Anthrax have released the following statement about the departure of guitarist Rob Caggiano:
“Rob has been an integral part of Anthrax for so many years, as our lead guitarist, in a production capacity, but most of all, as our close friend. His contributions to the band have been enormous. While we are sad that he is leaving, we wish him nothing but great success going forward, and hope to share the stage with him again sometime down the road.
With the Metal Alliance Tour on the horizon, we have been considering several lead guitarist options, and will be making an announcement on that shortly.”
Anthrax – Charlie Benante, Scott Ian, Frank Bello, Joey Belladonna
With a storming new stomp in their boots and a renewed, lithe swagger to their legendary sound, Saxon will release Sacrifice, on Tuesday, February 26th, 2013 through UDR. Taking a sharper, re-invigorated approach to the production, on this, their 20th album, Saxon have produced 10 of their strongest, heaviest and most inspired songs for many-a-year, and a more than worthy successor to their last album A Call To Arms.
“Less tricks, more power!” roars frontman and founding father Biff Byford, “my brief to the band was to be raw, be real and not be afraid to look back at the old classic material for inspiration.”
The album was recorded at LS Studios in Yorkshire and was produced by Byford with Andy Sneap mixing and engineering by Jacky Lehmann. It fairly bristles with muscular metallic intent, Paul Quinn’s and Doug Scarratt’s guitar work the best it’s ever been, while Biff’s vocals sound fresher and livelier. The songwriting too harks back to a classic era in Saxon’s history, with the likes of Warriors Of The Road, Wheels Of Terror and Stand Up And Fight evoking the halcyon days of yore with a contemporary twist, the classic Saxon sound absorbing the snarl, ferocity and attitude of contemporary bands (and fans) such as Megadeth, as evidenced by the crunching title cut Sacrifice.
“It’s certainly been done from a more early ‘80s thrashier perspective,” explains Biff, “and it’s not just guitars bashing away willy-nilly, they’ve got a fresh drive, purpose and perspective.”
Besides the new material, Saxon will also be adding some unique recordings of revisited classic to certain formats of the release, also produced by Byford and mastered by Andy Sneap, including an orchestrated version of Crusader and an acoustic version of Frozen Rainbow.
“From the songs to the production, I wanted to focus on the raw aspects which made us great in the first place,” concludes Biff, “And living in that rawness, combined with some great classic Saxon-songwriting, has in my opinion made Saxon fresher than ever.”
Sacrifice Confirmed track listing:
1. Procession
2. Sacrifice
3. Made In Belfast
4. Warriors Of The Road
5. Guardians Of The Tomb
6. Stand Up And Fight
7. Walking The Steel
8. Night Of The Wolf
9. Wheels Of Terror
10. Standing In A Queue
Bonus Disc:
1. Crusader (Orchestrated version)
2. Just Let Me Rock (Re-recorded version)
3. Requiem (Acoustic version)
4. Frozen Rainbow (Acoustic version)
05. Forever Free (Re-recorded version)
Formats:
• a limited edition deluxe digibook (including a bonus disc featuring the revisited classic tracks)
• a standard jewel case CD
• a vinyl LP picture disc
• a Direct to Consumer (D2C) fan package (available exclusively for online order from online retailers)
An exclusive teaser clip of Hotel Diablo’s new video Psycho, California, which can be found at GuitarWorld.com as part of a brand new interview with guitarist Alex Grossi, can be viewed below.
The video was recently shot in Los Angeles with nine-time Emmy Award-winning and MTV Video Music Award-nominated director Fabio Jafet (Pitbull, Enriquw Iglesia, Children Of Bodom).
“We are beyond excited to be working with Fabio,” says Grossi. “We have all been fans of his work for a long time and feel he is the perfect director to bring ‘Psycho, California’ to life on screen.”
Hotel Diablo’s The Return To Psycho, California was released in September through Scarlet Records and is currently available digitally via iTunes, Amazon and other online music retailers.
For more information about Hotel Diablo, please visit thehoteldiablo.com.
Rock icon Izzy Stradlin was recently at Ocean Way Recording in Hollywood to record and mix a new single,Baby Rann, which can be viewed below.
Released in December and available on iTunes, Baby Rann was recorded and mixed (and videotaped) in Ocean Way’s renowned Studio B. Joining Stradlin on guitar and vocals in the studio were Rick Richards on lead guitar, J.T. Longoria on bass, Joey Huffman on Hammond organ, and Taz Bentley on drums and backing vocals.
Stradlin is well known as the co-founder and former rhythm guitarist of the hard rock band Guns N’ Roses, which he left in 1991. Following his departure, he led his own band, Izzy Stradlin and the Ju Ju Hounds, for one album and tour. Since the late 1990s, Stradlin has released 10 solo albums, the last six independently. In 2012, he was inducted into the Rock and Roll Hall of Fame.
Deep Purple, who have also announced a new studio album due in April 2013, will be digging through their past, reissuing 10 classic albums over the course of the new year.
The reissues will be begin January 29th, when Live In Paris 1975 will be released as a double CD. The album has been digitally remixed and re-mastered from the original multi-track recordings.
The show, recorded April 17th, 1975, at the Palais des Sports in Paris, was the band’s last concert with Ritchie Blackmore, who was leaving Deep Purple to form Rainbow. Blackmore would eventually return to the band, several years later, to record Perfect Strangers. However, the guitarist eventually left the band for good in 1993.
Blackmore, vocalist David Coverdale, bassist/vocalist Glenn Hughes, keyboardist Jon Lord and drummer Ian Paice roared on classics like Burn, Stormbringer, Highway Star, Space Truckin’ and Smoke On The Water.
Deep Purple’s Live In Paris 1975 will be re-released through Eagle Rock Entertainment.
Sammy Hagar says the estate of Ronnie Montrose is behind the delay in releasing the guitarist’s tribute show DVD and the frustrated singer vows that if the concert film doesn’t hit shelves soon, he’ll take action himself.
Guitar icon Montrose shot himself in March this year. He had suffered from clinical depression for much of his life, and the deaths of his uncle and dog within weeks of each other are understood to have been factors in his decision to commit suicide.
The following month, surviving Montrose members Hagar, Bill Church and Denny Carmassi fronted a memorial event that also starred Joe Satriani, Neal Schon, Tommy Thayer, Jimmy DeGrasso and many others. It was filmed, and an early release was predicted, but it has not come to pass.
Answering fan questions in the video below, Chickenfoot frontman says “There were some problems with the Montrose estate people. They weren’t co-operating and stuff. But we filmed everything and it was great stuff. If it doesn’t get done sooner than later I’m going to just take it and do it myself.”
Chickenfoot are planning a year without action in 2013 due to drummer Chad Smith’s commitments to the Red Hot Chili Peppers and Satriani’s solo work, but the singer says that he and bassist Michael Anthony might work on a project together.
Deep Purple, who have also announced a new studio album due in April 2013, will be digging through their past, reissuing 10 classic albums over the course of the new year.
Sammy Hagar says the estate of Ronnie Montrose is behind the delay in releasing the guitarist’s tribute show DVD and the frustrated singer vows that if the concert film doesn’t hit shelves soon, he’ll take action himself.
