"Death Magnetic" New Metallica Album Review

It begins with a heartbeat...it could very well be the heartbeat of your average Metallica fan, scared to death, not by the spooky coffin made of iron filings on the cover (see what they did there?) but by the thought that this supposed 'return to form' by the world's once-greatest thrash metal merchants will be lame. Well worry not. After the solo-free St Anger way back in 2003 this is, well, most outstanding.

Never let it be said that Metallica aren't a band of the people, just not the people who file share their back catalogue. You can imagine Death Magnetic blasting out of some tank's soundsystem in the middle east. The closest thing to a ballad is single, The Day That Never Comes, though after a few minutes it descends back into the abyss of raw power. And the only low point comes with the penultimate instrumental, Suicide And Redemption which meanders and has a 'sensitive' solo line at its core that's at odds with the brutality on offer elsewhere.

James Hetfield's lyrics now seem to have become the channel of his post-therapy angst. More cyphers than actual narratives, they come direct from the big book of heavy metal words. Take this example from The End Of The Line, "Need..more and more/Tainted misery/Bleed...battlescars/Chemical affinity/Reign...legacy/Innocence corrode/Stain...rot away/Catatonic overload/Choke...asphyxia/Snuff reality/Scorch...kill the light/Incinerate celebrity/Reaper... butchery/Karma amputee". You get the idea.

But words aren't the major force at work here. It's the irresistible maelstrom of guitars. Kirk Hammett's back to shredding triplets or chiming with Hetfield in Thin Lizzy-esque duels. Balancing vertiginous prog time shifts with chugging power chords, it's amazing how raw and hungry producer Rick Rubin (himself, a thrash connoiseur with Slayer and Wolfsbane albums under his belt) has made the band sound. His greatest contribution is in bringing out the crunch in 'new' boy. Robert Trujillo's bass. On Cyanide he's unstoppable. And, of course, leading the changes is the mighty Lars Ulrich. Possibly the single most erudite expression of metal's paradoxical mix of intelligence matched with dumb, awesome power. If there's a nagging sensation that the drums sound weird, it's because they're REAL. Say what you will about their psychodramas or political leanings, but this is a band that really can play.

Death Magnetic is the sound of a band giving both themselves and their fans exactly what they need. And nothing else matters...

source : www.bbc.co.uk

Max and Igor on "Cavalera Conspiracy"

Cavalera Conspiracy is a heavy metal band featuring members from Brazil, France, and the United States. Cavalera Conspiracy marked the reunion of the Cavalera brothers after 12 years separation and is the first time they have made music or shared a stage together since the infamous Sepultura break up on December 16th, 1996 in London.

Following a brief reunion the the 10th Annual D-Low Memorial Show in 2006, Sepultura founders Max Cavalera and Igor Cavalera began to write music together again. The band initially formed in mid-2007 with Max Cavalera (Soulfly, ex-Sepultura) on vocals and rhythm guitar, Igor Cavalera (ex-Sepultura) on drums, Soulfly guitarist Marc Rizzo and Joe Duplantier (Gojira) on bass. Originally, Max chose the name Inflikted for the project, but the name has been used before. As a result, he changed the name to Cavalera Conspiracy in order to avoid potential legal conflicts which would hold up the album release, and chose to use the name Inflikted for the band's debut album.

Cavalera Conspiracy's debut album was released by Roadrunner Records on March 24, 2008. The album, entitled Inflikted, was recorded at Undercity Studios in Los Angeles, CA, with engineer and co-producer Logan Mader in July 2007. Inflikted featured a guest appearance on bass from former Pantera and current Down bass player, Rex Brown, on the track, "Ultra-Violent". In addition, Max's stepson Ritchie Cavalera of the Phoenix based group Incite guested on vocals on the song "Black Ark". Artwork for the album was created by Surface to Air. Surface to Air also directed the video for Cavalera Conspiracy's debut digital single, "Sanctuary" in January 2008 in Paris, France.

On June 2nd, 2008, it was revealed on the band's official website that Joe Duplantier will not perform on the 2008 tour in order to begin the writing/recording process for Gojira's upcoming fourth studio album. Duplantier was replaced by Johny Chow of the stoner metal band Fireball Ministry. Cavalera Conspiracy completed a European tour in mid-2008 including appearances at the Graspop Metal Meeting in Belgium, the Hellfest Summer Open Air in France, the Download Festival held at Donington, UK, other festival appearances, select dates opening on Judas Priest's Priest Feast 2008 Tour, and headlining shows. In late summer of 2008, Cavalera Conspiracy embarked on the North American infliktour featuring performances at Monsters of Rock in Canada, Ozzfest in Dallas, Texas, and headling dates with Dillinger Escape Plan, Throwdown, Bury Your Dead, and Incite. During this tour, the band performed varied setlists consisting of Cavalera Conspiracy songs, many Sepultura songs, Nailbomb songs, and other covers. Max's son and Iggor's nephew Igor played the drums on Sepultura's classic "Troops of Doom" at several shows throughout the band's 2008 tour.Band members

Current band members :

• Max Cavalera - lead vocals, rhythm guitar
• Igor Cavalera - drums
• Marc Rizzo - lead guitar
• Joe Duplantier - bass, backing vocals

Touring members :

• Johny Chow - live bass on 2008 tour

source from : www.wikipedia.org

New Iron Maiden Tribute CD from kerrang!

