Sunday, June 2, 2013

Skillet And Their Different Styles of Rock Musical Album, "Rise" As They Promised.


I can't think about the American Christian rock band, Skillet. I can't even think about their stairway to their success. I’m not gonna think that it’s their milestone of success. Cause they're gonna releases their eighth studio album. In January 2012, Skillet announced that they will not be touring for most of the summer so that they can record the new album. Then in an interview with RadioU, John Cooper (the vocal of Skillet) stated that the band currently had 61 songs written and would be heading into the studio in October to record the album with Howard Benson for an early 2013 release; and it was announced in 18 July, 2012. And lastly in an Interview on January 26, 2013 in Beaumont TX, John Cooper announced that the new album, “Rise”. I think they'll rise by their album “Rise”. Firstly the album was decided to release in May 2013 but was later scheduled for a June 25, 2013 release. Skillet have already released a track of their new album, “Sick of It”. And it’s unbelievably rocking in the radios. "Sick of It" was released on SoundCloud on April 8, 2013 and was released on iTunes on April 9, and was released to US rock radio on April 23.



In an interview with CCM Magazine, John Cooper compared the new album with "a roller coaster ride". "We have aggressive tracks, artsy and musical tracks, which is new territory for Skillet. A couple songs are classic American heartland anthems, and a couple songs are signature symphonic-classical rock Skillet. Guitars are dirty and edgier, with absolute shredding solos by Seth."




Tracklist of Rise:

   
    Rise
    Sick of It
    Good to Be Alive
    Not Gonna Die
    Circus for a Psycho
    American Noise
    Madness in Me
    Salvation
    Fire and Fury
    My Religion
    Hard to Find
    What I Believe


Something is going on. Something is going on to skillet and absolutely it’s all about their new album. It’s not my concept. The vocal of Skillet, John Cooper explains, “The narrative idea happened after we had 10 or 11 of the songs chosen. As we recorded them, we started to realize that there was something going on — that the album was really telling a story. Realizing that, I knew we needed to make it as powerful as we could.


Skillet is an American Christian band formed in Memphis, Tennessee. John Cooper, former vocalist for Tennessee progressive rock band Seraph, and Ken Steorts, former guitarist for Urgent Cry; the two bands met through touring together. But unfortunately those bands disbanded soon after, so John and Ken's pastor encouraged them to form their own band. Coming from different styles of rock music, they decided to name the experiment Skillet. The band went through several line-up changes early in their career, leaving founder John Cooper as the only original member remaining in the band. The band currently consists of husband and wife John (lead vocals, bass) and Korey Cooper (rhythm guitar, keyboards, backing vocals), along with Jen Ledger (drums, vocals) and Seth Morrison (lead guitar).

The latest lineup of Skillet:

    John Cooper – lead vocals, bass and acoustic guitar (1996–present)
    Korey Cooper – vocals, backing vocals, rhythm guitar, keyboards, synthesizer (1999–present)
    Jen Ledger – vocals, backing vocals, drums, percussion (2008–present)
    Seth Morrison – lead guitar (2011–present)




Former members:

    Kevin Haaland – lead guitar (1999–2001)
    Ben Kasica – lead guitar (2001–2011, 2011)
    Trey McClurkin – drums, backing vocals (1996–2000)
    Lori Peters – drums (2000–2007)
    Jonathan Salas – lead guitar (2011)
    Ken Steorts – lead guitar (1996–1999)

Touring members:

    Billy Dawson – rhythm guitar (2000)
    Faith Stern – keyboards, vocals (2002–2003)
    Chris Marvin – rhythm guitar, backing vocals (2002–2003, 2005–2006)
    Andrea Winchell – keyboards (2005–2006)
    Jonathan Chu – violin (2008–present)
    Tate Olsen – cello (2008–present)
    Scotty Rock – bass (2009–2011)



Formed in 1996, the band Skillet has released eight albums, two receiving Grammy nominations: Collide and Comatose. Awake has been certified Platinum and debuted on No. 2 on the Billboard 200, with Comatose certified Gold by RIAA. They have sold over 2 million albums in the U.S. alone[not verified in body] and are known for a relentless touring schedule, which garnered them a top five ranking in the Hardest Working Bands of 2011 by Songkick.

