Monthly Archives: December 2016

Children of Bodom Plan To Enter The Studio In 2017, Drummer Discusses Back Pain Issues

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Children Of Bodom drummer Jaska Raatikainen has posted an end of the year update, in which he discusses multiple things ranging from the band’s plans for their 10th studio album, his issues with back pain, and more. You can read his full statement below.

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“It’s time to wrap up 2016. So, what happened this year?

First of all a new guitar player Daniel (who is a Finnish guy FYI, if somebody is still wondering) joined the band. It has been great times with him on and off stage. Our band has had quite a solid group of people working together in the past and we are not eager to change that. There is always a lot of work to integrate a new guy into the group. We don’t want to do that very often. Hopefully this answers the question if he (Daniel) is gonna continue with us or not.

The year started with a tour in the US with Megadeth. Later we headed to South America. In the summer we continued with lots of festivals all around the Europe. After a little break in the end of the summer we were on our way to Japan for a couple of shows. Finally in the end of the year we went to the US again for a month and came back for holiday season.

One of my dreams came true this year as I had a chance to take my older daughter with me to Japan. My only concern was who could take care of her when I was on stage? Well, luckily I had friends there who could look after her. Also, I finally (sadly) had to admit to myself that she is not interested about my work at all. During the both shows she was playing games with my cell phone. Yeah, I can imagine her thinking like “Dad, I don’t wanna watch the show, it is so damn boring what you guys do!” She has seen our show for maybe 20 times so there’s nothing new to her.

Being on the road and having two small kids is quite rough. Being frustrated, tired, busy and absent minded (and absent) I felt bad not being able to be there more for my kids. They are high maintenance but give you so much. I held on to the thought how lucky I was to have my daughters. I am happy that they are so active and energetic, and never stay on one place, but for crying out loud…

Even though so many great things happened to me this year it was still overshadowed by severe back pain that made me really frustrated and anxious. I needed pain killers to be able to perform a show and still wasn’t able to enjoy it. Sometimes it was just surviving through the set. The days I didn’t have pain and I could play normally were rare. Those shows I played like it could be my last show and just couldn’t help thinking that this great thing what I was doing on stage could end any day. The tour in South America and all the festivals in the summer made me think my life and career more deeply. Being a drummer with a body that is a total wreck is probably the worst combo. All the flying and suffering from sleep deprivation was just too rough for me. It really made me think if this all work is worth the pain. Though, I don’t give up very easily when it comes to what I love the most.

Luckily I always want to focus on the future and right now the upcoming celebration and making a new album helps keeping it all together. A 20 year career is a long time for anyone. For me and Alexi it actually means 25 years together. Two thirds of my life I have been playing drums in a band and performing around the world. I am very proud of that. I cannot wait for the tour in the spring and playing some old songs. The set will include some rarities and also some songs we have never played live. Practically we have played some of the songs in -97 or -98, 20 years ago! We really have to dig deeper to the first two albums and try to figure out what exactly was the thing each of us wanted to express with our music.

We will start creating new songs during spring and summer, and will head to the studio during fall. The album will be our tenth studio album, which is also quite a milestone. It seems that after the studio I will have some time to get my back better somehow, possibly an operation if all the other options have been tried out.

I hope next year will bring good moments and memories to everybody. I also hope the world situation would not be so tense.

See you on the road somewhere around the world and may the force be with you all!!!
Peace and love,
Jaska”

A Killer’s Confession Announce 2017 Tour With Kissing Candice, Dead By Wednesday, & Erasing Never

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A Killer’s Confession, the band featuring Waylon Reavis (ex-Mushroomhed), have announced a 2017 headlining tour. Kissing Candice, Dead By Wednesday, and Erasing Never will serve as support for the trek.

