Away Team

While GARBAGE is busy in the studio recording their new unnamed album, they have posted their contribution to the tribute to U2‘s Auchtung Baby turning 20 years old this year.

Garbage has recorded their version of Who’s Going To Ride Your Wild Horses which will be included with the following tracklisting:
01 Nine Inch Nails: “Zoo Station”
02 U2: “Even Better Than the Real Thing” (Jacques Lu Cont Mix)
03 Damien Rice: “One”
04 Patti Smith: “Until the End of the World”
05 Garbage: “Who’s Gonna Ride Your Wild Horses”
06 Depeche Mode: “So Cruel”
07 Snow Patrol: “Mysterious Ways”
08 The Fray: “Trying to Throw Your Arms Around the World”
09 Gavin Friday: “The Fly”
10 The Killers: “Ultraviolet (Light My Way)”
11 Glasvegas: “Acrobat”
12 Jack White: “Love Is Blindness”

The album is set to be released October 31st.

For more GARBAGE click here.

From Billboard.com:

“Completely surreal” is how composer Trent Reznor describes his best original score nom for “The Social Network,” adding that he almost missed the announcement thanks to some technical difficulties at home. “It was panic this morning because somehow my internet and TV had a complete media blackout at the crucial moment, but it turned out all was well in the end,” he tells The Hollywood Reporter.

Given the dark, industrial work he’s known for with his band Nine Inch Nails, you might expect Reznor to dismiss something as mainstream as an Oscar nom, but such is not the case. “I’m just very proud to be involved with a film of this caliber and working with these people. We got so close to this film – I’ve seen it hundreds of times and I still really love it. I didn’t realize it would resonate with people as much as it has. It’s been amazing and flattering to see what’s happened.”

You can read the whole article here.

From NIN.com:

“I’m happy to finally announce the re-issue of the first Nine Inch Nails record “Pretty Hate Machine,” releasing worldwide 11/22. UMe and Bicycle Music Group managed to locate the original mixes, so I went in the studio with Tom Baker and remastered it for a greatly improved sonic experience. In addition, Rob reinterpreted Gary Talpas’ original cover to make for a fresh new package.

It’s been an interesting trip watching the fate of this record float from one set of hands to another (a long and depressing story) but it’s finally wound up in friendly territory, allowing us to polish it up a bit and present it to you now. We had fun revisiting this old friend, hope you enjoy.”

Pretty Hate Machine is available for pre-order here.

For more NINE INCH NAILS click here.

Reactivated San Francisco Bay Area thrashers, FORBIDDEN, will hold a free public listening party for their first record since reforming on Friday October 22, 2010 at Soundwave Studios in Oakland CA. The event will start at 9 pm and is located at 2200 Wood St. Fans will have a chance to get free swag, win a Fernandes bass guitar, and purchase the CD before it hits the streets. Members of FORBIDDEN will also be in attendance to sign autographs and meet the fans.

“We are all very excited about our new release, Omega Wave,” commented vocalist Russ Anderson. “Everyone involved with creating the record worked extremely hard. Now, we want to share it with our fans and friends! So anybody who wants to come out and celebrate with us is officially invited! We will also have plenty of Nuclear Blast and FORBIDDEN swag on hand for giveaways. Be a part of our special night and you may just win some free shit too!”

Omega Wave, FORBIDDEN’s fifth studio album after a 13-year recording hiatus, will be released in Europe on October 22nd and on October 26th in North America. It was recorded at Sonic Room/Audio Voyage Studios in Livermore, California, produced by FORBIDDEN guitarist / songwriter Craig Locicero with Tim Narducci, and mixed by Sean Beavan (Slayer, Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails).

To pre-order Omega Wave click here.
For more FORBIDDEN click here.

A PERFECT CIRCLE has announced a five-city, multi-night tour for this fall with ticket on-sales slated for this week.

