Riot have confirmed they’re gearing up to release their first album since the death of founding guitarist Mark Reale. But, they may change their name in recognition of the fact that he was the last original member of the band.
Reale passed away in 2012, aged 56, after a lifelong battle with Crohn’s Disease. He was rushed to hospital in January after suffering a brain hemorrhage, and died two weeks later without regaining consciousness.
The band say in a brief statement “Thank you fans, for your support. Thank you, Mark. This is for you, and dedicated to you. Shine on!”
Last year Riot released Immortal Soul, the final record to feature input from Reale, although he’d been too ill to record lead guitar parts and only contributed rhythm tracks to four songs.
In September the band rejected claims they were “cashing in” on his death, stating, “Mark was our brother. He lived with us and we took care of him up until his passing, and we are still deeply saddened by the death of a family member. Mark and his estate’s wishes were for us to go on, and most people want us to. We play songs we wrote or co-wrote, and play a few of Mark’s songs in tribute to him.”
Their next album, currently untitled, will be released through SPV/Steamhammer.
What might be a brand new Guns N’ Roses song has leaked online, and according to MetalSucks, guitarist Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal has actually confirmed that the song is legitimate – although that verification has subsequently been deleted.
The song, titled Going Down, features lead vocals from bassist Tommy Stinson, with Axl Rose on backing duties. Listen to it below.
Guns N’ Roses has not released any new music since 2008′s Chinese Democracy.
Fresh off the just-completed Rockstar Mayhem festival circuit which took them to 17 different U.S. states & Canada, Austin rockers Scorpion Child are set to heat up the last days of summer with a headlining tour this September/October with direct support from labelmates Kadavar from Germany plus Gypsyhawk from Los Angeles, Wilson from Detroit (select dates), and openers Mothership from Dallas, Texas.
Scorpion Child will perform a one-hour plus headlining set featuring music from their self-titled debut album, which landed at the number 26 slot on the Billboard Heatseekers chart and number 99 on the Hard Music Album chart the week following its June 25th release.
Checking in from their rehearsal space in Texas, the band shares:
“We met a LOT of new supporters while we were out on Rockstar Mayhem and the time has come for The Child – along with friends Kadavar, Gypsyhawk, Wilson, and Mothership-to deliver you hours of unforgettable sonics making this roadshow one of legendary modern day proportion. Together we ask you to join us in creating this epic segment in history. Come one, come all!!!”
Scorpion Child and Kadavar will make a festival appearance at the Snowboard On The Block Festival in Denver, Colorado on Saturday, September 14th prior to the tour launch in Chicago, Illinois on September 16th. The 15 date tour ends on Saturday, October 5th a mere 2 hours away from where Woodstock was held back in 1969: Brooklyn, New York.
Praised for their “old school spirit, kick-ass hard rock, killer riffs and vocals… a band worth watching & listening to!” by radio & television personality Eddie Trunk, Scorpion Child’s music has been played on Eddie Trunk’s live show on SiriusXM satellite radio and on Nights with Alice Cooper.
Scorpion Child and Kadavar solo date:
9/14/2013 Snowboard On The Block – Denver, CO
Dates for Scorpion Child’s headlining tour with Kadavar, Gypsyhawk, Wilson, and Mothership are:
9/16/2013 Cobra Lounge – Chicago, IL #
9/17/2013 Skyway Theater – Minneapolis, MN #
9/20/2013 The Astoria – Vancouver, B.C. – CANADA
9/21/2013 Neumos – Seattle, WA
9/23/2013 Slim’s – San Francisco, CA
9/24/2013 Roxy Theatre – West Hollywood, CA
9/25/2013 Rocky Point Cantina – Tempe, AZ
9/27/2013 Red 7 – Austin, TX
9/28/2013 Tomcats – Ft. Worth, TX
9/29/2013 Fitzgerald’s – Houston, TX
10/1/2013 The Firebird – St. Louis, MO #
10/2/2013 Peabody’s – Cleveland, OH
10/3/2013 Hard Luck Bar – Toronto, ON
10/4/2013 II Motore – Montreal, QC – CANADA
10/5/2013 Saint Vitus – Brooklyn, NY
# – Scorpion Child, Kadavar, Gypsyhawk, and Mothership only.
The Scorpion Child digi-pak plus exclusive album art t-shirts, etched aqua-colored vinyl, and limited edition 7” EP can all be ordered from the Nuclear Blast USA Webshop. Order the album digitally on iTunes and receive two bonus tracks.
