DevilDriver recently completed recording its fourth album, Pray For Villains, expected this summer on Roadrunner Records. The CD was recorded at Edge of the Earth studios in Los Angeles with producer Logan Mader.
Commented DevilDriver vocalist Dez Fafara: “I’ve been doing a shitload of listening of mixes. Got back from the studio late last night. Logan and I spent about 10 hours just fine-tuning some low-end issues and worked on the kick-drum tone. It’s getting close. Some of this stuff is gonna be really hard to pull off for me live. I had a hard time in the studio environment so I know it’s gonna be a bitch. Everyone has got it rougher this time around. Can’t wait for you to hear it.”
DevilDriver, Roadrunner Records
OSI (Office Of Strategic Influence), the project featuring Fates Warning guitarist Jim Matheos and ex-Dream Theater keyboardist Kevin Moore, will release its third album Blood, on April 27 in Europe and May 19 in the USA on InsideOut Music.
With Blood, OSI has succeeded in creating a fascinating album at the crossroads between rock and progressive metal — music that alternates between atmospherically dense and aggressively demanding elements, while effortlessly transcending barriers between different styles and genres. Following its impressive predecessors, Office Of Strategic Influence (2003) and Free (2006), Blood once again unites two exceptional composers who share their penchant for the unusual and are on the same artistic wavelength. “We have different musical tastes but an unspoken musical understanding,” Moore says.
Along with Moore and Matheos, Blood features Porcupine Tree drummer Gavin Harrison. There’s also a guest appearance by Mikael Åkerfeldt (Opeth) on the song Stockholm, which the Swedish musician composed together with the two OSI masterminds. “I think it was Kevin’s idea to have a guest vocalist. He asked me if I had any suggestions and I immediately thought of Mikael,” Matheos explains. “It was Mikael’s choice. We gave him several songs to pick from. Mikael wrote the lyrics and melody and recorded his parts at home in Sweden.”
Moore and Matheos took care of the album’s production themselves, while the mix was done with Grammy winner Phil Magnotti.
Blood tracklisting:
01. The Escape Artist
02. Terminal
03. False Start
04. We Come Undone
05. Radiologue
06. Be The Hero
07. Microburst Alert
08. Stockholm
09. Blood
InsideOut Music, OSI
For those of you lucky enough to live in or close by Portland, Oregon, USA: Dennis Dread’s 3rd annual underground art exhibit “Entartete Kunts” returns to Portland in June 2009. “Entartete Kunts” explores the intersection of imagery/sound and celebrates the art of metal and punk without a trace of irony. Past editions of the exhibit featured art by Ed Repka, Stephen Blickenstaff, Chris Reifert, Joe Petagno, Jeff Gaither and others. This year’s exhibit features the work of some of the most amazing artists from around the world today and rare relics from the extreme music underground, including:
- Michel “Away” Langevin of Voivod in his first U.S. gallery exhibit
- U.K. punk legend Nick Blinko in his first West Coast exhibit
- E. Danielsson of Watain
- Arik Roper of High On Fire/Sleep/Mammatus fame.
- Swedish death metal artist Kristian “Necrolord” Wåhlin’s first U.S. exhibit
- S. Clay Wilson’s highly anticipated hand-crafted Checkered Demon pool cue
- Rob Miller of Amebix
Entartete Kunts
June 4 – June 30
Artists Reception: June 19
The Life Gallery
625 NW Everett Street
Portland, Oregon 97209
The artists reception will take place on Friday, June 19 at The Life Gallery in downtown Portland, Oregon with several of the artists in attendance and DJ’s blasting vintage vinyl!
For more information, visit www.dennisdread.com
Petting Zoo favorites
Lamb Of God’s new album Wrath, has registered the following first-week chart positions:
Canada: #1
USA: #2
Australia: #8
Japan: #14
Norway: #20
U.K.: #25
Netherlands: #52
Germany: #61
Wrath was released in North America on February 24 via Epic. The CD was released in other territories through Roadrunner Records.
Lamb Of God, Roadrunner Records
Opeth and Vreid are confirmed for this years Zwarte Cross festival in Lichtenvoorde (NL) from July 24 – 26. Other heavy bands already confirmed are Arch Enemy, Comeback Kid, Delain, Enslaved, Stratovarius, Peter Pan Speedrock, Normaal, The Shavers, The Seatsniffers, Korplikaani and Walls Of Jericho. The Petting Zoo also recommends Le Chat Noir and Dollhouse! More bands will be added to the line-up, stay tuned and visit the official Zwarte Cross website here or click the banner below to go there.