Phoenix, Los Angeles and Seattle tickets go on sale on September 24 at 10 a.m. PST. Las Vegas tickets are on sale the same day, September 24, at 12 noon PST. Tickets for the San Francisco shows are on sale on September 26 at 10 a.m. PST. There is a two-ticket limit on all shows. A very limited number of VIP packages will be available for each show.

The two different packages are:
1. Wine tasting, meet-and-greet, admission ticket;
2. Meet-and-greet, admission ticket.

Shows in Phoenix (Marquee Theatre), Los Angeles (Avalon), Seattle (Showbox at The Market) and San Francisco (The Fillmore) will be three-night stops with each night featuring one of A PERFECT CIRCLE’s three albums in its entirety (“Mer de Noms“, “Thirteenth Step” and “eMOTIVe“). Las Vegas (The Pearl) will be a two-night outing (“Mer de Noms” and “Thirteenth Step“).

The dates are as follows:
Nov. 04 – Tempe, AZ – Marquee Theatre (Mer de Noms)
Nov. 05 – Tempe, AZ – Marquee Theatre (Thirteenth Step)
Nov. 06 – Tempe, AZ – Marquee Theatre (eMOTIVe)
Nov. 08 – Los Angeles, CA – Avalon (Mer de Noms)
Nov. 09 – Los Angeles, CA – Avalon (Thirteenth Step)
Nov. 10 – Los Angeles, CA – Avalon (eMOTIVe)
Nov. 12 – Seattle, WA – Showbox at the Market (Mer de Noms)
Nov. 13 – Seattle, WA – Showbox at the Market (Thirteenth Step)
Nov. 14 – Seattle, WA – Showbox at the Market (eMOTIVe)
Nov. 16 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore (Mer de Noms)
Nov. 17 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore (Thirteenth Step)
Nov. 18 – San Francisco, CA – The Fillmore (eMOTIVe)
Nov. 20 – Las Vegas, NV – The Pearl (Mer de Noms)
Nov. 21 – Las Vegas, NV – The Pearl (Thirteenth Step)

A PERFECT CIRCLE expect to go out on a traditional tour after this short run, but nothing has been officially confirmed.

Maynard James Keenan (TOOL, PUSCIFER) – Vocals
Billy Howerdel (ASHES DIVIDE) – Guitar, Vocals
James Iha (THE SMASHING PUMPKINS) – Guitar
Josh Freese (NINE INCH NAILS) – Drums
Matt McJunkins (PUSCIFER, ASHES DIVIDE) – Bass

For more A PERFECT CIRCLE click here.

Reactivated San Francisco Bay Area thrashers FORBIDDEN have debuted the artwork to their new studio album, Omega Wave, on their official MySpace page.

FORBIDDEN guitarist / songwriter Craig Locicero checks in about his collaborative process with artist Kent Mathieu, the visual elements that can be found in the album’s artwork, and his concern for the future of the human race:

“As soon as FORBIDDEN committed to writing a new record, I wondered where Kent Mathieu was. I’d always felt like Forbidden Evil and Twisted Into Form were pretty iconic album covers… when things like that actually seemed to matter.
“Then, the good people at Nuclear Blast actually located Kent! I got pretty excited and reached out to him immediately. He was equally excited to hear from us, too. The only real direction I gave Kent was to somehow tie the past into the future. Find a way to make the two skulls [from Forbidden Evil’s artwork] vital again. He had worked up about 12 sketches all kinds of variously cool stuff. Out of all of the pictures he sent me, I liked the way one of them was laid out because of it’s simplicity. After thinking about it for a long while, I had a concept for Kent to work with. The Omega Wave concept. The title wasn’t decided until I had a good idea for the cover.
“I don’t want to over-explain the actual picture because there is enough symbolism for everyone to interpret everything differently. That is always a plus, in my book. What I can tell you is that the skull in the center is based upon the crystal skull of Belize. This skull was found at some of the pyramid ruins in two perfect pieces, jawbone and upper cranium. It was always quite a mystery, but some years later Hewlett Packard scientists did extensive tests on the skull and found many anomalies.
“One of them was that there is no way, even with our most modern technology, that we could cut into the crystal the way this skull was formed. It would shatter with any instrument we have available, even today. Another thing was the fact that no matter what temperature the skull was placed in, the skull’s temperature would stay almost exactly the same. Scientists even believe the skull holds information that they could not tap into, like a giant computer chip with an impenetrable code.
“So I got to thinking: Does this skull – and the other ones found throughout the most ancient places on Earth – hold something that we would need to know to possibly save ourselves? This is not an entirely new concept, but it hit me pretty hard. What could we learn about ourselves that may save us at this all-important juncture for the human race?
“It seems as if we’ve reached our Omega stage as a civilization. Meaning, we as people seem to be in a hurry to reach some sort of ending… possibly all self-manifested by accepting some sort of pre-determined fate. Or possibly just pawns in a game that was played out before and will be repeated again and again in other times and dimensions. So Omega Wave is part science fact and part from my imagination.
“Kent Mathieu is a artistic genius who created something that respects this concept, as well as FORBIDDEN’s past, present and future! All of this with one very strong hand-painted picture. That’s right, no computer manipulation whatsoever. Something else we can all be proud of! We hope you approve.”

Omega Wave, FORBIDDEN’s fifth studio album after a 13-year recording hiatus, will be released in Europe on October 22nd and on October 26th in North America. It was recorded at Sonic Room/Audio Voyage Studios in Livermore, California, produced by FORBIDDEN guitarist / songwriter Craig Locicero with Tim Narducci, and mixed by Sean Beavan (Slayer, Marilyn Manson, Nine Inch Nails).

FORBIDDEN 2010 features Russ Anderson on vocals, Craig Locicero on guitar, Steve Smyth on guitar, Matt Camacho on bass and Mark Hernandez on drums.

Song titles on Omega Wave include:
•Alpha Century
•Forsaken At The Gates
•Swine
•Immortal Wounds
•Hopenosis
•Adapt Or Die
•Inhuman Race
•Behind The Mask
•Dragging My Casket
•Overthrow
•Omega Wave

FORBIDDEN are confirmed for January 2011’s 70,000 Tons Of Metal cruise and will tour the U.S. this November supporting Overkill with Evile, Gamma Bomb, and Bonded By Blood.

FORBIDDEN will go on to headline their own tour with Evile, Gamma Bomb, and Bonded By Blood from November 22nd – December 11th. VIP tickets for pre-show Meet & Greet sessions with the band are now on sale at EnterTheVault.com. VIP ticket buyers will also receive a customized poster signed by the band.

Hear two FORBIDDEN demo tracks, “Adapt Or Die” and “Hopenosis,” and the entire Green album here.

For more FORBIDDEN click here.

THE NEW REGIME (singer/multi-instrumentalist/Nine Inch Nails drummer ILAN RUBIN) has just released the video for “Remission Of Guilt,” a new song that’s currently available as a free download on the band’s website here with submission of an e-mail address. Fans can enjoy the song and video while they’re waiting for the follow-up to 2009’s COUP debut album. The clip was shot in San Diego, CA with director Drew Dorsey.

THE NEW REGIME is a “true solo project” of current Nine Inch Nails and former Lostprophets drummer Ilan Rubin. No mere time-keeper, the adept multi-instrumentalist wrote and recorded every note of bass, drums, guitar, piano, keyboards, and vocals on “Remission Of Guilt,” the new album, as well as the 2008 debut, COUP (COMMAND! Music). The as-yet-untitled sophomore release was written and partially recorded while on tour with NIN, while the remaining work was done immediately after the tour was complete.

About “Remission of Guilt,” ILAN says: “I came up with the initial idea for this song at about the halfway point of completing the second album. Since I had a precise vision as to what I wanted the album to be, I finished the idea for this song and recorded it almost immediately after the album was done. ‘Remission of Guilt’ is probably the most aggressive of all the TNR material to date but still retains the clarity of melody, the detail of harmony and structure, and the execution of musicianship.” While the track is not included on the new album, it is a good preview of what’s to come.









