Away Team

As I sit here trying to preface one of the best interviews I have conducted in a while, I am met with an eerily familiar foe… writer’s block.  Perhaps it is because there are no words to describe the remarkable success RAINS has achieved sans the help of a major label.  Perhaps it is the fact that the stories behind the “Stories” are impactful beyond words.  Or maybe it’s just that I’ve consumed one too many Captain and Cokes.  Whatever the reason is, you’re probably asking yourself “What the fuck kind of title is that?”.  Well sit back, pour your own damn cocktail, and relax as we delve into the mind of a remarkable talent who, next time we talk, will undoubtedly need no introduction.  Join me as we talk with Jeff Rains about everything from panhandling-to-pirating music-to-you guessed it, eating shit. [EDITOR'S NOTE: Neither artist, nor author have ever taken part in eating shit.  No shit was harmed during the making of this interview.]

AWAY-TEAM:  First I’d like to congratulate you on the success of your album, which by the way is fantastic…

JEFF RAINS:  Well thank you!

AWAY-TEAM:  …also the current single “Look in My Eyes”.  As we speak now, you’re on the current leg of the Share the Welt Tour with Five Finger Death Punch, All That Remains, and Hatebreed.  How’s that been going thus far?

JEFF RAINS:  It is phenomonal.  Ya know, we were a little bit nervous about it because, you’ve heard our album, and all of the other bands on the tour are so much heavier than us.  So we got offered the tour, and we had alot of reservations about it.  We weren’t sure if we should take it or not, but we did alot of research and basically everybody that we talked to said ‘That’s the tour that you need to be on.  That’s THE tour!’  So we ended up taking it, and it was a big risk, but we’ve been accepted and it’s going great.  The bands are all phenomonal to us, the crew is great to us, and it’s just awesome.

AWAY-TEAM:  Very cool!  So when di you first decide that you wanted to write and record music for a living?  And what was the driving force behind it?

JEFF RAINS:  I was, I think 16 years old, I was brought up on the whole 70′s music scene.  My dad was big into Led Zeppelin, CCR, all that stuff, so I grew up listening to that, and then I also grew up listening to alot of Country music.  And first Woodstock ’94 happened, and my brother and I were not allowed to watch MTV but we had this little 10 inch TV in our bedroom, and when our parents would go to bed we’d turn it on and turn on MTV and they’d be showing clips from Woodstock, like Green Day and the mud fights and all that stuff.  We were like “What in the hell is this?”  It was amazing, we’d never seen anything like it.  So then I started looking into it a little more, and I stumbled across, well I guess you wouldn’t say stumbled across because it was right in my face the whole time, but the whole Seattle, ya know Alice in Chains-Pearl Jam grunge scene.  Right then it was like, it wasn’t even a choice, it was just ‘This is what I’m doing’ ya know.  If you listen to the album, I’m just so influenced by that whole Seattle scene, and I still am.  I mean, everyday before we go on stage, on the bus we’re listening to either Alice in Chains, or Soundgarden, or Pearl Jam.  Then our intro to our show is “When the Levee Breaks” by Led Zeppelin, ya know, so all of those influences are still there and I really like that.

AWAY-TEAM:  You mentioned earlier that you’re band is a little bit different sounding than the other bands on the tour.  You’ve been compared alot to bands like Default, Nickelback, and I’ve even heard Staind.  If you had to describe your sound to someone that has never heard your music before, what would be your answer?

JEFF RAINS:  I’ve been asked this question alot, and the best answer I can come up with is I think it’s a modern day, 90′s Seattle grunge scene sound.  The record’s called “Stories” and I really got sick of the cookie-cutter BS that was on the radio.  Bands singing about drugs, and drinking, and whatever they sing about.  I just wanted to do something real, and something honest, and tell some real stories.  I think it’s paying off for us, and people are connecting with it.  It’s really cool to see.

AWAY-TEAM:  Now you mentioned the album is called “Stories”, the story telling aspect of your songwriting has more of a direct approach than the average artist, I know we touched on it a little bit earlier, but who are some of the artists that influenced that aspect?

JEFF RAINS:  I think the story telling part comes from listening to Country music.  I mean, I listened to alot of Garth Brooks, Brooks & Dunn and stuff like that.  I don’t know, as I’ve said I’ve been obsessed with that whole Seattle scene, I don’t know if that had anything to do with the story telling or not, but I would attribute it mostly to listening to Country music.  Because Country music, I don’t know what it is now because I don’t really listen to it anymore, but back then it was story telling.  All these Country artists would tell these amazing stories during their songs and I thought that was so cool.  So, yeah I think that’s where it mostly came from.

AWAY-TEAM:  That’s actually one of the things that I love about your album.

JEFF RAINS:  Right on.  And I think that’s one of the things that people connect with the most, ya know.  People are so used to the current music scene and where it’s at, and they’re just expecting these cookie cutter songs where ‘We’re up all night partying..’  Whatever.  It is what it is.  So I think when people hear us for the first time, they’re more taken aback than anything, like “Wow, this is actually real music for once.  Real stories, about real people.  This is cool!”  I actually read a really cool article the other day, I don’t even know where I found it, I didn’t interview with them or anything, they just wrote it about us, and the subject said “RAINS-The Band That’s Bringing Back True Rock n’ Roll”  I was like “Holy crap! That’s awesome!”  That’s what I feel like I’m trying to do.

AWAY-TEAM:  Being that the songs on the album are a collection of stories, what song on the album had the most profound meaning in your personal life?

JEFF RAINS:  I think the song “Hurricane”.  “Hurricane” was really cool, because I was in Austin, TX, before I was really pushing the music thing I was working for another company.  And I was walking down the street, and some homeless guy came up to me and asked me for $3.96.  I didn’t have any cash on me, and I said “I don’t have any cash on me.” and he was like “Yeah, I get that all the time.  Whatever.”  I said ‘Well, what do you need it for?” and he said “I need to buy a 40, and one cigarette.”  I said “OK, thanks for being honest with me” and I sat down with him and I said “Can I hear your story? I don’t wanna impose or anything, but do you mind filling me in a little bit?” and he told me his whole story.  As soon as he was doen, I went to the ATM, took out $20, handed it to him, and said “Buy whatever you gotta buy, but make sure you at least get some food too.”  The song “Hurricane” is his whole story, and it’s a very sad song, but in that song I felt like I finally hit where I wanted to hit in the songwriting.  I felt like that was where I finally told a story the way I wanted to tell a story.  It was awesome, I was just in Austin like two days ago, and that’s all I kept thinking about the whole time.  I was like “This is the place.”  I actually stood right where I talked to the guy, it was really cool.

AWAY-TEAM:  Wow.  That is awesome!  Many of the songs on the album seem to also be almost interconnected as part of a bigger story.  Can you kinda briefly take us throught the album and give us sort of an abridged version of that story?

JEFF RAINS:  Well, I’ve been married for almost 8 years, and during the writing for the album my wife and I seperated for a bit, and the majority of the songs on the album are about that.  I think every song with the exception of “Hurricane” is a song directly from my own life.  I mean, I wrote about what I was going through every day.  Ya know, it’s great to be able to put yourself out there, and put your life out there, people respond to it.  Luckily the response has been great, so.  Yeah, if it seems like there is a story within the “Stories” record, that’s what it is.  It’s the story of that time period in my life, and everything I was going through.

AWAY-TEAM:  And you’re still married now?

JEFF RAINS:  Oh yeah.

AWAY-TEAM:  So how’s that work when she hears a song like “Hate”? (laughs)

JEFF RAINS:  (laughs) That’s been a bit of a sore subject.  She’s over it now, but when I first wrote it… yeah, didn’t go over too well. (laughs)

AWAY-TEAM:  Well, I’m glad to hear everything worked out for ya.

JEFF RAINS:  Yeah, everything worked out great.  Like the song “Liar”, I don’t know how people interpret that song, but… that song is completely referring to myself.  I just wasn’t doing the right thing in my marriage at the time.  So alot of that stuff is completely personal reference.  It’s basically me dogging myself the whole record. (laughs)

AWAY-TEAM:  (laughs)  Hey, that’s what makes it genuine.

JEFF RAINS:  It worked, so. (laughs) It is what it is.  It was definitely a sore subject for a while though. (both laugh)

AWAY-TEAM:  The way this album was written reminds me alot of Sixx A.M.’s “The Heroin Diaries”, in the respect that it could easily be a sountrack to someone’s life.  If you could write the soundtrack to the biography of any one musician’s life, who would it be?

JEFF RAINS:  Oh man, that’s a tough question.  Probably Layne Staley, or Scott Weiland, or Maynard from Tool.  Or even Phil Collins, I don’t know, I have alot of artists that have influenced me alot, so that list could go on for days.

AWAY-TEAM:  Your day job at one time was actually as a tattoo artist?

JEFF RAINS:  Correct.

AWAY-TEAM:  What’s the funniest, weirdest, or coolest tat you’ve ever done?  Cuz I’ve seen some funny shit out there.

JEFF RAINS:  I tattooed a piece of shit on someone once…

AWAY-TEAM:  (Laughs hysterically)

JEFF RAINS:  ..and here’s the fucked up part.  I tattooed a piece of shit on them because they supposedly won a bet.  The bet was if he ate shit, he got paid $100.  So he ate the shit, got paid $100, and then came and spent the $100 on a tattoo of shit!

AWAY-TEAM:  (laughing) What the fuck?

JEFF RAINS:  (laughing)  I’m not kidding.  I’m not kidding you.

AWAY-TEAM:  Oh my God!

