As the excitement for the upcoming debut album by Metal Allegiance continues to grow, the album pre-order launches tomorrow via iTunes worldwide. The self-titled album contains appearances by Philip H. Anselmo, Charlie Benante, Chuck Billy, D. Randall Blythe, Rex Brown, Ron “Bumblefoot” Thal, Phil Demmel, David Ellefson, Alissa White-Gluz, Matthew K. Heafy, Gary Holt, Jamey Jasta, Chris Jericho, Andreas Kisser, Misha Mansoor, Mark Osegueda, Tim “Ripper” Owens, dUg Pinnick, Mike Portnoy, Troy Sanders, Cristina Scabbia, Alex Skolnick, Steve “Zetro” Souza and Ben Weinman. Fans can go to iTunes and all orders will receive an instant download of the recently released track, “Can’t Kill The Devil.” The song features Chuck Billy on vocals; Alex Skolnick, Phil Demmel & Andreas Kisser on guitars; David Ellefson on bass; and Mike Portnoy on drums.
The standard edition CD of Metal Allegiance will feature the 9 original songs. A digipak edition will be available that features an all-star tribute to Ronnie James Dio with a cover of his classic song “We Rock” as well as a 45 minute behind-the-scenes documentary on the making of the album. A double vinyl version will also be available that will feature all 10 songs. Physical CD bundles are available through the Nuclear Blast store.
Metal Allegiance recently announced that they will be having a record release concert on September 17th in New York City at the Best Buy Theater. The show, presented by D’Addario, will feature the following confirmed participants: Frank Bello (Anthrax), Charlie Benante (Anthrax), Chuck Billy (Testament), David Ellefson (Metal Allegiance/Megadeth), Alissa White-Gluz (Arch Enemy), Gary Holt (Slayer/Exodus), Scott Ian (Anthrax), Mark Menghi (Metal Allegiance), Mark Osegueda (Death Angel), Mike Portnoy (Metal Allegiance/The Winery Dogs), Troy Sanders (Mastodon), Alex Skolnick (Metal Allegiance/Testament) along with a few special guests. Space Born Killers have been tapped to open the show. Tickets for the show are $25.00 and can be purchased via Axs.com by clicking here.
Metal Allegiance will be airing weekly webisodes every Wednesday up until the album’s release date. The webisodes offer fans an inside look at the creation of Metal Allegiance and the unique collaboration by hard rock and heavy metal’s most notable performers. The first webisode features a look at album opener “Gift Of Pain” and webisode #2 showcasing “Let Darkness Fall” can both be seen below.
Stemming from an initial idea in 2011, Metal Allegiance was born as a way to unite a collection of hard rock and heavy metal’s most notable musicians in a setting born under one ideal- a love of music and performing. In 2015, that ideal still holds true and has become the foundation for everything Metal Allegiance; furthered with the release of the upcoming debut album. While the lineup may change, the passion, the energy and the emotion all remain the same. Metal Allegiance is more than just a record or a concert, it’s an experience and a lifestyle.
Heart Of Storm–the internationally acclaimed one-of-a-kind live rock concert and Russian ballet experience–will make its premiere in Los Angeles on Friday, July 24th and Saturday, July 25yh at the Orpheum Theatre, 8pm (842 S. Broadway Los Angeles, CA 90014).
In celebration of its U.S. debut, Heart Of Storm is offering fans the chance to view these shows with complimentary tickets, only on July 24 and July 25. For complimentary tickets email: tickets@redrockballet.com.
In this in-depth interview below, Heart Of Storm’s Derek Sherinian [keyboardist]and Gregg Bissonette [drummer], Doug Aldrich [lead guitar] and Tony Franklin [The Firm, Jimmy Page, Paul Rodgers] discuss how the show was born, its evolution from premiering in Europe last year in Mayto kicking off its U.S. debut this Friday and Saturday in Los Angeles and what fans can expect when they come to see this one-of-a-kind rock concert and ballet experience.
Q: When did this whole idea for Heart Of Storm evolve from? What sparked it for you?
Derek Sherinian: The creator Alex Semenov approached me in late 2013 to produce and play on a rock instrumental record. Alex decided to have choreographed ballet performing live along with a rock band, he found Stas Tsoy a talented Russian-Korean choreographer and this sounded like an exciting, unique opportunity to me.
Q: What was your vision for this artistically? What message do you guys want to get across? What should people walk away with?
