Debauchery, Rockers and War.

This week I had the chance to chat with DEBAUCHERY’s Thomas Gurrath. Recently Thomas skyrocketed to worldwide fame after being fired from his job as a schoolteacher due to his involvement with German death metallers Debauchery, a band which he fronts and leads.

A busy man, Thomas is also the force behind BIG BALL, a hard rock project that hails from Stuttgart and recently opened for SAXON during some of their European dates. “I had to ask for two days off [from school] so I could go with Big Ball on the Saxon tour” he explains, “The school [principal] put my name on Google and they found out about Debauchery,” setting off the now infamous chain of events. “I don’t care, it’s not as bad as it seems, my band thinks is very funny” he jovially adds, “I’ve been a professional musician longer than I have been a teacher (…) I decided to teach so I could help finance Debauchery and Big Ball.” Since going viral over a week ago, his story has readily provided free advertising for both his projects, no doubt giving the record company’s domestic ad campaign a boost as well as sales and exposure for both.

Debauchery, Thomas’ main project, has released a new album almost every year since 2003 via AFM in Europe. Their latest work, Rockers & War was released a little over a year ago. Thomas and the Kill Team are scheduled to play at Wacken Open Air this summer. “I’m really excited, it should be a lot of fun,” he adds about the W.O.A prospect, “this is the first time we play at Wacken so I’m very excited, this is also my first time going to the festival.”

With W.O.A in the horizon, what other plans are in the drawing board? Thomas is quick to respond: “the same as we had since [Debauchery] started, we’d like to bring our band to Canada and the U.S, do more festivals here and possibly record a new album in the fall (…) I hope it all turns out as planned.” And what about Canada? “We’d like to tour other countries (…) we’d like to visit Canada and the U.S but it is very difficult for us to get our gear across, the work visas and the paperwork.”

Thomas is the driving force behind Debauchery and Big Ball, handling most of the bookings and production duties himself, as well as recruiting some heavyweight help. “For the last Debauchery record Tom Naumann (formerly of Primal Fear) did the leads, and I had the help of a very good sound engineer.”

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• Would You Let This Dude Teach Your Kids? (metalsucks.net)

Never Mind The Bollocks, Here’s THE ECONOMY!

Recently DPR was allowed an audience with The Master of Metal. A feature piece will come in due time, however given the recent involvement of many Metallers in Brian May’s Bollocks To The Economy campaign and his plight to Britons NOT to vote Conservative, a particular excerpt of the audience of this minion and The Master has skyrocketed in relevance.

Brian May has enlisted some Heavy Metal help to support his plight to the British electorate not to vote for Conservative candidates. According to the campaign’s website, the major candidates have shifted campaign talks from relevant issues such as the economy and the effect of the recent downturn to the reverse of the blood-sports ban in England, which would legally allow the hunt of foxes, hares and badgers for sport.

May’s campaign is urging voters to reconsider their choice based on what he believes is ‘Bollocks’, and though it is not uncommon to see artists endorsing one candidate or another, you don’t often see artists banding together (no pun intended) for apolitical cause for fear of how this move can affect their career. So, why is it important to vote? The Master argues, “Though it may seem hopeless, voting actually holds power. Power against Poopers! Power to change things from the stupefied reality we now soak in to a glorified future that until now has remained forbidden”

The call to disengaged voters is clear: YOUR VOTE COUNTS and apathy is keeping The Man in power.

The Gruesome Road

So we've been talking HERE and THERE about the Gruesome Twosome Tour featuring Alice and Rob. As previously mentioned, the guys laid waste to Winnipeg and Saskatoon and are in Edmonton tonight and Calgary tomorrow. Rob has posted a tour update with a handful of pics from the Saskatoon show and after.

And in case anyone ever wondered what it's like to drive through Western Canada at night... well, you've got Rob to thank for bringing you this:

Laying Waste - An Interview With Tony Foresta

I had the chance to chat with Tony Foresta, frontman of American crossover thrashers Municipal Waste on the eve of their anticipated Latin American tour. We chatted plenty about good music and fun times, however, when I asked him what he’d miss the most while on tour he was quick to respond: “I have a pretty tight group of friends at home here in Florida, so I think I’m gonna miss them the most”.

MW will take on the road starting March 7th with their first show of a short Latin American tour starting in Mexico and including places like Brazil and Colombia, notable for their ardent metal scenes. “I don’t know what to expect, we’ve never been there before, but everybody’s saying it’s gonna be crazy!” says Tony about the upcoming tour that will feature The Waste as headliners “I think we’re bringing out local [punk and thrash] bands as special guests for our shows”.

