Away Team

Royal Bliss- Waiting Out The Storm

Air Castle Records

Rating: 8 out of 10

Reviewed By: Jay Rybak

 

 

 

 

Salt Lake City’s own Royal Bliss are just the latest band in a long line of those self-releasing their music on their own label.  At first listen, I was admittedly, a little on the fence, but that’s why we listen more than a few times.  My first introduction to the aforementioned came in the form of their single “Save Me”, off of 2009′s Life In-Between;  having been a fan of such 90′s era bands as Candlebox and The Nixons, I was immediately drawn to them.  In fact, the first few times I heard the song, I swore I was listening to a new band formed by Jimmy Newquist of Caroline’s Spine. Surprised? I think I just heard a collective ‘WTF? You’re a fan of that stuff?’ but what can I say, I’ve always had an appreciation for some of the more obscure rock bands of the 90′s, call it a guilty pleasure of mine.  This album is no different.  Waiting Out The Storm, the follow up to the band’s 2009 major label debut will be hitting stores this Tuesday, January 24th, and it promises not to disappoint.

Who says you can’t start out in fifth gear?  The debut single “I Got This” warms up the engine for what promises to be a wild ride.  Neal Middleton’s dynamic vocals are the perfect compliment to Taylor Richards’ screaming guitar which at times bears a remarkable resemblance to the play of Tony Rombola (Godsmack).  The pace continues through the next track, “Monster”, before downshifting to the anthemic ballad “Bleed My Soul”. 

Middleton and Co. then ask ‘Why don’t we “Wake Up”  in what could easily be a cut off of My Chemical Romance’s The Black Parade. The album again slows it down for traffic through the next few tracks, before driving head on into what is perhaps my favorite track off the album.  “Sunburn” is the perfect blend of Our Lady Peace-meets-Fuel that leaves our ears screaming for more.

All in all, Waiting Out The Storm is the quintessential blend of melodic rock and poppy hooks that packs more punch (and better teeth) than an Elton John vs. Madonna cage match.  This album comes very highly recommended, and if you’re not at your local record store on Tuesday to purchase it, you deserve to have your ears gnawed off by both of them!

For more Royal Bliss visit the band’s official website here.

 

 

 

 

Let the madness begin!  After its wildly successful inaugural run, the highly anticipated Carnival of Madness Tour returns this summer!  Joining the Carnival will be Theory of a Deadman, Alter Bridge, Black Stone Cherry, Adelitas Way and Emphatic.

Sponsored by Monster Energy Drink, the Carnival of Madness Tour will tear through North America for 25+ dates set to launch August 13 in Twin Lakes, WI.

VIP ticket pre-sales for the first 15 events will be available for those belonging to Theory of a Deadman’s Deadfan Club beginning Tuesday, May 31, followed by those signed up for the Carnival of Madness mailing list at www.carnivalofmadness.com, beginning Wednesday, June 1.   VIP bundles with exclusive merchandise, content, and an enhanced Carnival experience will be available for purchase through Artist Arena.

The public on-sale for the first round of shows will be Friday, June 3.  All of the ticket on-sale info can be found at www.carnivalofmadness.com.  The “Carnival” ticket price acknowledges the current state of the economy offering an “affordable” ticket that will be in the $25 – $35 range.

Bill McGathy, the owner of the Carnival of Madness brand proclaims, “After the incredible energy generated in the inaugural event last year, the 2011 edition combines a fantastic Rock package with a ticket price that is actually affordable in these economically challenged times”.

“Theory of a Deadman is totally stoked to be doing the Carnival of Madness Tour this year,” says singer/guitarist Tyler Connolly. “It’s great to be joined by Alter Bridge, Black Stone Cherry, Adelitas Way and newcomers Emphatic – who all have songs rocking at radio and awesome live shows.  It’s gonna be a fuckin’ great show from beginning to end and definitely something you don’t wanna miss!  See you there!!!”