Doug Aldrich: Artistically, I thought this was a cool fusion of arts and I wanted an opportunity to push myself in some new directions after Whitesnake. This was really something interesting and obviously with a great bunch of friends that also happen to be at the top level as musicians. I hope to have people walk away feeling happy to see and hear something fresh that is a new idea.
Derek Sherinian: Heart Of Storm is Alex Semenov’s vision. My job is to help him see his vision through on the musical end.
Tony Franklin: Heart Of Storm is part rock show, part Russian ballet–with a killer band, featuring top name rock musicians–and world class Russian ballet. ‘Storm’ is the main character, and the storyline follows his tumultuous journey of love, anger, jealousy and death. But this is not just a dance show with accompanying rock music. Both the band and ballet are interwoven into a unique, powerful and emotional performance. I’ve never seen anything like it.
Q: How did the idea of fusing the music with ballet come about? How did you create the songs to fit with the ballet choreography?
Derek Sherinian: The music was written first, and then the dancing was choreographed afterwards.
Doug Aldrich: Music has always been in ballet I guess, but this is a fresh approach that the composer felt would be more intense and fit well with the choreography. It could possibly reach a new audience that might otherwise skip ballet. I myself have never been to a ballet, but now I’m interested. The Red Rock Ballet is made up of very talented young dancers from Russia.
Q: Can you elaborate on the band’s chemistry? What’s the dynamic like?
Derek Sherinian: Everyone in this band is not only incredible musicians, but incredible people as well. Tony Franklin and Gregg Bissonette are hands down the nicest rhythm section in rock! I am truly blessed to be working with such a great team of people across the board.
Doug Aldrich: Derek is our fearless leader and has put together a very diverse bunch of people to perform the music. I know Derek had been working on this for some time. Then I happened to be in Moscow for a day and I got a phone call from Brent Woods saying that he and Derek were out at a party in town and asked if I wanted to join. Haha. I was asleep and jetlagged so I didn’t go, but a few months later Derek started to think about this production and called me to play. I have to say, it’s been a huge amount of work for me to get up to speed, but we had so much fun that time has flown by. We are all very different people so it feels unlike any project I’ve been in. Gregg and Brent secretly coordinated wardrobe the entire time showing up with the same shit and shoes or whatever… Tony is truly one of the nicest people you could ever meet. His playing is just astounding… so giant. Like all the guys I reckon. Brandon has just blown me away…with horns and flutes!!! He has been very patient with us as he has not had to deal with a band this loud. But he seriously shreds if that can be deemed a compliment from me. Derek is that bad boy dude with chops that will back it up. Derek and Brent are serious gearheads which of course I can relate to. Derek has more gear than just about anyone I know…. I get it. There is always more room for something new. Brent plays so awesome. I’m really glad to work with him. He is playing solos as well, but also doing acoustic work which is very important with a ballet. Gregg is joking around all the time… always, but he just an insanely talented player. He like all these guys has played with the best of the best cause they are that good.
Gregg Bissonette: The band chemistry is awesome. I’ve been a fan of all of these musicians for many years and have played with everyone before except Brent Woods, but now he’s my new best friend :). The first day I showed up for rehearsal, I was wearing a red Foo Fighters shirt and black jeans and Brent was wearing a red shirt and black jeans. Everyone commented on it, so each morning we decided to mess with the others by calling ahead of time and wearing the same colors. It took them a while to figure it out and they thought we were on the same wave length, but they quickly caught on :).We all really take the music seriously, as a drummer in the band you have two man jobs: the tempo, and controlling the dynamics… bringing it way down and way up when you need to. Brandon is one of the world’s greatest sax players and I’ve played with him at the Baked Potato Jazz club in L.A., on his solo albums, and we were in the house band for the Latin Grammys a few years ago. I was in a band with Derek called Jughead which my brother Matt Bissonette (Elton John’s bassist) and Ty Tabor (Kings X) were also in. Derek and I also played in Italy with Yngwie Malmsteen and Deep Purple, that’s where I played with Doug Aldrich as well. Tony Franklin and I have played a ton together over the years and have been great pals for 20 years. We played years ago on a movie called Endless Summer 2. It was a surf movie. We’ve done a million albums together and toured all over the world. Derek is the glue that brought us all together. He is a great guy, a fantastic musician, and a wonderful producer and band leader. The music we are playing with Heart of Storm is written so well that it lends itself to having a lot of dynamics, (playing at different musical volume levels). It’s very passionate music and when everyone sees the dancers and storyline, they will love it and see that it’s all brilliantly connected.
