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ANTHRAX’S “FOR ALL KINGS” MAKES TOP TEN DEBUT ON BILLBOARD’S TOP 200 ALBUMS CHART

Multi-Grammy nominee Anthrax have blasted into Billboard’s Top 10 with their 11th studio album, For All Kings, bowing at #9-bullet on the Top 200 Albums Chart and selling 34,000 units. This debut eclipses the #12 debut made by the band’s 2011 Grammy-nominated, critically-acclaimed Worship Music.

The album also topped the Hard Rock Albums chart in both the U.S. and Canada with its #1 debuts, and landed at #5 and #7 respectively on the U.S. and Canada’s Top Current Albums charts. Additionally, For All Kings debuted at #2 on Billboard’s Top Rock Albums chart, #2 on the Independent Albums chart, #4 Physical Albums, and #5 Vinyl Albums chart.

“We share this Top 10 victory with all of our fans,” said the band’s Charlie Benante. “Heavy metal is alive and well.”

Since For All Kings was released last Friday, February 26th, it has held the #1 position on both the iTunes Heavy Metal Albums sales chart and Amazon’s Best Sellers in Metal chart. In addition, the album’s first single, “Breathing Lightning,” debuted last week in the Top 40 on both the Mediabase Active Rock Chart and on BDS.

Press has also been an enormous champion of For All Kings, “The album is thrash perfection…” “…a near flawless album…5 out of 5 stars…” “…one of Anthrax’s best CDs of all time, a sparkling triumph…” “…a surefire album-of-the-year contender…”

For All Kings is the band’s 11th studio album, was produced by Jay Ruston, and is their first album since 1990’s Persistence of Time to be written specifically for Joey Belladonna’s soaring vocals, an integral part of Anthrax’s classic signature sound. And the album IS classic Anthrax, with the band’s metal thrash roots clearly front-and-center, and lyrics that tackle topics such as the struggle to grow up and be responsible, having blind faith and selling your soul, how the way you live your life affects everyone around you, and murder and martyrdom rooted in an ideology.

“Thank you so much to everyone who loves the record we made,” added Anthrax’s Scott Ian. “The response to For All Kings has been fantastic, seriously, thank you all so much.”

Anthrax is currently on tour in South America with Iron Maiden and will return to the U.S. for a series of festival dates in the Spring.

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GUITARIST TONY IOMMI PLANS TO WORK WITH FORMER FRONTMAN TONY MARTIN AGAIN

Black Sabbath guitarist Tony Iommi has revealed plans to record with former frontman Tony Martin.

He sang with the band for two stints between 1987 and 1997, appearing on their albums The Eternal Idol, Headless Cross, Tyr, Cross Purposes, Cross Purposes Live and Forbidden. His time with Sabbath ended after they settled their differences with Ozzy Osbourne.

Now Martin has been lined up to add new music to the re-release versions of Headless Cross and Tyr.

Iommi tells The Music, “We’ve held back on the reissues because of the current Sabbath thing with Ozzy, but they will certainly be happening.

“I’d like to do a couple of new tracks for those with Tony. I’ll also be looking at working on Cross Purposes and Forbidden.”

Iommi and Martin last met at the unveiling of a plaque to commemorate late drummer Cozy Powell. The singer said later, “I was greeted by Tony very warmly. It’s the first conversation of any length I’ve had with him in 15 years. And it turns out we may well be working together soon.”

Sabbath are currently performing on their final world tour, which includes a headline appearance at this year’s Download festival in June.

source: teamrock.com

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THE NEW AGE OF GOLD RECORDS

Steve Knopper of Rolling Stone reports:

For 58 years, going gold was a simple matter: Sell 500,000 copies of your album or single, get a shiny record to hang on your wall. But thanks to new guidelines the Recording Industry Association of America introduced in early February, it just got easier — and more complicated.

Now, along with actual sales, the formula factors in listens on streaming services, as well as YouTube plays, and counts 10 digital-track downloads as the equivalent of one album sold; 1,500 plays on Spotify, Apple Music, Tidal or any other streaming service now count as one album sale, meaning that an LP with 750 million streams would be credited with a gold record. (The rule changes only affect albums; the RIAA began taking into account streaming data for gold and platinum singles in 2013.)

…The RIAA’s new math reflects a sea change in listening habits. Streaming revenue grew from $500 million in 2012 to more than $1 billion in 2014. Ten years ago, 90 percent of the albums on Billboard’s Top 200 sold enough copies to go gold or platinum; in 2014, just 30 percent of them did the same. Billboard updated its charts to include streaming data in 2014.

“We can’t be the same program we were 58 years ago, and even three years ago,” says Liz Kennedy, the RIAA’s gold and platinum director. “We’ll have to continue to adjust over time.” Peter Paterno, attorney for Dr. Dre, Metallica and Van Morrison, adds, “If they stick to [sales], they’re not going to have any charts in five years. If you don’t include streaming, you’re not painting an accurate picture of what’s going on.”

Not everybody is thrilled with the new rules. Larry Stessel, a former executive for major labels Sony, Mercury and EMI, says, “Streaming, to me, is no different than radio airplay, so to count it in a certification on sales doesn’t make any sense. It makes it less meaningful. There are still artists like Adele who can sell 8 million copies.”

Read more at Rolling Stone.

source: rollingstone.com

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FAMED L.A. MANAGER VICKY HAMILTON RELEASES “APPETITE FOR DYSFUNCTION”

At 22, Vicky Hamilton left her hometown of Fort Wayne, Indiana, and arrived on the Sunset Strip as a wide-eyed blonde with an ear for rock & roll, “I was back home interviewing Tom Petty for Three Rivers Review,” says Hamilton, “He told me I was a ‘real California girl,’ and that’s all it took.” It was 1981, and Hamilton arrived at the center of Hollywood, where the scene was erupting with spandex, sex, cocaine, Aqua Net hairspray and madcap visionaries.

Hamilton discovered Guns N’ Roses and became their first manager and surrogate mother, living in her apartment as Axl Rose ducked a rape charge. “I was basically harboring a fugitive,” she says, “Axl ended up crashing on my couch for six months.” Hamilton then negotiated the band’s contract with Geffen Records. In 1986, she was let go and forced to sue the band to recoup the $25,000 she’d borrowed to bankroll them.

Hamilton now shares her stories in a memoir about a woman who rode the crazy train with some of rock’s wildest frontmen, and matched their hard-partying ways. Sober for 15 years, Hamilton spent that last seven excavating her private collection of photos, flyers, contracts, letters, and interviews to create a revealing look into her fascinating life.

Her book includes new details about her turbulent relationship with Axl Rose and Poison’s Bret Michaels, her experience as an A&R rep for Geffen, and above all, Appetite for Dysfunction, is the story of her rise and fall, and how she regained her life by becoming a Grammy Award winning executive that helped relaunch the career of June Carter Cash in 1999.

Steven Adler (drummer, Guns N’ Roses), “Vicky was probably the best thing that happened to us in the early days. She dealt with us when nobody else would, and made everything happen for us. I’m grateful for that.”

Appetite For Dysfunction: A Cautionary Tale is now available through Amazon and other online book retailers.

Limited edition autographed pre-release editions and other merchandise may be ordered through Hamilton’s website.

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