Continues Alter Bridge singer/guitarist Myles Kennedy:  “Alter Bridge is pleased to be taking part of the Carnival of Madness Tour later this summer with Theory Of A Deadman, Black Stone Cherry, Adelitas Way and Emphatic.  It will be great to be back in the U.S. playing on our home turf with these bands.  If you dig straight up, no frills Rock…then this tour is for you.  Hope to see everyone there!”

One of Vancouver’s greatest exports, Theory of a Deadman, is returning to give rock music a much needed reality check with their fourth studio release, THE TRUTH IS… The album is slated for release on July 12 via Roadrunner/604 Records and the first single, “Lowlife,” is already storming its way up the rock charts.  THE TRUTH IS…, the follow up to the band’s previous Platinum-selling SCARS AND SOUVENIRS, was produced by Howard Benson (My Chemical Romance, 3 Doors Down).  The band recently wrapped playing the inaugural Avalanche tour alongside Stone Sour, Skillet, Halestorm and Art of Dying, and will be playing select festivals before heading out on the Carnival of Madness Tour.  Theory of a Deadman is Tyler Connolly (vocals, guitar), David Brenner (guitar), Dean Back (bass) and Joey Dandeneau (drums).

Alter Bridge has been making their mark on the rock world for years through their three studio releases and non-stop touring.  The band is currently haunting the Top 20 of the Rock charts with their latest single, “Ghost of Days Gone By.” The single, the follow-up their #1 rock smash “Isolation,” is from their Alter Bridge Recordings via EMI Label Services release ABIII, which debuted at #17 on Billboard’s “Top 200 Albums” chart when it was released last November.  In preparation for the Carnival of Madness Tour, the band just wrapped up a successful headline run with Black Stone Cherry and Like a Storm.  Alter Bridge has also made successful national TV appearances on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno and Jimmy Kimmel Live in support of ABIII.  Alter Bridge is Myles Kennedy (vocals, guitar), Mark Tremonti (guitar, vocals), Brian Marshall (bass) and Scott Phillips (drums).

Kentucky’s Black Stone Cherry–vocalist Chris Robertson, guitarist Ben Wells, bassist Jon Lawhon and drummer John Fred Young–is a band adept at creating both timeless rock ‘n roll and new, innovative sounds.  The band have recently released their third album for Roadrunner Records, BETWEEN THE DEVIL & THE DEEP BLUE SEA, which is the summation of a year in the life of the band—every emotion, triumph, loss, romance and everything in between—it’s all here on this album.  The first single, “White Trash Millionaire,” is currently approaching sitting at #15 on the Active Rock charts and climbing.

Las Vegas-based rockers Adelitas Way will release their sophomore album, HOME SCHOOL VALEDICTORIAN, June 7 on Virgin Records.  The album, produced by Dave Bassett (Shinedown), showcases the band’s lyrical and musical growth.  The band has spent the past couple of years on the road and is excited to be part of this year’s Carnival.

Hard rock band Emphatic will release DAMAGE, their Atlantic Records debut, on July 12.  Led by vocalist Patrick Wilson and lead guitarist Justin McCain, Emphatic has spent years honing their edge on the road, headlining clubs and theaters along with supporting such like-minded artists as Stone Temple Pilots, Buckcherry, and Papa Roach.  DAMAGE, produced by Howard Benson (Daughtry, My Chemical Romance, Flyleaf), features the song “Bounce,” which is currently climbing the Active Rock charts.

The Carnival of Madness Tour made its inaugural launch in 2010 with Shinedown, Sevendust, Chevelle, Puddle Of Mudd and 10 Years, which proved to be one of the biggest Rock shows of the summer as a Top 50 tour.

For up-to-the minute news and information, please visit www.carnivalofmadness.com.