This hybrid rock concert fused with stunning, young Russian ballet talent–spanning the Bolshoi Theatre, Swan Lake and the Nutcracker–inherits the tradition of classical ballet, while charting new territory into live, emotional theater. Heart Of Storm is an explosive and theatrical rock ballet extravaganza. Watch a clip below.
Queensryche will be releasing their second album with frontman Todd La Torre, entitled Condition Human, on October 2nd through Century Media Records.
Guitarist Michael Wilton has said of the recording, “The label are very positive and happy about it. I know that a lot of people are really anticipating this, so stay tuned and you won’t be disappointed.”
Motley Crue guitarist Mick Mars says he feels like “the most unpopular person on the planet” – but he aims to change that with his solo career.
He insists he has a lot to prove once the veterans bow out with their final show on New Year’s Eve. And his first releases are likely to be an album and a book that focuses on his own take on his career, following 2001 Crue bestseller The Dirt.
Mars tells Classic Rock’s Dave Ling, “It’ll be a hard rock record, but it’s tough to categorize. It’s not metal. It’ll make your hair fly back in the breeze.”
He says of the book, “It won’t be anything like The Dirt. After 30 years of being suppressed, I’m going to be bringing out a lot of shit.”
The guitarist doesn’t think any of his family read the first title. Asked why not, he replied, “When I was sick, everyone but my parents abandoned me. I’m talking about my siblings – I was begging for help and basically they told me to go f–k myself. I haven’t seen any of my family in 11 or 12 years, except for my son.”
He still has a point to prove musically too. “I feel like I’m the most unpopular person on the planet. Everyone says I can’t play the guitar – I’d like them to know that I can. Nobody can play like Jeff Beck. Nobody can play like Jimi Hendrix, though a lot of people try. And nobody can play like me.”
He has to focus on music because his ankylosing spondylitis makes his other interests, like driving and golf, too difficult to follow. “I can’t drive my car any more, or hop on my bike,” he says. “I can’t go out for a putt. So the answer is nothing. Music is all I do.”
But Mars insists he can persevere to prove his points. “I was driven to make it in the music world. And to this day I will not give up on anything.”
The full interview appears in the current edition of Classic Rock, on sale now in print, digital and via TeamRock+.
While Slayer is currently on the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival, the festival’s co-founder Kevin Lyman recently stated that metal “chased girls away” because the genre “got gray, bald and fat.
When Slayer guitarist Kerry King was asked by Metal Insider to comment on Lyman’s statement, he said, “It’s a very generalizing statement and it basically throws his tour under the bus. That’s just… that’s not even Business 101. That’s just insane.”
King went on to criticize this year’s Mayhem line-up, saying, “Do I know this tour wasn’t booked correctly? Absolutely I know this tour wasn’t booked correctly. [Slayer and Exodus guitarist] Gary Holt made the comment that usually there’s the Main Stage, a second stage, a third stage, and then that piece-of-shit record stage… Now what they’re calling a second stage is at best a fourth stage and they’re wondering why people aren’t showing up.”
He continued, “I think they waited too long and think all the talent that could have been on this took gigs in Europe. Because there’s nobody here touring. It’s easy to fill these stages, but I guess they wanted a different price point, take away the second and third stage which I think had a lot of value. To me, a second-stage headliner is Anthrax, Machine Head…Whoever booked this made a gigantic error.”
When asked if he felt Slayer was carrying this year’s Mayhem Festival more so than in previous years, King said, “[Without the extra stages] it’s basically a glorified Slayer show…Let me put it to you this way: last year, Slayer, Suicidal [Tendencies] and Exodus played the Eagles Ballroom in Milwaukee and sold it out. Mayhem came through ten days ago and didn’t sell it out. That’s what I’m going up against here…I understand it from a fan’s perspective. I wouldn’t spend money to come to this either.”
When questioned if this would be Slayer’s last time on the Mayhem tour, King stated, “This might be the last time you see Mayhem.”
Slayer’s forthcoming album, Repentless, will be released on September 11th. Watch a video for the title track, here.
Remaining tour dates for the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival are as follows:
July:
21 PNC Bank Arts Center, Holmdel, NJ
22 Erie Insurance Arena, Erie, PA
24 Jiffy Lube Live, Bristow, VA
25 Xfinity Center, Boston, MA
26 Nikon Theatre at Jones Beach, Wantagh, NY
28 Orange Peel, Asheville, NC*
29 Aaron’s Amphitheatre at Lakewood, Atlanta, GA
31 Alamo City Music Hall, San Antonio, TX