Studio Albums of Skillet:


    Skillet (1996)
    Hey You, I Love Your Soul (1998)
    Invincible (2000)
    Alien Youth (2001)
    Collide (2003)
    Comatose (2006)
    Awake (2009)
    Rise (2013)

Thursday, May 30, 2013

Super Collider, The Fourteenth Studio Album of Megadeth




Megadeth

 What the hell is going on this June? I can't believe this. Megadeth is also going to release their fourteenth studio album, “Super Collider”. The band revealed on August 22, 2012, that they would be returning to the studio with producer Johnny K to record their fourteenth album. On October 27, Dave Mustaine, guitarist and main man of Megadeth revealed that the band was planning to start the recording for this album  in the first week of November 2012, before leaving the studio for the American leg of the Countdown to Extinction 20th anniversary tour. And sooner, the next day, Mustaine that he had chosen a title and cover art for the new album, though neither was revealed at that time. As with Megadeth’s previous studio effort, Thirteen, work on the album was done at "Vic's Garage", the band's own studio in San Marcos, California. The song of this album, "Kingmaker" will make its online debut shortly. The track will be unveiled by one lucky fan who will be chosen to premiere the song on his or her personal Twitter feed.

December 18, 2012 Shawn Drover, drummer of Megadeth revealed that the band had started recording for the fourteenth studio album, “Super Collider”. On December 24, 2012, Mustaine announced that three new songs were tracked and almost done. And then on February 12, 2013, Mustaine announced that their fourteenth album, “Super Collider” will be released on June 4 on Mustaine's new label, Tradecraft, distributed through Universal Music Enterprises. Lastly on April 23, 2013, "Super Collider" was released as a single available for purchase through iTunes. Mustaine, the mainman of Megadeth told on Guitar World in the new June 2013 issue that “You can't always play aggressive, thrashy stuff. Sometimes those aren't even songs; they're like musical rams. But because I'm not a pop guy, I'm also not really comfortable playing sing-along songs. To me, ‘Super Collider’ made sense like a normal song — a verse-chorus-verse-chorus kind of thing. It’s written the way a real songwriter would write the song, instead of just taking all these musical twists and turns."

The Tracks of the Album, Super Collider:

The Tracks of the Album, Super Collider:


    Kingmaker
    Super Collider
    Burn!
    Built for War
    Off the Edge
    Dance in the Rain
    The Beginning of Sorrow
    The Blackest Crow
    Forget to Remember
    Don't Turn Your Back
    Cold Sweat



Megadeth is one of the most famous and successful American heavy metal and thrash metal band in the world. In 1983 Dave Mustaine and David Ellefson started the band. In the past Dave Mustaine plays in Metallica. For some technical problem he left Metallica in 1983 and formed the band, Megadeth. Megadeth became one of the leading bands of the genre during the mid- and late '80s by streamlining the classic thrash metal approach and making the music more threatening, as well as making the lyrics more nihilistic. A pioneer of the American thrash metal movement, Megadeth rose to international fame in the 1980s and is ranked as one of the "Big Four of Thrash" along with Metallica, Slayer and Anthrax. The band was formed almost about 30 years ago and during 30 years activities more than 20 different people have officially performed as part of the group, with Mustaine being the only constant member. Throughout Megadeth's many lineup changes, the two core members were bassist Dave Ellefson and guitarist/vocalist Dave Mustaine who was the band's official leader.

Current Lineup of Megadeth:  

    Dave Mustaine – (1983–2002, 2004) - lead vocals, guitar
    Dave Ellefson – (1983–2002, 2010) - bass, backing vocals
    Shawn Drover – (2004-2013) - drums, percussion
    Chris Broderick – (2008-2013) - guitar, backing vocals


Current Lineup of Megadeth

Former Members:


    Greg Handevidt - (1983) - guitar
    Dijon Carruthers - (1983) - drums, percussion   
    Lee Rausch - (1984) - drums, percussion
    Kerry King - (1984) - guitar
    Gar Samuelson – (1984–1987) - drums, percussion
    Chris Poland – (1984–1985, 1985–1987, 2004) - guitar
    Mike Albert – (1985) - guitar (touring member)
    Chuck Behler – (1987–1988) - drums, percussion
    Jeff Young – (1987–1989) - guitar, backing vocals
    Nick Menza – (1989–1998, 2004) - drums, percussion, backing vocals
    Marty Friedman – (1990–1999) - guitar, backing vocals
    Jimmy DeGrasso – (1998–2002) - drums, percussion, backing vocals
    Al Pitrelli – (1999–2002) - guitar, backing vocals
    Vinnie Colaiuta – (2004) - drums, percussion (session only)
    Jimmy Sloas – (2004) - bass (session only)
    James MacDonough – (2004–2006) - bass
    Glen Drover - (2004–2008) - guitar, backing vocals
    James LoMenzo - (2006–2010) - bass, backing vocals