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Tour Dates:

01/27 Jacksonville, NC – Hooligan’s
01/28 Clarkesville, TN – The Warehouse
01/31 Orlando, FL – The Haven
02/01 Spartanburg, SC – Ground Zero
02/02 Reading, PA – Reverb
02/03 Queens, NY – Blackthorn 51
02/04 Providence, RI – Fete Music Hall
02/08 Toronto, ON – The Coalition
02/09 Rochester, NY – Pineapple Jack’s
02/10 Akron, OH – The Empire
02/11 Fort Wayne, IN – The Hub
02/12 Covington, KY – Madison Live
02/13 Johnson City, TN – The Hideaway
02/15 Cudahy, WY – The Metal Grill
02/16 Mansfield, OH – Whiskey Warehouse
02/17 Chicagol, IL – Portage Theater
02/18 Detroit, MI – The Token Lounge

Life Of Agony Reveal Release Date For “A Place Where There’s No More Pain”

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Life Of Agony have revealed that their new album “A Place Where There’s No More Pain” will officially be released On April 28. Check out the cover art for that below:

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Austin Carlile Exits Of Mice & Men

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After years of dealing with various health issues due to Marfan Syndrome, Austin Carlile has chosen to leave Of Mice & Men for health reasons. The band are expected to move on without him.

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Carlile said the following:

“I never thought in a million years I would be sitting in Costa Rica writing this. I never thought I would start a successful band. I never thought I’d open for Marilyn Manson and Slipknot for an entire summer. I never thought I would go on a world tour with Linkin Park and sing ‘Faint‘ on stage with them all around the globe, I never thought I‘d become friends with Mike Shinoda and he’d help me write songs for an album of ours that sat at the No. 4 spot on the Billboard top charts.

I never thought I would befriend bands like Avenged Sevenfold, Metallica, and Korn. I never thought i would sing ‘Ball Tongue‘ on stage with Korn. I never thought my band would play, much less headline Warped Tour, play giant radio festivals all over the world with some of my favorite artists, or tour in Germany, or anywhere in Europe, Australia, New Zealand, Japan, Brazil, Chile, Canada, the United Kingdom, Scotland, Holland, Norway, or Italy, etc.

The first time I ever left the States was because of this band that I started in a tiny barred window studio apartment… I never thought people would ask to take selfies with me inside the Roman Collesium, on the Eiffel Tower in Paris, or even the mall I worked at in Ohio where Of Mice & Men was born eight years ago with the help of my friends in Though She Wrote.

Kameron Bradbury now in Beartooth on guitar, recording our first song together in a local studio for just $50. I never thought putting the song ‘Seven Thousand Miles For What‘ on MySpace would reach over a million plays in a week, and that I’d sign a record contract of my own just days later. I never thought i‘d pack my things up and drive to California for the first time to find permanent band members. I never thought all my wildest dreams and more would eventually come true…

I also never thought my fibrostic connective tissue disorder Marfan Syndrome would cause touring to be so hard and painful for me. I always thought the pain would get better one day, or that I would get better too. But this never happened; that day has still yet to come. From multiple surgeries, caused from touring over multiple years, and after cancelling a European tour halfway through, this October 2016 finally brought me to my knees.

My greatest fear had become a reality… I had three tears in my dual sac surrounding my spinal cord, and we discovered that every time I would push down to scream, spinal fluid would rush though the tears which was causing me the violent pain every time I’d perform. It was causing my muscles to seize up, and body to contort on stage, and making me lethargic and sore every hour of the day.

My doctors and team of specialists had warned me for years of the detriment of my career to my health, but I pushed through anyways. I always pushed through. I had to push through. This is what I love, music is where I found myself. But these three tears in my spine, plus a fourth that occurred the year prior, were signs that i was absolutely not able to scream anymore.

My team advised me that if I continued to do so, it would cause ‘permanent and irrevocable damage to my spinal cord and nervous system.’ After learning this, I realized that I had to step away from Of Mice & Men. No longer able to scream most of our old material, or continue to scream on anything new, I cannot continue on.