CARNIVAL OF MADNESS 2011 TOUR DATES

DATE                                      CITY                           VENUE
Saturday, August 13               Twin Lakes, IL             Shadow Hill Ranch
Friday, August 19                    Council Bluffs, IA        Harrah’s Casino
Saturday, August 20               Sedalia, MO                Missouri State Fairgrounds
Friday, August 26                    Louisville, KY              Kentucky State Fair/Cardinal Stadium
Saturday, August 27               Waterloo, IA                McElroy Auditorium (outdoors)
Sunday, August 28                 St. Paul, MN               Minnesota State Fair
Thursday, September 1          Allentown, PA             The Great Allentown Fair
Saturday, September 3          Hampton Beach, NH  Hampton Beach Casino
Wednesday, September 7      Baltimore, MD             Pier Six Concert Pavilion
Saturday, September 10        Atlantic City, NJ          House of Blues
Sunday, September 11           Huntington, WV           Harris Riverfront Park
Tuesday, September 13         Charlotte, NC              Time Warner Cable Uptown Amphitheater
Wednesday, September 14    Fayetteville, NC          Crown Coliseum
Friday, September 16             Tulsa, OK                    Osage Million Dollar Elm Casino
Saturday, September 17        Poplar Bluff, MS         Black River Coliseum

If you don’t see your area listed, not to worry more dates will be announced in the coming weeks.

They have been seen on Late Night with Conan O’Brien, have collaborated with music icons including Smashing Pumpkins leader Billy Corgan and heard around the world on World Wrestling Entertainment. Now, after four years since the release of their last project, BLINDSIDE is partnering with INO Records/RED to unveil their sixth album, With Shivering Hearts We Wait, on June 7th.

“When we decided it was time to make another record, everyone’s perspective was really renewed and we’re super pumped right now to be doing the band again,” front man Christian Lindskog said. “We just needed to break away from music for a bit because it starts to define who you are when you should be finding it in a higher purpose.”

After taking time to be with their families and reenergize after over a decade of touring the world and releasing material, the Swedish natives reconnected with producer Howard Benson (My Chemical Romance, Papa Roach, Flyleaf) to deliver an evolved artistic sound that still harkens back to band’s signature styles. Benson helmed the Elektra Records collections Silence (2002) and About a Burning Fire (2004) and helped create what is said to be their most compelling collection to date.

“The similarities between With Shivering Hearts We Wait and past projects is that we’re always striving to get the right songs for a project and the spirit is still Blindside,” assures Lindskog. “But this album is very different in the sense that it took us a lot longer to write and record it. We used to get everyone in a room and start jamming, but this time we started with an acoustic framework that was eventually translated into rock n’ roll songs.”

“There are definitely some new elements, such as putting strings or an electronic sound over a really bombastic song,” adds guitarist Simon Grenehed. “We wanted to make the record sound big and didn’t feel like there were any boundaries.”

Introducing strings and electronic elements, Blindside‘s rock n’ roll styling turns epic and bombastic on many of the songs. One such song, “Our Love Saves Us” will act as the albums debut single, impacting radio this month. Blindside are currently offering an MP3 download of the song, get it at www.withshiveringheartswewait.com.









For more BLINDSIDE click here.

EGYPT CENTRAL- White Rabbit

Fat Lady Music / Warner Music Group

Rating: A Perfect 10 out of 10

Reviewed by: Jay Rybak

 

Egypt Central’s sophomore album introduces us to the ongoing battle between EC and the White Rabbit. We begin our journey in a “Ghost Town”, where we first meet the “White Rabbit” who proceeds to lure us in with it’s strong vocals and killer riffs.  The title track is the perfect blend of Shinedown-meets-Nonpoint-meets-My Chemical Romance. This only serves to get us primed to “Kick Ass”, with the track of the same name that has [Insert Major Sport Here] playoff anthem written all over it.  The hits keep rolling when we attempt to ‘make the “Change”‘, but we discover “The Drug” which makes us think we are listening to frontman John Falls belting out a new MCR track.  But be warned, “The Drug” may just bring us “Down in Flames”, but it’s sooooo worth it!  It’s hard to pick a favorite off of this gem, but “Down in Flames” is definitely a front runner.