JEFF RAINS:  Yeah.  And another weird one, this guy was… I’m not even worried about him reading this, I’m not gonna say his name, but if he ever learned what the internet was, he’d know it was him.  But, every Friday the 13th, our tattoo studio was called Studio 13, so every Friday the 13th we would do $13 tattoos.  We’d just have these sheets of little 2″x 2″ tattoos, nothing crazy, but one of the tattoos one day was, you know the “Calvin” cartoon pissing?

AWAY-TEAM:  Yeah, yeah.

JEFF RAINS:  So this guy had his ex-girlfriend’s name tattooed right behind his ear, so then on his neck he had me tattoo the “Calvin” cartoon pissing on his ex-girlfriend’s name.

AWAY-TEAM:  (laughs)

JEFF RAINS:  (laughing) And when I did it I said “Do you really want this on your neck forever?”, and he was that type of guy.  He was like ”Hell yeah dude! This is gonna be fucking awesome!”  I was like “Ok, whatever.”  (laughs)  But yeah, that’s why I stopped tattooing.  I hated it.  I hated that part of it, because people are, I don’t know how to put this diplomatically.  Some people don’t follow your recommendations as a tattoo artist, and they’ll get the dumbest shit in the history of the world tattooed on them.  And I just got so jaded, I was like “I didn’t sign up for this.”  I signed up to make art, not a Calvin cartoon pissing on a girlfriend’s name, ya know?

AWAY-TEAM:  (laughs)  Your success, has been found thus far through the independent release of your album.  There’s been a recent trend of bands trying to get out of their major label deals and back to basics.  Does that sometimes deter you from seeking the support of a major label?  Or do you kinda take the approach that it works for some and not for others?

JEFF RAINS:  From day one, I have said that I wanna be independent.  It’s gonna take a hell of alot for me to sign with a major label, or with any label.  We’re on our own label, we handle everything ourselves, we have our own PR team, we have our own radio team, we have our own distribution, so.  With the record industry the way it is right now, the only way you’re gonna make, and I don’t give a shit what any other band says “Yeah we wanna do it for the music”  What the fuck ever, you wanna get paid!  You start out wanting to do it for the music, but then when you’re $400,000 in debt, it’s like “OK, I kinda need to get paid at some point.”  The only way to get paid these days, is to be independent, and be your own record label.  So, I guess to answer your question, at no point in the immediate future or the far future will I be seeking out label support.  And I’m very proud of that, and all of the bands we’re on tour with are on major labels and they’re just astounded that we’re doing this on our own.

AWAY-TEAM:  That blows my mind too.  The success that you guys have had being an independent band, it’s really kinda refreshing to see.

JEFF RAINS:  Well I thank you for that.  I’ll take that as a compliment.  It’s refreshing to be in this position, to be honest with you, because we aren’t getting screwed out of evey penny we make.  We make every penny we make, it goes straight to the band. So we’re able to be on a tour bus, we’re able to be on these big tours, we’re able to finance the things we’re able to finance because, believe it or not it takes a hell of alot of money to be in the music business.  It’s not like, your playing some crappy bar and some A&R guy is gonna find you and sign you that night on a paper napkin.  That’s not how it works.  this business is so much about numbers now, and I’m just so happy to be where we are.  Being independent and not having to depend on anyone else, and not have to pay everything we make to everybody else, ya know.  It’s a really good feeling.

AWAY-TEAM:  Speaking of the record industry, there’s been recent rumor of the demise of the CD.  Do you think that’s a good thing for the industry?  What are your thoughts on that?

JEFF RAINS:  I’ll give you an example, last night we played a show, I think there was 5,000 people there.  One guy came up to me and he said ”I’ve been listening to you guys for two years straight.  I’ve been obsessed with you guys.  I’m gonna be honest, I downloaded your CD off the internet.”  But he had 5 copies of the CD in his hand that he had just bought from the merch table.  My approach is, if people want free music, let ‘em have it.  The whole goal is to spread the word right?  So it they’re still coming out to concerts, and still paying for those concert tickets, and still buying our merch, what the hell do I care?  It served it’s purpose, I mean the guy was standing there with 5 CD’s.  So he downloaded one for free, great, he paid it back to us ten times over at that show last night.  And that’s normally how it goes.  Alot of bands aren’t like this, but I encourage people.  If you can find my CD for free, download it.  Don’t even call it stealing, call it my gift to you.  I just want people to hear it, and hopefully they like it.  It will pay off at the end of the day, whether the record labels say it will or not, I know personally that it will.

AWAY-TEAM:   Well hey Jeff, thank you so much for your time.  It’s been a great pleasure.

JEFF RAINS:  Right on. Thank you man!

AWAY-TEAM:  Best of luck in everything you do, and hopefully I’ll catch up with you next time you guys make your way through Florida.

JEFF RAINS:  Definitely.

AWAY-TEAM:  Alright man, we’ll talk soon.

JEFF RAINS:  Alright, thanks alot man!  Bye.

For more  RAINS including, music, merch, and tour dates visit the bands official website here.

Special thanks to Jeff Rains for so graciously giving me his time, and also to Doug Weber at New Ocean Media for making it all happen.

The inaugural 48 Hours Festival Powered by Rockstar Energy Drink, the ultimate rock and roll music event scheduled for Saturday, Oct. 15 and Sunday, Oct. 16, is offering fans the opportunity to win an exclusive weekend concert experience with the “Debauchery VIP Package.” To enter to win, visit http://48hoursfestival.com/48hrs-festival-flyaway/. The winner and a guest will be flown to Las Vegas and receive:

• Two-day Debauchery VIP ticket to 48 Hours Festival with exclusive VIP entrance
• Access to Debauchery VIP Party Tent with discounted beer and drink specials
• 48 Hours Festival Limited Edition T-Shirt and collectible souvenir ticket
• Official Debauchery VIP Laminate

Located on the Luxor Festival Fairgrounds across the street from Luxor Hotel and Casino, 48 Hours Festival will feature two stages of pure rock with a royal flush of festivities at various Las Vegas locations spanning the entire weekend. Along with scheduled performances by Avenged Sevenfold, Korn, Godsmack, Five Finger Death Punch, Three Days Grace and many more, the festival also will feature multiple big air freestyle motocross jump shows by the Rockstar Metal Militia daily. In addition, the 48 Hours Festival is holding various contests to win “Survival Kits” from bands performing at the festival through its Facebook page.

The countdown to 48 Hours Festival begins Friday, Oct. 14 with a kick-off party at the House of Blues at Mandalay Bay Resort & Casino featuring Steel Panther. On Saturday, Oct. 15 and Sunday, Oct. 16, concertgoers can continue raging at the official after-party at the House of Blues. In addition, Korn’s Jonathan Davis will DJ a Sunday morning Hangover Brunch at Mandalay Bay.

Two-day weekend ticket packages start at $99 and can be purchased at www.48HoursFestival.com/tickets/. In addition, a limited number of once-in-a-lifetime exclusive VIP packages are available including the “All Excess – Cabanas” package featuring a full-service cabana with premium elevated sight lines. For additional information and discount hotel packages at Mandalay Bay, Luxor and Excalibur, visit www.48HoursFestival.com.

Bands confirmed for 48 HOURS FESTIVAL:
Avenged Sevenfold, Korn, Godsmack, Five Finger Death Punch, Three Days Grace, Seether, Bullet For My Valentine, Hollywood Undead, Sick Puppies, Escape The Fate, Sevendust, Hatebreed, Adelitas Way, Rev Theory, 10 Years, Black Tide, Art of Dying, Eyes Set to Kill, Butcher Babies, Valora, Hell or Highwater, Orange Blossom Special

FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH is set to headline the ‘SHARE THE WELT TOUR’ this fall in support of their upcoming third album, American Capitalist, which hits stores on October 11th, 2011. Heading out to support 5FDP on the tour are current heavy metal frontrunners All That Remains, Hatebreed, and Rev Theory.

Also, 5FDP’s brand new single, “UNDER AND OVER IT” is available on iTunes now. “UNDER AND OVER IT” is the first single from their forthcoming album, American Capitalist. The track debuted on radio stations everywhere Wednesday as well as on Revolvermag.com to immediate acclaim from stations and listeners alike.

More dates are set to be announced in September, so stay tuned for updates! See below for all current tour dates.

CONFIRMED SUMMER FESTIVAL DATES
8/13 Twin Lakes, WI @ Shadow Hill Ranch
8/16 Honolulu, HI @ Blaisdell Arena
8/19 Saratoga Springs, NY @ Saratoga Performing Arts Center – (WQBK’S A BIGGER DAY OUT)
8/20 Winnipeg, MB @ MTS Centre – (ROCK ON THE RANGE CANADA)
8/26 Post Falls, ID @ Greyhound Park Ampitheater – (KHTQ ROCK HARD AT THE PARK)
8/27 Auburn, WA @ White River Amphitheatre – (KISW PAIN IN THE GRASS)
8/28 Hillsboro, OR @ Washington County Fair – (PDX ROCKFEST)
9/10 Chandler, AZ @ Firebird Raceway – (UFEST)
9/18 Dayton, OH @ Montgomery County Fairgrounds – (WXEG X FEST)
9/24 Irvine, CA @ Irvine Meadows/Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre – (EPICENTER)

SHARE THE WELT TOUR: FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH w/ ALL THAT REMAINS, HATEBREED, REV THEORY
10/16 San Francisco, CA @ The Warfield
10/17 Medford, OR @ Medford Armory
10/19 Salt Lake City, UT @ The Great Slat Air
10/22 Denver, CO @ First Bank Center
10/25 Boise, ID @ Taco Bell Arena
10/26 Reno, NV @ Knitting Factory
10/28 El Paso, TX @ Speaking Rock Entertainment Center (not SHARE THE WELT)
10/29 San Antonio, TX @ Sunken Garden
11/1 Little Rock, AR @ Clear Channel Metroplex Event Center
11/2 Oklahoma City, OK @ Diamond Ballroom

Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival
Time Warner Cable Amphitheatre at Walnut Creek
Raleigh, NC
03AUG11

Mayhem (noun A state of violent disorder or riotous confusion; havoc.)

The Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival hit Raleigh, North Carolina for the second straight year on August 3rd. This year’s event boasted a stronger main stage than last year with Disturbed and Godsmack co-headlining the biggest rock festival in the US. With the inclusion of Machine Head and Megadeth you couldn’t ask for a better main stage group of bands.

Where the ‘mayhem’ failed to really occur was the side stages. Last year it seemed that bands like Shadows Fall, In This Moment, Chimaira, 3 Inches of Blood, Atreyu and more really took hold of the early crowd and amped them up and primed them for the headliners, Rob Zombie and Korn. But this year, outside of Suicide Silence, which put on a blistering set, and really had the biggest pit and most crowd participation it seemed to me, nobody really whipped the crowd into a frenzy and kept them there. I will say that I did miss Red Fang, All Shall Perish, and Straight Line Stitch due to being in the press tent doing interviews (which you will read later here at away-team.com), so I can’t say how the crowd responded to them.

Mayhem (noun Infliction of violent injury on a person or thing; wanton destruction)

Raleigh, North Carolina is in the middle of one of the hottest summers on record. We are caught in an oppressive heat wave, and they day of Mayhem was no exception. 103 was the high temp of the day, and the side stages were actually in the gravel parking lot. With no shade, and no relief from the blistering sun and boiling temperature, it wasn’t the bands that we causing the mayhem on this day, it was Mother Nature, and boy was she pissed. The ridiculous heat and the unrelenting sun were causing many to fall out long before the main stage even opened. And once it did we found reprieve from the sun, but not the heat, and any breeze that may have acted as a cooling agent was blocked by the building itself which turned the pit and the front part of the audience into a pressure cooker. The temperature at the front of the pit was hotter than it was out in the parking lot under direct sunlight. Again, the heat may have been the biggest cause of mayhem all day.

As I have already said, I missed Red Fang, All Shall Perish, and Straight Line Stitch due to being in interviews so I can’t say anything about their sets other than I was really disappointed in missing SLS after having interviewed Alexis and Seth right before they were to go on stage. And In Flames did not perform because they had just dropped off the tour due to an illness in the family. So the following are my notes of the bands I did get to catch, and I am adding in my tweets as it is the best indicator of what I thought as it was happening (you can follow Away Team on twitter and read our live streams from the various shows we’re attending at www.twitter.com/awayteam ).

Kingdom Of Sorrow: Jamey Jasta & Kurt Windstein’s side project is pretty good. It more up tempo than Crowbar, and a little more straight forward metal than Hatebreed, but it just sounds like Hatebreed with a little more metal riffage to me. This isn’t a problem really, but if you are going to do a side project or different band, then the sound should really be different, otherwise, what is the point of having another band?

Suicide Silence: Had a huge pit. Probably had the greatest pit interaction of the crowd all day. I expected Unearth to take that title, but Suicide Silence took no prisoners and the crowd gave back everything they could under ridiculous conditions.

Unearth: Unearth performed four years ago in Raleigh at a small theater, and it was the bloodiest pit the venue ever had. There were more broken bones and noses during that show than at any other show in the history of the venue. And at the end of the night when it came time to mop the floor, the normal beer and sweat covering it was pink with all the blood that had been spilled. I really thought that given the conditions that day and the size of the crowd that it was going to be an insane pit. However the heat must have really gotten to them by the time Unearth took the stage, because while they were raucous they were no were close to the frenetic pit that was the previous Raleigh Unearth show. The band, sounded good, even though they weren’t on the Revolver stage (bigger PA, better sound), but they went balls out for 40 minutes and got the crowd jumping. Unearth always put on a spirited performance, and Raleigh’s Mayhem was no exception. I realize that these festivals are really the first time that most people have heard or seen these bands on the side stage, so it’s great for the 10 bands or so that share the stages to get that exposure. But I’d really rather have maybe 7 bands total, and let them all play longer. I’d really have liked to see Unearth have a few more songs to pummel the crowd with. Of course in that insane heat, we may have lost the bands as well as a portion of the crowd. So maybe considering the environment it was a good thing that all the bands played shorter sets.

Trivium: Another first for me was getting to see Trivium. However, as much as I tried, I just could not connect with their performance. I am sure it was me, it was late in the day, I was starving but didn’t want to leave the parking lot and miss the bands, so I waited it out for the transition from side stages to main house before I ate. The heat may have finally started to take its toll on me. But try as I might, I could not get into their set. It sounded great. The Revolver stage boasts itself as the loudest stage and it may well be, but even as loud and as good at it sounded, something for me was missing and Trivium’s set left me disappointed.

Machine Head: Being from the Bay Area of California I am no stranger to Machine Head, however, in their 20 years of being together, I have never had the opportunity to see them. They were really the last big metal band out of San Francisco that I haven’t seen at some point. So I was really looking forward to their set, and I was not to be disappointed. Machine Head are a very underrated band, they have never really gotten their fair due here in the states, and I’ve never understood why. While the European press and fans have all embraced them wholeheartedly it seems to me the US press and fans continue to pass them by. They had what I consider to be the best album of 2007 (The Blackening) and live they simply laid the crowd to waste. Robb Flynn makes for an interesting frontman. Having never seen them, I had in my mind what they must be like live. And while the performance lived up to or surpassed my expectations, Robb himself changed my expectations of him. He seemed genuinely happy to be there, and while the music may be aggressive, dark and mean, he certainly did not come across that way when he spoke. He came across as sincere and really appreciative of the crowd and the opportunity to perform for them. A stark contrast to the music and vocals, he was almost cheery on stage, throwing a party instead of churning out riff after monster riff. And while the crowd seeped into the main stage area, the band cranked out one massive neck shredding song after another. By the end of their set, they had most of the sun weary crowd on their feet cheering for them.

Megadeth: After watching The Big 4 DVD from Sophia Bulgaria, and watching the show simulcast to theaters all over the world, I was hoping Dave Mustaine’s voice would be better than it was for that memorable show. When Dave goes for the high notes, his voice sounds like he is inhaling while trying to sing. Do it, right now, I’ll wait… It sounds like you’re singing in a vacuum. It sounds plain wrong. But over the years most vocalists can’t maintain the range they had when they were young. Dave unfortunately is one of those that can’t hit the notes he used to back in the day. And instead of dropping down a note or two to compensate, he still attempts to hit it, and misses. It isn’t screechy thankfully, but as I said it sounds like it he is singing while inhaling deeply. And it is very off putting. That aside, the man and the band put on a hell of a show. They are unbelievably tight. And the solos continue to shred and show up the younger bands out there today. From the father of speed metal to his newest guitarist Chris Broderick, they continue to show up and teach the younger bands out there how to properly shred. No real surprises from the set musically, a mix of the old and new, with a couple of songs from the upcoming release TH1RT3EN. A great set by a great band, so glad to see Dave Ellefson back in the fold and I think Megadeth may have the strongest guitarist next to Dave that they ever have in Chris Broderick. I look forward to seeing what new elements he brings to the Megadeth arsenal both in recordings and live.

Godsmack: Having seen Godsmack about 5 times in the past, and on consecutive nights no less, I think I’ve seen the best and worst that they can do. I will say that I like a lot of their songs, I think if you combine all the albums they have done and taken the best songs off them then you will have one kick ass album. Live though, I think the music and band are a little boring. I am sure I am going to get a ton of shit for saying this, and the leader of the shit brigade will be our very own Bam Bam who swears Shannon Larkin is an amazing drummer and the second coming (for clarification Shannon is a great drummer, I think his talents are lost on Godsmack however), and beats me up (verbally) whenever I say a bad word about them. Those of you following Away Team on twitter will remember I said that this show was more energetic than the ones I’d previously seen, and I was actually enjoying the set until ‘IT’ happened… I have for years railed against guitar solos and drum solos, by anyone. Even Eddie Van Halen. I know you can shred, I know you can play; I get it, that’s why I am at your show. Quit jacking off and play a song! The only thing worse than a guitar solo or drum solo by a headlining band (fine give your bandmates a break while you jack off on the crowd, I get why they do it, but really, if you can’t play a 90 minute set then get your lazy ass in shape!) is a solo by a support band. We have even less time to see you and you are going waste our time stroking yourself off in front of us? What could be worse than a guitar or drum solo by a supporting band? I’m so glad you asked, how about TWO DRUM SOLOS?!??!?! That’s right, in the middle of Godsmack’s set a second drum kit is wheeled out onto the stage and Sully and Shannon have a ‘drum off’. We get it, you used to be a drummer, but now you play guitar, and sing. So… play guitar and sing! Let your drummer drum. That’s his job. Otherwise put the guitar down and get behind the kit. This isn’t the Sully Erna show… This is Godsmack, so let Godsmack… ALL of Godsmack… play. If that weren’t enough they broke into songs snippets from AC/DC, Led Zeppelin, Metallica, and Black Sabbath. What’s worse than doing a medley of your own tunes? How about a medley of someone else’s tunes! Ok, so the ‘drum off’ finally ended. A couple more songs, and then an encore. And what do they do for an encore, let Sully yell at the crowd for 10 minutes to ‘get ready to get crazy’. Fuck you. Stand out in the heat with us all day and see how ‘crazy’ you get 8 hours into the show. And fuck your sing along too. I paid to see you sing. Not to hear 15,000 of my closest friends sing. So put the drums away, stow the sing along bullshit, and perform songs. Thank you… please drive thru.