Megadeth has already released thirteen studio albums, three live albums, five compilation albums, two extended plays, forty-four singles, eight video albums, and thirty-three music videos. Megadeth is known for its distinctive, technical instrumental style that often features frequently, intricate passages and trade-off guitar solos, and for recurring lyrical themes including politics, war, addiction, personal relationships, and religion. The band has sold over 50 million records worldwide with six consecutive albums being certified platinum or multi-platinum in the US, according to the band's official website. Peace Sells... but Who's Buying? So Far, So Good... So What!, Rust in Peace, Youthanasia, and Cryptic Writings all achieved platinum status, the band's fifth and most successful record, Countdown to Extinction, sold multi-platinum, and the album Risk achieved gold certification. As of 2013, Megadeth has received eleven Grammy nominations.



The Studio Albums of Megadeth:


    Killing Is My Business... and Business Is Good! (1985)
    Peace Sells... but Who's Buying? (1986)
    So Far, So Good... So What! (1988)
    Rust in Peace (1990)
    Countdown to Extinction (1992)
    Youthanasia (1994)
    Cryptic Writings (1997)
    Risk (1999)
    The World Needs a Hero (2001)
    The System Has Failed (2004)
    United Abominations (2007)
    Endgame (2009)
    Thirteen (2011)
    Super Collider (2013)



In a recent interview with the "Shockwaves"/"HardRadio" podcast, Mustaine stated about "Kingmaker",
"It's no secret that I had surgery on my neck. I think that when I showed up at the 'Big Four' show [at the Yankee stadium in September 2011] with a neck brace on, people kind of figured out that there was something wrong with me. It turns out that I had a broken bone in my neck and a shard of my vertebrae got into my spinal cord and was causing me tremendous pain for a very long time. I had started taking pain pills and became chemically dependent on it. 
With my substance-abuse history, it was really hard for me to go from being an addict and an alcoholic and then getting set free from all that stuff. 'Cause I went to the whole twelve-step thing, which was really beneficial for me, but unfortunately, for me it wasn't an anonymous program; I would go in there and whatever I would say, people would talk about. So it really violated my anonymity. It's also a program that is based on God, but when I would talk about God in there, they would say, 'Ah, G.O.D. stands for Group of Drunks.' And it's, like, 'No, it doesn't. Can't you spell, you retard? That's why you're in here.' But at the time, it was very influential in my life and very important and I respect it tremendously and I wish anybody who needs a twelve-step program will find one... "


"The song 'Kingmaker' is about how people are running from their problems… And there's a lot of that on this particular record — just looking at, like, 'Here's what I've got. What are you gonna do with it?' It's talking a lot about this generation, how people, their lives are falling apart and they just take pills. Instead of sucking up and doing what I did and going and getting the surgery and getting off the medication, they'll continue to just trudge it out until the end of their life where they just take pills until their body is eaten… And the other thing that's part of that song is talking about how when you take these things how they make you feel different. Some people, they get into that 'cause they like the way it makes you feel, 'cause it makes you kind of feel warm and fuzzy. In the song, it talks about wanting to fly and being ten feet tall. Booze does that to some people. And this is just something that, I think, if there is a way that I can help educate a lot of our fans, especially the younger ones that still have their whole life ahead of them, it's not as glamorous as you think it is to go down that path of just checking it out and drugging yourself up and not facing reality… 

Part of what 'Kingmaker' means to me is that I am able to look back now on this whole episode of my life, being a slave to Big Pharma. You have no idea what a pain in the ass it was. In order to travel to go overseas, and I needed the medication with me, to know that if my backpack would have been stolen and my medication would have been gone, that I would have gone into serious withdrawals and been hospitalized and the tour would have been over. That kind of stuff; it's horrifying. And my heart goes out to the people that are stuck in that vicious circle and slavery to narcotics. Granted, you need it if you're in pain, but…"