After nearly going “Down in Flames”, we channel early Saliva in trying to deflect the “Blame”. Once we decide that we’ll never “Surrender” in a hail of heavy riffs and melodic hooks, we lay down our weapons and break out the acoustics to end our journey lamenting about the ultimate “Backfire” , a track which seems to be covered in producer Skidd Mills’ fingerprints.

All in all, White Rabbit hits us harder than Kid Rock at a Waffle House, and leaves us seeing stars… stars by the names of John Falls, Joey Chicago, Blake Allison, and Jeff James.  All I can say is WOW!  This album should’ve been called White Whale, instead of White Rabbit! This is the ever elusive perfect assembly of kick ass rock ‘n’ roll.  Right out of the gates you’re compelled to follow the White Rabbit down his twisted path from “Ghost Town” to the ultimate “Backfire”. As you know, I use the perfect score about as much as Jon and Kate Gosselin use birth control, but this album is a virtual cornucopia of bonafide hits.  Already the leading candidate for my album of the year, this is a MUST HAVE.  VERY, VERY HIGHLY reccomended!  White Rabbit hits stores May 31st.

But enough listening to me head on over to http://www.youtube.com/officialectv. and listen for yourself, and if you can tear yourself away from that pre-order the full album at http://egyptcentral.hasawebstore.com/

When certain bands come to town I am forced not to photograph them because of something in the industry known as a rights grabber. A rights grabber is a contract that is normally handed to you right before you obtain your photopass at a show that you are forced to sign in order to get your photopass and be able to photograph the event.

Sometimes these contracts are harmless and state things like you will only use the photos for editorial uses and not for anything commercial. Which I am totally fine with like most concert photographers are, because we are in the business of licensing photos for editorial uses to music mags, websites, papers, etc. We are here to help promote that artist and get their name out as many places and outlets that we can. Publicity is the name of the game for concert photographers.

Publicity is the main reason why we are allowed to receive photo passes to get the access that we do to photograph all the amazing artists that we do. We rub their backs by having photos and stories published of them to promote their bands and tours and they rub ours back by allowing us to photograph them in exchange. In the world of concert photography we are very limited to access as it is, the norm is that we only get the first three songs of the show to photograph without use of any flash. With some bigger acts sometimes we have to stand all the way back at the soundboard to photograph the artist and we are not allowed close access up front in the pit. All of the limitations should be no problems for a professional. Sometimes we get crazy restrictions (first 30 seconds, only shoot from one
side, etc) but I wont bother to get into that as that is a totally different topic for discussion.

The main point that you need to know is that we get access to photograph artists in exchange for getting their bands publicity.

Then comes acts like Lady Gaga that recently appeared with a “rights grabber” contract in order to photograph her. In the past there was no contract for her and there were no problems. However Lady Gaga is not the first act to have such terrible contracts, she just got a lot of news lately mainly because she is a higher profile artist.

Artists such as Janet Jackson, Beastie Boys, Jimmy Eat World, Foo Fighters, My Chemical Romance, Stone Temple Pilots, KISS, Janes Addiction, Gogol Bordello, Steven Seagall, MGMT, Queens of the Stone Age, Cheap Trick,The Mars Volta, Matchbox 20, AFI, Sonic Youth, and many more have all felt the need to have rights grabbers. Some of these acts still have them while some have decided to change for the better on their policies.

There are two main types of rights grabbers out there at the moment, there are the full blown rights grabbers where artist owns all rights to your photos and then there are ones that state artists are allowed to you any of your photos for whatever they want without payment. Both types are totally unacceptable and a slap in the face to any photographer. I mean how would the artist feel if just by playing a venue they had to give up rights to their songs to that venue?

Why are rights grabbers bad in general?

When there are rights grabbers it basically means that any photo that the
photographer takes at a show, they no longer own them anymore and have no rights to use them in the future in any way. They are no longer the photographers photos. Which means it takes away their rights to license the photo editorially for any publications that
wish to use a photo of a artist for a story in the future preventing extra publicity for that artist. Not only do you not own your photos anymore, it also gives the artist or the management the rights to use the photographers photos for whatever they wish, whether it be to promote the band or for commercial uses such as t-shirts, cd covers, box sets, posters, etc. To add insult to injury most of these rights grabbers make you waive your moral rights also, which means when they use your photos that you no longer own, they do not even have to give you credit for using them. So in the future when you see the photo that you taken on posters, the bands websites or cd covers, it most likely
will not have your name on it. So you have nothing to show for your work because legally they do not even have to credit you not to mention they dont have to pay you for using them also.

