THAT'S RIGHT, A NEW POST

Hey all, you didn't think I forgot about you did you?  I just decided that I'm wasting too much of my time on World of Warcraft these days and that I could be using some of that time to update the blog!  So that's what I'm doing today, updating you.

What I've been doing:
As some of you may know, I am now a News Writer for Ultimate-guitar.com, and writing and submitting articles over there has gotten me my writing fixes for the last few weeks.  I've also been working at all-around hellhole Pan(t)era Bread here in Madison, a shift at which never fails to fill me with rage and negative energy, fueling my cynicism and overall vitriolic tone.  I've been sending around some samples of my work to a few magazines, actually only two, Decibel and Revolver, but who's counting.  I've also been thinking of moving back to Minnesota, as it seems my friends are leaving Madison faster than a baseball team leaves the dugout after their cleanup guy gets beaned in the dome, and I feel like I've applied for every job that I'm qualified for in the entire tri-county area.  Still just thinking about it at this point, this is still a pretty fun place to live.

As far as my UG articles, I think I'll establish a section of this blog where I post links to all my UG articles, so they're all collected in one place.  That will come in the future...probably.

Musically, what have we missed?:
Oh my, a lot happens in a month of missed posts. (has it really been that long? Doesn't seem like it...)  Amon Amarth released another song from the upcoming album, called Slaves of Fear.  It's about how people allow themselves to be controlled by the rhetoric of fear in the media, religion, and politics.  It's new ground for the band lyrically, and I think it's further proof that "Surtur Rising" is going to kick ass.


My friend Sam and I drove all the way to Minnesota this month to see Eluveitie, 3 Inches of Blood, Holy Grail and System Divide in concert at Station 4 in St. Paul.  What an amazing show.  Eluveitie was a great headliner, alternating between their heavier songs and acoustic songs in an hour and a half set that was executed flawlessly by all members of the band.  3 Inches of Blood brought their signature blend of modern heavy metal and retro rock, which sent the crowd into a frenzy from the first note.  The tour that we saw wrapped up recently in Virginia, and this classic "end of tour prank" was posted on youtube today.  The other bands all take the stage during the singalong portion to screw around and help the audience pronounce the Gaulish lyrics that hurdy gurdy player Anna Murphy is trying to teach them.  Great stuff:




I also attended a metalcore show in Madison at the Barrymore theatre, taking in As I Lay Dying, After the Burial and Winds of Plague with my friend Jake.  Normally, that particular genre isn't really my thing, but I gave it a try and found myself to be pleasantly surprised by the musicianship on display.  There were breakdowns aplenty, which I've found to be a very divisive topic amongst metal fans, but the guitarwork was, by and large, superb.  I think people in that scene care far too much about their and the bands' appearances than they should, however.  It's supposed to be about the music, not how tight your pants are or how your hair looks.  Half the kids in the audience were on facebook on their phones half the time, and seemed more concerned with their friends knowing that they were at a "metal" show than the music being played right in front of them.  Kids today...

That's about all for now, I'll get to the rest in upcoming posts!  It's good to be back.

Alex




 

New Amon Amarth track debuts on Full Metal Jackie

Somehow, Amon Amarth has defied music canon and has actually gotten better with every new album.  It's not totally clear that their new album (releasing March 29th in the US, a week earlier in Europe) will continue this trend, but the track played on Full Metal Jackie's show last night is promising. 



The quality is somewhat lacking, but hey, it's new Amon Amarth, who are you to question it?  The podcast of the whole show should be available on iTunes if you want to hear the full interview with what I assume is one of the members of the band, probably vocalist Johann Hegg. Can't wait til the album comes out and we can hear this one in glorious 5.1 surround sound. 

I loved the new track - the solo section is awesome, and there's a strings part near the bridge that reminds me of "Live For the Kill" off their last album. 

I'm off to listen to this one for the 5th time in a row, have a good Sunday.

The Big Four announce one-off US Show in CA

Well, that was disappointing. 

After teasing us yesterday with details of a supposed Big Four US Tour, the bands announced on Facebook their plan to do one show in the US, in Indio, California.  The show will take place on Saturday, April 23rd, on the same grounds the Coachella festival is held the weekend before.

They posted this video to get people excited, but I'm pretty let down by this.


So far the backlash has been pretty negative.  Hundreds of comments on youtube and facebook question the decision to do a single show.  People are asking why Europe got 7 shows last summer, with 2 more to come this summer, and the country that popularized these bands gets 1 show on the West Coast.  Can't say I disagree.

Apparently there are still persistent rumors of a 6-8 show summer tour.  Lars Ulrich made a radio appearance this morning on KROQ in Southern California and said this will not be the only US show, but then again he promises to return to each city they tour "same time next year" at the end of all of their shows.  Best to keep expectations low and be surprised than to hope for more than we end up getting, I suppose.

Big Four Tour is DEFINITELY coming to the US

This morning, Metallica's Facebook page had this image posted entitled: "Coming Soon..."