The signature crossover sound of Municipal Waste is reminiscent of outfits such as Black Flag and Misfits with a distinct thrash flavour from bands like Slayer. “I think it’s something for everybody, you know, you don’t have to be a metal-head to be into our band” points out ‘Guardrail’ Foresta, “We like hardcore, thrash, whatever dude, we don’t give a fuck you know, we’re here to have a good time” and the mix sure is good, as the band fan base continues to grow, this has been evident throughout the last few tours according to Foresta “Shows are great like that ‘cuz everybody comes you know, from all walks of life, not just the one crowd”

And what about Massive Aggressive? “Its been great! (…) most of the times the audience wouldn't really know the songs right away, it would take them about a year to get it, now with this one, the first tour we went on people knew the words right away, the reception’s been great” case an point the band is also scheduled for a short Japanese tour starting May 12th with stops confirmed in Tokyo, Nagoya and Osaka thus far.

But Tony is not one to stay put. His side project, No Friends, released their new EP last summer and confirmed with me about having just finished recording their upcoming LP release, “I’m really excited about it, its not your typical hardcore record” and not only the new album is not your typical hardcore record but it will also be distributed on a not very typical way “it’s gonna be out online, you’re gonna be able to download it for free, and also available on vinyl only”

FREE MUSIC? Well, sign me up! Accounting for the slump in CD sales all around digital releases have increased in popularity, and this is being noticed by artists all across the board. “Nobody gives a shit about CD’s anymore; they’re going in the landfill now” states Foresta, “people now either buy the record or download it for free anyway” and as to why vinyl? Well, Tony assures “I think that vinyl is gonna outlast CD”.

The Eternal Sandbox Argument Around the Celestial Jukebox...

Today a spokesperson for the International Federation of the Phonographic Industry announced to the press that source of plummeting CD sales is rooted in piracy and illegal downloading. This announcement has been made repeatedly in the past by such industry bodies, including the RIAA despite constantly emerging data pointing to the opposite, further adding to the seemingly circular debate about the effect of the Internet on CD sales. It must be kept in mind that the falling number of CD sales does not necessarily suggest a decrease on legal digital music distribution, check HERE.

I think that the opportunity the Internet grants us to sample music (regardless of how the file was obtained or accessed) before we decide to support the artist by buying their albums, is perhaps, as a side effect, allowing the consumer to place pressure on the artist for better quality of their work? (have a read HERE) and let us neglect to examine the business practices of Big Music, as it would lead to another can of worms, however one in which we are more likely to find suitable answers to some of Big Music’s current issues.

We no longer go buy an album with 2 singles and 6 filler tracks, but we do go buy albums we consider of important cultural value, as shown by the sales over time of albums such as In Rainbows. Big Music and their associates (RIAA, IFPI…) should revisit McLuhan’s rear-view mirror theory and rethink their strategy in order to survive in the modern Darwinist recording industry, as I argue at length HERE, while discussing the influence of digital music distribution in popular culture.

...When the Devil sends the Beast with wrath...

If you’re reading this blog, chances are you must like Metal to some extent. On the same token, if you like Metal, chances are someone at some point might’ve asked you (at best) why it is that [we] like the Devil’s music.

Here is a piece I wrote as a requirement for a course I took at school. I’m not defending anything, I’m merely pointing out the obvious.

Hope you like!

Religious Imagery in the Music of Iron Maiden

Behind The Music: AC/DC

AC/DC

Pt1. http://www.trilulilu.ro/icehot/1ead18a23b3115
Pt2. http://www.trilulilu.ro/icehot/52dba967401e63
Pt3. http://www.trilulilu.ro/icehot/dcd339cecb1803
Pt4. http://www.trilulilu.ro/icehot/670d06fd922530
Pt5. http://www.trilulilu.ro/icehot/85f926806331a7

Behind The Music: Pantera

PanterA

Pt.1 http://www.trilulilu.ro/icehot/68615b44e3bd47
Pt.2 http://www.trilulilu.ro/icehot/56b1e77cee4a5b
Pt.3 http://www.trilulilu.ro/icehot/e0b272eb6f88a9
Pt.4 http://www.trilulilu.ro/icehot/9b95d627749edc
Pt.5 http://www.trilulilu.ro/icehot/eae6818e3be8be

Behind The Music: MetallicA

MetallicA

Pt.1 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6H6KKeQyfR4
Pt.2 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtofVKm5Rf4
Pt.3 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xtdxod5SMng
Pt.4 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nQo6pWNAj6U
Pt.5 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=VNUr23WBoik
Pt.6 http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bv71nGSnNAg

Behind The Music: MegadetH

MegadetH

Pt.1 http://www.trilulilu.ro/icehot/65a8da49ba663c
Pt.2 http://www.trilulilu.ro/icehot/b7ecb9e1c9b868
Pt.3 http://www.trilulilu.ro/icehot/3766f876182fa0
Pt.4 http://www.trilulilu.ro/icehot/aa9b3186796c1e
Pt.5 http://www.trilulilu.ro/icehot/91d8eb6d64622c
Pt.6 http://www.trilulilu.ro/icehot/3fa12bccec1213
Pt.7 http://www.trilulilu.ro/icehot/745bfa7913c240
Pt.8 http://www.trilulilu.ro/icehot/532e3867cb7e6a