Most concert photographers make peanuts to cover a show, they depend on owning rights for licensing their photos to editorials and publications in the future to make ends meat. With rights grabbers this is not possible for them to to license their photos anymore for editorial uses.

Why are there rights grabbers in the first place?

A lot of concert photgraphers notice that a lot of the above listed artists are represented by the New York publicity firm Nasty Little Man. When Steve Martin who owns the firm, was asked about the contracts, he said that those stipulations are up to the bands and their managers. and stated “In my experience it often comes from artists who’ve been stuck having to pay a ton for a shot they want for a box set, merch, etc. and that having the parameters set for such transactions in a legal document can keep that from happening in the future.”

Another reason that I was told by various managements was that it was there to protect the artists image so that the photos are not used for unethical uses such as tabloids, etc. They also mention that it was no big deal and if the bands ever wanted your photos they would still pay you to license them, even though legally they don’t have to and they already own them.

So basically, Steve is saying because one, two, or many bands had to pay a premium for good photography in the past for merch that they are forced to enforce the rights grabbers. I dont know specifics about these bands paying a ton for a photo for box sets, etc., or if it ever really happened at all or if its just a cop out that the management tells the band to scare them into using a rights grabber so that management can get free photos in the future. I do know however that if I asked all the bands they probably would not have a clue what I was talking about when I tell them about the rights grabber and why I was told that it was being used. Im not saying that it never happened, maybe the “ton” that was paid for that photo on a box set was really just a manager getting mad because the photographer refused to let the band use a free photo. Or maybe he was really asking for a million. Like I said, I never heard any specifics on the story to prove that it ever really happened and no one will ever fess up details about it. All in all this is no reason to go overboard and punish all the working professionals over one photographers actions.

Some photographers personally think that this excuse is a cop out used by managements in order to get free photos. Then again I personally know some photographers that have been paid for a photo usage of photos that they did not own because they signed the rights grabber. As stated above that some bands will still pay you for the usage even with the rights grabbers, which really just defies the point of the grabber in first place.

I have personally asked bands about these contracts when they had one, half the time the band has no idea about them and are oblivious to the fact that they exsist. As for the bands that are aware of them, they normally tell me what management has told them, that its there to protect their images from being used unethically, wheter the managment
does not want their photos on the wire, or tabloids, etc. But when you tell them what the contract is really saying and how it takes photographers rights they normally are shocked and or appalled about the issue. The sad part is that even when they are made aware of it, it never changes most likely due to managment decisions are final.

As for the excuse that these contracts are around just to protect the artists image from the photos being used the wrong way. Which seems to be the main reason that these contracts really exist. This is the most ass backwards thinking that could ever exsist.
Their reasoning is that if they own all rights to the photos, then they will not get used in anyway without their permission. Well they are right on that, but that only applies to professional photographers that play by the rules. But what they fail to realize is that the problem with photos ending up in the wrong places will always exist, with rights grabbers or no rights grabbers.

The rights grabbers are not really doing any thing to prevent the problem. Why is that you ask? Well the problem does not lie in the professional photographers, it lies in the unprofessional ones, and the fans that bring cameras into shows. Most of the photos of artists that are put into bad light, sent to tabloids, and used in unethical ways are from fan
photos from the crowd or the non professional photographers that will sign any contract handed to them because they plan on selling and using the photos unethically in the first place. With these people contracts do not stop them from doing what they are going to do in the first place. The only thing that will is better control on who gets passes or letting cameras into venues.