For more THE NEW REGIME click here.

Members of THE NEW CZARS have worked with influential musicians across the music spectrum: Alice Cooper, Lita Ford, Bootsy Collins, Buckethead, Reeves Gabrels, Bruce Dickinson, Puddle of Mudd, Courtney Love, Pink, and others. Now it’s time for the band–singer/guitarist Greg Hampton, bassist Paul Ill and drummer David “Chilli” Moreno–to do things on their own terms. They’ll release their debut album, DOOMSDAY REVOLUTION, September 14 on Samson Records. As the listener will discover, the band refuses to be linked to one specific style.
The songs “Don’t Watch,” “So Sure” and “Confessions” are being serviced to radio stations in the next couple of weeks. Remixes of “So Sure” and “Crashed” by world renowned remixer/producer Danny Saber will also be made available. Hampton and Saber had previously worked together on Alice Cooper‘s ALONG CAME A SPIDER album.
“You can hear some of the elements of the past records I’ve been involved in,” explains band mastermind Greg Hampton. “There’s an inherent nature in my writing direction, which stems from my roots. I had been raised on in the South, in the blues-rock/funky vein, but there are some industrial rock, pop and progressive elements to our music. Nine Inch Nails, The Beatles, King Crimson, and Funkadelic are among the many bands that influenced me. And I was hugely influenced by great guitar players when I was a kid like Tommy Bolin, Todd Rundgren, and guys like that. Guys who didn’t have a lot of boundaries musically.”
Produced by Hampton, DOOMSDAY REVOLUTION also includes contributions on the six-string by Adrian Belew. “His sensibilities for progressive and weird music and bizarre pop stuff are certainly on par with my thinking,” beams Hampton about the living legend. “I rang him up and we decided that he would contribute some things to it.” According to Chilli, the sessions were “A lot of fun. Greg let us do what felt would work for the parts, and let us tear it up as well. I can’t complain. A lot of producers don’t let you set up more than a four piece kit and a couple of crashes, which is fine for the right application. But this was balls-to-the-walls rock & roll. Keith Moon meets John Bonham with Christoph Schneider, combo 1 super-sized!”
In an early review, Michael Molenda at Guitar Player praised: “Hybrids of pop and the avant-garde can be inspiring, but when they go bad, it’s like Mount Vesuvius bad. But the New Czars nail it. Their music has all the stunning surprises that make great experimental music so thrilling, and they top it off with monstrous grooves and compelling melodies. Hey, if the New Czars had erupted in AD 79 instead of Vesuvius, Pompeii would still be standing!”
About the formation of THE NEW CZARS, Hampton explains, “It came about when I finished Alice Cooper’s ALONG CAME A SPIDER, Lita Ford’s WICKED WONDERLAND and Science Faxtion’s L.O.A.F. albums. Over the course of recording those three releases back to back, unique ideas started materializing. I had become closer friends with the owner of Samson Records, who like me, has very eclectic tastes in music. I had originally anticipated them being more soundtrack-type instrumental songs, but the progressive ones took their own direction musically–with some of the things I had envisioned. I actually approached Paul Ill first, before I approached anybody, because I wanted to do something that would be more progressive. Even though Paul has played and written with Christina Aguilera, Pink, Courtney Love, etc, he is extremely versatile and that guy can go toe to toe with the heaviest rockers.”
A consistent record from front to back, several specific tracks stand out for Hampton. “I really like the stuff we cut with Chilli and Paul together: ‘Time Stops’ and ‘Don’t Watch Me.’ On some of the instrumentals, I was able to stretch out on my guitar playing. ‘Desperate’ was a real challenge, because originally, it was a sprawling seven-minute piece, and I had to edit it so it was cohesive. That was probably the most difficult instrumental to turn into a song with vocals, but it really turned out to be one of my favorite songs.”
And where does Paul Ill see the band going in the future? “I look forward to the band playing live, and we’re all excited about doing the next record with everybody in the room at the same time. I really regret that I didn’t get to play alongside Adrian Belew when he was at the studio. Maybe next time! I was incredibly honored when Greg asked me to play on the New Czars record. What started as me being hired as a session bass player evolved into becoming a full-time band member, which I quite like.”
Hampton is willing to juggle his busy schedule to make room for THE NEW CZARS. “We’re going to do a lot of viral video stuff. We cut 24 songs, so we definitely have enough for another album. It’s hard to look that far in the future. It also depends on everybody else’s schedules. I’m going to continue working and producing other bands. There’s a lot of stuff I want to do, perhaps dabbling in film scoring, as well.”