Disturbed: Having seen Disturbed three or four times the past 2 years I went into this show expecting this to be the last time I saw Disturbed live (not because of their just announced indefinite hiatus, but because of David’s trouble singing as of late). The more time goes on the worse David sounds live. Unless you catch the band within the first two or three weeks of a tour starting (with a ton of downtime before the tour), you get a screechy David Draiman. And it seems to get worse as time goes on. However, I was pleasantly surprised Wednesday night when Disturbed came out and David sound the strongest I’d heard him sound the last 7 or 8 shows I’d seen. The band as always is very tight, and while I felt a little melancholy that this would in fact be the last Disturbed show for some time, I was happy that for me at least they went out on a high note and David sounded so good. My only complaint, ok two… is that #1 we got 65 minutes of a headlining set, and #2 we got the same set we’ve gotten for the last three tour cycles. I understand you are still touring in support of Asylum, but that doesn’t mean that for two years straight you give the fans the same show without changing it up. You have 5 great albums and a lot of material to choose from, yet it seems the last 4 shows I’ve seen are the exact same shows front to back. It isn’t like there is a ton of pyro they have to contend with, or special lighting, it’s just plain laziness it seems. If you are hitting the same market 4 times in 2 years, why not give them a new show at least 50% of the time?

All in all it was a great day for music, but was it Mayhem inducing? Did it stand up to last year’s Mayhem Fest? You’ll have to be the judge of that yourself. It had its highs and lows, as did last years, but all in all a good time was certainly had by myself and those around me.

WINDS OF PLAGUE have become one of the frontrunners of a new breed of metal over the past few years. The band has sold nearly 100,000 records and made countless laps across the globe, building a massive fan base and earning a reputation as one of the heaviest hitting live shows around. Now, after the massive success of ‘The Great Stone War‘, WINDS OF PLAGUE are returning with a brand new album. ‘Against the World‘ was produced by Matt Hyde (Slayer, Hatebreed) and is set for release on April 19th. The album features WINDS OF PLAGUE at their best and also includes guest appearances by Jamey Jasta (Hatebreed), Martin Stewart (Terror), Mattie Montgomery (For Today) and Drew York (Stray From The Path).

The track listing for ‘Against the World‘ is as follows:
Raise The Dead
One For The Butcher
Drop The Match
Built For War
Refined In The Fire
The Warrior Code
Against The World
Monsters
Most Hated
Only Song We’re Allowed To Play In Church Venues
California
Strength To Dominate

WINDS OF PLAGUE is also hitting the road in support of the new record and has unveiled a mammoth trek leading in to the album’s release alongside As I Lay Dying and After the Burial.

WINDS OF PLAGUE dates:
2/12 Ft. Collins, CO @ The Aggie Theater
2/14 Fargo, ND @ The Venue
2/15 Omaha, NE @ The Slowdown
2/16 Madison, WI @ Barrymore Theater
2/17 Green Bay, WI @ Riverside Ballroom
2/18 Lansing, MI @ The Loft
2/19 Dayton, OH @ The Attic Club
2/20 Syracuse, NY @ Lost Horizon
2/21 Burlington, VT @ Higher Ground
2/22 Providence, RI @ The Met
2/24 New York, NY @ Gramercy Theatre
2/25 New York, NY @ Gramercy Theatre
2/26 Lancaster, PA @ Chameleon Club
2/27 Raleigh, NC @ Lincoln Theatre
2/28 Charleston, SC @ Music Farm
3/1 Wilmington, NC @ The Soapbox
3/2 Jacksonville, FL @ Freebird Live
3/3 Tampa, FL State @ Theater
3/4 Ft. Lauderdale, FL @ Culture Room
3/5 Gainesville, FL @ Common Grounds
3/6 Pensacola, FL @ American Legion Hall
3/7 Birmingham, AL @ Zydeco
3/9 Columbia, MO The @ Blue Note
3/10 Tulsa, OK Cain’s @ Ballroom
3/11 Wichita, KS @ The Cotilion
3/12 Colorado Springs, CO @ The Black Sheep
3/13 Farmington, NM @ Top Deck
3/15 Flagstaff, AZ @ Orpheum Theatre
3/16 San Luis Obispo, CA @ SLO Brew
3/17 Oakland, CA @ Oakland Metro
3/18 Sacramento, CA @ Ace of Spades









For more WINDS OF PLAGUE click here.

Los Angeles thrashers WARBRINGER will headline Thrashgiving, the heavy metal benefit concert to feed the needy, on Saturday, November 20 at Cheyenne Saloon in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Commented the event organizers: “Two years ago we debuted the concept of Thrashgiving bringing together out-of-state and local artists performing thrash metal music for the benefit of the needy and we’re doing it again. Even bigger and better this year in an attempt to make this an event held annually in Las Vegas. All proceeds from the show will go to the Rescue Mission and Boys Town. So attend a good show and know that your charitable ticket price will be donated to these organizations to help the less fortunate have a nice holiday.
This year’s lineup will be headlined by WARBRINGER. This band closes out a two-year touring cycle for their sophomore album, ‘Waking into Nightmares’ (Century Media), which has seen them share the stage with MEGADETH, KREATOR, EXODUS, HATEBREED, TESTAMENT, SLIPKNOT, and many more in that time. Joining WARBRINGER is a hand-picked bill of quality up-and-coming thrash metal from California and Arizona, featuring HATCHET, HEXEN, VEKTOR, and SACRIFIAL SLAUGHTER as well as buzz-worthy local openers CONTROL THE CHAOS and MALUS REX!”

Tickets are only $8 in advance or $10 at the door ($1 off if you bring a sealed can of food).

For more information, visit here.
For more WARBRINGER click here.

Music Industry veteran and metal musician Steve “Buckshot” Seabury brings you “Mosh Potatoes – Recipes, Anecdotes & Mayhem From The Heavyweights Of Heavy Metal“. Almost 5 years in the making, Simon & Schuster the publisher, has moved the street date from November 30th to November 16th due to the heavy anticipation of the release. The book is now available for pre order online and will be available all of book stores, your favorite record stores and many mail order companies.

Seabury has set up a charity for the artist proceeds from each sale of the book to benefit The Meals on Wheels Charity. “This organization is very dear to my heart because it provides for so many great people, people like my own grandma. For the metal community to stand together and help these elderly people experiencing financial stress is a true blessing in my eyes.” The Meals on Wheels Charity provides a great service by delivering over a million meals a day to senior citizens who are experiencing economic hardships or disabilities and cant afford to buy food.

Mosh Potatoes features 147 exciting recipes from legendary icons like Lemmy, Zakk Wylde and Lita Ford to the thrash titans of Pantera, Megadeth, Testament, Overkill and Anthrax to the hair metal bands of Guns & Roses, Dokken, LA Guns, Steel Panther, Twisted Sister to the mayhem of metal including Mudvayne, Lamb of God, Shadows Fall, Hatebreed and Devildriver to death metal pioneers of Napalm Death, Obituary, Death and Sepultura and the book wouldnt be complete without the future of the new school like Municipal Waste, Skeletonwitch, Lazarus AD, Evile and Moth Eater.

If you live for metal and like amazing food then you will without a doubt love Mosh Potatoes. So put the beers on ice, fire up the grill and Cook Out With Your Book Out!!!

To pre-order MOSH POTATOES 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.

Tuesday August 3rd the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival descended on Raleigh, North Carolina.

I arrived in time to catch the tail end of IN THIS MOMENT, but was too late to get any pictures. So I set myself up for SHADOWS FALL‘s set. And while it was only 20 minutes long, they ripped through a great set of songs, finishing off with a nod to the Godfather himself Ozzy Osbourne with ‘Bark At The Moon‘.

Missed a couple of other bands while setting up my girl with a chance to meet Rob Zombie, but got back to the Jagermeister stage to see HATEBREED. The band that NEVER disappoints with a show. Despite the 90 + degree temps, them performing directly into the sun, and the huge crowd throwing up a massive dust storm covering the entire stage, Jamey Jasta and company pushed the crowd into a whirlwind of dust and sweat.

Took a break from the last of the side stages to try and find some shade, and get set up for the main events. Love or hate their music, but one thing you cannot say about FIVE FINGER DEATH PUNCH is that they do not put on one hell of a show. They opened the main stage with gusto and got the sun weary crowd amped up and back on their feet.

LAMB OF GOD then came up and laid us all to waist. The most minimalist set I’ve seen at an amphitheater ever, just the boys and their amps, but the sound and the fury drove you back into your seats, and your fists into the air.

With the sun finally setting giving us all a respite from the oppressive heat, it was time for ROB ZOMBIE. While his set was pretty much the same as the Gruesome Twosome Tour, it still did not disappoint. The man, and the amazing band, know how to put on a damned show with style.

Headlining the event was KORN, and well, I wouldn’t want to follow ROB ZOMBIE, would you? KORN did an admirable job, but their music doesn’t have the same energy as Rob‘s. Their set drew from new and old material, and the latter half of the set was pretty much a huge chunk of their first (and in my opinion BEST) album thankfully.

The tour is still running, and selling out many venues. If it hasn’t hit your town yet, GO SEE IT! You can thank me later.

