Away Team

ROCK ON THE RANGE returns for its sixth year boasting a massive lineup covering the rock spectrum. America’s premier destination rock festival will be held May 18-20 at Columbus Crew Stadium in Columbus, OH featuring performances from Incubus, Rob Zombie, Shinedown, Marilyn Manson, Five Finger Death Punch, Slash, Megadeth, Chevelle, Cypress Hill, Mastodon and many more.

“Incubus is stoked to be joinin’ the killer lineup at Rock On The Range this year. We’ll see y’all in Columbus,” comments Brandon Boyd from festival co-headliner Incubus.

“If you thought last time was a blast, then this time we are gonna blow your fucking mind,” says co-headliner Rob Zombie.

To get the party started and based on the success of last year’s anniversary celebration, the weekend will kick off with the Friday Night 4Play, which is absolutely FREE with every ROCK ON THE RANGE weekend ticket purchase. The May 18 party will feature performances from Hairball, Foxy Shazam, Hells Bells and more.

The current lineup for ROCK ON THE RANGE 2012 is as follows: Incubus, Rob Zombie, Shinedown, Marilyn Manson, Five Finger Death Punch, Slash, Megadeth, Chevelle, Cypress Hill, Mastodon, Theory of a Deadman, Volbeat, Down, The Darkness, Halestorm, Escape The Fate, P.O.D., Lacuna Coil, Adelitas Way, Black Stone Cherry, Cavo, Attack Attack!, Trivium, Bobaflex, Falling In Reverse, Redlight King, Aranda, Emphatic, Otherwise, James Durbin, Black Tide, Kyng, 12 Stones, SOiL, Rival Sons, Eve To Adam, and Ghosts of August.

Monster Energy returns as one of the driving partners behind the success of ROCK ON THE RANGE as more than fifteen acts perform on the mammoth Monster Main Stage. Jägermeister also celebrates its fifth year as a key partner while welcoming twelve of the hottest up-and-coming bands to the in-your-face, up close and personal Jägermeister Music Stage. In all, ROCK ON THE RANGE features three stages, 44 bands, and three days of non-stop rock.

Tickets for ROCK ON THE RANGE go on-sale Friday, February 10 at 10:00 AM EST at the festival’s website, Ticketmaster and the Crew Stadium Box Office. Two-day weekend stadium GA tickets once again start at just $99.50 (plus service and transaction fees). A limited number of ROTR pre-sale layaway tickets are also still available through February 29. Visit www.RockOnTheRange.com for full details and VIP package information.

DARK NEW DAY- New Tradition

Goomba Music

Rating: 9 out of 10

Reviewed By: Jay Rybak

Take one cup Virgo’s Merlot, add one part Eye Empire, mix in two parts Evanescence, topped off with a pinch of Sevendust, and you have the mind-numbing rock recipe that is DARK NEW DAY.  The supergroup consisting of vocalist Brett Hestla (Virgo’s Merlot), drummer Will Hunt (Evanescence), guitarists Troy McLawhorn (Evanescence) and Clint Lowery (Sevendust), and Corey Lowery (Eye Empire/Stereomud) on bass, are about to release their highly anticipated sophomore release, New Tradition on Feb. 28th.  The album has been five years in the making, and believe me it was worth the wait.

The opening track, “Fist From The Sky”, rips into your ears with the finger-bleeding bass and gritty guitar reminiscent of early Down.  As we delve further into “New Tradition”, we find the killer up-tempo rocker that is “I Don’t Need You”, a masterful sonic blend of STP meets Default.  Other highlights along the way include the title track, and “Tremendous”, by now I’m rocking out so hard I’m fit to be tied.  What a coincidence, here comes the “Straightjacket”, a track that, if one didn’t know any better, could easily be mistaken for Whitfield Crane’s bridge from Ugly Kid Joe to Another Animal. 

