave the tour for personal reasons.
And speaking of Shinedown, they’ve announced their March dates with As Lions which they are doing on the west coast prior to heading to Europe to connect for a tour with Iron Maiden! Find all the dates on the Road Rage page.
Also in stores today, Starset‘s amazing new Vessels album! Every Starset fan needs to own this one! Find all of their tour dates in Road Rage!
Here is the music video for their current single, “Monster.” Enjoy!
30 Seconds To Mars (or Thirty Seconds To Mars) has unveiled the details of its third annual Summer Camp event, scheduled from Aug 12th to 14th in Malibu, CA. The weekend-long Camp Mars will feature two performances from the band, along with activities like yoga, hiking, archery, meditation, and talks from professional speakers.
Frontman Jared Leto said, “When last year’s Camp sold out in just over a day, we were blown away and humbled. And to be doing this for a third year in a row is an absolute dream. We not only get to share our music, great food and tons of fun with people we love — but it also takes place in one of our favorite places on the planet, the beautiful mountains of sunny Malibu, California.”
In a video trailer accompanying the announcement, Leto added, “I’ve been coming to this area for 20 years. I was always curious about this place, and I thought, ‘What an amazing location’ . . . It’s a really beautiful gift to be able to do something that’s so unique.”
Ticket packages go on sale starting February 1st at 1:00 p.m. ET. The band documented the previous year’s Camp Mars experience in a concert film released last October. Thirty Seconds To Mars is currently working on its fifth studio album, which will follow up 2013’s Love, Lust, Faith + Dreams.
Blabbermouth is reporting even though his first solo album has yet to be released, Alter Bridge singer Myles Kennedy is already at work on a second one. He told BackstageAxxess.com, “It’s not gonna be something where it’s gonna require a year or two of my time to promote it; it can be done in a relatively short span of time. So hopefully in the next year or so would be ideal to put something like that out.” Kennedy also spoke about the status of his other band, Slash Featuring Myles Kennedy & The Conspirators, which is currently on ice while Slash tours with Guns N’ Roses. Kennedy said the future of the Conspirators “remains to be seen.”
A documentary film of Rammstein‘s Paris concert date will be released, says Blabbermouth. The film was directed by famous Swedish rock video/photographer Jonas Åkerlund. According to The Hollywood Reporter, “Rammstein: Paris”, the new documentary from German industrial metallers RAMMSTEIN, will screen in around 350 cinemas internationally, including in the U.S., on Mar 23. The film was shot in March 2012 at the then-named Palais Omnisports de Paris-Bercy in Paris (now AccorHotels Arena) during Rammstein’s “Made In Germany” tour.
“Concert films are always a big challenge,” said Åkerlund, who has also worked with Metallica, Madonna, U2 and The Prodigy, among others. “I compare it to shooting fireworks. The way I approach it is to try to translate the energy that you get in the room onto film, using every trick in the book to make as much of an impression as I can on the audience.” “Rammstein: Paris” was shot over two nights, using 30 cameras.
“That gives you a massive amount of footage,” Åkerlund added.”This is a two-hour-twenty-minute show, and I take the footage and cut it with the same precision that I would a three- or four-minute music video. Even with a big crew of editors, it took us over a year to nail down the edit.”
Meanwhile, I am sure fans are wondering when the next new Rammstein album will be released. The band hasn’t made a new CD since 2009’s Liebe Ist Für Alle Da.
Hello, is there anybody in there?
Finally today, Falling in Reverse have announced April 7, 2017 as the release date for their fourth album Coming Home (Epitaph). The band has also shared the track listing, album artwork, and the new song “Loser.” Listen to “Loser” here and here.
The follow-up to 2015’s Just Like You, Coming Home finds the band exploring its sound, all the while retaining the signature ethos and aesthetic that has won the love and loyalty of its incredibly invested fans and followers.
Listen to the atmospheric title track, released in late December, here.
Coming Home is available for pre-order here.
Frontman Ronnie Radke previously told Alternative Press that the album is “a huge left turn. It sounds like nothing we’ve ever done. Every song is very vibey. There’s more feeling in it.”
He continued, “We’re challenging ourselves now more than we ever have in the weirdest ways possible, because you would think writing the craziest solo or riffs would be the challenging part. But the challenging part is trying to stick to a theme and not go all over the place like we would normally do.”
Falling in Reverse will embark on a busy touring schedule in support of the album. The band is currently on tour with Issues and Motionless in White.
Celebrating life: Today: Paul Stanley of Kiss is 65, Bill Maher (Real Time with Bill Maher/comedian) is 61, Sid Wilson of Slipknot is the Big 4-0, Rob Bourdon of Linkin Park is 38 and Matt Tuck of Bullet For My Valentine is 37. On Sunday, raise a glass to Steve Adler of Guns ‘N Roses who turns 52.
Have a great weekend! Go Steelers, Packers, Falcons, Patriots. That covers everyone!