For more ROCKSTAR ENERGY DRINK MAYHEM FESTIVAL click here.

Two time Grammy Nominees Shadows Fall has been shredding the Massachusetts’ metal and hardcore scene for the last 15 years. In 2005 they joined the Ozzfest tour and began their much deserved rise from kings of the underground to a house hold name around the world as the leader’s of the new Thrash Metal movement. Their style has been discussed and dissected ad nauseam. Are they metal? Hardcore? Post core? Metal core? Reggae metal? Hippy metal? Who cares… They rock; they’ll kick your ass given the chance. They’re touring the world in support of their latest CD Retribution, which they released on their own label Everblack Industries.
Shadows Fall is currently on the road with the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival and I had the chance to sit down with their singer Brian Fair and talk about his views of the current condition of the music ‘industry‘, what the pros and cons are in having your own label inprint, the dangers of slamming a vert ramp with your skateboard after a few bowls of your favorite herb, and how it feels to be metal’s dirty hippie.

AWAY-TEAM: This is Slim Jim with Away-team.com talking with Brian Fair from Shadows Fall. So let’s see, first off you guys just kicked off the first show of the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival. How did that….

BRIAN FAIR: Yes indeed man. San Bernardino yesterday man, it was killer man, it was a great first show where there was none of the normal equipment break downs or things – just there were regular speed bumps. It went pretty smooth. Everything really worked out well. The show was killer, the crowd was killer! But I’m a little afraid today because since nothing went wrong yesterday we’re assuming it all happens today you know !(laughs)

AWAY-TEAM: Right yeah absolutely. So where are you today?

BRIAN FAIR: You gotta run into the gremlin somewhere. Shoreline which is a little south of San Francisco in Mountain View, California.

AWAY-TEAM: Mountain View, California I’m very familiar with it, I’m from the Bay Area originally myself.

BRIAN FAIR: Oh nice nice. I love Shoreline. It’s one of my favorite venues there is. We’ve done an Ozzfest here before so it’s good to be back. Yeah and bein’ a hippie Deadhead myself I just feel that holy ground you know.

AWAY-TEAM: So how does a hippie Deadhead become the voice of the new generation of thrash?

BRIAN FAIR: Yeah you know honestly I went to as many hardcore and metal shows growing up as I did to Dead shows and Reggae shows and stuff. So I think just kinda keeping that open mind is what’s really allowed us to really kinda push things in directions that other metal bands may not kind of approach. Or just not have the subconscious for the influences that would be there. I’m definitely the dirty metal hippie so it’s… I’m a Gemini, so I gotta have the twin side anyway you know.

AWAY-TEAM: There you go, the ‘dirty metal hippie‘ I like that! (laughs)

BRIAN FAIR: Yup! (laughs)

AWAY-TEAM: So for most people your band Shadows Fall kinda got name recognition within say the last five years. Probably Ozzfest 2005 it is kinda what opened a lot of doors for you, and you became if not a household name, the people outside of the underground really found out about you. But the reality is you guys have been around for 15 years. Your first album came out in 1997. So what do you think took so long…

BRIAN FAIR: Yeah it’s crazy!

AWAY-TEAM: You even have two Grammy nominations in the last three years!

BRIAN FAIR: Yeah it’s pretty crazy cuz you know, we started as like a small little Massachusetts metal band kinda just doin’ our own thing in a very small scene. But it really started to just kinda get back on the radar and blow up. When it seemed like a lot of bands kinda came up at the same time, us, Killswitch Engage, Lamb of God, and it just kinda put the U.S. metal kinda back on the map. Metal never goes away. It just may go a little bit underground, but it’s always pretty much full on happening in the scene. So it’s kinda cool that the industry started paying a little attention. I think just even towards like Ozzfest being so successful kinda just put metal in general back on the radar and then us getting in front of those audiences definitely helped.

AWAY-TEAM: So what is it about the Massachusetts area… like you said it’s you, Killswitch Engage, Hatebreed, etc, what is it about that area that’s breeding that metal hardcore theme?

BRIAN FAIR: Well you know it was just a really kind of close knit scene back in the day. Where there was a lot of small hardcore shows and the bands all knew each other and all kind of grew up playing in bands together before that. It was a very open minded scene that was the other thing. People weren’t like limiting themselves to ‘oh we only play traditional hardcore’ ‘we only play straight up death metal’, people were really experimenting melodically and I think that led to bands kind of branching out in different directions and really kinda catching a lot of people’s attention. But it is really funny cuz I mean when we all started, we, the bands, played to each other! There was no crowd you know it was just us. You’d have 10 bands on the bill and that would be 10 bands in the audience. So it’s funny now that it’s kinda like a worldwide thing where we tour Australia and Japan with Killswitch Engage or something like that. It’s just crazy to think about. So….

AWAY-TEAM: You’ve actually got a former member that’s in Killswitch and one that it’s in All That Remains and you guys did a tour together where the three bands were on the same bill or on the same tour together. How does that work backstage? Is there any kinda animosity or does the fact that you guys…

BRIAN FAIR: Aw no! Everyone’s still friends. It’s all good. Like everyone’s just friends. As all the bands were starting…that members were just kinda plucked…When your high school band would break up, you’d meet up with the other two guys. And when their band broke up; then start a new band. So we all we all toured together and played shows and everyone still hangs out. Everyone still lives in the same area pretty much where they grew up so everyone still kicks it.

AWAY-TEAM: So having that close knit familiarity when you guys do tour together, do you guys get real competitive? Does it make you turn it up a notch onstage? Not necessarily to outdo them but to you know…

BRIAN FAIR: I think in general whenever we play with good bands it just motivates you. It’s not necessarily a competition thing, but you just realize, ‘We gotta go out and crush it!‘ But metal lines in general you can’t really half step anyway. They’re gonna let you know. You gotta come out and just kill it anyway. Especially on a tour like this one with so many great bands, you gotta just do something to kinda stand out. Especially in the festival scenario where people are getting little 20 minute shots of you. You gotta make the most of your time and then leave ‘em remembering who you were. So it’s kinda like that when we go out with those bands. It’s the same way you see them go out and crush and you’re like, ‘alright, now we gotta at least hit ‘em just as hard if not harder.’

AWAY-TEAM: Absolutely! You’ve done a lot of label switching over the years. You started out with Century Media, went up to Atlantic, and your last album which was released last year, Retribution, you’ve released on your own label. Is this because there’s more freedom for you to do it how you want it, more creative control, and more monetary control? Or what are the advantages of a do-it-yourself label?

BRIAN FAIR: You know honestly it’s not necessarily the artistic control because Atlantic and Century Media… we would make the records and then play it for them when they were done. So they didn’t really have a whole lot of input that way. But what is great is by doing both the indie label thing for years and then being with Atlantic for a little while, we’ve learned a lot about what works for us as a band and the best way to promote ourselves. And took lessons from both of those experiences to kinda be able to renegotiate our Atlantic deal into a distribution deal with their parent company Warner Music. Where we took the monetary control is the biggest thing too, like budget wise, we were able to spend money in the right places and make those decisions ourselves as opposed to some major labels just want to throw a bunch of money into a video or radio. And hope it hits. With us that’s just not really the way it works. So there’d be a lot of not necessarily wasted money, but money that could’ve been directed in a better direction. So that’s what’s great now, and also there’s no more excuses. Like, ‘oh I didn’t know we were doing this, I didn’t know we were doing that.’ Everyone’s involved so you can all be on the same page and really just try and make the best decisions. But also with the music industry struggling so much, record sales dropping so drastically, it was time to make a new business model anyway instead of getting 10% royalty rate on records. On declining record sales now we at least get an 80%. So we are at least working to put money in your own pocket as opposed to the bottom you know for someone’s car payment on their Porsche.

AWAY-TEAM: Exactly and that that was basically my next question, do you think having the control of your own label will help secure you in, by most people’s estimates, 3 years the major labels will all collapse if they don’t immediately change their business model?

BRIAN FAIR: Yeah that’s the thing you know. It was all about being proactive instead of waiting to see where the chips fell as is the fallout from the downloading mess of the internet… We didn’t want to wait and see what… Cuz you could tell labels were in panic mode. We were lucky when we signed with Atlantic because things were a little more stable. And we were able to get a really good advance and sign a great deal. But those days are gone. Now it’s all 360 deals or they’re trying to take a percentage of your merch, your publishing, your touring, everything! So instead of waiting around to see what was the last of the industry, we figured we’d start our own little business model. I have a feeling that even the CD itself might be gone soon, just the way cassettes and vinyl were before. It’s better to learn as much about the business side and handle as much personally, band for band, as you can. When it gets down to that your gonna have to… if you don’t know what to do then… you know you’re just gonna be sitting there just kinda stuck in limbo so we figured we’d get ahead of the game.

AWAY-TEAM: What I think a lot of people don’t realize is… you mentioned the 360 deals. Most people think that bands make a ton of money off album sales. And in the 80s and 90s there was good money to be made there. But today, and the last 10 years if not a little more than that, your artists and your bands make their money on the road. Selling the t-shirts, selling the tickets, selling all kinds of merch. That’s where you make the most amount of your money. So now labels are doing what they’re calling the 360 deals and they’re taking a little bit of your merch, they’re taking some of your guarantees at the door and your ticket sales just so they can try to survive themselves, and like you said make their Porsche payments.