“Iron Maiden are 10% cooler than every other band!” Lars Ulrich, Metallica.

Kerrang! team up with Metallica, Machine Head, Trivium, Avenged Sevenfold and more for an a world exclusive, all star Iron Maiden tribute album!

15 of Kerrang!’s favourite bands have come together to pay tribute to the planet’s greatest metal band - Iron Maiden!

Following on from our 2006 Kerrang! Remastered CD in honour of Metallica’s Master Of Puppets, this latest collection - Maiden Heaven - features bands covering tracks from Iron Maiden’s legendary career, and will be given away free in Kerrang! issue 1219 on sale July 16.

The CD includes world exclusive performances from Metallica, Machine Head, Trivium, Avenged Sevenfold, Coheed And Cambria, Gallows and more!

Chatting exclusively to Kerrang!, Metallica drummer Lars Ulrich tells the readers how much respect the Bay Area thrashers have for the Brit metal legends.

“Iron Maiden are 10% cooler than every other band,” says Ulrich. “From their relationship with their fans, to their album covers to their stages, to their live presentation, to their photos - whatever they did was always cooler than what everyone else did! I have always had an incredible amount of respect and admiration for them and obviously getting a chance to be part of this CD feels that that has come a full circle. We played Remember Tomorrow as it was basically the blueprint for songs like Fade To Black and Welcome Home (Sanitarium), and some of the more epic ballady type of songs that Metallica had done later. We had so much fun with this!”

Machine Head frontman Robb Flynn is equally excited to be a part of this project.

“When I was a kid Iron Maiden were a very big deal to me and the influence they had on Machine Head has been huge,” he reveals. “We decided to cover Hallowed Be Thy Name for this CD because it’s just such a great song, in fact it’s a classic. I just love the way the vocal line goes up and down, so dramatic. If someone who’d never heard them wanted to know what Iron Maiden sounded like I’d point them in the direction of Hallowed Be Thy Name.”

Metal heroes Trivium are happy to admit their own brand of heavy tunes could never have existed without Maiden’s worldwide influence.

“Iron Maiden helped create what we know as heavy metal,” states frontman Matt Heafy. “Their influence can be heard on classic and contemporary bands alike; their fan base spans across the youngest and newest of heavy music recruits all the way to the diehard, life-long metal elite. We chose to play the track Iron Maiden, as the song that screamed out our love for them musically, and we knew it would be a really fun song to jam out in the studio. It was an honour to be able to play one of Iron Maiden’s tracks and have the opportunity to contribute to this amazing CD. We hope everyone has as much fun listening to it as we did making it!”

Meanwhile, Avenged Sevenfold - who have been picked to support Maiden at their upcoming Twickenham Stadium show on July 5 - say they are “honoured” to be part of this Kerrang! tribute. “Maiden are by far the best live band in the world and their music is timeless,” says vocalist M Shadows. “This also gives us a chance to expose this great song to some of our younger fans who maybe aren’t as familiar with Iron Maiden.”

UK hardcore punk rockers Gallows chose to contribute a version of Wrathchild to the collection.

“We’re actually all huge Maiden fans and while learning Wrathchild we discovered a new found respect for the band as musicians,” says guitarist Laurent Barnard. “Some of their riffs are pretty fast and Steve Harris has definitely earned his place as a bass legend! We’re so happy we were asked to be included!”

This Kerrang! Maiden Heaven CD’s arrival coincides with the band’s European leg of their Somewhere Back In Time World Tour - and follows on from the release of their own collection Somewhere Back In Time: The Best Of 80-89.

“Maiden much appreciate and are very flattered by all the time spent on this by a lot of great bands,” says Iron Maiden’s manager Rod Smallwood, “and would like to thank them, and also Kerrang!, for the honour. Thanks everyone!”

Pick up your copy of Kerrang! issue 1219 on sale July 16 for your own copy of Maiden Heaven.

MAIDEN HEAVEN tracklisting

Black Tide - Prowler
Metallica - Remember Tomorrow
Avenged Sevenfold - Flash Of The Blade
Glamour Of The Kill - 2 Minutes To Midnight
Coheed and Cambria - The Trooper
DevilDriver - Wasted Years
Sign - Run To The Hills
Dream Theater - To Tame A Land
Madina Lake - Caught Somewhere In Time
Gallows - Wrathchild
Fightstar - Fear Of The Dark
Machine Head - Hallowed Be Thy Name
Trivium - Iron Maiden
Year Long Disaster - Running Free
Ghostlines - Brave New World

source from : http://hardrockhideout.wordpress.com