Now on to the three way tie for my favorite songs on the album.  Is that a new Taproot song I hear?  No, it’s way better.  “Caught In The Light” has a “Hello Taproot, meet your far superior evil twin” feel to it that can’t be ignored.  Nor should it be.  Enter the next contender, “Fiend”, this is pure Sevendust meets Sixx A.M.  Enough said.  You want radio friendly?  You got it.  While the entire album is somewhat radio friendly, and moreso kick-ass, “Breakdown” screams rock radio staple.

This album comes very highly recommended.  Don’t be the inferior evil twin, get your ass to your local record store on Feb. 28th and pick up your copy.  Or if you’re too busy plotting and scheming you can pre-order it here.

DOWN — the New Orleans band featuring CORROSION OF CONFORMITY guitarist/vocalist Pepper Keenan, drummer Jimmy Bower (EYEHATEGOD, SUPERJOINT RITUAL guitarist), bassist Rex Brown (ex-PANTERA), guitarist Kirk Windstein (CROWBAR), and vocalist Philip Anselmo (Superjoint Ritual, ex-Pantera) — has scheduled the following dates:

March
4 – New Orleans, LA – The Hangar
5 – Maxwell, TX – The Cotton Gin
6 – Houston, TX – Warehouse Live
11 – New Orleans, LA – The Hangar #2
April
28 – New York, NY – Best Buy Theatre
29 – Philadelphia, PA – Trocadero
30 – Sayreville, NJ – Starland Ballroom

For more DOWN click here.

EDITORS NOTE:
‘Hopefully this trickle-in theory will mean there is a full fledged tour coming soon? How about we just announce ALL The dates already????’

ARSON ANTHEM — the project featuring Philip Anselmo (DOWN, PANTERA, SUPERJOINT RITUAL) on guitar, Mike IX Williams (EYEHATEGOD) on vocals, Hank Williams III (SUPERJOINT RITUAL, ASSJACK) on drums and Collin Yeo (PONYKILLER) on bass — will embark on a short headlining tour of the Southern U.S. at the end of January 2011. Joining ARSON ANTHEM on the trek will be fellow Housecore Records artists HAARP and WARBEAST.

ARSON ANTHEM dates:
Jan. 25 – Spartanburg, SC @ Ground Zero
Jan. 26 – Atlanta, GA @ The Masquerade
Jan. 27 – New Orleans, LA @ The Hangar
Jan. 28 – Forth Worth, TX @ Rail Club
Jan. 29 – Fayetteville, AR @ Drifters

ARSON ANTHEM‘s full-length debut, “Insecurity Notoriety“, was released on October 12 via Anselmo‘s Housecore Records.

“Insecurity Notoriety” tracklisting:
Naught
Foul Pride
Isolation Militia
More Than One War
Insecurity Notoriety
Pretty Like That
Initial Prick
Crippled Life
Polite Society Blacklist
If You Heard This You Would Hit Me
Hands Off Approach
Has Been/Has Been
Primate Envy
Death of An Idiot
Codependent and Busted
Kleptomania
Teach the Gun To Love the Bullet

For more ARSON ANTHEM click here.

HOUSECORE RECORDS hardcore punk act ARSON ANTHEM and MySpace Music are currently streaming the band’s entire upcoming October 12th release, Insecurity Notoriety, right now! Head over to the MySpace Music main page to be directed to the stream.

ARSON ANTHEM is comprised of metal greats Philip H. Anselmo (Pantera, Down, Superjoint Ritual), Hank Williams III (Superjoint Ritual, Assjack), Mike IX Williams (Outlaw Order, Eyehategod), and Collin Yeo (Ponykiller). The band was brought together in the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina, with Mike Williams moving into Anselmo’s spare apartment after his home and possessions were destroyed. Through this connection, Williams and Anselmo spent time listening to Anselmo’s irreplaceable hardcore music collection. The members relived the days of early 80’s hardcore bands, such as Discharge, Negative Approach, Sheer Terror, and many others. It didn’t take long for the music to squash their cabin fever, and inspire them to create a new venture that is now ARSON ANTHEM. Anselmo knew of the underrated, yet unbridled percussion skills that he and William’s mutual friend Hank Williams III possessed, causing the contact to be made and the band to come together. Finally, bassist Collin Yeo was recruited, and the sound was born. “All we had to do was meet and jam,” states Anselmo. “Fucking perfect, fucking real, fuck all.”