There is a big problem in the process of getting credentialed for photo passes. You will see anything in the pit these days from professional shooters, point and shoot cameras, to people with cell phone cameras. It is sad but true I must say when you are a professional trying to work when you see someone standing next to you with a photo pass and a camera phone taking photos.

But the major problem is the unprofessional photographers. When they are given a rights grabbing contract, they will take the contract and sign it and shoot. After the shoot, they will sell the photos to whoever is paying, unethical or not. They do not care about that rights grabber that they signed, they are going to do what they want to do.

Then you have a professional photographer, who is actually there working for a publication that is going to get the band some major publicity. They get the rights grabber, but have to refuse to sign it, and in return they do not get to photograph the show because of it. Why did they refuse to sign it? Because professionals actually play by the rules, and with those set of rules, it does not allow them to use the photos ever again. Not to mention that sometimes the company they are shooting for wont allow them to sign it because the company owns all rights to photos that they shoot because they are work for hire, the photographer actually has no legal ability to sign the contract cause they give their rights to the company they are shooting for and that company wont allow them to give up their rights thus killing any publicity. This is the case for most photographers that work for newspapers, they do not own their rights in the first place the paper does, so when they get these agreements, it just means that story that was going to run in the paper wont happen. Then there are the normal freelancers that will refuse to sign it out of ethics. Which again kills any publicity.

If by chance a professional is allowed to sign it, they sign, and they forfeit their rights to the photos and only get to use them for what they are shooting for and get paid from that company for the one time use of the photos. Then they can never use the photos again because they sign their rights away and no longer own them. They just photographed the show because they needed money to pay bills.

So if rights grabbers are around because of photos being used unethically, then they have to realize that they are not solving the problem by enforcing them and all it is doing is creating more problems because of it.

So here is where I am going to list the pros and cons of rights grabbers on the music industry side.

Pros : Bands / Management get free use of photos for whatever they want without having to credit or pay photographers.

Cons: No newspapers will cover bands with grabbers.
Most professional photographers will not sign them thus leaving amateur shooters taking less quality photos.
Unprofessional photographers will still use photos for the wrong reasons because they sign and shoot without reading contracts.
Less Professional Publicity is received.

Now you have to ask, do the pros out weigh the cons? In these days free photos are worth their weight in gold I assume.

Solutions to the problem?

There are alternative ways to make both parties happy but the voice of photographers is too small to make a difference in the big music industry as this has been the case for years as these contracts have gotten more and more out of control. The ideal contract
would be none at all and many big artists have realized this, and they normally play by the rule that any publicity is good. Some artists that do not have any contracts at all include acts such as Madonna, Elton John, U2, etc. etc. etc. Now if these big artists do not need rights grabbers, then why does any artist. It really makes you think about other motives for them.

So it comes down to managements saying that rights grabbers exist for these reasons but the wording in the contracts say noting about the reasons they say they are for in the first place. If these contracts were truly being used for these for the reasons that were stated the wording would read different. For example, if they were worried about paying too much to license a photo, the contract could say that you agree to license photos to the band at a fair market value if they want them. Or it would say you agree to only use the photos editorially. But managements refuse to change the wording because they know that the way they have it worded means free photos.

But if there has to be a contract, it should only state that the photographer will only use the photos editorially and not commercially without artist prior consent. Although this still will not prevent the non professionals from doing bad things with the photos. You have to realize that it is going to happen despite any precautions one takes rights grabbers or not.

If one wanted to take precautions for such they should be looking into a better process on screening photographers that apply for credentials and have better security measures at shows and fans bringing cameras in. By doing this it would probably stop a lot of the misuse from happening in the first place.

If the bands are worried about getting ripped off for licensing photos down the line, why not find a photo from the 1000 of other photographers out there that are willing to be fair with licensing, or if they really wanted that particular photo they could get it by other means. I can not say that I do not know one photographer that would pass up on licensing a photo to a band for a lower rate if not free, if that band gave the photographer unlimited photo access to their next event. Money is not the only thing we accept, we are able to barter. Then again, there will always be that one photographer who has a stick up their butt and trys to rip a band off. But that is life, there are always going to be bad apples out there.