BRIAN FAIR: Yup and it’s unfortunate for a lot of younger bands. Those are the only options they are being presented with. In a young band and you’re a teenage kid and you just want to get out of the practice space and get on the road. And you think that’s your only option and it may be ok when you’re on a small level. But if you start blowing up all of a sudden you realize you’re like, ‘we’re giving these people money for nothing you know? They’re not even here selling our t-shirts yet they’re getting 10% of every one we just sold!’ It’s really an unfortunate thing; cuz like you said that really is where you make your money. You know touring, merchandising, as well as publishing! Getting yourself onto video games or movies or just random soundtracks and things like that. And as soon as you let the label start dipping into that you’re gonna really be left with nothing else. So it’s really about trying to protect your assets if you can. It’s unfortunate; I remember when we just wanted to rock, now we gotta study tax laws and stuff. It’s terrible but if you want to do it full time, it’s something you gotta really take seriously.

AWAY-TEAM: Absolutely, musicians have never as a rule been great businessmen. That’s what they have the managers for. And now unfortunately you’ve gotta be your own businessman, your own lawyer, your own manager, you’ve gotta take care of yourself because everyone’s getting a piece, or trying to.

BRIAN FAIR: Exactly that’s the other…we’ve seen enough of those Behind the Music’s to know all the things that could go wrong. So now you can’t pretend ignorance anymore. We’ve all watched what happened to Grand Funk Railroad, and all those bands on all those great VH1 Behind the Music’s so (laughs) no excuses anymore.

AWAY-TEAM: So on your label are you going to be signing other bands or is this strictly just to push Shadows Fall?

BRIAN FAIR: Yeah, right now it is just to push Shadows Fall. We wanted really to just see how things worked out. We’ve suggested to other bands to kinda look into a similar deal with the parent company and you know or the independent label group. But in the future if we thought we could help a band in a way without becoming the evil label side of it then that would be awesome. And if they could use our imprint just to help them get like a leg up that would be great. But we would want them to really be running it. It would be more, ‘here’s a platform, here’s a distribution center, now you guys gotta go out and you know run with the ball.’ Otherwise we would just be becoming a regular record label and that business model just doesn’t work. At that point you’re just a loan shark you know?

AWAY-TEAM: So to the bands that are still in the garage or the practice space … What kind of advice can you give to the garage band, they’re trying to make it, how to set themselves apart and get noticed today?

BRIAN FAIR: I would tell them to study hard and get a degree that will get ‘em a real job! (laughs) Honestly I would tell you to really, just get to the point where you just are so comfortable with your sound before you’re just throwing it out there. Really use advantage of all the free networking that’s available, whether it’s putting up songs on MySpace or just staying in touch with bands through Twitter, use all those as much – all the free outlets – as much as possible. Whether it’s YouTube or anything you know, those things weren’t available to us as a young band. We had to just go out on the road and just hand out demos physically as opposed to now, you can just give someone a little flier with all your info and they can hear your music as soon as they get home. It’s such a difference. Shit, they can probably hear it on their phone you know? Like really take advantage of all that and learn as much as you can about how the business side works. Because you’re gonna end up running it yourself at some point if it gets successful. So really, just absorb as much as you can. And also just really get out there and play as much as you can. Cuz the live show is the one thing that can never be downloaded or taken away from the band. The live performance is such a unique experience it really just where it’s all about focused energy, on going out there and kicking ass onstage!

AWAY-TEAM: Ok, enough of the business side, let’s get back to the music. Most of your albums have a cover or two on them from Pink Floyd to Dangerous Toys and even Leeway, how do you guys go about picking a cover? Are these nods to your influences or just songs you want to play putting…

BRIAN FAIR: They’re definitely always an influence you know but there’s two kinda schools we choose from there’s the bands like Leeway and the Cro-Mags that are for us kind of paying tribute to a band that helped kinda shape our sound, but they may not be known by a lot of our either younger fans, or more like not as the underground kids. So that’s where we choose to do a Leeway song or something like that. The other ones like Dangerous Toys and Bark at the Moon, those are just fun. That’s for us to enjoy the studio time and be able to just record a kick ass tune, and for me to be able to sing about werewolves or Teasin’ and Pleasin’. Like I’m never gonna say, ‘I think I got the wrong house’ you know? Like that will never fit into a Shadows Fall song. So for me it’s just a fun experience to just have a little party anthem.

AWAY-TEAM: What were your influences when you started? What made you want to sing to begin with?

BRIAN FAIR: You know I really got into early rock like KISS and Aerosmith and Black Sabbath at a pretty young age. I had a cool older brother and a cool neighbor who turned me onto a lot of good music. But then I got really into punk rock through skateboarding when I was probably like 12, 13. I was listening to Black Flag and the Sex Pistols and stuff, and that led me to going to local Boston hardcore shows and stuff. But the entire time I was going to hardcore shows I was also listening to a ton of thrash metal you know the Bay Area bands – Testament, Death Angel, Metallica as well some of the early death metal so I think that’s really where the kind of combination of sounds of just death metal and old school hardcore and the classic metal kinda all came into Shadows Fall. I think all 5 of us at least shared those kind of common backgrounds even though I was listening to a lot of reggae and jazz, whereas some of the other guys listened to a lot of glam metal and we all had our different stuff. But the common ground we shared the old school metal as well as that kinda early crossover metal hardcore stuff.

AWAY-TEAM: I’ve seen this asked of you before, and reading reviews of various CDs of yours, and when people ask me how to define your sound it’s really impossible to do. I guess it’s because of the various influences but how would you describe the Shadows Fall sound?

BRIAN FAIR: You know just call us a metal band! Because we really do take things from the entire sort of metal history, because we just grew up as fans of all types of heavy music. And you can hyphenate it a million times you can call it like neo-thrash-melodic-death-blah blah blah, and then add metal at the end, but to me it’s just its just metal.

AWAY-TEAM: Ok, fair enough. Retribution sees you guys delving into a bit heavier more aggressive tighter sound than previous efforts. Like almost more focused on a set sound for the feel of the entire album. Was this a natural progression or was it thought out and planned?

BRIAN FAIR: You know it wasn’t really planned but we knew with Threads of Life, the previous album, we definitely pushed the kind of melodic arena rock side of our sound probably as far as it could go so with this record. It was probably subconscious but we definitely started right out the gates writing really aggressive songs. Public Execution was one of the first tunes we were working on, as well as My Demise and War came about pretty early on. And that sort of set the tone where we’re like alright this is going to be a heavy fast record. And there’s still melodic moments like Picture Perfect is a very melodic song with acoustic moments and then a big chorus but overall I’d say it’s definitely probably maybe besides Of One Blood it’s probably the most aggressive record we’ve done from beginning to end.

AWAY-TEAM: I’d described it as tighter, more cohesive, more defined, and straightforward.. just balls out album.

BRIAN FAIR: Yeah there’s definitely a lot of that. We really wanted to balance all of the influences and make them cohesive. As opposed to some bands these days want to fit so much in that they’ll almost cut and paste, ‘alright here’s the death metal part, here’s the breakdown, here’s the big melodic chorus’ and they almost feel sorta just stuck together and forced. We wanted it to be if it was going to be a thrash song and fast it was going to be that way from beginning to end. There wasn’t going to be some weird left turn you know? If it was going to be a melodic hard rock song it was going to stay that way from beginning to end. And I think that’s just us getting more comfortable as song writers. I think song writing is the most difficult thing to progress and learn over time. Everyone gets better as a musician but that still doesn’t mean you can write a song.

AWAY-TEAM: So does the title Retribution reflect the music on the disc or does its meaning lie elsewhere?

BRIAN FAIR: Well you know we wanted a one word title for the first time. Something that just had an aggressive vibe to it, but also we’d kinda been off the radar for about two years between records and we kinda wanted to just stake our claim again. Let people know we were back. There’s just so much metal these days, and there’s so many bands, and it’s so easy to put a record out that we just were like…this was our sort of our coming back atcha thing. Going for the throat sort of record and we just felt like Retribution kind of fit that.

AWAY-TEAM: So how do you as a band go about writing a record? Is it collaborative musically? Do you all sit around and hammer out a song or do you take the riff tapes and piece a song together?

BRIAN FAIR: Our guitar players usually bring a very rough outline of the song or even just a few riffs, and we would just jam on them in the practice space full volume together. And I think that also led to it being an aggressive record, cuz we were actually playing a lot of it live right out of the gates. So it really led to that energy and we were thinking about how they would be onstage as opposed to just thinking of them as just studio pieces. So there and a lot of weird transitions that never would have happened if we would have just emailed back and forth MP3s. Some crazy little wacky idea would come out of nowhere while we were jamming, so I think that really helped make it a cohesive and also just a little more aggressive record. Just crankin’ it and going for it.

AWAY-TEAM: So does the music affect or influence the lyrics or does the writing of the lyrics influence the way the music is written?

BRIAN FAIR: For me, I usually wait til not necessarily the finished instrumental version, but pretty well defined. And I get a vibe from it that will affect the lyrics. If it’s a head crushing heavy song the lyrics have to reflect that. If it’s a long epic kinda song I may get more into a grand storytelling vibe. I definitely usually wait to get that from the music itself.

AWAY-TEAM: As we said before, you’re currently out on the road with some great bands on the Mayhem Festival, what would be your ultimate bill for a show?

BRIAN FAIR: You know we’ve played a festival with them before but we would love to tour with Metallica cuz that’s the one band that I grew up worshipping that we’ve never gotten to do extended time on the road with. And there’s only one Metallica man! They’re the kingpins, so that would be pretty amazing.

AWAY-TEAM: So are you guys sitting around waiting to do the opening for the Big Four then? Is that what you’re asking? To throw in your hat….