For more ARSON ANTHEM click here.

MetalSucks recently conducted an interview with legendary guitarist Kirk Windstein of CROWBAR, DOWN and KINGDOM OF SORROW. Windstein addressed the recent news surrounding his decision to drop off Kingdom of Sorrow’s Ozzfest stint in favor of treating his alcohol problem. He also explained the myriad delays that affected the upcoming Down DVD “Diary of a Madband,” which came out yesterday but was originally filmed in 2006, updated fans about the forthcoming new Crowbar album and commented on Crowbar‘s legacy as a band that influences today’s young crop of metal bands.

On leaning on his bandmates for support and advice during the recovery process:
Yeah, totally. I’ve talked to Rex [Brown, Down bassist] about it because he’s dealt with a lot of problems himself. There’s not a person in any of my bands that hasn’t experienced it from time to time with the exception of Nicky and Charlie from Kingdom of Sorrow (the drummer and guitar player); they’ve never had a drink or tried a drug in their life. Everyone else in my bands, in Down and Jamey from Kingdom and the guys in Crowbar, have all at times had issues with stuff. Every person is different, and it’s a matter of keeping yourself healthy and not letting it get out of control. For me, it got out of control. Would I be a fool and a liar to sit here and say that I don’t think about it? It’s a normal thing to always think that you can control it. That’s what the battle of it is. It’s like “okay, I’m home. I’m detoxed. I get it. I’m in the right headspace. I’m physically and mentally in the right place and headed in the right direction.” It’s a matter of you realizing that you doing what you need to do is basically what it comes down to.

On a new Down album:
2011 I would say. Yeah. Something for sure. We’re not even there yet, so I think that’s totally feasible. Obviously not this year because it would have to be signed, sealed, delivered and done already. It’s not there by any means. It’s always going to happen and Down is always going to be there. So that’s a good thing.

To read the full interview, visit here.




For more DOWN click here.
For more CROWBAR click here.
For more KINGDOM OF SORROW click here.

New Orleans, LA’s DOWN and Crave Online have just released an exclusive, previously unreleased track, ‘Stone the Crow’ (recorded live in Dublin) at the Crave Online website! The track is cut from the audio portion of their upcoming 3 disc (2 CD/1 DVD) release, Diary of a Mad Band, hitting stores on October 5th, 2010.

DOWN has three Diary of a Mad Band pre-order bundles available for purchase now! All pre-orders include an instant MP3 download of the recently debuted track, ‘Stone the Crow’ live in Dublin! These packages are a must have for every DOWN fan! Click the links below to be directed to the webstore to purchase your bundle!

• Pre-Order Bundle #1 - Diary of a Mad Band 3 disc (2 CD/1 DVD) set – $18
• Pre-Order Bundle #2 – Diary of a Mad Band 3 disc (2 CD/1 DVD) set with limited edition pre-order only T-SHIRT – $30
• Pre-Order Bundle #3 - Diary of a Mad Band 3 disc (2 CD/1 DVD), limited edition DOWN 3’x 5’ FLAG, limited edition pre-order only T-SHIRT – $45

Diary of a Mad Band features a 17 track, 2 CD full concert, live in London during DOWN’s very first European tour in 2006! The DVD highlights DOWN in the practice room, as well as six blistering weeks of the same European tour, promoted completely by word of mouth. No label, no publicity, just the band jetting off on a plane and setting across the continent. This is the first time DOWN performed on the road in four years, and marked the practical rebirth of NOLA metal. Raw, unseen and uncut, the DVD also features a bonus behind-the-scenes featurette entitled ‘Tyrades and Shananigans’.