I went to facebook.com/thebig4 to see if there were any details, but instead found only this image for the time being:

  

This obviously leaves no doubt that there will be a Big Four Tour in the US, probably this summer.  I imagine that the details coming tomorrow morning will be dates and venues.  Well, at least I hope so.  I'm anticipating a list of relatively few shows in large outdoor venues.  People will likely be traveling all over the country for this tour, and it wouldn't surprise me if I ended up traveling a bit to see it myself.  Start saving now, readers, because these tickets won't be cheap and I'd be very surprised if they don't sell out.  

Check out facebook.com/thebig4 tomorrow morning and we'll see what's gonna happen on the BIG FOUR US TOUR!

Red Hot Chili Peppers plan to release new album in June

No, RHCP fans, you didn't misread that, the Chili Peppers have finished recording their first album in five years and drummer Chad Smith has said it will be dropping in June 2011. 

This will be the band's first album since the departure of guitarist John Frusciante, who left in December 2009 to pursue a solo career.  In his place will be Josh Klinghoffer, who played second guitar live for the band on their Stadium Arcadium world tour and worked with Frusciante on his previous solo material. 

In the time between albums, bassist Flea actually enrolled at USC and studied music theory and classical music. 
"I felt like it really opened up new doors for me as a musician. I started playing the piano and for this record almost all my writing contribution came from the piano which is a new thing for me, a new feeling and sound for the band."

Chad Smith had this to say about the new direction the band is taking:
"It is a new direction because we've got a new guitar player and he's an amazing musician, so it's obviously gonna change," Smith told Grammy Camp.
"But it's also gonna change because we've got a new guy in the group, and he's very talented, very musical. It's fresh, it's fun, everyone is in a good mood, everyone is coming up with lots of good ideas, and I just look forward to what the future is gonna bring. I know it's gonna be different and exciting. It just makes me really happy to get up everyday and go to rehearsals, because I know something new and cool is gonna happen, and so I'm looking for it; it's awesome."

I'm not going to bill myself as the world's biggest RHCP fan, but I generally enjoy their music, and I'm looking forward to see what their new direction their sound takes.  Losing Frusciante was a huge blow to the band in my opinion, some of those guitar licks were absolute genius.  Eager to see what Klinghoffer brings to the equation.  

Amon Amarth reveal album art, track list for Surtur Rising, due March 29th

Swedish Melodic Death Metal powerhouse Amon Amarth has officially released the album art and track list for their 8th studio album "Surtur Rising," which releases in the US on March 29th.  I could not be more excited for this album, it seems the band gets better and better with each release.  The band will make an appearance at the 70,000 Tons of Metal Caribbean cruise/ metal festival as an unofficial kickoff to the CD's release.

The album is named after Surtur, the leader of the fire giants of Muspelheim ("flame land") and the oldest being in the nine worlds of Norse mythology.  The band claims it will feature "10 tracks of sword-wielding, fist-pumping, hyper climactic battle anthems."  I really hope this album lives up to the hype its generated thus far, but the album art is certainly a good start.  Here's the cover and the track list:

Surtur Rising Track Listing:

01. War of the Gods
02. Töck's Taunt - Loke's Treachery Part II
03. Destroyer of the Universe
04. Slaves of Fear
05. Live Without Regrets
06. The Last Stand of Frej
07. For Victory or Death
08. Wrath of the Norsemen
09. A Beast Am I
10. Doom Over Dead Man

March 29th can't come soon enough.

Canadian radio station K-97 plays "Money for Nothing" unedited, nonstop for an hour

In response to the CSBC's decision to ban Dire Straits' "Money for Nothing" from Canadian airwaves, (see Thursday's post) classic rock radio station K-97 in Alberta decided to play the song unedited for an hour straight this past Friday, January 14th.  From 8pm to 9pm, the station played nothing but "Money for Nothing" as its way of thumbing its nose at the Broadcast Council's ban. 

The station posted a statement explaining the decision:

"K-97 is well aware of the dangers of censorship and the effect it has on Canadian’s Freedom of Speech. K-97 has had many censorship attempts, but through it all the microphones are turned on everyday giving the announcers the freedom to say whatever is on their mind.

 

Earlier this week the CBSC ruled that the song “Money For Nothing” has violated broadcasting decency standards because of the use of the word “Faggot”. The Dire Straits song was originally released in 1985 and has since aired tens of thousands of times across Canada, has won a Grammy and has been performed by GLBT supporter, Elton John. If you listen to the context of the term, you will realize it is an artistic portrayal of a bigoted person looking at the riches and excess of the music industry.

 

While some of K-97’s content may be controversial, we respect the right to free speech for all Canadians and songwriters. That’s why K-97 has decided to go against the grain…yet again, and hold a “MONEY FOR NOTHING HOUR”. From 8pm – 9pm on Friday, January 14^th, 2011 K-97’s Todd James will be playing the Dire Straits “Money For Nothing” unedited and non stop for the entire hour to express our deep concern about this decision and the precedent it sets."

 

K-97's website is linked below if you'd like to leave a comment expressing support, or see what Canadian accents sound like on the radio.

http://www.k97.ca/index.asp?mn=5&cc=2&id=474