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THE WINERY DOGS’ SELF-TITLED ALBTM DEBUTS At #5 ON BILLBOARD’S “TOP ROCK ALBUMS” & #27 ON THE “TOP 200 ALBUMS” CHART

The Winery Dogs (@TheWineryDogs) is sending a huge thank you to their loyal fans in North America for giving their critically-acclaimed self-titled debut album a strong debut on the Billboard charts. Not only did it explode onto the “Top Rock Chart” at #5, it also opens on the “Top 200 Albums” chart at #27.

The power trio–Mike Portnoy (Dream Theater, Avenged Sevenfold), Billy Sheehan (Mr. Big) and Richie Kotzen (Mr. Big, Poison)—self-produced The Winery Dogs, which was released July 23rd on Loud & Proud Records. The album has been hailed as “…one of the most intriguing releases of the year” by Loudwire.com, and in a recent reader’s poll on Revolver magazine’s website, fans called it their “Album of the Week.”

Success hasn’t been limited to the U.S. shores. The Winery Dogs recently kicked off their first-ever tour in Japan and South America to sold-out crowds wherever they played. After one more stop in Buenos Aires on August 1st, they’ll head home for their first U.S. shows, starting August 3rd in New York City at B.B. King Blues Club & Grill. While they’re in town, on Tuesday, August 6th at 7pm, the band will take part in an in-store signing session at Vintage Vinyl in Fords, NJ. For more information, visit www.vvinyl.com.

Once the first portion of their U.S. trek concludes on August 8th, Portnoy, Sheehan and Kotzen will take a much-deserved break before heading back overseas for their first shows in Europe throughout most of September, which will include stops in England, Germany, Spain, Italy and Portugal. The U.S. tour will start up again on October 3rd in Agoura Hills, CA at the Canyon Club.

Check out The Winery Dogs at any of the following U.S. tour stops:

Sat 8/3 New York, NY B.B. King Blues Club and Grill
Sun 8/4 Lancaster, PA Chameleon
Tue 8/6 Fords, NJ Vintage Vinyl (in-store)
Wed 8/7 Newton, NJ The Newton Theater
Thu 8/8 Chicago, IL Reggie’s Rock Club
Thu 10/3 Agoura Hills, CA Canyon Club
Fri 10/4 Las Vegas, NV Vamp’d
Sat 10/5 San Diego, CA Romana Mainstage
Sun 10/6 San Juan Capistrano, CA Coach House
Tue 10/8 Sacramento, CA Harlow’s
Wed 10/9 San Francisco, CA Yoshi’s

BILL WARD SAYS “I HAVEN’T LEFT BLACK SABBATH”

Black Sabbath drummer Bill Ward – who is currently sitting out the band’s ongoing reunion citing contract disputes – has hinted at some of the specific reasons lying behind his decision to not rejoin the band in a new interview.

“I was offered a contact and I couldn’t sign it,” he tells Guitar International. “As for some of the stories – I would never, ever show up for a commitment that I could not do physically. So that should answer that one! In the statement that I did last year, I was quite clear that I came to the end of the road and promised myself and my family that I would never sign a contract that was not workable.

“It was one of the toughest decisions that I ever had to make. Because I absolutely and without question wanted to play. I haven’t left the band. Everybody thinks I have left the band. I didn’t walk out; it wasn’t like that at all! I just didn’t sign the contact and life took its own course.

“I’m the drummer in Black Sabbath so I want to do the entire show. I play all or nothing. Playing partially would kind of be aligning to my demise in Sabbath and minimize me. I’m the drummer in Sabbath and quite capable of doing the job.”

Read the entire interview at Guitar International.

In other Bill Ward news, the drummer is about to debut a fine art collection, called Absence of Corners, on August 1st. For more information, please visit www.billwarddrumart.com.

additional source: metalhammer.co.uk

METALLICA TO RELEASE SOUNDTRACK FOR THEIR UPCOMING MOVIE ON SEPTEMBER 24TH

Metallica will be releasing a soundtrack for their upcoming 3D movie, Metallica Through the Never on September 24th through the band’s own label, Blackened Recordings.

The two-disc soundtrack features 16 songs, including classics like For Whom the Bell Tolls and Master of Puppets, as well as newer songs like Fuel, all recorded at Rexall Place in Edmonton and Rogers Arena in Vancouver, where the band filmed the live footage featured in the movie.

While both the CD and digital versions will be available on September 24th, later in the fall, the soundtrack will also be released on vinyl on both 33 1/3RPM and 45RPM.

“Let’s hear it for the old school soundtrack!” said drummer Lars Ulrich. “Not only are we beyond psyched about our movie coming your way shortly, but the fact that we get to share the music directly in all these formats is way fuckin’ cool.”

Metallica Through the Never mixes concert footage with a narrative story, plus added CGI, and will open Sept. 27 on IMAX screens. It goes wide a week later.

“It’s like three movies in one,” frontman James Hetfield told Billboard in May. “So there’s a lot of different dynamics happening within this movie, and every time we go and see it and tweak here and there. It’s like putting a song together — only it’s a little more expensive. It’s pretty scary but it’s been something on our radar for awhile. It’s become more unique than we ever though it would.”

Metallica Through The Never (Music from the Motion Picture) track listing:

Disc 1:

1. The Ecstasy Of Gold
2. Creeping Death
3. For Whom The Bell Tolls
4. Fuel
5. Ride The Lightning
6. One
7. The Memory Remains
8. Wherever I May Roam
9. Cyanide
10. …And Justice For All

Disc 2:

1. Master Of Puppets
2. Battery
3. Nothing Else Matters
4. Enter Sandman
5. Hit The Lights
6. Orion

source: billboard.com

AS METALLICA’S “KILL ‘EM ALL” TURNS THIRTY, EDDIE TRUNK REFLECTS THE BAND’S DEBUT ALBUM

In honor of Metallica’s Kill’ Em All album turning 30, VH1 asked Eddie Trunk to comment on the band’s seminal debut.