BRIAN FAIR: Oh that would be as cool as it gets! But honestly that would be a tough opening spot even to begin with. People would be like ‘yeah great we don’t care, get to the Big Four’!

AWAY-TEAM: Absolutely I can definitely see that. Which hearkens back to the old Bay Area days when if you weren’t Exodus or Metallica onstage everyone would stand with their backs to you and just wait for the band they came to see get onstage…

BRIAN FAIR: Totally it’s just like the opening band getting “Slayer” chanted at them for the entire set. It is definitely some tough spots…Those are the shows that when you do come out and win a crowd over like that, those are some of your best successes. We must have kicked ass tonight because these dudes don’t give a cr-… they don’t care about anybody!

AWAY-TEAM: So I see you guys are performing some off dates while you’re on this festival getting back into the clubs up close and personal with the audience. Everybody wants to be a rockstar, everybody wants to play in front of 60,000 people every night, but which is the better show for you? In the club in front of 300 people nose to nose and fist to fist or something like Mayhem playing for 10 20 30,000 people a night?

BRIAN FAIR: You know for me it really goes both ways. But I definitely grew up playing small, small shows and going to a lot of small, small shows. So to me that’s really probably my comfort zone. The people are there to see you and are right up there supporting and in your face. But there’s something about like… we played a festival in Columbia last week where there was 150,000 people. And just seeing that, there’s really nothing cooler you know? There’s just so much energy and it’s so overwhelming you can barely even focus on one point out in the crowd. Its just so huge and it really can go both ways, but we played a packed club show in Brazil the day before and it was insane! There was so much energy, so much sweat, kids up on the stage and that vibe it brought me back to why I started doing this to begin with. So they both really have a place in my heart but I’d probably always feel more comfortable in a club.

AWAY-TEAM: So how does that change your approach to the show? I mean if you look out from the stage and you see 150,000 people out there how do you connect with that 150,000th person?

BRIAN FAIR: You do have to change the way you do it cuz in the club show you can be standing on the barricade and getting the crowd physically involved in the show so there’s not as much of just a focal point on you. At the big festival there’s a giant security barriers so the focus is just on you, every gesture is a little bigger and you do have to remind yourself to keep connecting with the crowd cuz it is so big. You try to involve them as much as possible, cuz it is really it is a completely different animal. The crowd isn’t part of the show at those big festivals until you make them part of it. Whereas in the club there’s no escape, they’re shoved right up in your face.

AWAY-TEAM: You recently completed your first headlining tour of Canada. Where haven’t you played yet that you really want to?

BRIAN FAIR: You know after doing South America, that was a big checkmark! We went down just recently and did Columbia, Chile, Argentina, Brazil and Mexico. That was amazing! I can’t believe it took us almost 15 years to get down there. For now we have an offer for a festival in China that we hopefully can work out cuz that to me, the fact that we’ve already gone to the Philippines, Korea and all these places I never thought metal would take me, if we can get to China I’m like, ‘Alright now we’re just really we’re runnin’ out of places we’re going to have to play for the penguins down in Antarctica next’.

AWAY-TEAM: That would be really cool, a festival in China wow!

BRIAN FAIR: Yeah that would be amazing!

AWAY-TEAM: So how do you personally get through the monotony of a day on the road without a show?

BRIAN FAIR: That’s why we sold so many off dates. I hate downtime on the road! You usually end up at a Wal-Mart wasting money on DVDs or looking for a movie theater.

AWAY-TEAM: What’s the one thing you can’t live without on the road?

BRIAN FAIR: Let’s see, I’d probably say my pipe but I’d also include my skateboard in that too so…

AWAY-TEAM: And not necessarily in that order right?

BRIAN FAIR: Yeah yeah yeah! And I usually try to keep them separate too!

AWAY-TEAM: That’s probably smartest.

BRIAN FAIR: Choppin’ it on a vert ramp all day can be end up really ending tragically. Although it does still happen from time to time.

AWAY-TEAM: What’s your favorite song to perform live and why?

BRIAN FAIR: You know right now it’s actually been the song War which is sorta, I can’t call it a Bob Marley cover, I adapted some of the lyrics from his version of the Haile Selassie speech that he used in his song, War, but it’s just balls out like definitely the fastest Marley cover ever. And for me the crowd is just like a nonstop circle pit. So it’s a great one to just throw out there and it’s also one of those 3 minute just punch in the throat and then you’re out.

AWAY-TEAM: What’s the one song you didn’t write that you wish you did?

BRIAN FAIR: Pretty much anything on Master of Puppets!

AWAY-TEAM: And my last question for you, what’s the worst name of a band you’ve ever been in?

BRIAN FAIR: Worst name of a band I’ve ever been in? Social Violation. It was a punk rock band when I was literally like probably 12 years old. At one point my whole thing was hitting the guitar with all the distortion up with drumsticks, thinking it was some art scene noise thing. It’s like no, you just don’t know how to hold it!

AWAY-TEAM: Well Brian I appreciate it man good luck out on the road with the Mayhem Festival. You’ve got a DVD coming out ‘Madness in Manila’ next month on the 24th of August good luck with that!

BRIAN FAIR: It’s actually getting pushed back, it’s actually getting pushed back a little bit. We just found a bunch more footage that we had to include so we’re going to actually push the date back a little bit to the fall but ‘Madness in Manila’ is coming.

AWAY-TEAM: I look forward to it! I’ve seen you guys 2 or 3 times, I’ve produced a couple of shows with you and Lacuna Coil in the North Carolina area and I’m looking forward to seeing you guys August 3rd in Raleigh , NC.

BRIAN FAIR: Indeed man it’s going to be a good time! I remember those shows those were good shows! Man, that’s killer!

AWAY-TEAM: Good luck, be safe, and we’ll see you soon.

BRIAN FAIR: Indeed man thanks for spreading the word, we appreciate it!

My thanks to Natalie at Adrenaline PR for the hook up, my transcriptionist extraordinaire melissa for the 15 pages, and Brian Fair for taking the time out of a busy schedule to throw down a great interview.

For more on Shadows Fall click here.

For Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival dates click here.

Los Angeles hardcore/metal band TERROR will release its fifth album, “Keepers Of The Faith“, on August 30 in Europe and September 14 in North America via Century Media Records. Doom Patrol will issue the album in Japan on September 1. The CD contains 13 new tracks produced by Chad Gilbert of NEW FOUND GLORY at Buzzbomb Studios in Orange County, California. It was engineered by Paul Miner (DEATH BY STEREO, ADAMANTIUM) and mixed by Matt Hyde (SLAYER, HATEBREED).

“Keepers of The Faith” will be made available in three different versions worldwide, with the U.S. and European editions to each be released as a digipak with a special fold-out poster.

Commented frontman Scott Vogel: “This is the record we put everything we have into, from the music to the lyrics, the layout to the title and to the direct hand-to-hand street marketing approach, we are putting it all on the line. We took all the rules of what’s going on in the industry today and washed them from our minds. We wanted to capture those early days of hardcore. This is the record we were destined to make. This is TERROR at its best and I’m so excited to get this out and start touring surrounding its energy and passion.”

The track listings are as follows:

“Keepers of The Faith” – U.S. Digipak (Sept. 14 release)
01. Your Enemies Are Mine
02. Stick Tight
03. Return To Strength
04. The Struggle
05. Shattered
06. You’re Caught
07. Dead Wrong
08. Keepers of the Faith
09. Stay Free
10. Hell And Back
11. Only Death
12. The New Blood
13. Defiant

“Keepers of The Faith” – European Track Listing (Aug. 30 release)
01. Your Enemies Are Mine
02. Stick Tight
03. Return To Strength
04. The Struggle
05. Shattered
06. You’re Caught
07. Dead Wrong
08. Keepers of the Faith
09. Stay Free
10. Hell And Back
11. Only Death
12. The New Blood
13. Defiant
14. T.T.I.H. *
*European bonus song

“Keepers of The Faith” – Japanese Track Listing (Sept. 1 release on Doom Patrol Records)
01. Your Enemies Are Mine
02. Stick Tight
03. Return To Strength
04. The Struggle
05. Shattered
06. You’re Caught
07. Dead Wrong
08. Keepers Of The Faith
09. Stay Free
10. Hell And Back
11. Only Death
12. The New Blood
13. Defiant
14. One With The Underdogs (live) **
15. Voice Of The Damned (live) **
16. Never Alone (live) **
17. Always The Hard Way (live) **
18. Lowest Of The Low (live) **
** Japanese bonus tracks (live at Shibuya Club Asia On Sep. 23, 2009)

For more information on TERROR visit them here.

THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA will release a new EP, “Zombie“, on August 24 via Ferret Music.

“The whole thing is just completely based upon zombies,” explained the band’s frontman Mike Hranica.
“Last fall, I was on a real zombie kick, I read ‘The Zombie Survival Guide’ by Max Brooks, and I thought, ‘What if we made a zombie song?’ All it took was me just saying that to the band, and we had our hearts set on doing this EP.”

The “Zombie” EP is an extremely heavy record that includes songs such as “Survivor” that follows the plight of a man who loses his beloved to the undead and ultimately, in surviving the zombie plague, spends his days warding off the brain-starved and loneliness. The story continues to unfold with the tracks “Outnumbered“, “Escape”, “Revive” and “Anatomy“. Serious THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA fans will note that the “Zombie” EP songtitles are straight-ahead and serious, unlike the “joke” titles that the band’s full-length CDs have been known to feature — “Reptar, King of the Ozone” from 2007′s “Plagues“, as an example.