For more information on THE NEW CZARS check out their MySpace page here.

FILTER – The Trouble with Angels
Rocket Science Ventures

9 out of 10

Richard Patrick first gained attention as the guitarist for NINE INCH NAILS. His only recorded material with them was on the end of ‘Sanctified’ off Pretty Hate Machine, but he toured/performed with NIN from 1989-93. He left NIN forming FILTER and released Short Bus in 1995. More rock than industrial, FILTER took off in a big way, but it wasn’t until their second album Title of Record that they gained huge commercial success with the single ‘Take a Picture’.
A full studio album and greatest hits compilation not to mention a plethora of soundtrack singles round out Filter’s studio work.
FILTER is back now with a new studio album The Trouble With Angels and from what I’ve heard of the new album so far (giving it a 2nd spin as I write this), the album is harder, heavier, more electronic than anything since Short Bus. Gone is the commercial gleam, and slick sound that permeated later FILTER albums.
The Trouble with Angels starts off with static laced am radio sounding vocals that kicks into a gritty guitar riff and the lyrics, ‘Come along Sally let’s have a break down’. This is ‘Drug Boy’, and it is as dirty and gritty as any back street dime bag shooting alley you can imagine. The demonic reverberated screams throughout the bridge would bring any fiend to his knees begging for sobriety and sanity instantly. A straight forward rock riff over laced with pulsating drums and a bass line that makes your blood simmer in your veins lends itself very well to the melodic chorus that FILTER has been known for. But this is no ‘Picture’ ballad. This is balls out FILTER at their best.
For the radio rock “we must have a ‘Take a Picture’ ballad” folks out there. FILTER offers up ‘No Love’ to you, but again, this is no overly produced slick sticky sweet ballad. Once the chorus kicks in, and the scream of ‘No Love’ rings out the teeny boppers out there might just switch the station. But that would be doing FILTER and this song a grave disservice. Sit back, give it a listen, and let the music and message sink in. You’ll thank me for it later.
‘No Re-Entry’ is a psychedelic tripalicious love scorn ballad complete with noise/muse rock keyboards filling out and flowing out (of) the song nicely.
Overall the album has a much heavier electronic feel than albums past. Drum loops, noise loops, and wicked vocal effects layers each song, making it impossible to get the full effect even after multiple listens. This is why this album works so well. You can’t get it all immediately. It takes several listens for you to get everything that happens in each and every song. This makes the album last. This is what makes a great album. Every time you put it on, you hear something new. The songs never get old, because you constantly are introduced to something missed in prior listenings.
I was a little hesitant when I first put this on as Short Bus was the pinnacle of FILTER for me. But I’m here to tell you that The Trouble with Angels may actually be two steps better and beyond their debut!
The Trouble with Angels will be released August 17th.

You can find all things FILTER, their new album, and upcoming tour right here.
You can pre-order The Trouble with Angels at amazon.com here.

How To Destroy Angels, the brand new project featuring NINE INCH NAILS mainman Trent Reznor and his wife Mariqueen Maandig (ex-WEST INDIAN GIRL) along with frequent NIN collaborator Atticus Ross, has made its self-titled debut EP available as a free digital download at their official website www.howtodestroyangels.com.