If you are management, the real question you should be asking before deciding on having a rights grabber is should you be punishing all professional photographers for the actions of one or a few bad ones? Concert photographers are hard working artists that do this out of the love of the art and not in it for the money as most of us have multiple jobs on the side just to support us being able to pay for camera gear, gas, time, to get to the shows to support you, the artist, by giving you free publicity. The thinking that putting these rights grabbers out will prevent anything mention above is ridiculous thinking.

Why did I write this in depth article on rights grabbers when it comes to concert photography?

The main reason is that I want to make the world aware on this plague that our small community has to put up with on a daily basis and hopefully will make some higher ups in the industry realize what they are doing is not only evil, and wrong but it robs photographers of their art and lively hood. It also prevents the higher quality publicity that bands deserve and for what? To save a few dollars from that one mystery photographer ripping a mystery band off on a photo for their box set.

Also I am personally getting fed up lately of all the concerts that I have had to turn down because of these contracts, while I see unprofessional photographers still shooting them because they do not abide by these contracts, while the professionals sit out and miss the shows. Preventing professionals from using their own photos while the unprofessional photographers are using them in any way despite signing the contracts has to end.

The industry has this notion that concert photographers are making a ton of money off of their artists and are exploiting them, but what they dont realize is that 99.9% of professional concert photographers have to have multiple jobs just to keep doing what they
love. Its what we put all of our passion into, and that is making their artists look good while getting them the most publicity that they can receive at the same time.

who am I?

I vow to remain anonymous do to the nature of this industry because if someone disagrees with something that I said above then I would most likely be blacklisted from photographing certain concerts. I personally have been professionally been photographing artists for over ten years and supplying many photos to publications worldwide. I have been doing this out of the love for concert photography and I live off of my paycheck week to week from my part time job not photgraphy. I am well known in this industry and I can barely afford to keep my
camera gear running with the money I make from concerts. I will stay in the game as long as I can.

-Concert Photographer

This Manifesto may be re-posted anywhere at no cost.

Taken from here.

Apocalyptica‘s new album, 7th Symphony will be released August 24th through Jive Recods. The first single off the album is the song “End of Me” which features lead vocals from Bush frontman Gavin Rossdale. The brand new video for the track is being premiered on Vevo.com here.

You can pre-order your copy of 7th Symphony at Amazon.com here as well.

7th Symphony was produced by Joe Barresi (Coheed and Cambria, Queens of the Stone Age, Bad Religion), and is scheduled for release August 24. The album will feature eight instrumentals plus four tracks with guest vocals including the first single “End Of Me” featuring lead vocals by Bush‘s Gavin Rossdale. In addition, producer Howard Benson (Three Days Grace, Creed, My Chemical Romance) returns for production duties on two tracks on the forthcoming album.

The conservatory-trained musicians of Apocalyptica(three of whom are graduates of the prestigious Sibelius Academy in Helsinki) started playing Metallica covers in 1993 and in 1996 they released their critically acclaimed debut Apocalyptica Plays Metallica by Four Cellos. But it was 2007′s Worlds Collidethat broke the band into an international phenomenon. The disc featured numerous guest stars. Slipknot‘s Corey Taylor appeared on “I’m Not Jesus,” Lacuna Coil‘s Cristina Scabbia sang on “S.O.S. (Anything But Love),” Rammstein vocalist Till Lindemann performed on a cover of David Bowie and Brian Eno‘s “Helden” and Three Days Grace Singer Adam Gontier sang his heart out on “I Don’t Care.” “I Don’t Care” blasted Apocalyptica through the stratosphere, and peaked at number one on the Billboard rock chart. Apocalyptica promoted Worlds Collide with a world tour that included numerous stops in North America.

Current APOCALYPTICA U.S. Tour Dates
7/15 – Cadott, WI @ Rock Fest
7/16 – Pontiac, MI @ Eagle Theater
7/17 – Buffalo, NY @ Town Ballroom

For more APOCALYPTICA check out their website here.