DVD: Diary of a Mad Band
w/ BONUS DVD FEATURETTE ‘Tyrades and Shananigans’
1. Lysergic Funeral Procession
2. Lifer
3. Losing All
4. Rehab
5. New Orleans Is A Dying Whore
6. Ghosts Along The Mississippi
7. Learn From This Mistake
8. Underneath Everything
9. Temptation’s Wings
10. There’s Something On My Side
11. Hail The Leaf
12. Lies
13. The Seed
14. Eyes Of The South
15. Jail
16. Stone The Crows
17. Bury Me In Smoke

2 CD: LIVE IN EUROPE
1. Losing All
2. Lifer
3. Lysergic Funeral Procession
4. Rehab
5. Temptations Wings
6. Ghosts Along The Mississippi
7. Learn From This Mistake
8. Hail The Leaf
9. New Orleans Is A Dying Whore
10. Lies, I Don’t Know What They Say But…
11. Underneath Everything
12. The Seed
13. Eyes Of The South
14. Jail
15. Stone The Crows
16. Bury Me In Smoke

For more DOWN click here.

As it turns out, the levees broke long before Katrina. In the ’80s and ’90s, New Orleans birthed musical lineages that would haunt the underground and rule the world. Detuned and devastating, they rose from the swamps and from the amplifiers of men who knelt at the altar of The Almighty Riff. Who toiled in their Iommic studies and learned those lessons as if their lives depended upon them. They populated and propagated the pedigrees that brought you the dope-sick sludge of Eyehategod, the cinder-block doom of Crowbar, the brash Southern crossover of Corrosion of Conformity (via North Carolina) and the platinum power-grooves of Pantera (via Dallas, Texas). That’d be Jimmy Bower, Kirk Windstein, Pepper Keenan, Rex Brown and Philip Anselmo, more or less. But mostly more.

For the members of DOWN, it’s home. Sweet home. It’s ground zero. For a state of mind beset on all sides by too much tepid water, too many pills, barely enough weed and never enough Black Sabbath. Yeah, it might seem like the only way you could draw a straight line between the industrial wasteland of Birmingham, England—birthplace of Sabbath (and Judas Priest) to the festering cultural bouillabaisse of the Big Easy would be with a pencil and a ruler, but that ain’t necessarily the case. At least not since DOWN have been around, which by all accounts dates back to 1991, when then-Pantera frontman Phil Anselmo and Corrosion of Conformity frontman Pepper Keenan would trade tapes and listen to the doom-ridden prophecies of certified Sabbath heads like Saint Vitus and Trouble as well as Pentagram. Therein lies the genesis of DOWN, the eternal brotherhood into which Bower, Windstein and (eventually) Brown were later initiated.

Which is to say Sabbath is pretty much the key here, the origin of the bloodline, as it were. As loud and heavy and stoned and powerful as you can handle it. The coda to the film in this very package tells the tale: “Bust Up, Tune Down, Sabb Off.” And as DOWN’s 2004 Ozzfest appearance indicated, the Drab Four smile upon DOWN like DOWN smiles upon their own many and misbegotten spawn: the fans getting their faces ruled at the shows on this DVD, the kids who started bands after being inspired by what they heard; the kids who aren’t kids anymore but grown-ass men with highly respected (and respectable) musical outfits of their own. The names are many—too many to mention here, perhaps—but they wear their DOWN t-shirts (and DOWN tattoos) with pride.

But we were talking about New Orleans, where the wards teem with secrets and crawl with ghosts. You can see ’em in the Clarence John Laughlin photographs that grace the inner sleeve of DOWN’s unstoppable 1995 debut, NOLA. The product of floods, sweat and beers, it was an album of wall-to-wall motherfuckers without a filler cut in the bunch. From the towering Vitus-inspired doom of “Temptation’s Wings” and thundering power-grooves of “Lifer” and “Underneath Everything” to the haunting thickly muscled swamp-swing of “Stone the Crow” and the ultimate reefer death-dirge that is “Bury Me In Smoke,” the album chiseled a template in granite like a headstone in a potter’s field.