This has been the hardest thing that has happened in my life for a very long time, but thankfully the band, my family, and closest friends stand behind me and understand. They have all personally seen how much pain I have had to endure and especially the past two years as my spine was tearing apart but I kept going, I gave it my all, and cannot express this enough.

The band will now still continue on just the four of them, and I wish them the best of luck without me heading into 2017.

I will be here in Costa Rica, where I have now moved, continuing to heal, rest, and write.

I will not stop playing music. I am still able to sing and I’m hungry for what is next to come even though I have no idea what that may be.

I feel God placed me at this crossroads for a reason, and with the closing of one door, another will open. I’m taking this as an opportunity to grow closer to him, as he is the reason I never gave up or ended my life years ago while facing my various troubles.

I have decided to listen to my specialists, and God telling me it’s time to do something new. I have to do this for myself, my health, my body.

I’m so thankful my spinal injuries weren’t worse, for I could have easily been paralyzed permenantly.

I have now made the choice to use my life, my story, and my voice for his glory. To help show his love and grace I have experienced firsthand to anyone else searching for the same hope.

Of Mice & Men offered hope to thousands, but there is no true hope unless through Jesus Christ (Yashua). I have now dedicated my life to sharing this with the world, which needs it so badly right now more than ever.

Some ask how I am not mad at God for taking Ali. This from me and putting me through so much pain and loss… My answer is simple: it is my path to follow, my story, and my life is not my own, but a gift from god in the first place.

This seems like the perfect opportunity for me to use my story to hopefully inspire others who have experienced pain, hurt, depression or loss in their own lives.

We all have our stories, we all have certain things we have overcome. We have done this together, you helped make my dreams come true, and I want to thank you all for the immense support over the years. Now I must do what i have to.

I wanted to keep this news in 2016, because 2017 is going to be a new year, with new chapters.

Remember, your days are like pages, chapters unread, you have to keep going, keep turning, keep reading… Because your book has no end. Just like the ampersand tattoo on my thumb, we will not fade.

You are in my heart and I‘m ready to start a new journey with all of you remaining by my side. I can do nothing alone, and I’m grateful I won’t have to because of you.

Thank you. To everyone who has ever been a fan or a part of Of Mice & Men, from the start, Kameron, Joey, Luke, Ethan, Jared, Jaxin, Phil, Aaron, Joel, Justin, Jon, Shayley, Tino, and Alan, for everything, thank you. Here’s to 2017.

God bless! X –Austin Carlile“

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Dear Of Mice & Men Fans, It's with heavy hearts that we announce Austin’s departure from the band for reasons pertaining to his health. As many of you are aware, Austin suffers from a rare connective tissue disorder called Marfan syndrome & has been struggling with the physical demands of touring since the band began. After his most recent series of surgeries at Stanford University Hospital, following the cancellation of our European headlining tour, his team of doctors informed him of the damage that performing, & more specifically his aggressive vocals, have been causing his body. They warned that if he were to continue on doing so, it would cause permanent & irrevocable damage to his spine & nervous system. Following the advice from his team of specialists, Austin decided it best that he step away from the band & change his lifestyle to better his health. Though we're heartbroken that he can no longer continue, his health has always been of utmost importance to us & we support him now in this decision & are proud of his perseverance over the years. We've had an amazing & unforgettable past few years making music & touring the world together & the 4 of us look forward to sharing the next chapter of the band's story with you. All previously announced shows will proceed as planned & we thank you for your continued love & support. We couldn't do this without all of you! See you real soon. -Aaron, Alan, Phil & Valentino

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Halestorm Stream Cover Of Joan Jett & the Blackhearts’ “I Hate Myself For Loving You”

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Halestorm are streaming their cover of Joan Jett & the Blackhearts’ “I Hate Myself For Loving You.” This song is from the band’s new covers EP “ReAniMate 3.0,” which will be released on January 6.

Ice-T Teases New Body Count Song “No Lives Matter”

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Ice-T has posted some footage from a recent Body Count music video shoot for their new track “No Lives Matter.“ Check that out below. The band’s new album “Bloodlust“ will be released in March.