Here is what he had to say:

“I was just starting out in radio doing a metal show in NJ. I knew Jonny Z who owned Megaforce Records from a flea market store he had. He drove to my radio studio one night asking me if I would please take a chance and play this band nobody would touch on my radio show called Metallica. He insisted it would be huge one day and asked me to give it a shot since no radio would touch it. I wish I could say I heard the future, but in all honesty I wasn’t sure what I heard. The music I liked had more melody and it sounded very harsh and extreme for my tastes. I wasn’t so sure about the tempos and vocals but it had an energy I liked. You must remember in 1983 there wasn’t much that sounded like that.

Today Metallica is mainstream. Back then they were anything but! Along with Slayer, Megadeth and Anthrax, it helped usher in and introduce a whole new style of metal. Thrash/speed metal was born with those early releases and Kill ‘Em All was at the forefront. The opening of Hit the Lights, just this wall of noise and the drums, and then the way it kicks in so intensely to me just screams ‘things are about to get way more interesting in metal.’ It forced the established bands of the time to take notice and realize there was an audience for a more extreme style of metal. I think history will show it to be one of the most pivotal groundbreaking albums, for sure.”

To read what others had to say including: Rob Halford, Jason Newsted, Scott Ian, Kerry King, Joe Satriani and others, click here.

PHILIP ANSELMO & THE ILLEGALS SWITCH AUGUST 16 NEW YORK VENUE TO THE GRAMERCY THEATRE

The venue for Philip Anselmo & The Illegals’ August 16th show in New York has been moved from the Best Buy Theatre to The Gramercy Theatre. In addition, tickets will be priced at the more nominal $22.50, and can be purchased here or at The Gramercy box office. Doors open at 7:30 and the show will begin at 8:30PM. Those holding tickets for Best Buy can obtain a refund at the point-of-purchase.

For this Technicians of Distortion tour that kicks off this Wednesday, July 31st, Anselmo & The Illegals will be joined by Warbeast. The full itinerary is below.

Anselmo’s first solo album, Walk Through Exits Only, released on July 16th, debuted at #35 on Billboard’s Top 200 Albums and at #4 on Billboard’s Hard Rock chart and on the CMJ Loud Rock chart. The album has also received stellar reviews.

Philip Anselmo & The Illegals’ “Technicians of Distortion” tour is as follows:

July:

31 Cain’s Ballroom, Tulsa, OK

August:

2 Wooly’s, Des Moines, IA
3 First Avenue, Minneapolis, MN
4 House of Blues, Chicago, IL
6 House of Blues, Cleveland, OH
7 The Intersection, Grand Rapids, MI
9 Royal Oak Music Theatre, Royal Oak, MI
10 Danforth Music Hall, Toronto, ONT Canada
11 Heavy MTL Festival, Montreal, QC Canada
13 The Palladium, Worcester, MA
14 Upstate Concert Hall, Clifton Park, NY
16 Best Buy Theatre, New York, NY
17 Union Transfer, Philadelphia, PA
18 The Fillmore, Silver Spring, MD
20 The Masquerade – Heaven Stage, Atlanta, GA
22 Tipitina’s, New Orleans, LA

MANOWAR ANNOUNCE “KINGS OF METAL 2014”

Manowar’s Kings Of Metal album, a milestone in metal history, was first released on November 18th, 1988.

Already a significant force with international success since their debut album Battle Hymns, this release, and the following 1989 Kings Of Metal world tour, catapulted Manowar to a new sphere. Songs like Heart Of Steel, Kings Of Metal, Hail And Kill, and Blood Of The Kings, became instant anthems and remain among the most demanded songs in concerts, celebrated not only by Manowar fans.

In celebration of the 25th anniversary of Kings Of Metal, Manowar are currently in the studio, recording a brand new special version of the album: Kings Of Metal 2014.

“The new rendition will honor the original as it’s inspiration, but with additional energy, fully utilizing the power of today’s technology and 25 years of experience, and it will contain new arrangements and changes that incorporate live performance elements added over the years,” said Manowar bassist Joey DeMaio. “The album will feature additional bonus material and many other surprises,” he added.

The new recording is only one component of the Kings Of Metal 2014 anniversary celebration.

For this special occasion, Manowar will also open their vaults and reveal never-before-seen video footage, photos, behind-the-scene interviews and insight into the history of the band and the Kings Of Metal era.

For the new narration on The Warrior’s Prayer, the band will be joined by celebrated British actor Brian Blessed (Henry V, Macbeth). Mr. Blessed is a renowned Shakespeare and character actor who has starred, among others, in Kenneth Brannagh’s, Henry V, Much Ado About Nothing, King Lear, and Oliver Stone’s, Alexander.

Brian also has an affinity with heavy metal music. In June 2013 he received the “Spirit of Hammer Award” at Metal Hammer UK’s Golden Gods Awards.

The new recordings will also feature guitarist Karl Logan’s, and drummer Donnie Hamzik’s contributions, who, after having played these classic hymns many times live, will now have the opportunity to add to their legacy by including their own signature sound and performance.

The release of Kings Of Metal 2014 is scheduled for the end of this year.

2014 will then see Manowar’s anniversary tour, performing the full Kings Of Metal 2014 album along with their other metal hymns in a completely new stage production.

For more info and constant updates please visit manowar.com or facebook.com/manowar