DOWN played roughly 25 shows between ’91 and ’02, with Crowbar bassist Todd Strange holding down the low end with all 400 or so pounds of his substantial girth. But soon Anselmo, Keenan, Windstein, and Bower were crisscrossing the globe in their other bands, and Down was necessarily placed on the proverbial back burner, a “side project” that looked increasingly like a one-off as the years passed and the individual members soldiered through the hard-won triumphs and squalid tribulations of the lifer experience. And yet in 2002, DOWN emerged from their self-enforced slumber with DOWN II: A Bustle In Your Hedgerow—and with Anselmo’s Pantera bandmate Rex Brown now on bass. Not unlike its predecessor, the album unleashed gargantuan bolts of detuned lightning like “Lysergick Funeral Procession,” “Ghosts Along The Mississippi” and “New Orleans Is A Dying Whore.” DOWN, it would seem, were back, edging ever closer to something like full-time status. But it was not to be. Not yet, anyway.

The day of reckoning came in 2005, when DOWN reunited in the wake of Pantera’s permanent and untimely demise. The following year—that’s The Year Of VI in Down-speak—the band stomped all over Europe for six straight weeks while a crack camera crew shot the concert film you currently hold in your sweaty paws with a certain sense of anticipation that can only be satisfied by pressing PLAY. Performing sold-out shows across the Old World with no promotion, no record label and no opening band, DOWN tore new ones from Hamburg to Stockholm and back again, culminating in an unannounced set in front of untold tens of thousands on the main stage at the Download Festival in Leicestershire, England. What you’ll witness on the enclosed audio-visual extravaganza is the unvarnished (“sour notes and screw-ups included,” Anselmo tells us) deliverance of the fucking goods from that six-week excursion, the merciless reaming of an entire continent, and the true grit of five lifers in the Brotherhood Of Eternal Sleep.

In Cologne, Germany, Anselmo sends “Lifer” out to fallen Pantera guitarist Dimebag Darrell, who was gunned down onstage in Ohio in 2004, “and all our other brothers we lost along the goddamn way.” There’s Keenan, a close-up of his grizzled mug. And that fucking riff. The one from “Lifer” gets us every goddamn time.

Nottingham’s Rock City gets a face-full of “New Orleans Is A Dying Whore.” Keenan and Windstein churn out the opening salvo like it owes them money, on twin SGs, no less. In Copenhagen, the lighters come out for “Jail.” Backstage, the living legends of Europe’s metal underground turn out in force. There’s Cronos from Venom in Manchester, England. The dudes from Witchcraft in Stockholm. The black metal trifecta of Fenriz (Darkthrone), Satyr (Satyricon) and Frost (Satyricon, Gorgoroth, 1349) in Oslo.

At Download, Bower’s drums sound like fucking cannons and Rex’s bass, bulldozing. It’s “Bury Me In Smoke,” the grand finale to end all grand finales—and a sea of thousands to match a riff a thousand years wide. It’s before noon and the sun is blazing, cooking all that tender British flesh to an angry pink crisp. There’s a pit … make that several pits. There’s a false start, followed by threats and allegations. But the riff rides out, steamrolling everything, transcending all. And then the band’s performance and purpose is cemented as Anselmo tells the swirling masses, “Live long, live legendary.”
These are the precise words DOWN lives by.
Good advice.

J. Bennett
Los Angeles, 2010

Diary of a Mad Band hits stores on October 5th, and features a 2 CD full concert, live in London! The DVD highlights documented footage marking the 2006 return of DOWN from the practice room through their first European tour, and a bonus behind-the-scenes featurette entitled ‘Tyrades and Shananigans’. The DVD closes in at a blistering 130 minutes!