Erik Nelson, Frank Chin, & Blake Anderson Exit Vektor

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Erik Nelson, Frank Chin, and Blake Anderson have all exited Vektor, leaving frontman David DiSanto as the only remaining member. Despite this, DiSanto said that he plans to keep the band going.

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Nelson, Chin, and Anderson said the following:

“Greetings Vektonauts. With sadness we must inform you that we, Blake, Frank, and Erik, are all departing from Vektor effective immediately. It has been a completely incredible 10-ish years that has brought us all around the world and introduced us to so many super generous, passionate, friendly people and produced three albums of which we are extremely proud.

Seeing the reception for Terminal Redux in particular after all of the hard work put into it has been very humbling. Sadly we’ve reached a point where we can’t continue with the working arrangement we have, for a number of reasons that we find unnecessary to discuss publicly. There’s no big story or drama, people and personalities simply change and drift apart and we’ve reached our limit.

The three of us are lifer musicians and will continue to be. You’ll be seeing us in other contexts, other bands, recordings, tours, and more. Our time in Vektor has been a major part of our lives and parting with that will be a serious adjustment, but ultimately we’re excited to see other new ways we can put our ideas to use.

We are -hugely- grateful to everyone that came out to shows, picked up merch, listened to the music, showed us a great time and kept us going. We accomplished more than we ever thought was possible when we joined and we hope you’ll stay tuned for what we do next – you have certainly not seen the last of us.

We don’t know if this means Dave will seek new members and continue Vektor or not, that is for him to decide and announce in his own time.

Given that it’s the holidays and the future of the band is out of our hands, we’d appreciate some space for the time being as we enjoy time with friends and family (please don’t message our personal pages about it, we won’t reply). All the best and we’ll see you down the road.”

DiSanto also commented:

“I apologize to anyone who was concerned about the post from earlier today. Vektor is not stopping. I started writing Vektor songs in 1999 and I’m still writing Vektor songs. As long as I live, Vektor will not die.

I appreciate everything that Blake, Frank, and Erik have done to help this ship take off. I also appreciate all of my band mates before them: Willy, Pablo, Adam, Mike, and Kian.

See you on the road!

–Dave“

Hatriot Premiere “Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed” Lyric Video

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Hatriot have premiered a lyric video for their new demo track “Frankenstein Must Be Destroyed.” The final version of this song, which is one the first to feature Cody Souza on vocals, who took over for his father Steve “Zetro” Souza (Exodus), will appear on the band’s upcoming new album.

The band said the following:

“The video was done by Mike Sloat, recordings by Abel Torres, and image by Kevin Paterson.

The lyrics are metaphorically driven for heinous people on death row like pedophiles, serial killers, and other monsters of that sort.

In the song, the mid-to-high-level shrieking are the villagers hunting the monster and the low death metal growls are the point of view of the monster.

Now that Steve ‘Zetro’ Souza is full time with Exodus, we wanted to tap more of our death metal influence such as The Black Dahlia Murder, Revocation, Skeletonwitch and Death while still keeping true to Hatriot’s Bay Area roots such as Exodus, Testament, Death Angel and Machine Head.”

Doro Pays Tribute to Lemmy Kilmister With New “It Still Hurts” Video

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Today (December 28) marks the one year anniversary of Lemmy Kilmister’s tragic death, and many artists have been paying tribute to the legendary Motörhead frontman. A particularly touching tribute comes from Doro Pesch, who released a new video for her and Kilmister’s 2012 track “It Still Hurts.”

Doro said the following:

“Today is exactly one year ago since the rock ‘n’ roll world lost Lemmy Kilmister, one of its greatest ever — and one of my best and most beloved friends. One year… and we miss Lemmy so much. The wish to honor him and his remembrance day with a video, showing some beautiful moments, came from deep within our hearts. And here it is: In Memoriam – Lemmy. It still hurts… R.I.P., my dear friend Lemmy — we love you!”