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.
To have a Christmas #1 hit in Britain is more that enough reason to brag. To take over the #1 spot with an old song and with the help of your fans…. That’s something different!
This Christmas Rage Against The Machine took home the gold thanks to a grassroots Facebook group protesting the stencil-cut, readymade pop image that has slowly been taking over the media thanks to productions such as X-Factor, Britain’s Got Talent and the Idol spawn of shows, that have helped catapult to fame such notable figures as Susan Boyle and Adam Lambert.
Killing In The Name has become the first single to take the top spot of the British holiday charts solely through file downloads and Internet support, eclipsing X-Factor winner Joe McElderry by over 50 thousand downloads! All thanks to Jon and Tracy Morter, responsible for kick starting the Facebook movement.
In a statement released by Tom Morello the band has vowed to do a massive thank you gig in England, and even offered Simon Cowell the MC spot.
Holiday cheer doesnt stop with squishing Simon's Idols... Them Crooked Vultures have posted a live video for Elephant on their YouTube Channel. Not that i am suggesting anything, but judging from the production of the video i wouldnt be surprised if the show was taped for a specific reason... hopefully it will see the light of day soon, even as a leak, unlike MegadetH's blood in the water DVD that (to my knowledge) is still shelved.
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And just when you think it was done... how about KISS saving Christmas?
Not so much you would say, Dine Alone Records and the Arkells have been busy with friends lately.
The video for Pullin' Punches, the band's third single off their debut album Jackson Square, debuted last week on MUCHMusic MUCHonDemand last week, and it was premiered online today, you can watch it HERE.
Stay tuned for more including the rockit ride to the top as told by Max Kerman.
Sam Roberts is touring the US (again) however this time Sam and the band are hardly flying under the radar.
Canada has a thriving independent music scene. From Halifax to Vancouver the airwaves are vibrant with bands such as The Trews, Arkells, ALEXISONFIRE, and Matt Mays+El Torpedo just to keep the list short. Even though these and many other bands achieve regular airplay and considerable national tours, many of the independent acts find it difficult to break into markets such as the United States. On an interview posted Monday Nov.23rd at The A.V.Club, Canadian musician Sam Roberts explains how difficult it was at first, and how this is all too common amongst Canadian acts. The full interview is HERE, a must read!
That's not all! as mentioned above, the tour is not flying under the radar this time around. Today the boys were in Minneapolis and performed three tracks live as well as a short interview in between tunes; oh yes, and he AGAIN talked about breaking into the American market. You can stream the performance HERE.
The Milwaukee fans also got the chance to see Sam and the guys play last week. The band did an interview with OnMilwaukee.com where they discuss the band's status in Canada, their gradual rise in popularity in the U.S. and the experience of 'crossing over the border'. The interview was posted today, you can find it HERE.
No doubt this tour will also help other Canadian acts get a foot in the door of the American market.
Just in case you're not from 'round this neck of the woods, here's a short list of some of my personal favorite home-grown:
Old news, (kind of) but important none the less... Machine Head's Phil Demmel has fainted on-stage yet again... this happened just a couple of weeks back and has forced theband to cancel the last dates of their European Tour... more HERE
bugs have been fixed, and we're back in action, so don't panic!
Tomorow's show is going to be a news recap of what's happened since the last show (more or less...) and will contain the infamous interview that I promised last time... sorry for the delay.
for now, enjoy this vid... Megadeth live in Milano Italia, during their Priest Feast date
Something else worth noting, ESPECIALLY for those in the LA Area... the Revolver Golden Gods Awards, a new ceremony to honour hard rock and metal acts, will be taking place on April 7th at the Nokia Club in LA. Special guests include Killswitch, All That Remains, and (of course!) Megadeth!! check out the Megasite for more info... Tickets will run you between 31.50 and 71.50 + applicable charges and are available through Ticketmaster.
The Hatecrew has been nominated to the Emma Awards for best Finnish Group, Best Metal Album and Best Finnish Artist. The Emma’s are their equivalent of the Grammy’s in North America. The band had previously received an Emma in 2005.
Priest, Testament and Megadeth are ploughing through Europe with the Priest Fast Tour, watch a 10 minute interview with Dave HERE, where he talks about the new album… (spoiler warning: possible names!)
Speaking of Megaman, Dave was recently invited by Bruce Dickinson to his BBC radio show, which will be airing on March 13th. Check out the Bruce Dickinson Show HERE
Keeping it constant, The Beast was just presented with a Brit award for best live act…however is not the award what caught my interest (really, we know they are better than that!) but it was THIS and THIS!! Too bad the closest Maiden is coming to North America is Ft. Lauderdale Fla, for a show on April 2nd, then back home for the summer...
Here's Maiden's Brit Award speech:
More Motorhead dates have been announced over the past few weeks. Lemmy and the boys will be touring through South America before making their way back to Europe for the summer. Check the website for updated show dates! (They just keep on coming!)
Nightwish will be hitting the road soon, starting on March 11 at the Brixton Academy in London, and rumour has it that they will be doing some filming for a DVD at that show…. Speaking of Nightwish and DVD’s, the trailer for their ‘Made in Hong Kong’ DVD was made public earlier this month, and the release date for the DVD is set for March 11 of this year… if you don’t want to wait you could always pre-order it HERE
Great news for Sonata Arctica fans! Rehearsals for their new album started about two weeks ago according to Henka’s blog, in which he hints at a tour coming for the fall of 09, as well as the new album, beyond that not much has been said but check the band’s website for more details.
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On a more personal note, I’d like to apologize to all of you for being absent for nearly a month, however it has been beyond my control. It all started with my sound card, and quickly spread around to the rest of the system (sounds like some decease) leading my computer to suffer (yes, suffer :P) a bad case of ‘idunowhatitwas’ and forced me to whipe clean my hard drive not once by twice so far. The problem is NOT a virus, (I’ve taken my sick pc to a few places to have it looked at) but due to the nature of symptoms I suspect it might be that the hardware is starting to kick the bucket bit by bit. For now I have moved Don’t Panic HQ to my laptop, and we’re going to play it by ear until I can either fix my desktop OR get a new machine… wish me luck!