DVD: Diary of a Mad Band
w/ BONUS DVD FEATURETTE ‘Tyrades and Shananigans’
1. Lysergic Funeral Procession
2. Lifer
3. Losing All
4. Rehab
5. New Orleans Is A Dying Whore
6. Ghosts Along The Mississippi
7. Learn From This Mistake
8. Underneath Everything
9. Temptation’s Wings
10. There’s Something On My Side
11. Hail The Leaf
12. Lies
13. The Seed
14. Eyes Of The South
15. Jail
16. Stone The Crows
17. Bury Me In Smoke

2 CD: LIVE IN EUROPE
1. Losing All
2. Lifer
3. Lysergic Funeral Procession
4. Rehab
5. Temptations Wings
6. Ghosts Along The Mississippi
7. Learn From This Mistake
8. Hail The Leaf
9. New Orleans Is A Dying Whore
10. Lies, I Don’t Know What They Say But…
11. Underneath Everything
12. The Seed
13. Eyes Of The South
14. Jail
15. Stone The Crows
16. Bury Me In Smoke

To pre-order Diary Of A Mad Band click here.
For more DOWN click here.

New Orleans, LA’s DOWN is pleased to announce three killer pre-order bundles, available for purchase now in preparation for their upcoming 3 disc (2 CD/1 DVD) release, Diary of a Mad Band, hitting stores on October 5th, 2010. All pre-orders include an instant MP3 download of ‘Stone the Crow’ live in Dublin! These packages are a must have for every DOWN fan!

• Pre-Order Bundle #1 - Diary of a Mad Band 3 disc (2 CD/1 DVD) set – $18
• Pre-Order Bundle #2 – Diary of a Mad Band 3 disc (2 CD/1 DVD) set with limited edition pre-order only T-SHIRT – $30
• Pre-Order Bundle #3 – Diary of a Mad Band 3 disc (2 CD/1 DVD), limited edition DOWN 3’x 5’ FLAG, limited edition pre-order only T-SHIRT – $45

Guitarist Pepper Keenan affirms, “The DVD is an in-depth look at what five boys from the wrong side of the tracks can achieve when motivated by the will to escape hard times, fueled by an unexplainable quest to destroy live and be embraced by the love of fans whom we had not had the pleasure of meeting yet. This is how it’s supposed to be: rock solid.”

Vocalist Philip Anselmo adds, “This is a semi-ugly glimpse into what would end up the perfect building blocks to a much more prosperous future! Raw, distorted, unpredictable, and with a freshly mended spine in tow, these shows were desperately important to us as a cohesive unit. Take this trip through the old days with us at your own risk, and don’t forget to bring some aspirin!”

Diary of a Mad Band features a 2 CD full concert, live in London! The DVD highlights documented footage marking the 2006 return of DOWN from the practice room through their first European tour, and a bonus behind-the-scenes featurette entitled ‘Tyrades and Shananigans’. The DVD closes in at a blistering 130 minutes! See below for a complete tracklisting of the set:

DVD: Diary of a Mad Band
w/ BONUS DVD FEATURETTE ‘Tyrades and Shananigans’
1. Lysergic Funeral Procession
2. Lifer
3. Losing All
4. Rehab
5. New Orleans Is A Dying Whore
6. Ghosts Along The Mississippi
7. Learn From This Mistake
8. Underneath Everything
9. Temptation’s Wings
10. There’s Something On My Side
11. Hail The Leaf
12. Lies
13. The Seed
14. Eyes Of The South
15. Jail
16. Stone The Crows
17. Bury Me In Smoke

2 CD: LIVE IN EUROPE
1. Losing All
2. Lifer
3. Lysergic Funeral Procession
4. Rehab
5. Temptations Wings
6. Ghosts Along The Mississippi
7. Learn From This Mistake
8. Hail The Leaf
9. New Orleans Is A Dying Whore
10. Lies, I Don’t Know What They Say But…
11. Underneath Everything
12. The Seed
13. Eyes Of The South
14. Jail
15. Stone The Crows
16. Bury Me In Smoke

If that isn’t enough for a rabid fan, a 180 Gram triple vinyl version with a bonus DVD will be available on October 26th! DOWN features the all-star line-up of vocalist Philip Anselmo (Pantera, Arson Anthem), guitarist Pepper Keenan (Corrosion of Conformity), guitarist Kirk Windstein (Crowbar, Kingdom of Sorrow), bassist Rex Brown (Pantera), and drummer Jimmy Bower (Eyehategod, Crowbar). Based in New Orleans, LA, DOWN boasts an intense domestic and international fan base. Their last album, III: Over and Under has scanned over 113,000 copies, and internationally, DOWN has seen staggering sales of over 1 million. Regarded as one of the most explosive live acts of our generation, DOWN is constantly touring the globe. Stay tuned for tour dates in the future!