“The sound is definitely THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA, but so much more,” Hranica continues. “It’s sinister and bad-ass.” Guitarist/vocalist Jeremy DePoyster agrees, maintaining that the “Zombie” EP is faster than anything THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA has done before. “It’s going to be sick,” said DePoyster. “It’s us, but it’s more HATEBREED-influenced and just straight-up thrash metal-influenced with some serious SLAYER riffs.”

The release of the “Zombie” EP will be preceded by a major summer tour with THE DEVIL WEARS PRADA playing some of the biggest venues of its career, and multiple nights in some of the smallest — 25,000 screaming kids one night, and 250 hot and sweaty fans the next. The “Back To The Roots” tour, in partnership with Rockstar Energy Drink, kicked off last month and will go through to the Labor Day weekend.

“We wanted to go back to our roots,” said Hranica, “play little hole-in-the-wall places where fans can be right there in front of the stage, where we can hand someone a mic and really have the fans be an active part of the show, not behind a barrier ten feet away.”

“Zombie” EP track listing:
01. Escape
02. Anatomy
03. Outnumbered
04. Revive
05. Survivor

The song “Outnumbered” is now available for streaming here.

Current THE DEVILWEARS PRADA live dates:
Jul 6 2010 The Shelter Detroit, Michigan
Jul 8 2010 Starland Ballroom Sayreville, New Jersey
Jul 9 2010 Valentines Albany, New York
Jul 10 2010 Valentines Albany, New York
Jul 11 2010 Xtreme Wheelz Buffalo, New York
Jul 13 2010 The Vaudeville Mews Des Moines, IA
Jul 14 2010 The Vaudeville Mews Des Moines, Iowa
Jul 15 2010 Pops Nite Club St. Louis, Missouri
Jul 16 2010 The Bottleneck Lawrence, Kansas
Jul 17 2010 Sonshine Festival 2010 56201, Minnesota
Jul 19 2010 Mesa Theatre & Club Grand Junction, Colorado
Jul 21 2010 The Underground Reno, Nevada
Jul 22 2010 The Boardwalk Orangevale, California
Jul 23 2010 The Boardwalk Orangevale, California
Jul 24 2010 Chain Reaction Anaheim, California
Jul 25 2010 Chain Reaction **SOLD OUT** Anaheim, California
Jul 26 2010 Chain Reaction Anaheim, California
Jul 28 2010 Soma Sidestage San Diego, California
Jul 29 2010 Soma Sidestage San Diego, California
Jul 31 2010 2010 Heaven Fest Longmont, Colorado
Aug 2 2010 The Door Dallas, Texas
Aug 3 2010 Emo’s Indoor Austin, Texas
Aug 4 2010 Emo’s Indoor Austin, Texas
Aug 5 2010 Rock The Desert Festival 2010 Midland, Texas
Aug 8 2010 Summer Sonic Tokyo, Chiba, JAPAN
Aug 11 2010 Orpheum Tampa, Florida
Aug 12 2010 Orpheum Tampa, Florida
Aug 13 2010 The Social Orlando, Florida
Aug 14 2010 The Social Orlando, Florida
Aug 15 2010 The 7 Venue Douglasville, Georgia
Aug 17 2010 Brewery Raleigh, North Carolina
Aug 18 2010 The Ottobar Baltimore, Maryland
Aug 19 2010 The Ottobar Baltimore, Maryland
Aug 20 2010 First Unitarian Church Philadelphia, Pennsylvan
Aug 21 2010 First Unitarian Church Philadelphia, Pennsylvan
Aug 22 2010 Highline New York, NY
Aug 23 2010 The Gramercy Theatre New York, NY
Aug 25 2010 Harper’s Ferry Allston, Massachuse
Aug 26 2010 Harper’s Ferry Allston, Massachuse
Aug 27 2010 Crocodile Rock Allentown, Pennsylvan
Aug 28 2010 Grog Shop Cleveland Heights, Ohio
Aug 29 2010 Grog Shop Cleveland Heights, Ohio
Sep 4 2010 Revelation Farms Frenchtown, NJ
Sep 17 2010 The Studio w/ Parkway Drive Auckland, NEW ZEALAND
Sep 18 2010 San Francisco Bathhouse Wellington, Wellington, NEW ZEALAND
Sep 19 2010 The Bedford w/ Parkway Drive Christchurch, NEW ZEALAND
Sep 22 2010 Riverstage w/ Parkway Drive Brisbane, QLD, AUSTRALIA
Sep 23 2010 High School w/ Parkway Drive Byron Bay, NSW, AUSTRALIA
Sep 24 2010 Hordern Pavillion w/ Parkway Drive Sydney, NSW, AUSTRALIA
Sep 25 2010 Royal Theatre w/ Parkway Drive City, ACT, AUSTRALIA
Sep 27 2010 Panthers w/ Parkway Drive Canberra, ACT, AUSTRALIA
Sep 29 2010 Festival Hall w/ Parkway Drive Melbourne, VIC, AUSTRALIA
Oct 1 2010 Hobart Showground w/ Parkway Drive Hobart, TAS, AUSTRALIA
Oct 2 2010 Adelaide Uni Clisters w/ Parkway Drive Adelaide, SA, AUSTRALIA
Oct 3 2010 Challenge Stadium w/ Parkway Drive Perth, WA, AUSTRALIA

Wilmington, North Carolina metal enigmas GOLLUM were recently added to one of the dates on this year’s edition of the Rockstar Energy Drink Mayhem Festival. The fest runs from July 10th – August 14th and features over a dozen bands including KORN, LAMB OF GOD, IN THIS MOMENT, 3 INCHES OF BLOOD, HATEBREED and SHADOWS FALL. Gollum will perform on the Jagermeister Stage August 3rd at the Walnut Creek Amphitheater in Raleigh, North Carolina. This marks the second year in a row Gollum find themselves on the bill for the prestigious event.

Commented the band on their addition to the festival: “We are thrilled to be invited back a for the second year in a row! Last year, West Palm Beach, Florida was so surreal and unbelievable! We really look forward to playing on the Jager stage at the Mayhem Festival again this year, this time in front of our home state crowd in Raleigh! Thanks to Jaegermeister! We are currently planning a fall tour and are in pre-production for the our next record.”

Prior to GOLLUM‘s performance at Mayhem, they will play a string of local shows. Confirmed dates thus far include:

July
9 – Rock Shop – Fayetteville, NC
10 – Reggies – Wilmington, NC
23 – The Pour House – Raleigh, NC
August
3 – Jäger Mobile Stage/Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival – Raleigh, NC

For more information visit GOLLUM’s website 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

SHADOWS FALL is adding even more dates to their summer touring plans. Not only is Shadows Fall set to perform in several cities in South America this summer, they are also poised to appear with CHIMAIRA at select pre-Mayhem Festival shows and one Mayhem Festival off-date, and will be joined by WINDS OF PLAUGE on several Mayhem Festival off-dates.
Shadows Fall is eager to head out on the road with the Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival this summer. Shadows Fall will be performing on the Jagermeister Stage alongside HATEBREED, and off-date tour-mates Chimaira and Winds Of Plague.

All upcoming Shadows Fall tour dates:
June
26 – Mexico City, Mexico – Crico Volador
29 – Santiago, Chile – Teatro Novedades
30 – Buenos Aires, Argentina – Super Rock
July
1 – Sao Paulo, Brazil – Hangar 110
3 – Bogota, Columbia – Parque Simon Bolivar

Pre-Mayhem Dates With Chimaira:
July
6 – Portland, OR – Hawthorne Theater
8 – Reno, NV – Knitting Factory
Mayhem Off-Dates With Winds Of Plague:
July
12 – Bend, OR – Bend Event Center
15 – Las Vegas, NV – Area 702
22 – Cleveland, OH – Peabody’s
26 – Clifton Park, NY – Northern Lights (with Chimaira)
August
2 – Charleston, SC – The Oasis
9 – Spartanburg, SC – Ground Zero

Rockstar Energy Mayhem Festival:
July
10 – San Bernardino, CA – Hyundai Pavilion at Glen Helen
11 – Mountain View, CA – Shoreline Amphitheatre
13 – Auburn, WA – White River Amphitheatre Southeast
14 – Boise, ID – Idaho Center Amphitheatre
16 – Phoenix, AZ – Cricket Pavilion
17 – Albuquerque, NM – Journal Pavilion
18 – Englewood, CO – Coors Amphitheatre
20 – St. Louis, MO – Verizon Wireless Amphitheatre
21 – Cincinnati, OH – Riverbend Music Center
23 – Camden, NJ – Susquehanna Bank Center
24 – Hartford, CT – The Comcast Theater
25 – Montreal, QC – Parc Jean Drapeau
27 – Boston, MA – Comcast Center
28 – Holmdel, NJ – PNC Bank Arts Center
30 – Tinley Park, IL – First Midwest Bank Theater
31 – Indianapolis, IN – Verizon Wireless Music Center
August
1 – Atlanta, GA – Lakewood Amphitheatre
3 – Raleigh, NC – Time Warner Cable Pavilion – Walnut Creek
4 – Virginia Beach, VA – Virginia Beach Amphitheatre
6 – Detroit, MI – DTE Energy Music Theater
7 – Pittsburgh, PA – First Niagara Pavilion
8 – Washington, DC – Jiffy Lube Live
10 – Tampa, FL – Ford Amphitheatre
11 – West Palm Beach, FL – Cruzan Amphitheatre
13 – Dallas, TX – Superpages.com Center
14 – Oklahoma City, OK – Zoo Amphitheatre

For more information, tour dates, and ticket info go to SHADOWS FALL‘s website here.