Scorpion Child are:
Aryn Jonathan Black – Vocals
Chris Cowart – Lead Guitar
Tom Frank – Rhythm Guitar
Shaun Avants – Bass
Shawn Alvear – Drums
Black Sabbath bassist Geezer Butler has a feeling the band’s current tour will be their last.
He’s still enjoying life on the road as they support acclaimed album 13 – but admits he’s starting to find it difficult to keep going.
Butler tells the Chicago Sun-Times, “I just got a feeling. It’s getting tough, it really is. I can’t lie about that. I’m old now; it really is tough going on every night. You wake up next day will pains you never had before.
I don’t want to go onstage for the sake of the money. You have to have pride in yourself. I honestly think I’m coming to the end of the top of my job.”
He isn’t sure when his final show will be, but asserts “I’ll know when the day comes I can’t do this any more, can’t play to my usual standards. That’s when I won’t go out any more.
I just love playing with the band. It probably will be the last time, probably the last tour. I want to go out on a high – the band is playing really well at the moment.”
Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi, who’s continuing to receive treatment for cancer, recently said he hoped they’d be able to play 13 in full at some point in the future, and perhaps make another album. Frontman Ozzy Osbourne has stated their future is entirely down to Iommi’s health.
Allen Lanier, a founding member of Blue Oyster Cult, has died at 67 after being hospitalized with chronic obstructive pulmonary disease, according to the band’s Facebook page.
“DFTR sweet man,” reads the post — an obvious reference to the band’s biggest hit, Don’t Fear the Reaper. “We love you and miss you.”
Lanier, who was best known as a keyboardist with the band, also was an accomplished guitar player.
Except for a two-year absence in the 1980s, Lanier was a member of Blue Oyster Cult beginning with their inception in 1967 until his retirement in 2006. He co-wrote several BOC songs, including Tenderloin, True Confessions and Lonely Teardrops. Lanier also contributed to music by Patti Smith, Jim Carroll, the Dictators and the Clash, among others. He dated Smith for several years during the ’70s.
Lanier joined his former bandmates in New York late last year (November 2012) during a concert commemorating the release of a career-spanning box set by Blue Oyster Cult.
“My great friend Allen Lanier has passed. I’ll miss the guy even though we hadn’t spoken in awhile. He was so talented as a musician and a thinker. He read voraciously, all kinds of things, especially comparative religion. We drove for years together, shared rooms in the early days. We partied, laughed, played. All BOC fans and band members will mourn his death. Ultimately smoking finally got to him. He had been hospitalized with C.O.P.D. It was Allen who heard some old college band tapes of mine and suggested I get a shot as the singer in 1968. A lot of great memories, over 40 years worth. Maybe he’s playing a tune with Jim Carroll right now.”
Lanier, who was born June 25, 1946, lived in New York City.
SpectiCast and Eagle Rock Entertainment are once again collaborating to distribute the long-awaited Dream Theater: Live At Luna Park concert film to theatres worldwide beginning Thursday, September 19th, 2013.
This anticipated cinematic event was captured over two nights during the final leg of the band’s 15-month A Dramatic Turn Of Events world tour, which hit 35 countries. Dream Theater: Live At Luna Park was filmed in Buenos Aires, Argentina – home to one of Dream Theater’s most ardent fan-bases.
Dream Theater: Live At Luna Park runs for 160 minutes and features many of the band’s classic tracks, including, Metropolis Pt. 1,The Silent Man, Pull Me Under, The Root Of All Evil, The Test That Stumped Them All, The Spirit Carries On, and the recent track On The Backs Of Angels. Dream Theater formed in 1985 under the name Majesty and has remained a top name in progressive metal ever since.
“Dream Theater: Live At Luna Park is a fantastic addition to our Rock In Cinema series,” said Mark Rupp, Co-Founder and President of SpectiCast. “We are delighted to continue our relationship with Eagle Rock Entertainment, bringing theatrical releases of concerts by some of the world’s best musical groups to theatres around the globe.”
Dream Theater: Live At Luna Park will premiere on the SpectiCast network beginning September 19th 2013. For more information, visit www.liveatlunapark.com and www.specticast.com.
Furthermore, Dream Theater – the first self-titled collection in the GRAMMY®-nominated band’s nearly three decade career – arrives at last on September 24th. The album is now available for pre-order in a wide range of distinctive versions, including standard and special edition CDs, 180 Gram Vinyl Double LP, and a Limited Edition Box Set. Fans who pre-order the album via the iTunes Store will receive an instant free MP3 download of the Dream Theater’s new single, The Enemy Inside. Preorders are also available at Dream Theater’s Webstore and at the Roadrunner Records Webstore.