To pre-order Diary of a Mad Band click here.
For more DOWN click here.

Amazon.com has set a an October 5th release date for DOWN‘s forthcoming double-DVD/CD, The Diary Of A Mad Band, via Down/Ada.

Down feature in their ranks guitarist/vocalist Pepper Keenan (CORROSION OF CONFORMITY), drummer Jimmy Bower (EYEHATEGOD, SUPERJOINT RITUAL guitarist), guitarist Kirk Windstein (CROWBAR), and vocalist Philip Anselmo (SUPERJOINT RITUAL, ex-PANTERA).

The Diary Of A Mad Band captures Down in all its sludged out intensity. This special DVD/CD collection features over 130 minutes of live video footage + a full never-before-released concert. The CD is different from the DVD.

About The Diary Of A Mad Band being caught up in legal issues, Anselmo commented to BraveWords.com recently: “You know something, man, I really haven’t the foggiest notion what all that crap’s about, man. They’ve been back and forth with this damn company so many times and if I said anything right now I’d be a liar ‘cause I don’t know. I’m letting the bigwigs deal with that. I really wish I could tell people. An honest answer, but I just can’t do it, man, so I’m gonna keep that lip zipped, so I don’t know.”

In a July 2010 interview with Altsounds.com Windstein said, “The way we look at it now is that we’re not downing it, no pun intended, but we’re so much better than that now, because when we got back together, Phil had only just gotten over back surgery, but it’s a very good representation of where we were at then and it’s a good rock and roll movie regardless.”

To pre-order Diary Of A Mad Band click here.
For more DOWN click here.

CROWBAR will re-release three influential records – Crowbar, Live +1, and Time Heals Nothing – on October 5th via E1 Music.
These three records are the band’s core titles and have influenced many of today’s major metal acts including LAMB OF GOD and HATEBREED. With each title originally being released in the early nineties, this will be the first time all three records will be widely available in stores.
A new Crowbar record is planned for early 2011.
Kirk Windstein formed Crowbar in 1991. Since that time, the band’s sound has profoundly influenced a new generation of metal acts the world over.
Weinstein is also a key member of KINGDOM OF SORROW (with Hatebreed frontman Jamey Jasta) and DOWN.

For more CROWBAR click here.

Legendary North Carolina-based metal band BUZZOV*EN has announced US headlining tour dates. The newly reunited unit will tour this fall for the first time in 12 years and is set to prove why it is seen as one of the most influential underground bands of the last two decades.

Many bands come and go, but few manage to leave their mark, let alone influence an entire genre of music. Buzzov*en formed in 1990 and made an immediate impact in the heavy metal world, quickly developing a huge cult following based largely around its dark and devastatingly down-tuned sludge-like sound that pooled elements of extreme metal and hardcore punk with lyrical themes of hatred, pain, anger, violence, addiction and depression. The powerhouse band is widely regarded for being one of the founders of the “sludge” metal genre (alongside EYEHATEGOD and SLEEP). Founding member Kirk Fisher – long the sole driving force behind Buzzov*en – has reassembled the band’s classic …At A Loss–era lineup with bassist “Dixie” Dave Collins (also of WEEDEATER) and drummer Ramzi for these special fall shows.

Over the course of its initial run, Buzzov*en released a string of highly praised albums including 1994’s Sore (Roadrunner Records) and 1998’s …At A Loss (just reissued via Emetic Records). The unit has also released a number of compilation albums on noted labels such as Alternative Tentacles (2005’s Welcome To Violence) and Relapse (Violence From The Vault, 2010) and its never-before-released album Revelation: Sick Again will see a 2011 release via Hydra Head Records. Buzzov*en’s volatile, out-of-control live performances are a thing of legend, with the band consistently walking a tightrope between precision and pure mayhem. Ultimately, the very explosiveness that made Buzzov*en so crucial was what ultimately caused the band’s instability, and the group split up in 2001. But the ghost of Buzzov*en has always remained, with long-time fans clamoring for the band to reform and younger enthusiasts remaining hopeful for a chance to witness the legendary band in its true glory.