A total of 18 metal bands will perform at the event which will feature 12 stages, a campsite, a theater area, a stunt arena, a kids corner and a full-blown motocross circuit. The Zwarte Cross has grown into one of the most unique festivals in Europe over the years and welcomed over 100,000 visitors in 2008.
Indie Recordings, Opeth, Roadrunner Records, Vreid
Check out this cool news feature on The Answer, from the BBC, including footage from their North America tour with AC/DC. A text version of the feature can be found here. You can also click the screenshot below to go directly to the website of the BBC.
The Answer’s new album Everyday Demons is out now as CD+DVD or gatefold 2LP on Steamhammer/SPV on March 2nd in Europe (excl. UK).
SPV, The Answer
SPV just released The Final Chapter, a fantastic 3DVD set by The Mission. A (video)track from the song Deliverance, taken from this DVD can be viewed/downloaded here. 
The Mission – The Final Chapter 3DVD – Capturing the spirit of one of the finest British rock outfits of the last three decades and recorded during four sell-out nights at the Shepherds Bush Empire, London in early 2008 – this three disc set sees the band going out in a blaze of glory as they play through a back catalogue of songs from their first four albums – The First Chapter, God’s Own Medicine, Children and Carved in Sand, plus other favorites!
“What better way could there have been to end it all? After 22 years the final four Mission shows at London’s Shepherds Bush Empire was a glorious celebratory occasion, as I’d hoped it would be when I agreed to play the shows, and the memory will live with me for a very long time. It was fantastic to see so many familiar faces in the audience on each of the four nights and to see so many people that we’d met on our travels around the world in the preceding years. I personally know of people that came for the final shows from as far as USA, Canada, Australia, Brazil, Argentina, Japan and South Africa, as well as our European friends that made the journey from across the channel. This DVD is testament to the communion that was felt by all that were there for those final four nights. And the communion I have felt with The Mission audience for the last 22 years. Thank you.”
~ Wayne Hussey
Banners for this release are also available! Click the link below for brand new banners in different sizes!
SPV, The Mission
This weekend rock legends Pentagram will finally be playing two shows again, in New York City and Baltimore (Both USA). Special guests at these shows are none other than The Devil’s Blood, Serpent Throne and Priestess. Wow!!!
Pentagram, The Devil's Blood
Click the link below for brand new banners in different sizes! SPV is releasing various classic WDR Rockpalast shows on DVD on SPVision.
Coming up on SPVision:
30 PAUL BUTTERFIELD “Rockpalast Blues Rock Legends Vol. 2”
30 SPIRIT “Rockpalast West Coast Legends Vol. 3”
27 DICKEY BETTS & GREAT SOUTHERN “Rockpalast”
27 EARTH, WIND & FIRE “Rockpalast”
Out now:
JOHN CIPOLLINA / NICK GRAVENITES BAND “West Coast Legends Vol. 1”
JORMA KAUKONEN & VITAL PARTS “West Coast Legends Vol. 2”
COMMANDER CODY “Rockpalast Blues Rock Legends Vol. 1”
SPV, SPVision
Vreid joins Pestilence as special guest for the European tour in April!
Comment from Hváll of Vreid: “Pestilence is one of those dinosaurs that will never die. They have been away for 15 years, but are now back stronger than ever. Back in the early 90’s Pestilence, Death & Carcass were top notch in my book, and songs like ‘Out of the Body’, ‘Twisted Truth’ and ‘Parracide’ are timeless classics. Some weeks ago we were asked to join the Pestilence reunion European tour as special guests – this is a great honour for us.”
“We have just finished a tremendous European tour with Kampfar and Iskald. We did not know what to expect as this was a headliner tour, but the response was amazing. The venues were crowded, the audience gave us killer feedback, and the shows in London, Paris & Bischofswerda were some of the highlights. The new songs were working out very well live, and the live set these days is without doubt the strongest set ever.”
The Skogstur was the first part of the Milorg tour 2009. The second part will start at the Inferno festival in Oslo, and from there we go to London with Pestilence. The Pestilence tour will once again bring us to the great rock cities of Paris and London, as well as new venues in Germany, Holland, Belgium, Austria, Italy and Switzerland.
For tourdates and more details about the Pestilence tour check out www.vreid.no or Vreid’s myspace page
Indie Recordings, Vreid