Tuesday, May 28, 2013

Halo of Blood, The Eighth Album of a Finnish Melodic Death Metal Band Children of Bodom


Children of Bodom

That’s just like a nuclear blast for the fans of Children of Bodom that they're going to release their eighth album, Halo of Blood. It is due to be released on June 6, 2013 in Europe and June 11 in North America on Nuclear Blast Records in Japan, the album will be released by Marquee Inc. on May 29, 2013. They've already released the second trailer for their upcoming "Halo of Blood". Jaska Raatikainen, the drummer of the band accumulated a number of songs for this album. T the middle of November 2012, the band announced that they had started recording demos of new material.  He described the new material as dark and also little black metalish. In January 2013, it was revealed that frontman/guitarist Alexi Laiho was finishing writing lyrics, and that recording would begin in February. On 18 March 2013, the album's title was announced as "Halo of Blood", tracklist and cover artwork were disclosed. Halo of Blood is expected to feature a guest appearance from Annihilator guitarist Jeff Waters. The band recorded “Halo Of Blood” at Finland's Danger Johnny Studios with recording engineer Mikko Karmila, who worked on the “Hatebreeder” (1999), “Follow the Reaper” (2000), and “Hate Crew Deathroll” (2003) albums. The album was produced by the band and Mikko Karmila, Keyboards recorded by Janne Wirman and vocal production by Peter Tägtgren. “Halo of Blood” was mixed at Finland’s famed Finnvox Studios.

The Tracks of Halo of Blood:


Halo of Blood Cover

         01 - Waste Of Skin
         02 - Halo Of Blood
         03 - Scream For Silence
         04 - Transference
         05 - Bodom Blue Moon (The Second Coming)
         06 - The Days Are Numbered
         07 - Dead Man's Hand On You
         08 - Damage Beyond Repair
         09 - All Twisted
         10 - One Bottle and a Knee Deep





Children of Bodom is a Finnish metal band from Espoo. The band was formed in 1993 and they currently consists of Alexi Laiho (vocals, lead guitar), Roope Latvala (rhythm guitar), Janne Wirman (keyboards), Henkka Seppälä (bass), and Jaska Raatikainen (drums). In total they have released seven studio albums, two live albums, two EPs, two compilation albums and one DVD. The band's third studio album, Follow the Reaper, was their first album to receive a Gold certification in Finland, and since then, all seven of the band's studio albums have reached the same status. In Finland, Children of Bodom has released three consecutive albums that debuted at number one on Finnish album charts and has also seen chart positions on the United States Billboard 200.

The Latest Lineup of Children of Bodom:

latest Lineup of Children of Bodom

Alexi Laiho – lead vocals, lead guitar
 Roope Latvala – rhythm guitar, 
                             backing vocals
 Jaska Raatikainen – drums
 Henkka Seppälä – bass guitar, 
                                backing vocals
 Janne Wirman – keyboards, synthesizer




The band has incorporated many different musical styles, leading critics and fans to label them as melodic death metal, power metal, thrash metal, and early symphonic black metal and neoclassical metal. They are one of Finland's best selling artists of all time with more than 250,000 records sold there alone. The band’s enthralling mix of modern heavy metal, melodic hooks and the guitar acrobatics of Laiho have solidified the critically acclaimed quintet as one of the most revered hard rock acts in the world and one of the leading voices of metal’s new generation. It is not mere precision, but a metal-mad passion that makes Children of Bodom the standout band that it is today.

The Discography of Children of Bodom:


       
        Something Wild (1997)
        Hatebreeder (1999)
        Follow the Reaper (2000)
        Hate Crew Deathroll (2003)
        Are You Dead Yet? (2005)
        Blooddrunk (2008)
        Relentless Reckless Forever (2011)
        Halo of Blood (2013)





About the eighth album the frontman of this band, Alexi Laiho commented that "Halo Of Blood is the eighth studio album from Children of Bodom, and believe it or not, but we still managed to keep it fresh and new while still maintaining the elements that make Children of Bodom  sound recognizable. It's got the fastest and the slowest song we ever made and lyrics wise there are themes we had never had before. It's 10 new songs of pure Nordic metal and whether you enjoy it with a beer or a glass of water, I'm sure you will have a good time."

Children of Bodom