In the time since the band’s initial hiatus, Kirk Fisher put together the “acoustic southern blues” band K. LLOYD & THE DISCIPLES (also featuring DOWN / EHG drummer Jimmy Bower and EHG / SOILENT GREEN guitarist Brian Patton) and has battled against formidable personal demons. His return to the stage after working to get his life back together after years of addiction and other problems is viewed as a red-letter victory by his peers and longtime fans. Now, Buzzov*en officially announces its return and will kick off its new life with a string of east coast live performances set to launch on September 25th in Charlotte, NC. These fall tour dates are but a precursor to band’s upcoming plans as a new studio album will be recorded and released in 2011, followed by larger-scale tour plans. Stay tuned.

Buzzov*en US tour dates:
September
25 – Charlotte, NC – Tremont Music Hall (with BLACK TUSK)
29 – Chicago, IL – Reggie’s Rock Club
30 – New York, NY – Rocks Off Concert Cruise Aboard the Temptress (with Black Tusk)
October
1 – Baltimore, MD – Ottobar (with Black Tusk)
2 – Austin, TX – Emo’s

For more BUZZOV*EN click here.

Sludge metal legends CROWBAR have signed a worldwide deal with E1 Music. The band will be releasing a new full-length album later this fall.
“Crowbar is very excited to have landed this deal with E1 Music! We have always been very proud of what we do and the new record will not disappoint and of our die hard fans“, says front man and guitar player Kirk Windstein.
The forthcoming album will be the follow up to the band’s last album, Lifesblood For The Downtrodden, which was released in 2005.
Windstein continues, “Big thanks to Jamey Jasta, Steve Ross and the legal team at E1 Music. Get ready, with a real label behind us we will crush!”
E1 Music Vice President of Metal Scott Givens adds, “Crowbar have influenced a generation of great bands and E1 is fully committed to making this the band’s biggest selling record of its long and storied career.”
Kirk Windstein formed Crowbar in 1991. Since that time, the band’s sound has profoundly influenced a new generation of metal acts the world over. Weinstein is also a key member of KINGDOM OF SORROW (with HATEBREED front man Jamey Jasta) and DOWN.

Upcoming Crowbar European dates include:
June
18 – Clisson, France – Hellfest
19 – Enschede, Netherlands – Atak KZ
20 – Amstelveen, Netherlands – P60
21 – Lille, France – Fête De La Musique
22 – Marburg, Germany – KFZ
24 – Schaffhausen, Switzerland – Tabtab
25 – Innsbruck, Austria – PMK
26 – Montebelluna, Italy – Mani’n’rock Fest
27 – Graz, Austria – Explosiv
28 – Prague, Czech Republic – 007 Club
29 – Hamburg, Germany – Markthalle
30 – Rostock, Germany – Mau Club
July
2 – Roitzschjora, Germany – With Full Force
3 – Tuska, Finland – Tuska Open Air Metal Festival
4 – Budapest, Hungary – Wigwam
5 – Wien, Austria – Viper Room
6 – Tolmin, Slovenia – Metalcamp
7 – Millstatt, Austria – Bergwerk
8 – Pfarrkirchen, Germany – Bogaloo
9 – St. Wendel/Saar, Germany – Rock am Bach
10 – Essen, Germany – Turock
12 – München, Germany – Feierwerk
13 – Freiburg, Germany – Walfisch
14 – Köln, Germany – MTC
15 – Maasmechelen, Belgium – JH Alibi / St. Cecilia
16 – Schloss Holte, Germany – Serengeti Festival
17 – Dour, Belgium – Dour Festival
18 – Rotterdam, Netherlands – De Baroeg

For more information on Crowbar visit their website here.

Source: Brave Words